Wilderness Survival -- Well Not Really

[fgoodwin]

Wilderness Survival -- Well Not Really

 

http://www.ccrane.com/library/survival.08.13.01.aspx

 

Two years ago I convinced my girlfriend to hike with me in Mt. Tamalpais (Mount Tam), just north of San Francisco. We figured on a day hike, and so we just tossed a few things into backpack, jumped into my 4x4, and went up into the range and looked for a place to start hiking. A while back, I'd been driving around the neighborhoods that bordered the park, and had seen places along the street where people could just park, lock the car, and start walking. When I saw those paths along the residential roads I thought, well I've got to see where those go and so, when my girlfriend agreed to go for a day hike, I suggested that we start at one of those residential markers.

 

Now, don't get me wrong, I've had plenty of experience hiking and camping. While in high school I joined some friends and a minister in what we called our "Idaho Crags Expedition", spending about three weeks horseback riding, hiking and camping. Since that time, I've taken some time off here and there to teach people the methods of minimum impact camping in the Green Mountains of Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire, rock-climbing techniques in Peru, and even some winter camping in the German Alps. In other words, I wasn't a beginner when we decided to go for that hike. And still, I failed to take seriously one of the main things I used to tell people when I'd take them hiking: most hikers get hurt when they go out for a day hike unprepared. They figure on a short trek up to a peak and back, and don't account for shifting weather patterns, dried up streams, and the hunger pangs of walking even just a few country miles.

 

Our hike started out pleasant enough; after we parked, we just started following a path up toward the highest peak we saw nearby. I had four bottles of water in my backpack and my girlfriend had a few bananas and GORP (good ole' raisins and peanuts) in hers. We got there around noon, and expected to go up to the peak and be back before dusk. We walked on up, saw a crumbling water tank, the remains of an old fence, and followed what looked like a worn joggers path to the base of the mountain.

 

For a couple hours we just followed the path around and around the mountain, spiraling up toward the top. It seemed fine enough, but then I saw this one path that just shot up straight through to the top of the mountain. It was probably a maintenance trail, but it looked manageable enough, so, after convincing my girlfriend that it would be a good climb, and that we'd get a nice view of the bay, we decided to go up. And up we went, up and up and up. We stopped briefly to take in the sights, and have a light snack, and, when we finally neared the summit, we realized that it was taking us much longer than we had expected to get to the top. The sun was in decline, and the cool air was making its way over the mountain. It was time to turn back.

 

We took a look at the maintenance trail we'd followed up and agreed it was just too steep to go all the way down, especially feeling as tired as we did. So we started following the trail that spiraled down the mountain. And we walked. We passed by a few things I was sure we'd seen before, and then a few mountain bikers equipped with lots of lights and very full-looking panniers. The bikers were heading into the mountain for some night riding, we were trying to get out before the sun went down completely.

 

We kept on hiking. Another two hours went by and we still weren't out of the park. Fortunately, we were in good spirits, and managed to joke with one another while we wandered through the woods, but that wasn't enough to keep us warm and keep us on track. Eventually, it started to get dark, so dark that we could only see the stars above and the lights of the houses in the distance. Other things, such as the turn in a path, or the possibility of finding the path we took into the park, were just about impossible to see.

 

Finally, three hours after sundown, we come across a gentleman who looked like he hiked these woods everyday. I called to him, and after staring at us kind of blankly and quiet, polite disbelief, he said, "can I help you kids?" I asked him if he could help us figure out where we were. He then pulled out a map, a flashlight, a compass, another flashlight, and handed me a small radio to hold for him while he got out a small bag of GORP he carried "just in case." He handed me the map and said, "you came out here without any supplies?" I just smiled, nodded a little, and said, "yep". He laughed at us, said we'd hiked about seven miles from our car, and showed us a trail to follow to a parking lot. There's a phone there, he said, where you could call a cab.

 

How embarrassing. I'd taught people how to make it out in the wild with just a pocketknife and some matches, and here I was lost, confused and cold in the middle of the night. My girlfriend was not impressed. Though she was cold, hungry, and ready to find a quick way home.

 

We were lucky that night. As we walked out into the parking lot, we met with someone who'd just come into the woods for a quick jog. She was on her way home, and offered us a ride to our car. We got to the car, turned on the heater, and drove to the first restaurant we could find, anxious to enjoy any bit of civilization after having been reduced to our barest essentials for just a few hours.

 

There you have it folks, a personal illustration of why you shouldn't take anything for granted. Even though I was an experienced hiker, I made almost every mistake in the book. First I didn't get a map, so I didn't trace the path we'd follow. On top of that, and perhaps even worse, I didn't bring along my compass or a flashlight. I had a pocketknife with me, but it couldn't cut through the night and find our way home for us, so it wasn't all that useful besides slicing up an apple. A radio would certainly have told us about the cold front coming in, and we probably would have tried to get down from the mountain sooner. As it was, we were didn't have the tools to help us "city folk" get out of the woods.

 

Do me a favor. The next time you go on a day hike, don't make the same mistakes we did. Okay. Nobody would. But even so, just in case, take my advice. Get yourself a good flashlight that can help you read a map in the dark, light your path, and isn't too clunky. One of the best flashlights I've ever used while hiking is the CC Trek Light. Its compact, but it puts out a powerful beam of light.

 

Remember, unlike wild animals that instinctively make the most of the outdoors, most people still have to carry what they need to survive with them into the woods. Make sure you have the right equipment, and don't have to find yourself using your own experience as an example of what not to do when heading out for a short day hike.

[kenk]

Amen!

 

I just "crossed over" from WDL to ASM, and during our first outing in Wisconsin I couldn't help but notice that in addition to their regular packs or duffels the boys in my new Troop all carried daypacks containing the outdoor essentials, BUT during the day when they were out exploring the Scout camp we were at those daypacks were neatly tucked under their bunks in the cabin. When I asked about this one of the other leaders commented it might be more important if we were in the deep wilderness, but nothing much could happen a few miles north of Janesville, WI. (Sigh)

 

If scouters haven't done so yet, please take some time to visit http://www.equipped.org . It is a great not-for-profit organization devoted to preventing what almost happened to you.

 

Don't think it can't happen to you or your scouts!

[orennoah]

Good story, FGoodwin. And to top it off, you were within sight of a major city, San Francisco.

 

Why worry? You're so CLOSE!

 

One other thing that visitors to the San Francisco Bay Area can't grasp is the wildly varying climates, especially in Marin and around the Golden Gate and Mt. Tam. One side of a hill can be warm and sun-swept, but the other side can be cold, foggy and windy. No map will give you that information.

 

Glad you made it out without minor injury or major embarassment. You forgot to mention what happened to your relationship with the girlfriend.

[red feather]

With your permission I would like to pass your story onto the troops PLC as an excellent example of...

 

Be Prepared, Be Prepared, Be Prepared!!

 

Glad it was not worse than it was, nothing like the world to stand up and say Hello.

 

Thanks for your real world story.

 

yis

[fgoodwin]

ALL:

 

I can't take credit for the story (although getting lost is certainly within my capabilities!).

 

I found the article while browsing and thought it was worth reposting.

 

Fred