DOH!!! (Got lost!)

[AlphaOp]

Last week when caching in a woodland area (public) in New York, I came across the most feared words in Geocaching:

 

"POOR GPS COVERAGE"

 

I realized that I had wandered off the path, and was not exactly sure how to reach the trail! Well, with a little dead-reckoning I managed to make it back safely. (Fortunately this was a small park- I would have reached a road after wandering less then a mile or so.)

 

So, anyone else ever make a blunder like this?

 

CODENAME: ALPHA OPERATOR

daedalus://govlink/secure/majestic/12.12.12/ops/throne/AO

MAJESTIC-12: THRONE G6 LEVEL AGENT

http://www.planetdeusex.com

[azog]

quote:

---

Originally posted by The Alpha Operator:

Last week when caching in a woodland area (public) in New York, I came across the most feared words in Geocaching:

 

"POOR GPS COVERAGE"

 

I realized that I had wandered off the path, and was not exactly sure how to reach the trail! Well, with a little dead-reckoning I managed to make it back safely. (Fortunately this was a small park- I would have reached a road after wandering less then a mile or so.)

 

So, anyone else ever make a blunder like this?

---

 

That's a common occurance for me. Sometimes I amaze myself that I don't end up on a milk carton. I consider myself a dunderhead.

 

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"Wan't" and "differen't" are not words.

[Sickticket]

A lot of the caches I attempt to find here in Eastern Pa., N.J. and Delaware are subject to poor GPS coverage.

Now, I have never gotten lost because of this but several months ago I was doing a cache up near Wilkes Barre, Pa. that was on top of a mountain. I parked my car on a dirt road and started to hike up. I did not log my cars location and learned to regret it. I had no problem finding the cache but was always aware of the probability of bumping into a bear. The mt. was full of caves. After finding the cache I started down and found a fire road that seemed more direct. I did not realise that the mt. ridge had done a very gradual twist and that I was heading in the wrong direction.

By the time I got to the bottom I was over a mile from my car and I had to guess which dirt road I was on.

A true learning experience.

[+unclerojelio]

Long ago before GPS, I used to try very hard to pay attention while in the woods. I would take time to notice which way I was headed, what time it was, how far I had traveled. I would actively try to remember where I made turns and where the trail forked. Ya know, common sense Boy Scout stuff.

Now, with Vista in hand I find that I spend way too much time staring down at the display. I have found myself in situations where, if my GPS failed, I would have no idea which way to head to get back to my truck. Sure, I have a map and compass with me and I could find civilization again. But the point is that a lot of my trail sense has evaporated. Anybody else experiencing this phenomenon?

 

... Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by, ...

 

unclerojelio

[+brdad]

I've noticed the same thing!

Especially while on an ATV where a person can cover a lot of ground in a hurry. Depending on how familiar I was with the area I used to make a mental note or even use a peice of that orange trail tape, sometimes even jotting a note to myself on the tape as well.

 

I keep catching myself just looking at the sights but not noting where they are. I'm sure with map and compass I'd be fine barring any accidents.

 

I guess that's progress though, we stop depending on one thing and work towards another. Soon GPSrs will be reliable and cheap enough to carry two, and our great grandkids will ask what a compass was. Well, maybe it won't go that far, but you never know - We depend on our cars so much now we don't have horses, we depend on law enforcement so much a lot of people don't carry guns, and we depend on calculators so much half of the advanced stuff is never taught in school anymore.

 

Warning: Objects in GPS may be closer than they appear!

[+Metaphor]

The solution is to carry a compass (and learn how to use it.) Especially in situations where tree cover cancels out reception, simply keeping track of NSEW bearings can help keep you oriented. Even in the sailing community where skies are always clear, the use of GPS or Loran causes problems. Electronics can fail, and sailors (or people who think they are sailors) get lost. It will be a long time before the earth's magnetic force will fail, and for $10, a compass is a pretty cheap back-up.

 

"All of us are standing in the mud, but some of us are looking at the stars." Oscar Wilde

[Aladin Sane]

I have had exactly the same experience on several occasions. I slavishly follow the little arrow on my GPS until I find the cache. I then look up on the way back to my truck, and can't decide what trail to take out. I have taken wrong turns that end up adding a mile or more to my return trip. I never feel that I am really lost or in danger, but it is an odd sensation.

