Even the most experienced hikers can get lost. Here’s a step-by-step instructional of what to do if you can’t find your way.
- Stop Walking
Take a deep breath, so you can slow your racing mind. Don’t panic.
- Consider Turning Off Your Phone
If you don’t have reception or a compass app, or don’t have any photos on it to help you retrace your steps, turn it off to conserve the battery. You can turn it back on later to check for reception.
- Try to Retrace Your Steps
Flash back in your mind, and if you have a pencil, write down how you got where you are with any illustrations of particular trees, landmarks, stairs, mountains you saw, or trail names. Repeat: do not move or go far to see them. Just close your eyes and think back.
- Orient Yourself with a Compass
(That is, if you have one.) Know which way is north, south, east and west. Some phones have compasses.
- Gauge Your Distance
Pull out your trail map and try to determine how far you hiked down the trail. Some phones and apps will even tell you how far you hiked. It’s possible you went off the trail without knowing it—try to get some idea of where you might be. The map might have natural markers that you can use, such as a stream, mountain, monument, or grove of trees.
- Consider Your Options
You may want to write down all the possibilities you can think of: staying put where you are and finding a sleeping spot for the evening; trying to hike out and rescue yourself; or, if you are desperate or in need of medical assistance, creating some kind of rescue signal.
If you are not extremely confident in your route, if you are injured or near exhaustion, or if it’s near nightfall, stay where you are.
- Enact Your Plan of Action
Staying put: By staying put, you make it easier for a search party to find you. If you are planning to shelter in place for the evening, create an angled tarp shelter. Use a tarp or whatever fabric you have and tie it to a branch on both top sides.
Creating a rescue signal: Use a whistle to make noise, since your voice doesn’t carry as far as you’d think. Use a mirror, a CD-ROM you brought, or pieces of shiny trash such as aluminium foil or cans, to flash light up to any potential rescuers. If those methods don’t help, consider making a smoky, controlled fire. Learn more about making smoke signals.