Author Topic: Getting Lost, and hopefully Rescued  (Read 1635 times)

SteamyTea

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Getting Lost, and hopefully Rescued
« on: 14:32:46, 01/03/20 »
There was a bit in my weekly comic about why people get lost and what can be done to improve the chances of being rescued.
I liked it as I am interested in cluster analysis, but there is no dull numbers in it.
I have made a copy and uploaded it to here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dEhrNp4sD3BRJ9-yfq-IRCZ5UmBIomxV


Hopefully no one will need learn anything from it, but one never knows.
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ninthace

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Re: Getting Lost, and hopefully Rescued
« Reply #1 on: 14:48:09, 01/03/20 »
Having lost one child once, we drummed it into our children, I you are lost, stay still, we will find you.  Even now, as adults if we go somewhere complex, we agree a rendezvous point if we get separated.  Of course, the advent of the mobile phone has made finding each other easier - if there is a signal.
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Slowcoach

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Re: Getting Lost, and hopefully Rescued
« Reply #2 on: 16:35:33, 01/03/20 »
An interesting article,thanks
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richardh1905

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Re: Getting Lost, and hopefully Rescued
« Reply #3 on: 21:20:28, 01/03/20 »
An interesting read.
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BuzyG

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Re: Getting Lost, and hopefully Rescued
« Reply #4 on: 23:22:29, 01/03/20 »
Worth a read. Sounds like men are harder to find than other groups.

SteamyTea

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Re: Getting Lost, and hopefully Rescued
« Reply #5 on: 07:05:30, 02/03/20 »
Worth a read. Sounds like men are harder to find than other groups.
Yes we are.  When I moved to Cornwall, people I knew thought I had moved back to Dorset.
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Doddy

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Re: Getting Lost, and hopefully Rescued
« Reply #6 on: 13:04:34, 02/03/20 »
Interesting read.
I have hiked over 1000 miles on the Appalachian Trail (AT) and been on the section where Geraldine Largay became lost. I read about the situation both at the time she was missing and much later when she was found. There was lots of discussion on the situation. She was an experienced hiker having walked nearly 2000 miles on the AT. The lady was last seen at a Shelter I think the day before; so a decent location area was known. Some thought she had moved off the trail for a bathroom break and became disoriented; so close to being found.
I took from the story the need to know how to attract attention e.g. flame fires at night, smoke fires during the day;something bright you can hang in a tree, a whistle, stop near water.
It is wise to have planned for likely emergencies beforehand i.e you know to do A when B happens-needed for different scenarios, injury etc. You are then still in control and not sat on the side of the trail in tears. Especially relevant in groups when a huddle produces different ideas and no conclusion. Having such a checklist keeps your morale up in difficult circumstances.

fernman

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Re: Getting Lost, and hopefully Rescued
« Reply #7 on: 17:05:09, 02/03/20 »
I was unaware of Geraldine Largay until Doddy's mention of her, so I did a search.
This is what I found:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/26/hiker-who-went-missing-on-appalachian-trail-survived-26-days-before-dying

SteamyTea

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Re: Getting Lost, and hopefully Rescued
« Reply #8 on: 17:13:11, 02/03/20 »
I have been on the Appalation Trail, more as a sightseer than a hiker.
In some ways it is hard to get lost, but in other ways, probably way too easy.
We are pretty lucky in the UK as we do have good phone coverage. But I would not expect it all the time.  I live to close to The Lizard.
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ninthace

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Re: Getting Lost, and hopefully Rescued
« Reply #9 on: 17:28:15, 02/03/20 »
Is there any reason why a hiker on the AT should not take a gps with them?  It would not even need to be on all the time.
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SteamyTea

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Re: Getting Lost, and hopefully Rescued
« Reply #10 on: 19:23:05, 02/03/20 »
Is there any reason why a hiker on the AT should not take a gps with them?  It would not even need to be on all the time.
GPS should work anywhere with a clear view of the sky.  It is just a receiver of time signals from as many satellites it can 'see'.


