Lost In The Everglades

[Batch]

Well, my son and nephew went to do a little bass fishing in the everglades yesterday. Because of the way the floating vegetation moves the area looks a little different each time you go out. They got back in a little over 10 miles in and the wind shifted and blew smoke from nearby wildfires toward them. That made navigation more difficult. So they tried to use their smart phones.

We didn't even know they had gone fishing let alone where. Usually, when you are in the glades at night you can see the glow of the city lights for many miles from it. But, with the wild fires the smoke made that impossible to see. They finally called for help just as their phones were dying. The FWC said to not use the phones anymore and found them by tracking their phones signal. They located them by helicopter and then sent an airboat out to get them.

My nephew returned today to get the boat. The FWC gave him the GPS coordinates last night.

They got home around 4 am this morning.

[pete lynch]

Glad to hear they got out OK.

[Solar Geek]

Wow how frightening! So glad they are ok.

[welderguy]

Glad to hear they made it out ok!! maybe remind them to start gps'ing there routs in so they can follow it back out

[hunter63]

I like success stories......Glad they are OK.

[Batch]

Glad to hear they made it out ok!! maybe remind them to start gps'ing there routs in so they can follow it back out

Yeah, I am going to talk to them both when they are at the house for my grand daughter's birthday on Saturday. The problem is that a lot of macho gladesmen pride themselves on not needing a map. They were only a hundred yards from where they needed to get to in order to know where they were. They just couldn't find it with the way the sawgrass and cattails were and the smoke.

They closed 27 because of the smoke. They were on the east side of US 27 in Loxahatchee National Wildlife Preserve.

http://www.local10.com/news/2500acre...-us27/26392588

[1stimestar]

Glad they are ok. Ah, lessons learned.

[Rick]

Glad they are okay and yet one more item added to the list. Floating grass. Who knew? Of course if I ever get to the sign that says, "SWAMP" I'm turning around and going back the way I came.

[crashdive123]

Glad it worked out. The backtrack feature on my GPS has gotten me back a few times in a featureless terrain.

[Lamewolf]

Thats where a good handheld gps unit would have come in handy and they may have had the capability on their smartphones !

[Batch]

I meant to come back to this post after I checked to see if they included it in the FWC blotter. They did not.

A GPS or aGPS app may have helped. The problem is when those floating vegetation mats close your return route. The helicopter found them quickly. But, it took them a long time to find a route to them for the airboat and they had the advantage of being airborne. They had to land on the levy several times. Consider that an airboat can travel over those mats easily. Visitors the Loxahatchee are only allowed to use outboards and airboats are specifically excluded except for NPS and FWC officers and biologists. So, it wasn't a matter of knowing which way to go as finding a way through the vegetation.

They do make you leave everything in the boat. They give you GPS co-ordinates so you can come back and recover your gear.

My nephew went back to recover the boat and gear the next day. He used another boat to try and tow the boat. But, it was too much on the second boats motor and he decided to just get it into the main canal and come back the next day. He spoke with FWC and they agreed to open the gate on the levy and let him drive his trailer to the boat.

On the way to his first recovery attempt.

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Down the levy

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Recovered and headed home.

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One thing is having a GPS app is only good if you learn how to use it and mark your truck or camp. Along with having it tracking your route to follow your back trail.

These things happen all of the time in the glades. Stranded air-boaters or lost air-boaters send out a call for help from tap-a-talk on Southern airboat and Gladesmen race to launch to help an airboater out.

[Highhawk1948]

I got lost on a fire near Homestead Airport in the 70's. Thought I would follow the moon out. I spent 3 hours going around and around the moon. Bugs ate me up. Finally I saw a head light from a road. Easy to get lost in a featureless sea of grass and penicale rock. Glad I was on a Bombardier and not on foot.

[Rick]

Just as easy on foot when you have few features. We all have a dominant foot so we tend to walk in circles if we aren't vigilant.

Thanks for the post, Batch. I can visualize the floating mats and understand why someone can get "lost" under those conditions.

[Batch]

Rick, I read a book called "finding Your Way Without Map or Compass" by Harold Gatty. Chapter 4 of that book is title "Walking In Circles" and deals with the subject. I couldn't find it in that chapter, but, somewhere in that book he said that the most people would walk in a circle in 30 minutes. Very straight walking people would walk in a circle in about 3hours.

Now, he must be talking about dark nights or heavy fogs. Because he also talked about the things like the orientation of your head and the position of the sun on the trail that cause you to veer to one side.

He also talked about going to a beach or field of snow and blindfolding yourself. Then walk in as straight a line as you can. Then when you take off your blindfold you'll be able to see how much you veer. Though, I discount the usefulness of a test like that as the ocean breeze, sun, wave sound and slope of the beach would factor in too much in my opinion, to make the test very accurate.

[hunter63]

Just knowing what you will walking in circles just make you aware of it.

The is a "L" 120 acres piece of property 3- 40's.... and has a fence along the east side...that is connected to the north west corner of Bermuda Triangle.

I have wondered around in that piece of land a few times......on a few cloudy days, a coupler of times in a snow storm....just following my natural walk.....had no idea where I was ......exactly. Not a big deal as a compass and a straight line walk will bring you out to a fence, road (2), or railroad tracks.....Sound easy right?

Slow walk for several steps, .....stop, look, listen, smell, feel the wind, and generally just wander where ever you instinct takes you....and mostly on these cloudy or snowy days....it's in a circle.

I can be a truly weird feeling, like some one picked up the land in your mind and reversed everything........even to the extent of not really knowing what time of day it is....morning or afternoon.

All this just show how your head works, if left on it's own.....It's good to be aware of it and realize it CAN happen.

Checking your direction upon entry to an area...with compass or GPS or phone, gives an orientation as to direction you are going, to return or head for another location.

I have to believe that the Everglades with changing channels, and miles of everything looking the same has to be a real challenge.

Glad everything turned out OK and hopefully a lessen learned.

[DomC]

Studies have shown even animals when blindfolded walked in circles. The old belief we walk in circles because one leg is longer or stronger than the other or whether we are right or left-handed, has been debunked. There have not been enough studies for a universally accepted explanation for why we walk in circles.

Bottom line: We need an external clue to direction in order to be able to follow a fixed course. Without this external reference we will deviate.
These deviations from a straight course can accumulate to create a circular walking pattern. That's why we are dependant on maps, GPS and compasses to find our way in the wilderness and unfamiliar urban areas.

Indeginous people have navigated safely for centuries without navigational devices though, perhaps they just pay attention to their surroundings and remember the lay of their stomping grounds?

Dom

[Batch]

Indigenous people blazed trails and bent trees to form signs.

[Rick]

We walk in circles because our stride is not symmetrical. Your left step is not the exact same distance as your right step. You will turn in the direction of the shorter step. It could be a difference in leg bone length, muscle build, joint flexibility or any combination of factors that make up the difference.

[Batch]

Yeah Rick, but studies have also shown that if you look down a lot the circles will be tighter. If you walk with your head turned to one side you will deviate to the opposite side. Tilted to one side will deviate to that side. Heavy sun from the right will make you turn left.

but, the most important thing is to realize that this happens and find some means of compensation. Realizing that moving in thick fog or at night might not be a good idea.

[Rick]

All of that makes sense. You will gravitate toward your visual reference. I can certainly buy into that.