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View Full Version : Knowing the Trail Behind You



Rick
09-03-2010, 07:59 PM
We've talked about this from time to time but we have a lot of new folks on here so I thought maybe it was time for a reminder. When you are out hiking, don't forget to look at where you've been. Knowing what the trail looks like behind you can be an invaluable tool if you find yourself having to backtrack for any reason.

How often you look back has an awful lot to do with the terrain you are in. Woods or brush requires constant vigilance while in open country you may not need to look back but every 100 yards or more.

Certainly when the trail makes a blind turn or passes a fork take a moment and study what the trail looks like once you have passed it. Make certain you know the landmarks and which direction you will need to go. If you are forced to return along the same route, that fork in the road WILL look completely different than it did traveling in the opposite direction. The difference may be enough to trick you into making a wrong turn.

Know the trail behind you and make looking back a habit.

LowKey
09-03-2010, 08:26 PM
When I was young I read a book about Crazy Horse and how he tried to not insult his grandfather by not looking back while running a trail to see if the old man was keeping up. The old man gave him the same advice you did Rick. Always check the back trail. It's something I've always remembered. And not only trails. Kayaking in some of the oxbow swamps up here can get you turned around too.

rwc1969
09-03-2010, 08:39 PM
I've became somewhat lost a few times by not following that good piece of advice Rick.

randyt
09-03-2010, 08:45 PM
I went down to ann arbor today to help my daughter move from a sorority house into a apartment. I kept my eye on the back trail to keep from getting lost but golly there is some distractions in that college town.:innocent:

LowKey
09-03-2010, 08:53 PM
Any college town. Boston is truly beautiful in the fall. And especially so those first warm days of Spring too!

kyratshooter
09-03-2010, 10:29 PM
What if you look back,

and they are gaining on you?

oly
09-03-2010, 10:31 PM
I still preach this to my wife and kids ( youngest one 21) and while hiking on a trail I will stop and ask them show me what direction is the truck in.

BENESSE
09-03-2010, 10:39 PM
If I go on more obscure, less defined trails, not only do I look back frequently, I leave markings and stuff on the trees & bushes, just in case Alzheimer's strikes while I'm out and about. (And no, not the kind of markings some of you guys might leave) I never take chances if I can help it. Read too much scary non fiction and the imagination is still pretty good.

pete lynch
09-04-2010, 05:33 AM
If I'm in a unfamiliar area when I go canoeing, orange surveyor's tape tied to a branch/twig is a big help on finding the way back.
I take it down as I pass back by.
Looking back at where I've been when hiking around is something I just do by habit.

Sourdough
09-04-2010, 07:49 AM
I take it down as I pass back by.


Thank you for taking it down as you backtrack, many people don't. You might consider a less used color tape, say yellow or blue, as it seems everyone uses red or orange.