When you believe you are lost, the first thing you need to do is to sit down and find out where you are. Try not to get too caught up in your surroundings. Look for landmarks. Are there mountains that dominate the surrounding area? It gives us a clue to where we are, doesn't it? Could you tell me more about that stream nearby?
Aren't you familiar with the source of it? It is true that the sun, setting over there, can be used as a compass because that direction is, has always been, and will always be West! On the other hand, you can be certain that, even if the sun is hidden and you have to wait until morning, you will know where East is since the sun rises in that direction only!
But suppose you don’t know which way to go, even if you know what the directions are? Well, if there’s a stream you can follow it downstream, and it will usually come out in some town. Hunger may bother you, but even so, you needn’t fear starving to death. At least not for several weeks!
Isn't it true that a normal person, or even someone who is sub-normal, can fast for twenty days, and may even go without food for thirty days or longer, without suffering any serious consequences? It will do a lot to keep your morale cheerful, and your body comfortable, if you find some sort of shelters like the lee of a big rock or fallen tree. Once you find some sort of shelter, clear away all inflammable matter for three to four feet, and build a fire that will keep the weather clear, and the night coming.
A two-foot wide trench about six inches deep will suffice if it is cold and you don't have a blanket. You should sleep on the warm spot of your coal bed covered with earth. Cover yourself with leaves if you don't know how to start a fire, or with pine or cedar branches if you don't have access to a fire starter. Forestry and Outdoorsmen's codes can be used to signal for help.
Here are three sound signals: three quick shots from any firearm, three quick shouts, or three quick whistles. It is recommended that every sportsman carry a whistle that can be blown without much effort, and whose blast is much more powerful than a voice.
Sight Signals (Daytime): Three puffs of smoke, from a fire built where it won’t start a forest conflagration. Throw damp wood or green leafy branches on it to make smoke, and regulate the puffs with your coat or a blanket. Three mirror flashes; waving a coat, shirt, or blanket (use something white if possible) in three wide semi-circles.
Sight Signals (Night): Three small fires in a row, three flashes from a flashlight, or from screening and unscreening a lantern, or a small, bright fire. Be sure to keep repeating all signals at regular intervals in order to attract attention by their recurrence. The three fires, however, should be kept burning steadily. There are three indispensables when you go into big woods, hunting, fishing, or hiking. These are compass, map, and matches in a waterproof box.
I know one very successful resort owner, who at the expense of about 50 cents for each guest, insists that each one, even when accompanied by a guide, carry with him the topographical map of the region prepared by the lumber company which operates there. Such maps or the Government’s Geodetic Survey maps are available for almost every part of the country, no matter how wild or unsettled. With such a map and a compass, even a tenderfoot can find his way out, especially if he will check his course occasionally during the day by some prominent landmark.
If, however, no landmark is available, he should check before going out something like this: “Here’s the camp on the stream which flows north to south. I’m hunting east of it today. To get back to the stream, I can’t miss it if I go west. I’ll just glance at the compass now and then and see how much I veer north or south. Then if I am lost temporarily at any time I’ll just go west and reach the stream, and I already have checked enough to know that by veering north I’m going to come out above camp.
So I’ll go downstream till I get there.” Another good stunt to avoid being lost is to mark out on the map in pencil certain parallel or converging trails, or a triangle between two streams, or a circle around a hill beyond which you positively forbid yourself to go. Above all, when a guide places you on a ridge, trail, runway, or stand, stay right there. Don’t even go twenty yards to one or the other side of it. Should you be darn fool enough to follow a wounded animal, or for some other reason strays from the spot, stop where you are and stay there the moment you’re “lost.”
If you do this you’ll hear the guide the minute he returns, finds you absent and shouts for you. Certainly, you won’t be out of distress signal range. But don’t start firing distress signals till it's time for the guide to return to the spot where he placed you. Save your ammunition for the time when it will do some good.
Another thing—if you come into camp late the night of your arrival, and the next day is sunless, better be sure you are all straightened out by a guide or the proprietor on the north, east, south and west, as you may have some absurd ideas about direction, due to being “turned around,” and no sun, etc. Also, any man who goes into the big forest without knowing how to build fires, utilize shelter, etc., is just plain foolish.
Practice these tasks till you know their fundamentals at least, before starting out. Above all, you have reasoning power. So why fly into a senseless panic? Even if you spend a night or two in the woods, do your traveling by day, and avoid risking a broken leg, sprained ankle, or another hurt.
If you’re incapacitated by an accident, anyway, the best thing you can do is to stay right where you are, build a big fire and keep it smoking as constantly and as much as you can, by throwing on the green brush. Chances are this will be seen and investigated, especially now that most Forestry Services are equipped with planes, which can easily locate, and always report, were distress signals (above all smoke) are coming from!
