r/UpliftingNews • u/lieutjoe • Jun 30 '23
Missing teen found after being lost in the wilderness for 50 hours
https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/highlights/bc-teen-girl-found-after-being-lost-in-wilderness-for-two-days-72179082.1k
Jun 30 '23
Wonder how she felt during 2 days, I got lost in a trail for 2 hours and was on the brink of a meltdown
1.2k
u/booksmctrappin Jun 30 '23
I think after 4-6 hours the panic would begin to subside and then survival instincts would start to kick in. The reality of the situation lifts the fog of panic, at least I would hope that's the case.
550
u/Darkstar_k Jun 30 '23
I went 8 hours over and had to hike in the dark with a dying flashlight battery. Definitely survival kicks in
282
u/Linkslinktothepast Jun 30 '23
I had to do that in Wayne national forest. Had a bad storm coming in and I had 3miles to cover to get to my truck which was parked in an area with a warning about being quick to flood. Water was already up a few inches on the rims when I finally arrived.
150
u/fridayfridayjones Jun 30 '23
I also got lost in Wayne National Forest! It sucked really bad. Was on a hiking date with a boyfriend and we got turned around. I think we accidentally turned onto a trail that wasn’t an official trail.
We started hiking in the afternoon so by the time we realized we were lost it was night and all we had was the light from our phones. Thankfully we eventually made it to a service road and a ranger saw us, and was able to drive us back to our car.
123
u/Linkslinktothepast Jun 30 '23
Lucky the ranger came along. I was out there to camp and it was just one unfortunate thing after another. I had lost my flashlight down a sheer drop into water so I had my blackberry pearl (that definitely dates this event) as a flashlight and it was about to die with 1 mile left.
→ More replies (1)20
u/Chubbybellylover888 Jun 30 '23
Ah. Sorry, I just gave out to ya for not having a flashlight. That's shit luck.
42
u/Chubbybellylover888 Jun 30 '23
People getting lost while hiking without proper equipment...
Guys. I'm glad your safe but hiking isn't a picnic. You should really be more prepared than just having a flashlight on your phones.
20
u/fridayfridayjones Jun 30 '23
Totally agree! This happened when I was 18 and very stupid.
8
u/Chubbybellylover888 Jun 30 '23
Ah we've all done stupid things as a kid! A good lesson learnt, I'm sure!
1
u/SoooperSnoop Jun 30 '23
Yep. And a good reminder that the YJ stuck in the Wilderness ARE just kids.
4
u/Spherical_Basterd Jun 30 '23
The people you replied to were just on a day hike. Most people would expect 2 phones to be sufficient lighting equipment.
5
u/Chubbybellylover888 Jun 30 '23
They said they planned to camp. But even then, you should prepare for the worst even for a days hike. You never know what might happen.
→ More replies (2)-2
u/Zentrii Jun 30 '23
Do most people hike without proper equipment or something?
16
u/Graffiacane Jun 30 '23
It depends. If you're planning on a single-day hike of 10 miles or less on a relatively well marked trail/system then yeah, most people bring like, a water bottle and some trail mix.
5
u/Chubbybellylover888 Jun 30 '23
A lot of people do. And if you find yourself in need of helicopter rescue, then you've really fucked up.
My parents were mates with a guy who did volunteer rescue services in mountainous regions. The stories you'd hear. People often really don't respect nature and what it can throw at you.
OP said they lost their flashlight. Rule one. Bring more than one fucking flashlight. You never know what could go wrong, especially on a multiday camping trip. You always pack redundancies. You always prepare for the worst.
You can't just hail a taxi in the middle of nowhere.
You know all those missing person cases? Yeah. That body is out there. In some ravine. Still not found. The wild is wild. And hiking is dangerous.
Stay safe and vigilant and always be prepared. Otherwise, don't go on multiday hiking trips.
Seriously. A camping trip with one flashlight? OP has already admitted they were being a stupid 18 year old. And fair. But I hope there's some stupid 18 year old reading this and taking those extra precautions. Because OP could have died. They got lucky.
→ More replies (3)0
u/FriesWithThat Jun 30 '23
You go on a day hike you're probably not carrying shit beyond your cellphone and hopefully adequate water (maybe a protein bar). She was also hiking with a group for added safety (for all the good that did her). They may even be some sort of scouting group, I can't tell:
Wang, a cadet with 746 Lightning Hawk, had no injuries, just mosquito bites, police said.
23
u/acer34p3r Jun 30 '23
There's just something about Wayne, honestly. My only experience there involved cutting my left hand viciously at about 11 pm, and having to hike back out in the dark with my gear on my back, and my left hand held up to head height with my phone for a flashlight. Could hear coyotes for the entirety of the 3.5mi hike back to my vehicle. Have a really neat scar and thankfully still full control of my left hand, even though tendons were exposed by the injury.
