I've never been lost in my entire life,But I have certainly been confused on occasion

[BIGWOLFY]

I am going to open up a big can of worms here and am Cretan most of you will have some thing to add, So here are some ideas to start you off

Virtually everyone will lose their way from time to time. What we call it is not important. What is important is that we must first accept the fact that we don't know where we are and approach the problem in a reasonable, rational and calm manner.

{STOP}
Stop Think Observe Plan

STOP - Take a deep breath, sit down if possible, calm yourself and recognize that whatever has happened to get you here is past and cannot be undone.

THINK - Your most important asset is your brain. Use it! Don't Panic! Think first. Move with deliberate care. Take no action, even a foot step, until you have thought it through.

OBSERVE - Take a look around you. Assess your situation and options. Take stock of your supplies, equipment, surroundings and the capabilities of fellow travelers

PLAN - Prioritize your immediate needs and develop a plan to systematically deal with the emergency. Make a plan. Follow your plan. Adjust your plan only as necessary to deal with changing circumstances.

PRIORITIES:
1. Medical Care
2. Shelter & Fire
3. Signaling & Communication
4. Sustenance

[sapper1]

I've never been lost in my life.
I'm not always where I'm supposed to be mind.

[Toddy]

I don't get lost.......... ...........I just have adventures............

cheers,
M

[stevec038]

Hello Bigwolfey,
At the risk of repeating myself. I may have mentioned this in a posting as part of another thread. There is an article I believe I was referenced here at BushcraftUK called "Survival and a Cup of Tea." The author uses the same approach to being "confused" as you suggest. I myself have been confused many times. The worse was out raccoon hunting one night in mid-January(temp about 26 degrees F). My hunting partners,a pack of dogs and I wandered around for about 3 hours, crossing over several fences, one railroad track, and even a section road. We finally realized that holding the rifle between our legs and using a flashlight to see the compass was the problem. Moved the rifle and the compass needle pointed properly (rifle barrel was deflecting it) and finally found the truck to come home. Since coon hunting is best from 10pm to dailylight the next day, it was a long night. We all came home cold, wet and not a little embarressed at our lack of attention to simple, proper compass usage. If we would have Stopped and Thought first we could have saved ourselves about two hours of exposure. Your suggestions are spot on.
Thanks,
Stevec038

[C_Claycomb]

That would be Stuart's article about the cup of tea, here:
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9951

He also did one for the magazine about Panic which extended on the ideas, but its not made it to the site yet.

[Prophecy]

Never been lost?

Don't believe you.

Great info though, thanks.

[Wallenstein]

I have on occasion been subject to a degree of navigational embarassment that could under certain circumstance been said to equate to a state of being lost.

[John Fenna]

I aint never been lost - but I have been known to go the pretty way instead of the shortest way.......

[Man of Tanith]

I'm never lost tho i have sometimes mislaid myself/my camp/SWMBO/ my friend
regards
Sam

[HillBill]

I've never been lost outside of the military. Sure, i've taken a wrong turn or two, but i wasn't lost. I knew where i was i just wasn't where i was supposed to be.

My sat nav likes to have a laugh at my expense. Shortest route in in the language of tomtom means, slowest narrowest most scenic roads that probably don't even exist on most maps. I keep having to remind it i don't drive a tank anymore i can not plough through walls or fields nor is my car amphibious. There was me thinking it couldn't be any worse than the mrs.

Got lost on a 2 month forced march through South American rainforest though. Lost a day because of it.

[pheasant plucker]

My family take the mick out of me by saying I'm part homing pigeon as I normally don't get disorientated, but that does'nt stop me going the long way round from time to time lol. But why is it men don't normally stop and ask directions? Is it the same as "real men don't eat quiche"? lmao.
PP

[mayobushcraft]

Having spent many hours in the woods and swamps of Florida. I may have gotten turned around a few times but allways had a map and compass with me. My freinds and family think I a navigational wizard got them fooled I guess. But that changed one night a the movie theater. I was with my sister and her husband we parked the car in front of the place and went inside. after the movie we went to leave and I said lets go out the back to avoid the crowd. I for got which theater we went to and turned right should have went left.
They still trust me in the woods but I will never live that night down they bring it up when ever they get the chance.

[Nat]

I've never been lost, just on a different track having a different adventure.

[sirex]

just come back from an overnighter on dartmoor. got "lost" twice. once didnt matter as we realised what we had done wrong and knew that path we had actually taken went the same way, (took right path on way back and there was no way we'd have seen the start of the footpath so i feel vindicated!) and the second time i found myself on a road that should have been there ;p -- quick compass check on the road's direction proved wed missed a turning by 100meters.

usually (if your paying attention) your not far from where you should be - but it was quite interesting what is and is not shown on the map. some stone walls and paths wernt, others were, and we even found one "footpath" that had since been made up into a full forest road and really threw us

[rik_uk3]

bigwolfy

No offence mate but this has been talked to death here, on Ray Mears shows etc.

Use the search facility and see what you find.

Still good stuff you repeated though

[Fluffy]

Alcohol doesn't help navigation, usually

[webmuppet]

Years ago I got lost in the forest grounds of castle late in the day in winter. It was getting visibly dark and all I could see was forest and was only prepared for a short dander from the car ie nothing but a jacket. I was lucky to accidently wander to a road that led back to the car park. The amusing thing was I was there with a rather attractive girl (to show what a cultured chap I was) who was dressed more for shopping that walking. All I could think was if I get this young lady lost in the forest at night or even worse overnight I'm getting so dumped

[sirex]

Alcohol doesn't help navigation, usually

depends what your trying to navigate to. - my friday nights rely on this pub-to-pub navigational skill.

[oldsoldier]

my famous quote, as I tend to take shortcuts that are not short, but certainly prone to cuts (or scrapes, scratches, etc); We arent lost, we're taking the scenic route.

[tsitenha]

Never been lost, been in different parts of my "home" but never lost.

I am exactly where I need to be.

[WhichDoctor]

I'm never lost, I always know exactly where I am, I'm always here. But sometimes everywhere ells gets temporarily mislaid .

[leahcim]

you are really never lost, for you know where you are, so the question is where are you going in life.

if you dont know where you are going, and what your goals are then you are really lost in your soul. and that is being truly lost.

the best survival isnt in the material plane, but in the spiritual plane, thats why we native Americans are more focused on the spirit needs more than the physical ones. Cherokee/Creek Native