People getting lost like it's going out of style!

[Gary]

http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/canada/british-columbia/north-shore-rescue-taxed-to-limit-urge-more-planning-from-hikers-1.3245774

Just a little article about the number of people getting lost in the mountains north of Vancouver and needing to be rescued. It is a record year for this and the poor volunteers of North Shore Search & Rescue are exhausted. So many of these hikers should just stay home!
Gary

[Pennsylvania Mike]

Sorry, I could not open the link. I guess too many people are depending too much on electronic devises instead of learning to navigate with a map and compass and a topographical map. It could be that some people are overconfident or their abilities or navigating in the wilderness, or lack the knowledge to navigate, or maybe they venture out into the wilderness with the wrong equipment. I suspect the main cause this people gets loss is because they have very little common sense.

[hunter63]

Got an error as well.....
At least it more people are venturing out......but seems 911 is tilting the odds on Darwin's Theory.

[madmax]

I know this will never happen and maybe it's misconceived but signage at trailheads with an essential gear list. A warning if they don't have the essentials and have to be rescued (barring an unforeseen accident of course)... they will be charged for the rescue.

[hunter63]

Don't text and drive.......

[ClayPick]

I remember being a Cub Scout and learning the importance of blazing a trail with a hatchet when you were off the beaten path. That was common knowledge a ½ century ago ............ back before the internet.

[madmax]

I remember being a Cub Scout and learning the importance of blazing a trail with a hatchet when you were off the beaten path. That was common knowledge a ½ century ago ............ back before the internet.

Yeah, now it's a crime on public land. The times they are a changin'.

[kyratshooter]

Blaze a trail????

Text while driving???

Why not do the 21st century equivalent and combine both technologies?

Every once in a while, and at every fork in the trail, take out your phone and snap a picture or your back trail!

A selfie with you pointing the proper direction.

[Auban]

blazing a trail... makes sense.

i always made up stories about what i had seen along my path. as i walk along, i make up some crazy fantasy story. an odd shaped branch would become an old wizard that lost a duel to the witch that stood on the rock that was poking out of an embankment as she challenged him, because she was ticked off at him for peeping on the nymphs as they bathed in the little pond down past the scrub palms...

i have never read fantasy books, but im pretty sure i could write a few after a long trek in the woods. at least i can find my way back. it doesnt matter how long i walk or how far i go, the story just gets longer. its easy to distinguish one tree from another when it represents something ridiculous, perverted, or scary in your mind.

[Batch]

Between marking tape and bright eye tacks you can still mark your trail. You had better mark your back trail also.

Hunters go in when its dark and come out when its dark. You can not even hope to navigate my woods looking at a cell phone photo at night.

[finallyME]

Most of the National Forest trails in my state are marked. The correct term would be that they are "blazed". But, most people don't know what a "blaze" is. Usually when I take the scouts, I make it a point to show them a lot of the blazes. It also ends up being a learning experience for the adults..."oh, that's what those are". It also gets the scouts paying attention to their surroundings.

Also, many times I have been backpacking and people ask us where something is. I usually respond with, "Let me see your map and I will show you where you are and how to get to where you want to be". That is when you find out that they don't have a map...or GPS. Sure, I show them where they are on my map, but I don't print off extra maps, so I can't send them off with a map. Maybe I should start taking pictures of them, to aid in the search later on.

[Wildthang]

I could be wrong, but I'll bet most of the people that get lost are city people! I have known people from the city that obviously think that the wilderness has street signs and gas stations that you can stop at and ask directions. They think nothing about buying a backpack and taking their families out in the wilderness like they are going to a city park! They have no idea about navigation, survival, or any skills whatever, and when they get lost the rescue team spends several thousand dollars trying to find their dumbazzes! They should be charged for their rescue and maybe they would learn a lesson!

[MrFixIt]

I recently read an article where the Federal Parks were seeing record numbers of people visiting.
Lack of skills, gear, and the propensity for foolishness seems to be the dominating factor.

[LowKey]

FinallyMe, just have THEM take a picture of your map.
:)

[finallyME]

FinallyMe, just have THEM take a picture of your map.
:)

Good idea...if their phone still has batteries.

[Rick]

I think I'd be pretty embarrassed to have my name and the words Ill-prepared in the same article.

[TXyakr]

The link to the article worked for me but it is Canadian, some people's ISPs may not work well with foreign countries...

One basic common sense thing that my father taught me was to stop every so often and look back at the trail behind you for markers and because that is what you will be looking for if you must retrace your steps. A trail can look very different depending on the direction you are going.

I once mentioned Personal Locator Beacons and someone said they could not find a good app for one on their smart phone. Palm to Face! The battery life of most smartphones is very short and they are delicate, a much more rugged device with a long life battery makes more sense. There are many good reviews online, some are about $250 and only cost you if you use them others free but you pay an annual or monthly fee shop around rent one if you rarely go hiking/backpacking. DeLorme and ACR are fairly good.

Not possible to require that people new to an area use these and many people would just miss use them which is easy to do.

In much of TX, OK, AR if a person wanders off trail they are likely to run into folks growing contraband crops who may chase you back to the trail with a hail of AK high velocity lead if they are lucky to survive it... BC, Canada must just be a friendlier place where this stuff is imported from down south...

Edit: "Good" thing is more people are going camping. They saw folks on Discovery Channel do it naked with only a knife and fire starter and thought "How hard can it be in an American National PARK!" "So I'll buy some cheap Bear Grylls stuff at Walmart and wander out there and "survive" for a few days..."