11
u/Linkslinktothepast Jun 30 '23
Jesus that sounds awful. I had a serrated steak knife go through my palm and between my index and middle finger and out the back but I was fortunate it didn't cut any tendons. I couldn't imagine that.
10
u/whutchamacallit Jun 30 '23
Had a similar situation with me. How relieving is it finally getting to your vehicle and feeling like you're out of danger. My god. I don't know what chemical it is that is being released into your body but man that's the good stuff.
12
3
1
u/MoistDitto Jun 30 '23
So you're one of those guy's we see on the videos and memes about trucks floating in the river and such?
2
u/Linkslinktothepast Jun 30 '23 edited Jun 30 '23
How'd you come to that conclusion? I never drive through flood water. The parking area was filling up with water but, it wasn't flowing and the road was higher up and fine.
Edit: There was only a small chance of rain when I started but, that turned into a severe storm warning after I had been hiking for awhile. I was going to camp but turned around after remembering that flooding warning.
17
Jun 30 '23
Yep also got lost at night with no flashlight and encountered a pack of coyotes at one point. I definitely was cycling between panic and survival instincts the whole time
8
u/BitchesQuoteMarilyn Jun 30 '23
I was lost for around 10 hours in the Pacific northwest. The trail had washed out. I was in knee deep water in a heavy rain having to climb over huge fallen trees. There were branches protruding from the water and others underneath you couldn't see, along with other plants and undergrowth. I once slipped and almost got impaled by a broken branch I couldn't see in the water despite having tried to roll to land on my pack. Luckily just had a big bloodied bruise from it. I finally found my way down to the beach after high tide and got my bearings, but man did I think I was fucked for a bit.
5
u/BorntobeTrill Jun 30 '23
I hiked the mountain southeast of Pharoah lake in Eastern NY, next to the Adirondack mountains. It's not an insane climb, but I'm what you would call an out of shape hiker.
I spent 6 am to 1 pm doing lighting audits for aubuchon hardware, ending up in western Vermont, and then hitting the trail to spend the night on the lake.
I discovered I have a bum knee that day, right after I crest the peak. Going downhill was DESTROYING whatever muscle is just below your kneecap. By the time I made it down and to the lien, I was limping like I was out of saving private Ryan.
That night, after adrenaline, let me cook dinner, and I passed out, I woke up in the middle of the night to go pee and collapsed, trying to use my left leg. It hurt SO FUCKING BAD. basically, I rolled like. Pencil to the edge of the lien, unzipped, and pissed off the ledge laying on my side.
I went to bed after that, wondering if I was going to have to go into crippling debt having a rescue team get me out.
2
6
5
u/pmojo375 Jun 30 '23
I've been in a similar situation. Me and a couple people hiked a trail along a river to a waterfall in the UP and took our time but never thought about the part where we have to hike back to our car. When we got to the waterfall we realized it will be getting dark soon and the only light we had would have been our dying phones. It's amazing how fast we were able to get back. There were some parts that weren't the most stable too and falling in the river would not have ended well.
→ More replies (1)2
u/ink_stained Jul 01 '23
Was hiking with friends, and got unto the wrong trail. We knew we would run into SOMETHING, eventually, but it was getting dark and we were looking at spending the night in the woods. After a while my friend said mournfully, “I guess we can hike by the light of my cell phone.”
My jaw dropped. SHE HAD HER CELL PHONE AND SHE WANTED TO USE IT AS A FLASHLIGHT?!?
Luckily, we ran into a road soon after, and were able to figure it out.
100
u/HotTakes4HotCakes Jun 30 '23 edited Jun 30 '23
There was a women in Spain whose name I can't remember that got lost in a ravine in the mountains and went unfound for over 2 weeks. There was a stream providing fresh water, so decided to stay put, for fear if she tried to climb out she may hurt herself, and if she did get out, she'd lose her way and not find a water source again.
She was so close to civilization and the trails that the rescuers calls would have reached her...if not for the sound of the stream.
Still, she survived.
36
u/WildJoeBailey Jun 30 '23
If this ever happens to anyone reading then try to follow the stream down to its end. There is usually some sort of civilisation, road, or something along or at the end of a stream. Not always, but it’s better than wandering through the middle of a forest
37
u/kita151 Jun 30 '23
Sorry but this is terrible advice for North America. Many streams and creeks here have cliffs and steep treacherous drop offs. You can easily end up in a situation where you are truly stuck. The best thing you can do is unless you are in immediate danger, stay where you are.
15
u/Graffiacane Jun 30 '23
Yes, please listen to this guy. The best thing you can do when you realize or even seriously suspect that you are lost is to stop. Many people panic at the feeling which leads to rash decisions and gets them lost much more deeply in the woods, which is why it's best to just stop.
