I'm Lost. True GT story

[stevewilko]

Hello"
Bejaysus Hello" you gave me a start coming up behind me
I'm lost"
Are you? Where have you come from?
I'm not sure, I went detecting down a gully, crossed a hill and I didnt know where I was so I kept walking"
I have a middle aged man, no day pack, no water, a fleece shirt and spray jacket.
It is 11 30 am and I am packing up camp and would have been gone in an hour.
Sit down, heres some water. How far have you walked?
Not sure. I've tried to walk out and I saw you here"
We have 4G reception just here where's your phone?
I left it in the car"
Got a camp waypoint on your gps?
No, I left it in the car"
Do you have a map?
No
Where is your camp?
I dont know, I followed my 2 mates in to their spot in my car so I didn't pay attention to where I was"
Do you know their phone numbers; I suppose not, because we only press buttons these days?
No, but I know my wife's number I think, we are friends together so I can get it"

Long story shortened. He had walked 3 kilometers South.
Another 2 klms farther south he would have come to a minor internal unpaved but maintained road with no prospect of finding a property for maybe 5-8 klms either way.
Had he chosen west to southwest it would have been 3 klms with visible farm land another 3 klm south. All in all he would have been also reliant on passing traffic (if any).
Had he chosen any other direction by State Forest internal road he would I expect have had an overnighter'.at 2 temperature.
With a phone conversation with his mates I advised - come 3 klms south to x track and turn to the west I am 500m in.
Oi! I should have you by now?
Oops, sorry, I turned left at x track.

Dib Dib Dob?
Boy Scouts or Cubs flashback - be prepared.
Wilko.

 

[markie_d]

Hello"
Bejaysus Hello" you gave me a start coming up behind me
I'm lost"
Are you? Where have you come from?
I'm not sure, I went detecting down a gully, crossed a hill and I didnt know where I was so I kept walking"
I have a middle aged man, no day pack, no water, a fleece shirt and spray jacket.
It is 11 30 am and I am packing up camp and would have been gone in an hour.
Sit down, heres some water. How far have you walked?
Not sure. I've tried to walk out and I saw you here"
We have 4G reception just here where's your phone?
I left it in the car"
Got a camp waypoint on your gps?
No, I left it in the car"
Do you have a map?
No
Where is your camp?
I dont know, I followed my 2 mates in to their spot in my car so I didn't pay attention to where I was"
Do you know their phone numbers; I suppose not, because we only press buttons these days?
No, but I know my wife's number I think, we are friends together so I can get it"

Long story shortened. He had walked 3 kilometers South.
Another 2 klms farther south he would have come to a minor internal unpaved but maintained road with no prospect of finding a property for maybe 5-8 klms either way.
Had he chosen west to southwest it would have been 3 klms with visible farm land another 3 klm south. All in all he would have been also reliant on passing traffic (if any).
Had he chosen any other direction by State Forest internal road he would I expect have had an overnighter'.at 2 temperature.
With a phone conversation with his mates I advised - come 3 klms south to x track and turn to the west I am 500m in.
Oi! I should have you by now?
Oops, sorry, I turned left at x track.

Dib Dib Dob?
Boy Scouts or Cubs flashback - be prepared.
Wilko.

wow, He is lucky he found you, I have hiked through a few forests, and the chances of randomly coming across someone is slim to none in some areas...
What forest were you in?
he is very lucky man, I hope he shouted ya a beer? hahaha

 

[Xiang]

Hello"
Bejaysus Hello" you gave me a start coming up behind me
I'm lost"
Are you? Where have you come from?
I'm not sure, I went detecting down a gully, crossed a hill and I didnt know where I was so I kept walking"
I have a middle aged man, no day pack, no water, a fleece shirt and spray jacket.
It is 11 30 am and I am packing up camp and would have been gone in an hour.
Sit down, heres some water. How far have you walked?
Not sure. I've tried to walk out and I saw you here"
We have 4G reception just here where's your phone?
I left it in the car"
Got a camp waypoint on your gps?
No, I left it in the car"
Do you have a map?
No
Where is your camp?
I dont know, I followed my 2 mates in to their spot in my car so I didn't pay attention to where I was"
Do you know their phone numbers; I suppose not, because we only press buttons these days?
No, but I know my wife's number I think, we are friends together so I can get it"

Long story shortened. He had walked 3 kilometers South.
Another 2 klms farther south he would have come to a minor internal unpaved but maintained road with no prospect of finding a property for maybe 5-8 klms either way.
Had he chosen west to southwest it would have been 3 klms with visible farm land another 3 klm south. All in all he would have been also reliant on passing traffic (if any).
Had he chosen any other direction by State Forest internal road he would I expect have had an overnighter'.at 2 temperature.
With a phone conversation with his mates I advised - come 3 klms south to x track and turn to the west I am 500m in.
Oi! I should have you by now?
Oops, sorry, I turned left at x track.

Dib Dib Dob?
Boy Scouts or Cubs flashback - be prepared.
Wilko.

A friend of mine was one a WA goldfield care taking a lease. She went for a drive to check a windmill and came across this old bloke with a detector staggering along in 45 degree heat. He had got lost and couldn't find his car. She picked him up gave him water and took him back to the homestead and cooled him down under the air conditioner and kept filling him with water until he came good. She then found his car and sent him on his way back to town. She saved his life. What an idiot to be out detecting in that heat. No compass, no GPS and no hope.

 

[Stingray]

Those stories remind me of a time, back way before GPS days, fishing offshore with my old man in an 18 ft glass boat. We were off Green Head on the mid west coast. It was the calm before the storm, overcast, glassy sea with a huge swell running and we were out of sight of land. There was no one around except a couple of blokes in about a 13 foot tiller steer dinghy who came over and asked how we were going. Then they asked hey which way is land? We pointed, they said thanks and took off in that direction. Far out, these guys didn't even have a compass.

The only time I've come close to getting lost prospecting was on an overcast day like that one. Once you lose the sun you can quickly lose all sense of direction. Again it was pre-GPS and I was lucky because there was a track that I managed to cut - and I knew where camp was from there - but often there isn't anything for miles. Be careful out there and don't rely on just one thing (like the sun or a GPS), have a backup plan.

 

[user 7268]

I've seen people lost in a fenced paddock with one gate in and out If there is not enough common sense available to allow the person to work out that follow the fence and one MUST eventually find the gate, then hence lies the major issue with people getting lost and sadly perhaps perishing also. Very little common sense then throw a bit of panic into the recipe also and the result will rarely be good. Then you simply have others that just go out expecting others to bail them out of the proverbial when things go amiss, all adds to the mix.

 

[Hawkear]

People never have to find their way any more. They walk or drive down predefined streets often guided by GPS to places that are numbered or identified by signage. The basic concepts of direction or where am I in the landscape (Cityscape) seem to be diminishing in our modern “ you will be looked after” era.