Getting Lost

Last week, a dayhiker in Denali got caught in a hailstorm, couldn’t see through the clouds and fog, descended the wrong side of a ridge, and was lost for four days. Dozens of people with aircraft and a search dog failed to find him. Luckily, he had some wits about him, ran into friendly backpackers, and was able to walk himself out on Wednesday.

While he was missing, I had conversations with quite a few friends and co-workers that boiled down to: how do you get lost like that? The answer: by forgetting just a few small things.

• Problems: Getting caught in bad weather makes it hard if not impossible to see, and a maze of brush and creeks with no trails can be very disorienting.
  Solution: Have a map and compass and know how to use them.
• Problems: It gets cold and dark at night, and it’s hard to signal planes and other hikers that are far away.
  Solution: Have a firestarter and tinder and know how to use them.

Rather than criticize this hiker for being less than perfect, I just take this as a reminder that any hiker should always, always, always carry a map, compass, and firestarter with good tinder and be very proficient with all of them. These small, light, inexpensive tools combined with basic skills mean that you’ll probably never get lost, and if you do, you’ll be able to stay warm and send a large, visible smoke signal.

I prefer:

• USGS Quads, which are free to download
• a simple compass
• and a Spark-Lite with Tinder-Quik tabs.