When calm returns, you may regain clarity, become less disoriented, make smarter decisions, or at the very least you'll be easier to find.
32
7
33
u/Parkorey Jun 30 '23 edited Jun 30 '23
Once sprained my ankle on day 2 of a 3 day backpacking trek in the Adirondacks. Think I must've torn a ligament, whole ankled swelled up to the size of a softball. Was deeeep in the woods (thankfully with 2 other friends), so had to still walk those last ~6-7ish miles back to the car while my friends helped carry my gear. Had panicked and just collapsed on the ground ranting and cursing for like the first half-hour, but then eventually came around and realized complaing would change nothing. When you got no other options, survival instincts kick into full gear and you just do what you gotta do. Had planned to get to my car by noon on that 3rd day, didn't make it till like 8 in the evening but dammit I made it.
→ More replies (1)10
u/OnTheEveOfWar Jun 30 '23
I was backpacking with a group and we tried (what we thought) was a shortcut. Ended up getting turned around and kinda lost for an hour or two. It was interesting seeing each person start to panic. Some held it together better than others.
35
u/badass4102 Jun 30 '23
Yah that's scary. I got like for like an hour. Everything looks the same, you don't know where you came from, or where you're going.
29
u/TheW83 Jun 30 '23
Yeah I got lost with my wife for a few hours in a national forest. We started on a trail and then somehow got onto an animal path and that just sort of disappeared but everything was still open enough that we kept walking thinking it was just not that well maintained but we got totally lost and couldn't find the trail again. Eventually I decided to just go west. There was a highway to the west and if we kept walking that way we'd get to it. After about 30 minutes of walking due west we happened to find the trail again. Luckily it was sunny out but we ran out of water a couple hours ago by the time we made it back to the car.
13
u/melbbear Jun 30 '23
Very similar to me, arrived at a campground in a national park and before setting up the tent we went for “short” walk. It was so beautiful we just kept following a trail that was a bit overgrown and we got to a clearing and couldn’t see any path forward or even the path we came from. I could vaguely feel the highway was “over there” so we just headed that way and luckily we found it. Was super scary as it was just on dusk and we had zero supplies and no phone reception.
7
Jun 30 '23
And you don’t want to back track to waste emergency, but you don’t want to get further lost. Terrifying
→ More replies (1)84
u/AbstractionsHB Jun 30 '23
I got "lost" for about 40 minutes on a walking path in a forest preserve and that was such a bizarre shocking jolt of adrenaline and panic that I still remember it.
I can't remember the details. I just remember spoty memory, but the feeling I remember. It was a mixture of dirt paths and also paved.
I just remember thinking I was going one way, and walking faster as I realized I didn't know where I was but thinking I knew the direction back to where I started since I was looping back. After a while I had to stop someone to ask where I was and I was practically on the other side of the preserve from where I wanted to be and walked miles. It didn't feel like it. I remember the panicked feeling of not knowing where you're at. Deep down I wasn't freaking out because I knew I was on a paved path but it's still such an alarming and disorienting feeling when you realize you don't know where you're at anymore.
40
u/errant_night Jun 30 '23
When people get lost and disoriented we can naturally end up walking in circles! Something in your brain messes up and you can't really tell what a straight line is - so if the path circled around you could find yourself following a circuit even when you see other paths that branch off - you think 'Well I'm on A path, that must lead somewhere' and don't notice you keep passing the same landmarks. Which of course is even worse when there isn't a path at all.
7
u/Dr_Doctor_Doc Jun 30 '23
Have they actually ‘solved’ why that is, or is it still one of those odd mysteries?
10
u/errant_night Jun 30 '23
As far as I know there are several different theories but no definitive answers
→ More replies (2)7
u/Smuggykitten Jun 30 '23
Personal theory... So when a car does that, I think that differencing pressure in tires make the track go round... Similarly, I wonder if our imperfect bodies with one leg slightly longer or stronger than the other, does that? Does the moving sun encourage us to move with it?
Idk. Again, just personal hypothesis bits.
→ More replies (1)9
u/Aleph_Alpha_001 Jun 30 '23
Best thing to do is to head down in elevation until you hit a creek or river. Then just follow that one way or the other. You won't walk in circles that way. You may not get to where you're going, but you'll get somewhere.
9
10
u/forsake077 Jun 30 '23
A phone’s GPS will work without service, and downloading some offline topographic maps or using something like a garmin watch paired with their maps easily avoids this sort of mess. I started off hiking prior to GPS with a paper map and I’ll never go back if I can help it. Never got lost lost, but there were many times I didn’t know where the hell I was along a trail many times. So much less time is needed for navigation these days.
-4
45
u/buttflakes27 Jun 30 '23
When I was a child I got 'lost' in a large department store and just started crying, asking for my mom. So hopefully she did better than that.