 

Aladin Sane

[jdege]

Dan'l Boone was once asked if had ever been lost, in his travels in the wilderness.

 

"Nope," he said, "but I was once a might bewildered for three days."

[enfanta]

...I'm gonna tell you how I got lost last week-end and how I found my way out.

 

Mistake One: I didn't allow enough daylight. I *thought* I could find the trail with no trouble (hadn't I walked in on it?) but everything changes when you lose the light. Yes, I had a flashlight but things look very different in flashlight light.

 

Mistake Two: I didn't set a way point for the car. I did set waypoints on the way into the cache and that helped me but a final destination waypoint would have been better still.

 

Mistake Three (Almost): I almost panicked when I realized I'd left the trail about 500 feet back. I suddenly understood why people go running through the woods when they realize they're lost.

 

How'd I get back on track? I remained calm. I made my way back to the last waypoint. And, most important, I REMEMBERED THAT THE dadgum TRAIL WAS MARKED BY BLAZES!!!

 

The most important piece of equipment you can take with you is your brain. Don't forget to use it.

[+culpc]

I've lost the car a time or two because I didn't mark the starting waypoint. I finally figured out that the the GPS will leave "bread crumbs" in the track logs. Now if the batteries don't give out!

 

Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son!

[+MedicP1]

I am not sure how it is with your unit but with my Mag315 I have to "Turn on" the tracking feature before I start on my merry voyage. I don't believe it retains the info in memory so you can go "oops I need to find my exact path back I'd better turn it on to now go back to the car".

 

It is a neat feature though.

 

I remember doing a cache in Orleans, ON where I activated the tracking feature, we followed/bush wacked what we thought was a slightly overgrown trail for 1 hour, following a stream, found the cache, decided to see if there was an easier/clearer path back to the car further up the hill/embankment, only to find a footpath that took us straight back to where we had parked...return trip took 10 min. It was very funny when I looked at and shared the very different and opposing tracks with my relatives.

 

But it was a great hunt/adventure that, in the end, I know the nieces and nephew wouldn't have wanted to do any other way.

 

P.S. It was also a good lesson, as the footpath was only about 30' up the hill and mostly ran along the backyards of a neighbourhood of houses. The kids where amazed at how close to civilization we were on our "deep woods bushwacking trek". I used it as a lesson for them on how easy it is to get lost in the woods, by only getting a bit off of the path. They were very surprised at how unaware of the civilization & possible safety/rescue they were had they truly been lost in the woods.

 

I'll make bushmen out of them yet!!!

 

GPSr's...A step in the right direction!

[+Alan2]

quote:

---

...

Mistake Three (Almost): I almost panicked when I realized I'd left the trail about 500 feet back. I suddenly understood why people go running through the woods when they realize they're lost...

---

 

That's a riot. Laughed my head off when I read your post. I think I was the guy running.

 

Alan

[+Alan2]

I'm still laughing.

[enfanta]

Well, I'm glad *you're* laughing: I was on the verge of a Depends moment out there!

 

Still, that was one of the best caches I've ever been on.

[+barondriver]

I searched for Wilson Cache..the oldest one in the New Orleans area (or was..if it's still there) I followed a deer trail through the bogs to the cache then decided to try a short cut..every where I went there seemed to be a muddy pond..I went round and round in circles til I couldn't even follow my GPS breadcrumbs..and my batteries were running out..and no spare one..after what seemed like hours..probably 15 or 20 minutes more likely..I finally I found a trail and made it back to the car..From then on I make it a point never to leave the car without an extra set of batteries.

 

[+Alan2]

Off topic, but I must admit the scariest moment for me when I was diving in a wreck off Long Island and couldn't find my way out with 10 minutes of air left. Moments like that...whew!! Thank goodness for my buddy outside who helped me find the way out. Now that's a Depends moment - if I wasn't already in 70 feet of water.

 

Alan

[+briansnat]

quote:

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I almost panicked when I realized I'd left the trail about 500 feet back. I suddenly understood why people go running through the woods when they realize they're lost.

---

 

Back when I was a neophyte hiker, I was out with a few friends and we decided to leave the trail and bushwack to the car. We wound up doing the travel in a circle routine. Came back to the same clearing 3 times. Then I started to panic and began running. I have no idea why. I finally calmed myself down and made my way back to my friends, where I decided to climb a tall pine and look for the road. I spotted a familiar object that I knew was near the road and directed a friend there, who then guided us there with his voice.

