A GENTLE BREEZE CARESSES MY FACE as I quietly stalked through the pepperwood – perfect hunting conditions. Fresh sign was everywhere, and I expected to encounter a sika deer at any moment. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck sensed the wind shift … and moments later, the shrill whistle of an alarmed sika. Game over.
It was spring in the Kaimanawas, and I’d driven down a long forestry road, deep into prime sika country, for an afternoon hunt.
It was the early days of GPS, and I had a basic unit that could mark waypoints and breadcrumb tracks, but not much else. No maps, poor battery life, and unless you found a good clearing, it was difficult to get a satellite signal – a far cry from a modern GPS. Anyhow, I’d marked the point where my old Land Cruiser was parked, then popped it into my daypack, preferring to use my map and compass.
After the sika announced it knew my whereabouts, I called it quits and began to head back. Unlike my earlier stalking pace, I moved through the bush quickly and expected to cut the main track soon. The day was drawing to a close, and I wasn’t keen to be caught out after dark. When the track didn’t appear, I pulled out my compass to double-check my direction of travel; it told me I was heading the wrong way …
Not only was I going the wrong way, but according to the needle, I was travelling in the exact opposite direction I should have been heading! I couldn’t believe it!
I sat down for a moment to clear my head. I was convinced I’d been travelling in the right direction; my initial thought was that the compass was broken – that it had somehow reversed its polarity. (An extremely rare occurrence, but not unheard of.) To double-check my theory, I found a clearing in the bush, sat down, and pulled out my GPS. It took a few minutes, but eventually it located enough satellites to provide me a reading …
IT WAS BROKEN, TOO!
What were the chances of me having two broken navigational tools?! After I calmed myself down, I realised it was a minimal chance. And with that came the realisation that I’d been wrong – a bitter blow to my self-proclaimed amazing sense of direction.
It was one of the more difficult things I’ve ever had to do in the bush: put aside everything my panicky, screaming emotions were telling me, and listen to that quiet inner logic. I had to trust the compass, turn 180 degrees, and start walking in a direction I didn’t want to go. But sure enough, an hour or so later, I cut the track … and with that, learnt a valuable lesson.
Hundreds of thousands of Kiwis enjoy the outdoors each year … tramping, hunting, boating, climbing … and each year, some of those people get into trouble. In 2021-22, Search and Rescue responded to 2,871 incidents, resulting in 150 lives saved, with 715 people rescued and 799 assisted. Unfortunately, not all the people involved in those incidents
survived.
So, what separates those who get rescued quickly from those who flounder, and either aren’t rescued for many days or don’t make it at all?
Firstly, it’s important to understand that anyone can become disoriented while adventuring in the great outdoors. If that happens to you, hopefully (like my earlier story), you’ll be able to get yourself unlost. However, sometimes – perhaps due to an injury, broken or lost equipment, or a momentary lapse of reason (that wasn’t an edible mushroom after all!) – you’ll need outside help to get home.
If it all turns to custard, how do you first, stay safe – and second, get rescued quickly?
PRE-TRIP PREPARATION:
Here are three things you can do that will dramatically increase your chances of a quick rescue should you find yourself in a ‘custard’ scenario.
1. Tell people where you’re going, and when to expect your return.
Do this even if you’re going on a ‘quick’ day hike close to home.
2. Ensure your phone is charged, and bring a power bank.
Modern technology has its pitfalls. But it can also be awesome! Whether you’re using a mapping app on your phone with its built-in GPS or as an emergency form of communication, a phone is of no use if the battery is flat.
There are lots of back-country areas that have phone coverage, and iPhone has just released an update where you can use your Message app via satellite. However, at the time of writing, it isn’t available in New Zealand … yet.
3. Carry a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon).
While they can be expensive (and some require a subscription), they’re the ultimate rescue device in the great outdoors. They’ll allow you to send a distress signal if things have taken a turn for the worse, and automatically share your GPS location, ensuring a quick rescue. Some, like the Garmin inReach, even allow you to send text messages and give you weather forecasts.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF GETTING LOST:
If you stay on a marked trail when you’re out tramping, your risk of getting lost is low. The most common theme among people who get lost in the bush is that they stepped off the marked track, and things snowballed from there.
You’ve wandered off trail and start realising you’re not where you should be … but haven’t yet admitted that you’re lost. You start getting panicky and keep moving in an effort to get your bearings … which only takes you further off track …
Wilderness survival expert Creek Stewart shared a surprising insight he gleaned from interviewing individuals who had become lost in the wilderness. A significant factor that compelled people to keep moving when lost was the overwhelming fear that they might have to spend the night in the wild.
This adrenaline-fueled reaction is what causes you to keep moving, which only gets you more lost. Besides getting you further off track and making it more challenging for rescuers to locate you, continuing to move while lost first increases the chances of injury and second, depletes vital resources such as water and energy.
STOP MOVING!
The first step when you get lost is to stop moving. Why? Because the thing that makes people truly lost is continuing to move after they realise they are somewhat lost.
In the survival world, there’s an important mnemonic emphasising what to do when you’re temporarily ‘misplaced’ … which is aptly named, S.T.O.P.
STOP:Stop moving when you’re lost so you don’t get more lost!
THINK: Assess the situation and consider your options. Reflect on what led to your predicament. What resources do you have available, e.g. maps?
OBSERVE: Notice your surroundings. Can you hear vehicles? People? Do you see track markers nearby? Can you smell fire?
PLAN: Develop a strategy based on your assessment. Do you have enough information to get back on the track safely, or do you need to set yourself up to be rescued? If you need rescue, prioritise actions like signalling for help, marking your location, finding shelter, etc.
SURVIVAL PRIORITIES:
If you’ve decided to hunker down and wait until you’re rescued, focus on the following three priorities (in no particular order):
1. Shelter:
Hopefully, you have your survival kit with you, including a blanket or bivvy bag. But now’s the time to build something that will keep you safe from the elements.
2. Signal:
Make yourself visible to potential rescuers. Light a fire, create visual markers (like large X’s) on the ground using sticks or rocks, etc. Use your emergency whistle to periodically blow three loud, short blasts, each about three seconds, and then listen carefully for a response. Use something reflective as a signal – anything shiny.
3. Water:
Find a water source, or conserve what you have. You can survive a long time without food, but not so long without water.
Panic is the emotion that overrides your ability to make sound choices in a survival situation and is the cause of many tragic endings in the outdoors. With a little preparation, you can avoid getting lost
(see Wild NZ: Location Awareness – Grapevine Issue 3, 2022). However, if it all goes wrong, following these tips will help you get rescued ASAP!