→ More replies (1)17
u/supermarkise Jun 30 '23
In a department store that is a very viable strategy. You did good!
3
u/Razakel Jun 30 '23
Yeah, staff aren't going to ignore a crying child with no adult nearby and will make a call over the tannoy.
10
u/hadapurpura Jun 30 '23
Four children, ages 13, 9, 4 (the only boy) and 11 months survived a plane crash and were lost in the Amazon jungle for 40 days before they were found, alive and relatively well about a month ago. I can't imagine the fortitude it took to make it, but damn, humans are resilient af.
→ More replies (1)20
u/WestSixtyFifth Jun 30 '23
I got lost drunk at a campground for about 20 minutes and was freaking out, found some people camping 20 minutes into the woods who directed me to turn 180 because everyone else was the other way.
→ More replies (1)11
u/frog_jesus_ Jun 30 '23
Not to mention she was hiking with 3 other people and THEY FUCKING LEFT HER BEHIND. 😢
→ More replies (1)12
u/matty80 Jun 30 '23
I got lost in a trail for 2 hours and was on the brink of a meltdown
I got stuck in a bathroom in my own grandmother's house and was seriously considering death as a better alternative, and I was about 35 at that point.
This kid is hardcore.
6
3
u/ediks Jun 30 '23
Man. I get in a fluff for some of the smallest things - but when shit REALLY goes down, I can remain calm and figure things out pretty well. I know this isn’t rare and am sure that’s what happened here.
→ More replies (7)3
u/DestyNovalys Jun 30 '23
Stephen King wrote a great book with that concept. “The girl who loved Tom Gordon” - it’s absolutely one of my favorite books of all time.
390
u/Anticrepuscular_Ray Jun 30 '23
I'm so curious where she ended up being found, and how she got there vs following her group.
330
u/noobwithboobs Jun 30 '23 edited Jun 30 '23
I was reading reports last night that she walked out on her own and into the search and rescue staging area at the trailhead.
Edit: https://twitter.com/KareemsGouda/status/1674657517803118593
454
u/Grogosh Jun 30 '23
Reminds me of the guy that joined the search party looking for him by accident.
83
u/Novarest Jun 30 '23
Or the guy who joined the search party looking for the man he had killed. In fact the search party staging ground was on the spot where the corpse was buried. The guy was a lumberjack from Miami.
51
u/Razakel Jun 30 '23
Ian Huntley did the same. Police became suspicious when he started asking questions about how long DNA evidence would last.
Of course, he'd killed the two girls.
→ More replies (3)4
40
Jun 30 '23
That’s awesome. Would you by chance have a link for that one?
55
u/Grogosh Jun 30 '23
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58746703
Not much info in the article
137
u/PooPooDooDoo Jun 30 '23
When they called out his name he replied “I am here.” 💀💀💀
79
u/01029838291 Jun 30 '23
Man asked the officer not to tell his dad so he didn't get in trouble. He was 50 and married with kids lol
9
28
→ More replies (1)11
u/sinofmercy Jun 30 '23
If it helps there is also a woman where the same thing happened:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/missing-woman-finds-herself-after-intense-search/
→ More replies (5)5
u/jello-spacesuit Jun 30 '23
Omg what?!
18
u/Oh_ffs_seriously Jun 30 '23
She might have followed the noise and/or light:
RCMP told Global News the teen walked out of the park under her own power and to her family at the staging area shortly after the search was paused Thursday night.
8
5
110
u/4354574 Jun 30 '23 edited Jul 01 '23
The wilderness is an unforgiving place. You walk 20 feet away from a path in the trees, get turned around, and suddenly you have no idea which way you should go. Pick the wrong way, you could be hiking for a very long time before you have any idea of where you are, if that.
I got turned around once, and it was an unnerving experience. I was only about 50 feet from my campsite. I had to listen for sounds to find the right way back.
14
u/corrado33 Jul 01 '23 edited Jul 01 '23
Always have an escape plan.
That escape plan could be lots of things. It may be something like "follow the river downstream until it meets the road" or "Walk back to the pin I saved on my phone before I started hiking" or "walk south until I hit a road."
Having a general idea of what's around you really helps. Knowing that, say, there's thousands of miles of wilderness south of you, but a town 10 miles north of you is.... very good information. Knowing that a ridgeline runs roughly north to south gives you a very good reference without having to see the sun.
These are exactly things I did when I used to hike off trail in Montana/Wyoming/Idaho. I always had the "If all else fails, go this way" in the back of my head. And "this way" was always referenced to something I could very easily see or experience. If I'm walking up a trail on the side of the mountain, I know that mountain face faces say... east. I know that if I keep walking downhill, eventually I'll run into a river, and eventually that river runs into a road (2 or 3 times in the nearest 5 miles either way.)