Turned out the road was only a few hundred yards away and we were probably passing within feet of it during our wanderings.

 

It was funny how we followed the usual routine of most who get lost, walking in circles, panic, then running.

 

After this I picked up a compass and learned how to use it.

 

"Life is a daring adventure, or it is nothing" - Helen Keller

[__anti]

Yes.

GPS is bad for you ...

 

I usually have a perfect sense of direction and never got lost.

Well, sometimes I didn't know how to get from point A to B, but I _always_ got back to point A.

 

Yesterday I tried Zork (in Austin) and ended up walking 5miles back to my car - which was 300 yards from where I was.

(Full story)

 

I was so fixated on my eTrex, that I didn;t memorize a single waypoint.

And it got dark, which didn't make the thing easier.

 

I think if I use my GPS unit to often, I'll simply loose all my (natural) bearings and orientation skills.

[katmom]

quote:

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unclerejeilo's Long ago before GPS, I used to try very hard to pay attention while in the woods. I would take time to notice which way I was headed, what time it was, how far I had traveled. I would actively try to remember where I made turns and where the trail forked. Ya know, common sense Boy Scout stuff.

---

 

Before GPS when we'd go mushroom hunting at our favorite spot, we'd always use the "tree that was killed by lightening" as our guide. We'd also knew if the thing ever blew down, we'd be up a creek (up in the mountains) without a landmark cause it was the only one we relied on. Nice to have the GPS as a backup. katmom=card carrying boy scout leader

[+Criminal]

These stories remind me of why I bought a GPSr in the first place. My friend, Hormone Dave, and I were trying to find a path to the Puget Sound through the forested area of North Ft. Lewis. Using a compass we drove in my truck as west as we could get on the trails and then set out on foot through the forest. We hiked for about 30 minutes, finally reached a bluff overlooking the Sound. We gawked it for awhile and headed back to the truck but we couldn’t find it. We found a trail but they all looked the same. Dave was stringing swear words together in new and amazing combinations. After two + hours we find the truck and drive home. That was the last time Hormone would go hiking with me. Shortly after that I bought my Garmin GPS III+.

 

I later tried to duplicate getting lost but having had marked the truck as a waypoint, I made it back easily. That was back in the not-so grand days of selective availability and even then I was amazed at the technology.

 

If your house catches afire, and there aint no water around,

If your house catches afire, and there aint no water around,

Throw your jelly out the window; let the dog-gone shack burn down.

**Huddie Ledbetter**

[+mookie]

The second weekend of my geocaching career I was searching for a cache in a small suburban park. Place can’t be more than a mile and a half square. It has a lot of nice size trees with a lot of underbrush and a few small trails. I followed a trail up to the point where I had to break trail and bushwhack. GPS said I was about 50’ from the cache so I blindly followed it to ground zero. Between my lack of experience and poor gps reception, it took me a half hour of circling the same area until I found the cache. I excitedly signed the logbook and traded trinkets and re-hid the cache. I then started back in the direction I thought the trail was. After walking for several minutes and not finding a trail I knew I had gone the wrong direction. It was mid-morning with a heavy overcast and a light rain falling… Couldn’t tell where the sun was. It was at this point that the panic hit. Heart thumping, mind racing, I took off looking for the trail in the opposite direction. Still can’t find the trail. I look all around me and every direction looked the same. Panic sweeps over me again. I knew the trail was south and my car was west, but with no compass and no sun, I’m lost! After taking a deep breath and sitting down I realize I can walk any direction and hit either a road. Remember, this is a small park. Geez! There’s a 4 lane highway in one direction, a shopping mall another way, and a housing development another. Which ever way I choose I’ll find a road I know in less than 30 minutes! By now I’ve calmed down and I can kind of make out the direction of the sun through the clouds and I head south towards the trail. Less than 5 minutes later I find the trail and follow it back to my car. I feel really silly at this point and am glad that I’m alone.

Now I always mark my car as a waypoint and carry a compass. No matter how small the park or how well I know the area. I always thought I had a good sense of direction (don’t we all) but if I had been in the wilderness, I could have been in trouble. Now I understand how people get lost.

 

mookie