What to do if you get lost

It is fairly easy for anyone venturing into unfamiliar territory to get lost. It happens all the time. We often read of hikers and skiers you have "gone missing", sometimes in areas they frequently visit and should be familiar with. And, while sometimes drivers get lost even in their own city (especially if they're guys and won't stop to ask directions), getting lost out on the trails is a whole different matter. Negotiating unfamiliar forest, mountain, or desert roads is not easy.  There are often no road signs so you have to rely on landmarks and knowing where you are and where you are going and navigating using a compass, your vehicle odometer, and dead reckoning --or a high tech GPS.  Unmarked trails are even more challenging.  Hikers and riders who lag behind often get separated from their companions and can become disoriented. The risk of getting lost, or at least separated from your riding companions is even greater given the distances and speeds involved in OHV activities. It is very easy to become disoriented while focusing on keeping up with the vehicle in front of you or staying right side up instead of observing your surroundings as you zip along some fun trail so, if you do get separated, it may be difficult to find your way back to camp. Try to train yourself to pay attention to your surroundings as you travel. Whenever you stop for a break, see if you can point the way back to camp.  Remember major intersections or changes in direction.  Watch for landmarks as you go, large, unique and relatively permanent geological, landscape, or man-made objects that you can recognize again. Livestock do not make good landmarks! Pay special attention at every trail intersection so you will know which way to go if you have to come back that way and always wait for the person behind you to make the turn before you rush off to catch up with the group.   I know of at least one Enduro rider who made it a practice to mark each turn with his boot, but almost any subsequent traffic could wipe out any markings and if everyone tried to do that it would be even more  useless!  In my Desert Rat group of off road riders we tried to make it habit to stop now and then and make sure everyone in the group knew where we were and which direction it was back to camp.  Also, make sure that each rider or hiker in a group knows he or she is responsible for the person behind them, and making sure they see where the group has gone at every intersection.  Teaching young or novice riders these skills can be challenging and takes a lot of patience but it is well worth the investment.

If you get lost while driving to your camp ground it can be frustrating and time consuming,  but you can usually stop for directions if you aren't already way out in the boonies.  Theses days, hand held GPS systems have become affordable so you can avoid getting lost even if you are a macho type who won't stop for directions.  My sister bought one for our folks and they call it their "Never Lost".  If you get lost hiking, horseback riding, or driving an OHV on unfamiliar trails, you could be in a world of hurt.  A good topgraphcial map and some map reading skills could save your day.  GPS systems don't typically track off road trails but they may be able to point you back to camp or back to civilization.   It is a good idea to record the coordinates of your base camp in your GPS in case you need help finding you way back sometime.  Depending on the climate and season, being lost in the wild can even be life threatening!  That's where basic survival skills will come in really handy.  Even in the desert overnight temperatures can drop low enough to cause life threatening hypothermia.

When you are driving, or leading a ride or a hike, you will probably maintain a pretty good sense of direction.  But when you're following a caravan or are #8 in a gaggle of 12 riders or hikers on the trail, you'll probably be focusing on the person in front of you and making sure you follow them.  On the trail you may have to force yourself to observe landmarks so retain a sense of where you are and how to get back to base camp, especially when you're not leading the group.  You've probably hiked or ridden with folks who seem to have a built in GPS in their heads.  Part of that is a matter of natural brain function and partly a function of experience, observation, and focus.  I've heard of riders who try to mark each turn so they can retrace their steps if necessary.  Personally I haven't found that to be a very productive method for a couple of reasons.  First of all, with many riders on a trail, your marks may be confused or obliterated by someone else's marks or by other traffic, secondly, you may forget to mark a turn or two.  You really need to focus on observing and remembering landmarks and trying to maintain an overall sense of direction -- where you're going, where you've been, and where camp is from where you are.  When riding desert and sometimes mountain terrain, you can often use major peaks as a key point of reference for knowing where your camp is.   In forested areas the trees may block your view of major landmarks so you may have head to a high point or climb a tree to get your bearings.

So, what do you do if you do become separated from your group? First and foremost, DON'T PANIC! Your buddies will eventually notice you're missing and come looking for you -- that is, unless they have deliberately ditched you  (what the heck did you do to deserve that?) or unless you have been stupid enough to go off somewhere alone -- a fundamental NO-NO! Avoid getting separated by keeping up and keeping an eye on the rider in front of you and pay attention to your surroundings as you go. If the rider in front of you is doing HIS job, he should make sure you follow every time the group makes a turn or takes a branching trail, but not all riders remember to do this. If you do fall behind, stop and survey your surroundings. You may want to ride or hike up to the top of a nearby hill for a better view, but keep track of where you are now and where you came from. Just don't go too far from the trail and make sure you can get back. Can you see your group anywhere around you -- or, a dust trail that might indicate where they have gone? If there is no sign of them, begin slowly backtracking to the last fork or intersection where they might have gone a different direction and examine the tracks. If you are still not CERTAIN where they have gone, stay where you are. The closer you stay to a known location the better the chances you will be found. You don't know if they took a different route or just got way ahead of you. If you take off looking for them you will make it more difficult for them to find you. If you don't see where your group goes at an intersection, slow down and check the tracks so you can follow them instead of taking the wrong trail. If you have to stop and wait for someone to come back for you, you want to make yourself visible, but you will also need to keep your equipment and your body out of the way of other riders who may be coming down the trail. If you fall behind your group, stop when you come to a fork or intersection and wait for someone to come back for you. Don't arbitrarily take off down some trail if you're not sure that's where your group went. Sometimes you can tell by the tracks which way they went. If no one comes back for you in a reasonable amount of time and you can't locate which way they went, head back to camp if you know your way. If you've been paying attention as you ride, you should be able to identify some landmarks that will help guide you back to camp.  If you're leading a ride or a group of hikers, make sure you know how many there are in your group and stop periodically to take count. If someone is missing send a knowledgeable person -- or two -- back to check on them. They may have had mechanical problems, gotten hurt, or missed a turn. The sooner you know they're missing, the less time you'll lose finding them and the faster you can get help if they are injured or need other assistance. Each person in a group is responsible for keeping track of the person behind him. Every time you change trails or turn off a trail, wait to make sure the person behind you makes the turn before rushing off to catch up with the group. A few extra seconds at each turn can save you hours of searching for a lost companion and a lot of anxiety.