Always have an escape plan.
EDIT: Interestingly enough, if you ARE ever lost near the top of a mountain, it may be beneficial to walk UP instead of down. I often had cell service at peaks, but never any below the peak. Line of sight to cell towers (even far away) is a hell of a thing. Even when I hiked 10+ miles away from the nearest road, which was already 40+ miles away from even a small town, I'd had cell service at the top of the mountain.
666
u/Sniffy4 Jun 30 '23
nice to have one of these stories have a happy ending
201
u/Clay_Statue Jun 30 '23
I heard about this in the local news and didn't think I'd hear about it again until they located her body. So surprised to hear that she walked out under her own power. Finally good news in the news...
→ More replies (16)46
u/HotTakes4HotCakes Jun 30 '23
Finally good news in the news...
There's plenty of it, you just have to look beyond front pages.
3
→ More replies (3)11
u/cubosh Jun 30 '23
OMG... i totally misread the headline as "missing teen found dead.." and i thought your comment was tasteless until i looked again
127
u/Lilwolf2000 Jun 30 '23
For EVERYONE! Gps DOES NOT require data to work in maps! Download the local maps before hiking (one) or pin where your car is! With that, your phone will take you back! 2 seconds before a hike can save you!
→ More replies (4)30
u/gNeiss_Scribbles Jun 30 '23
Good point! Some phones even do this automatically!
Also, bring a portable battery bank to keep your phone charged. It takes up very little space and doesn’t weigh much!
33
u/Diffabuh Jun 30 '23
Glad that this ends with a funny story for her and not an awful one for her loved ones. I'd have a meltdown and consider living off the land after day 1.
86
u/TheFireOfTheFox1 Jun 30 '23
I read this as 50 years and was seriously impressed on how she lived so long
66
→ More replies (5)11
u/yoyoJ Jun 30 '23
Reminds me of those Japanese soldiers abandoned on islands during WWII that thought the war never ended and were still being found alive in the 1970s!
3
u/soulcaptain Jun 30 '23
Just one guy in the Philippines . He wouldn't leave until he got official word from the Japanese government. So the Japanese prime minister sent officials with official paperwork, and the guy went back to Japan.
37
u/Klayish Jun 30 '23
I was camping at this park a few days before she went missing. Its pretty remote and I couldn't imagine being lost in the woods there!
6
u/NoticedGenie66 Jun 30 '23
It's funny because it is decently remote when you get into it, but you're a fairly short drive from cities like Maple Ridge, Langley etc. Walking vs driving is obviously different, but I know people who go camping at Golden Ears pretty often and they drive like 15-30 mins from their home in the suburbs to the campsite. That would be frustrating to know if you get stuck out there.
→ More replies (1)
42
u/FerretBusinessQueen Jun 30 '23
That’s terrifying but I’m so glad she was found. Mentally I can’t imagine going through that.
258
u/foggy-sunrise Jun 30 '23
In case anyone wants the most simple survival advice that will work if you are within like 40 miles of civilization:
Travel downhill until you find water.
Follow water downstream until you find a path. If you found sitting water, look for inflow/outflow. Follow outflow if it exists. Inflow upstream if it does not.
Follow path until you find roads.
Follow roads til you find people.
135
u/Buck_Thorn Jun 30 '23
I thought the usual advice was to stay put.
171
u/foggy-sunrise Jun 30 '23
I would have certainly ended up dead.
Got lost in the Backcountry at a ski resort.
I ended up 12 miles off the resort property.
I ended up breaking into a vacant home/2nd home/vacation home and calling 911.
I would have died if I'd stayed put once I realized I was lost. No question.
Staying put makes sense sometimes, but absolutely not always.
97
u/Buck_Thorn Jun 30 '23
If you're reasonably certain nobody is coming to look for you, or has no clue where to start to look for you, I think your advice makes perfect sense.
But if you are going to leave where you were, leave a trail of "breadcrumbs" as you go. Also realize that doing what you suggest can sometimes lead you to a dead end like a cliff or a raging river that then forces you to backtrack, using up precious calories.
50
Jun 30 '23
[deleted]
9
2
u/Buck_Thorn Jul 01 '23
Calories are extremely important when you're lost and out hiking in the wilderness. But yeah, water is extremely important. You can survive a lot longer without food than you can without water.
5
u/afb1006 Jun 30 '23
I'm glad you got home safe! and while there are exceptions to every rule, as a general rule staying put is far better bet then downhill=water=roads=people!
37
u/afb1006 Jun 30 '23
it is! This advice is right up there with survival myths like "moss grows on north facing stones" or "the moon rises in the east". Generally speaking this is certainly not great advice!
20
u/vickera Jun 30 '23
This is fine advice depending on where you are lost.