I think GPS should, on a multiday adventure trail, only be used for checking, not tracking.  That way the battery should last for months.
Trouble is, we all like to track where were are going, some even post up on line.  That can be done during certain times i.e. each morning and evening, maybe lunch time.
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ninthace

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Re: Getting Lost, and hopefully Rescued
« Reply #11 on: 19:31:22, 02/03/20 »
GPS should work anywhere with a clear view of the sky.  It is just a receiver of time signals from as many satellites it can 'see'.


I think GPS should, on a multiday adventure trail, only be used for checking, not tracking.  That way the battery should last for months.
Trouble is, we all like to track where were are going, some even post up on line.  That can be done during certain times i.e. each morning and evening, maybe lunch time.
I was thinking along the same lines.  A gps with a decent memory card should be able to hold the whole map of the trail so, provided the map was of sufficient detail, a lost hiker should be able to relocate the the trail or an escape route,  A gps will work in forest but it can be a less accurate if the foliage is dense and wet.
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Owen

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Re: Getting Lost, and hopefully Rescued
« Reply #12 on: 20:24:53, 02/03/20 »
I understand that many people navigate the whole of the three triple crown routes using nothing but their smartphones. With an Anker powerpack it should be possible to keep it charged for about ten days. I don't think there's many legs longer than that. A solar panel is another option.


I use old fashioned maps in Sweden but have vr as backup. With the phone in airplane mode it only needs topping up every three days or so. I also use the phone to text home using the earth mate app and the inReach.

forgotmyoldpassword

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Re: Getting Lost, and hopefully Rescued
« Reply #13 on: 21:19:05, 02/03/20 »
I was unaware of Geraldine Largay until Doddy's mention of her, so I did a search.
This is what I found:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/26/hiker-who-went-missing-on-appalachian-trail-survived-26-days-before-dying


I'm uncomfortable being critical of anyone in a situation such as this, because it is impossible to judge the state of mind and abilities of a person externally - however this article made me uncomfortable in the level of passivity being demonstrated.  Making camp in a heavily wooden areas off the trail, having minimal to no navigation ability, seemingly no map - it is just a huge shame, and likely an unpleasant way to go.  And secondly, if the diary entries are to be believed - this persisted for 2-3 weeks without a change of location.


Uncertain whether age plays a part, since were she still here she'd be approaching her mid 70s and some people are less technologically gifted than others of that generation - perhaps a GPS was foreign and seen as not useful, however 2013 was well into the smart phone era so it's likely the option existed.


forgotmyoldpassword

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Re: Getting Lost, and hopefully Rescued
« Reply #14 on: 21:31:40, 02/03/20 »
There was a bit in my weekly comic about why people get lost and what can be done to improve the chances of being rescued.
I liked it as I am interested in cluster analysis, but there is no dull numbers in it.
I have made a copy and uploaded it to here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dEhrNp4sD3BRJ9-yfq-IRCZ5UmBIomxV


Hopefully no one will need learn anything from it, but one never knows.


Interesting article, I've visited the Center for Search Research and they have put a lot of effort into putting figures and analysis into what has been historically a difficult-to-quantify area of research.  Unfortunately it's very difficult to factor things like searcher fatigue into these models - in a research scenario you're likely fresh, well fed, and are spending a few hours searching for a specific thing/person which increases vigilance.  Often if you are called out at 2am, or have been searching for consecutive days/feel it is unlikely your search sector will yield a casualty then this impacts awareness and that doesn't exist in the models - I believe the CfSR is trying to do this to some degree.  Part of search training is to develop techniques to combat this 'mental fatigue', but it is almost impossible to turn in to quantifiable data since 1) it is unlikely you can say a sector is ever 100% cleared in the reasonable allotted time given to a searcher and 2) the nature of wilderness searching is you don't always have the ability to have perfect logs, for example GPS can be useful in open field areas to estimate ability to find someone nearby, but not in craggy areas, steep valleys and so on where the situation on the ground is dynamic.


Main lesson in my mind is once you are lost, admitting it allows you to take control of the situation, always focus on re-location rather than continuing in the hope you'll stumble upon a 'known point', which is the main issue with solo male wandering in particular.
« Last Edit: 22:30:04, 02/03/20 by forgotmyoldpassword »

 

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