7:29 p.m. on April 12, 2009 (EDT)
Perry,
What I wanted to say is that these are skills that everyone can learn, not some secret arcane mysteries that are reserved for the initiated members of The Secret Society Of Pathfinders. I would prefer to spend my time in the woods and hills enjoying the outdoors and not rescuing those without a clue. Maybe Some people enjoy doing S&R, but having done that for a few years as a volunteer, I got a bit tired of searching for people who did various dumb things (like the young couple who headed off to Pico del Diablo in Baja California, got lost for a week, and in panic, headed basically crosscountry, i.e., left the trails - this was in the mid-1960s). So I believe in prevention (like, teach as many people as possible the basic "tricks" - hey, they are as much "tricks" as reading the street signs in the city, except people don't do that, either), rather than rescue (or body recovery).
There was one incident that ended up with a romantically happy ending. I had a bunch of scouts out for a training hike in preparation for Philmont. It was 3 days and about 25 miles. The scouts were divided into two groups of 3 with an adult follower each. First day was an eye-opener for the older hotshots who "knew it all", as demonstrated at the trailhead by spreading their map and orienting it with the compass in the parking lot on the hood of the car. When the "attractiveness" of the car was pointed out, they did use the ground. They headed off at high speed (young, strong - both physically strong and headstrong). The other group (the "turtles") proceeded more carefully and steadily, and of course, passed the "hares" before more than a couple miles, reaching the first trail junction a good 20 minutes ahead. They waited around the corner out of sight, while the "hares" blasted past the junction, until their adult follower suggested looking at the map. By the end of the day, everyone was getting on the same wavelength. Second day, I went ahead at the start at high speed. A mile down the trail (actually up in elevation), I "broke a leg" or something (first aid makeup is light enough to carry along). The group (now sticking closer together) discovered me and had to figure out their first aid skills. Toward noon, we arrived at the most distant point in the loop and stopped by a lake to pump water. We were approached by a man without a pack or anything in the way of supplies. At first we were cautious, but soon discovered that Carl had set out from another trailhead and had gotten separated from his group. The first group had been in the area before and hiked on without pausing at trail junctions (we found out later), while Carl, by himself, had missed a critical trail junction. He had no map, no food, and no water bottle, only 2 cans of Coke. The following group had taken the correct trail junction. So now, 3 days later, having explored several branch trails, and drinking directly from the streams, Carl wanted to know if we could direct him to Spanish Lake (which is where we were headed). We told him he could tag along, after explaining to him that he was probably ok as far as drinking from the streams, but he should keep track of his health. 3 hours of hiking later, we arrived at Spanish Lake. There was a group camped on the opposite side of the lake, a couple of whom came wandering around to discover their missing companion (everyone else had gotten there 3 days earlier). They were beginning to think about notifying a ranger (3 days! ummm, what is wrong with this picture?).
Two years later, I was again with a group of scouts doing a training hike in the same area, again getting to Spanish Lake on the 2nd day. As we set up camp, a couple came hiking around the lake and asked if I was Bill. The man looked familiar, then introduced himself again as Carl, the lost hiker. He then told us that during his 3 days of wandering, he had thought about this wonderful woman who he had been going with, and when he returned to the city after we "rescued" him, he had asked her to marry him. So now, the two of them were making the trip to Spanish Lake on an annual basis. (aaahhhh, sweet, romance, etc etc etc). True story. The question is, how much longer would Carl have wandered around lost, no map, no food, drinking from the streams, his companions not reporting him lost? And, with some simple basic navigational tools (including looking at the signs at the trail junctions), he could have gotten to the lake on that first day. He did tell us that he followed our advice after that incident and did learn about map and compass, and always had map, compass, food, water, and the rest of the 10 essentials from then on.
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