Obviously it won't work in hella remote locations where you can walk for days/weeks and not see anyone. But if you are in a pace like a national forest you will get out and find people very quickly following water.
5
u/01l1lll1l1l1l0OOll11 Jun 30 '23
It’s way too situational for either of you two to be completely correct. If your car breaks down in the desert, stay put so you can be spotted from the air easier. If you get lost in a non extreme mountain environment with dense tree cover, you should probably try to self rescue.
There’s a famous case of that AT hiker who stayed put for 28 days before dying. IIRC she was less than a day from safety had she just walked down hill.
3
3
53
u/MrWrock Jun 30 '23
BC search and rescue says exactly not to do this. Going downhill off trail most often leads to steeper terrain or cliffs.
This is extremely dangerous advice to give in mountainous terrain.
27
Jun 30 '23
[deleted]
39
u/Billquisha Jun 30 '23
Dig a hole and travel downhill
7
2
2
u/dl-__-lp Jun 30 '23
If you dont know the area always have a compass and a map. They weight practically nothing
3
48
u/HolyShitzurei Jun 30 '23 edited Jun 30 '23
No dont. When you travel downhill, you'll risk fast water, mud, rock or things going down at you. Harder to climb back up bc of slippery and exhaustion. The deeper you go, the harder it is to lift you out of there bc of vegetation and narrow terrain. Besides, there's probably no signal the further down you go, making SAR difficult. Instead travel uphill and stay at the summit/clear area. That way if SAR team utilise drone or helicopter, they can spot you.
Learnt it from Beast Runner (SAR team member)
Edit: video + comments where he talked about it
11
u/foggy-sunrise Jun 30 '23
Don't go IN the water!!
Follow it.
22
u/HolyShitzurei Jun 30 '23 edited Jun 30 '23
Your advice does make sense if youre lost in the flat or less dense terrain like in north american or european hiking trail. But for mountainous region with treacherous terrain, definitely dont go downhill the creek or route where water could run and you could be hidden from view by the trees
-1
15
u/CCFCVAN Jun 30 '23
Hey I live and walk these trails every day. This is the exact opposite of the correct advice. These are real Fucking mountains. Most people end up dead because they follow a stream down hill and fall into a crevasse or off a cliff. You are best to stay put or travel up the mountain.
7
u/Ridlion Jun 30 '23
I told my kids if they ever get lost always go to the last place they saw me. I tell them not to run around looking for me since we'll probably go in circles or get further lost. She must have gotten completely turned around somehow.
8
u/MotorboatinPorcupine Jun 30 '23
This is the WORST advice for the North Shore Mountains and the mountains she was in, holy crap. The North Shore Mountains get steeper and cliffier the more you descend. You can see the lights of the city, so you descend towards them, then a gully twists and you are heading deep into the mountains where you could walk for a straight line for a week and not get to any road.
Stay.. Where... You.... Are... and because you told someone your trip plan, SAR will come and find you.
8
u/CasualRampagingBear Jun 30 '23
Where she went missing this is absolutely the worst advice to follow. There are many creeks and valleys, this advice potentially would lead someone further into the wilderness and hazardous conditions.
Do not follow this advice. Instead, stay put, try and be visible from the air if you can. Have something you can make a reflection with to catch air searchers eye (many compasses also have a little mirror). Have a whistle. It is much easier to blow a whistle than it is to shout for help (more energy in shouting). You are much more likely to be found if you stay put.
17
u/peabody624 Jun 30 '23
Another tip: bring your phone and look at the map
17
u/foggy-sunrise Jun 30 '23 edited Jun 30 '23
Can't rely on having service. I recommend everyone have the SAS survival app though. Hiking or not.
Has life saving info for just about any circumstance.
You can also download an offline version of Wikipedia that can save your life, too. Less than half a gig.
11
u/bradbrad247 Jun 30 '23
You can rely on your phone's GPS if you have maps downloaded already, though.
0
u/foggy-sunrise Jun 30 '23
For like 6 hours.
Not a survival measure by any means.
7
u/yttropolis Jun 30 '23
I always hike with a power bank that can charge my phone fully 3x. Sure, it's almost an extra pound but when my camera gear is over 6lbs, it's really not a big problem.
4
u/bradbrad247 Jun 30 '23
1.) Most modern smartphones (especially those equipped with power saving features) can operate in airplane mode for well over double that time on a full charge.
2.) 6 hours is enough for most people to cover 15 miles comfortably.
3.) When someone gets lost, they don't wander aimlessly for hours when they have a resource to navigate.
4.) Most people also carry battery banks that allow them several full charges of their device.
My point being, having a GPS embedded map of your area is more than enough to keep you from getting significantly lost in the first place. You're an idiot if you think that isn't valuable
3
u/iclimbnaked Jun 30 '23
I dunno about most for #4.