If you get lost or separated from your group at night, break out your light stick or start a small fire. Make sure your machine and its fuel are a safe distance from any fire and follow good fire safety procedures. Many of you may have seen the movie "On Any Sunday" where the rider inadvertently sets his own bike on fire and can do nothing but stand and watch it burn. In the sequel, "On Any Sunday II", the lost rider carefully and deliberately moves his bike a safe distance before lighting his fire. However, he had loosened his fuel line and dripped fuel onto his little pile of wood to make starting the fire easier and then he forgot to turn the fuel off before moving the bike. His fire blazes into life and quickly follows the trail of gasoline to his bike and once again it goes up in flames. These two staged events are amusing to watch, but certainly wouldn't be in real life. They probably willingly sacrificed a junk bike for the sake of cinema. Watching our own investment go up in flames wouldn't be so entertaining. But seriously, make sure you park your bike up wind and away from your fire. Embers or sparks carried by the wind could ignite fuel or lubricants and turn your ride into a bright magnesium torch! Magnesium is what gives flash bulbs their incredible brilliance and once ignited is very hard to put out. Because the strength to weight ratio is very favorable, many OHV components are made of magnesium. Burning magnesium may make a good signal fire, but most us won't want to sacrifice our OHVs just to be seen and then have to walk back once found and fork out a lot of money for a new ride.

Avoid getting lost in the first place. Easy to say, and not all that hard to do, if you follow some simple guidelines. First, try to keep up with your group. If still end up getting lost, you'll be lost all together and can help each other, but it is unlikely you will all get lost. Second, keep track of where you are, where you've been, and where you're going. Identify some significant landmarks that can lead you back to familiar territory. For example, know where your base camp is relative to easily recognized major features such as mountain peaks, power lines, highways, lakes, streams, or even man-made structures such as radio towers, highways, and rail roads. We make it a practice to quiz our younger riders about which direction camp is every time we stop. Sometimes, if we haven't been stopping for stragglers or taking rest stops we'll stop specifically to do a "where are we" check. Given the complexity of some off-road trail systems, whether they be in the desert or the forest, the many twists and turns can be very confusing if you can't -- or simply don't -- keep track of significant landmarks. Knowing how to get back to camp from anywhere you go can mean the difference between being late for supper and spending the night alone and cold and hungry in the sticks. A lot of trails look the same so it is very easy to loose track of where you've been if you don't make mental notes of landmarks. And make sure the landmarks don't move! Grazing livestock or wildlife do not make good landmarks.

Technological aids. Today we have many technological devices to keep us from getting lost -- if we have them and know how to use them. For hundreds of years man has navigated using maps and a compass -- or by using the sun and the stars. Not many modern men have learned those skills. Some have learned map reading in boy scouts or in the military and may find those skills helpful if they have an adequate map with them, but few riders or hikers carry detailed maps on the trail. If you are doing a lot of riding or hiking in unfamiliar territory, especially, without a knowledgeable guide, you may want to invest in some detailed topographical maps and learn how to read them. Today we tend to rely on GPS devices that can pinpoint our location -- or the location of our camp site or other destination and provide detailed directions to get there. I'm not suggesting everyone run out and buy an expensive hand held GPS, but if you already have one or do chose to get one, make sure you know how to use it. And be sure to record the location of your base camp before you go out on any rides. Even the most expensive and capable GPS will be of little value if you don't know the coordinates of where you want to go. Some of the more advanced GPS units can record your travels and you can play them back in reverse to return to your point of departure. If you plan to go exploring without a guide, you may want to make this a priority feature if you buy a GPS.   At the very least be sure to record the coordinates for you base camp in your GPS before you hit the trails.  There are emergency electronic beacons that can monitor your position and even report it periodically to designated recipients on the Internet.  These devices usually also have a "panic button" that will send out a call for immediate help, along with GPS coordinates to assist rescuers in locating you. Many modern "smart phones" have some built in GPS functions.

If you find yourself lost for an extended period of time, you should go into survival mode: seek appropriate shelter, conserve water and physical energy, inventory your provisions and available resources. Gather wood for a fire before it gets dark and cold. Find a water source if possible. In hot weather seek shade. In cold weather seek protection from the wind and weather and look for ways to keep warm (hollow log, cave, leaves/pine needles). In wet weather seek shelter from the rain before you get soaked and risk hypothermia. If you don't know for sure what direction to go to return to camp or get help, stay where you are unless it is obviously unsafe! If you're lost, it is better not to keep moving unless 1) your current location is unsafe or 2) you KNOW for sure where you can seek help, even if you don't know your way back to camp.

Don't be lost!