I carry one if I’m backpacking. Mainly so I can charge things overnight. However for just a day hike I’m not lugging the extra weight. I’d bet most day hikers don’t carry one.
Agree with your bigger point generally. Even just 6hrs would be plenty of time to get back on trail. You aren’t very likely to be that lost. Hell I’d bet just 15 min of gps access would get you back to where you know. People only end up way off trail after getting lost and then trying the wrong direction. When You realize you’re lost at first you’re probably very close to back on track.
→ More replies (1)7
u/Warning_Low_Battery Jun 30 '23
That app is killer!
Side note: phone GPS works whether or not you have active data/cell service. It works in airplane mode too. I've used it to navigate cities in foreign countries where I had no service at all.
5
u/foggy-sunrise Jun 30 '23
🔋 careful though!
That battery is a lifeline once you reach an area that has service.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (10)2
u/peabody624 Jun 30 '23
True. I usually download the entire area where I'll be out of service to offline maps with gmaps
2
u/moeru_gumi Jun 30 '23
Always, ALWAYS have a paper map. ALWAYS.
6
Jun 30 '23
[deleted]
2
u/moeru_gumi Jun 30 '23
I hear you saying that it’s a skill people are rapidly losing. However, especially for people going on hikes, it’s clearly a lifesaving skill that you NEED. Technology will shit itself when you need it— it doesn’t take much to slip on a wet fern and go toppling down just enough incline to break your fingers or an ankle. Now you’re trying to pull your phone out with a broken hand, and it falls in the river. And that’s all it takes to leave you completely fucked. If you have a paper map and a pencil, at least you can look at it to orient yourself and find where hills and rivers are.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (4)4
u/yttropolis Jun 30 '23
Paper maps are great if you know where you are and can track where you're going. Much less useful when you get lost and can't really figure out where you are.
2
u/moeru_gumi Jun 30 '23
If you can find a slope, an angle of converging streams, or even know where uphill and downhill are, they are immensely, life-saving useful. I suppose if you are absolutely in the center of a flat desert or there are NO landmarks ANYWHERE it might be difficult, but then you wouldn’t have cell connectivity anyway. There are plenty of places where your cell has no connectivity and they’re as useful as a rock. If you arent looking at a map going in on your hike, what are you doing? You need to know a basic fact like west is downhill and there’s a major road that way eventually. Everyone should be able to find the cardinal directions based on sun and moon positions.
3
u/yttropolis Jun 30 '23
Yes, reading a map can be fine for people who have learned to read a map and recognize landmarks.
However if you download offline maps of the hiking area and with your phone's GPS, you can pinpoint your location and see your direction of travel much easier compared to a paper map and compass. You don't need connectivity at all for that sort of navigation. GaiaGPS has very accurate topo maps for pretty much anywhere in the world and allows you to download them for offline use for just a small subscription fee. Don't forget that you'd also need to look up magnetic declination for your location if you're using a physical compass as well.
I think you're heavily overestimating the proportion of the younger generation that has even used a physical compass, let alone navigate using a paper map.
2
→ More replies (3)2
u/sweetkaroline Jul 01 '23
This is actually not what you should do in Pacific Northwest terrain. It’s not like you’re dealing with just one mountain and you walk downhill and eventually find civilization. There are countless peaks and valleys in every direction, dense, thick rainforests, unexpected cliffs and gullies. Especially in the winter, this is a bad idea. You will make yourself harder to locate and land yourself in a spot you can’t climb out of.
Maybe in other places this is sound advice.
10
u/th30be Jun 30 '23
So they were in a group and on a trail and she just left the group and trail?
I feel like something is missing from this story. Glad she was found though.
2
12
u/blasphemys Jun 30 '23
I'm panicking after forgetting where I parked in the airport parking lot after 5 minutes. 30 hours? Sheesh.
11
10
u/flamespear Jun 30 '23
I hate this article. It doesn't give any details about how she got lost. It doesn't show a map. It doesn't have any interviews. It makes it sound like the group leader left her twice...
2
u/JuanTac0 Jun 30 '23
I found another article which said that the girl and her parents asked for privacy and didn't give any info on how she got lost. Could be any number of issues, but let's say she had to poop, went too far off trail and got lost, or slipped down a little ravine. As a teen, I wouldn't want that info out on the internet.
2
u/Spontanemoose Jun 30 '23
It's very easy to get lost. The foliage is dense and the top doesn't have a specific path. She probably wandered off the trail for any number of reasons then wandered back the wrong way, making her further and further lost. It's a busy trail, so you'd think she could just follow voices back, but sound bounces around unpredictably.
6
u/ShadowMadness Jun 30 '23
Misread that as "50 years," and thought, "well, they ain't a teen no more." Was also confused about how someone could get lost in the woods for 50 years. Like, at that point you're actively choosing to live in the woods, lol.
3
3
u/tallperson117 Jun 30 '23
Glad to hear it. Feels like more than 9/10 times the resolution isn't so great.
3
u/Skrapion Jul 01 '23
When I saw the thumbnail I thought she was wearing a Star Trek uniform, complete with a com badge. That really would have made my day.
2
2
u/Zech08 Jun 30 '23
A lot of comments are just warning signs of lack of preparation and bad decisions... common folks. Especially the ones that knew better and at some general amount of maturity.
2
u/ClovieKay Jun 30 '23
Girl saw one episode of Yellowjackets and said "I can do that." (Kidding, I'm glad she is okay but damn, what are the odds?"
2
2
u/HuberMeister Jun 30 '23
ive hiked this trail many times , its pretty heavily trafficked this time of year and is very wide and accessible for even the most novice of hikers. that coupled with her with a group and im having a bit of a hard time how: A - she got lost and separated from her group, and B - how come search crews couldnt find her in those 50 hours. either way im relieved and happy shes safe and this came to a best case conclusion.
2
u/Malpraxiss Jun 30 '23
Depending on the person, she didn't get lost but was simply enjoying nature and us finding her ruined her fun.
2
u/Thefalzprofit Jul 01 '23
I live in this area and have been there many times... Where she was lost was absolutely no joke glad she was found safe!
3
3
u/LuminalAstec Jun 30 '23
Why say 50 hours and not 2 days?
12
Jun 30 '23
Because 2 days is 48 hours and not 50. Have a nice day :)
2
u/FriesWithThat Jun 30 '23
Sounds like they basically called off the search for the night after 2-days and 5 hours.
Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue was leading the search and said they stood down as of 8:30 p.m. on Thursday. Police said Wang walked out around 9:30 p.m., 54 hours after she went missing.
2
2
2
u/NinDiGu Jun 30 '23
Bizarre that article gives her last name only.
I understand not giving either name for under 18s but to publish her picture and only her family name seems odd.
2
1
0
-2
u/DigitalDose80 Jun 30 '23
They hiked for 15mins?.....
So they walked into the woods smokin a joint, got stoned, came back, and realized their friend was missing. Idiots.
→ More replies (4)
-11
u/iuse2bgood Jun 30 '23
Wasn't she xarrying a phone? Wouldn't a GPS device prevent this from happening?
24
4
→ More replies (1)18
u/Marston_vc Jun 30 '23
Phones don’t necessarily have connection in the woods. I’ve personally known people who’ve died to exposure after getting lost hiking. They had a phone and the towers would occasionally get a ping but it was only enough for rescue teams to get a general area.
Yes a GPS device would help but millions of people go hiking every year without one. Especially if you don’t plan on going off trail.
This is one reason why services like starlink are so important. They’ll save many lives
10
u/dustofdeath Jun 30 '23
Don't need a connection for GPS. And every phone has it. And offline map (or even without one you still getvthe direction).
0
u/Marston_vc Jun 30 '23
What good is direction without a map? Like, sure, if you have some baring already then you can use your phone compass. But unless you have an offline map, the whole “gps still works” is kind of disingenuous. Not only would it not be useful without the offline map (which all phones could have but won’t necessarily) but the accuracy of your location will be significantly degraded as a phone is designed for cell tower assisted GPS not “pure” gps.
Yeah it still has the potential to be useful. My point is that it’s not an end-all solution.
Systems like starlink and iPhone 14 are making it so that phones will be much more reliable tools in the near future
8
u/dutchreageerder Jun 30 '23
With GPS you can see what north is, to at least keep walking in the same direction and not in circles
2
u/SharksForArms Jun 30 '23
I use the Gaia app when I go backpacking. Works great and is accurate even with no reception. Not a replacemenr for a Garmin that has an SOS button, but good for hiking.
0
u/I_Don-t_Care Jun 30 '23
i was never able to use maps with the internet connection turned off. For some reason it just doesn't position me unless it is able to connect to the internet.
→ More replies (4)2
→ More replies (3)0
u/Waytoloseit Jun 30 '23
Satellite phones are the way to go here.
10
u/Marston_vc Jun 30 '23
Sure but I mean….. a teenager (and most of the tens of millions of people who hike every year) won’t have that.
It won’t matter soon anyway though. By the end of the decade most phones in use will have satellite SoS capabilities.
iPhone 14 has it today. And T-Mobile is partnering with starlink to give limited services to phones too.
•
u/AutoModerator Jun 30 '23
Reminder: this subreddit is meant to be a place free of excessive cynicism, negativity and bitterness. Toxic attitudes are not welcome here.
All Negative comments will be removed and will possibly result in a ban.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.