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PSA: If you're seriously lost in the woods

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Originally posted by: fLum0x
Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
Best advice if you're lost in the woods:
Follow a river/stream/etc.

Streams lead to rivers.
Rivers lead to lakes.
Roads often cross rivers (at which point you can flag down a car)
Lakes often attract people and have a good chance of a road being nearby.
If a lake doesn't have a road, follow it's outlet.
If you get to an ocean, follow the beach one direction, eventually you're gonna hit something.
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what is you get lost in the desert? 😛
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<Alex Trebeck> I'm sorry, that is incorrect. The correct question is "What if you get lost in the woods.
 
The main message from the show Survivorman: if you're lost; stay put, make a fire and get comfortable, then sit tight and wait to be rescued (he usually only hikes out when absolutely necessary or in the interest of making the show interesting).
 
"If you find yourself lost in the woods, fvck it, build a house. 'Well, I was lost, but now I live here. I have severely improved my predicament!'"
 
Originally posted by: Kanalua
The main message from the show Survivorman: if you're lost; stay put, make a fire and get comfortable, then sit tight and wait to be rescued (he usually only hikes out when absolutely necessary or in the interest of making the show interesting).
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That's what I've always been tought as well. Stay put and wait. Do what you can to shelter yourself from the elements and make your presence known.
 
Originally posted by: chambersc
1) Snow doesn't burn, duh, but trees do.

2) I said situations like the Kim's...obviously not where there is a blizzard are you to start burning wood in vain.

3) What, cars don't have lighters anymore?

4) Be prepared for a trip...carry the essentials

5) If you stay in one place in a fire, you will die. If you follow my advice and start a fire, keep moving.

6) Slash and burn, folks!
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1) In a forest fire, only the trees that are dead and dry burn and they burn because all of the brush and dry needles/twigs/etc on the ground burn first and create enough heat and flames to burn the dead trees. This doesn't happen in the winter because the dry brush is covered in snow.

2) Who is the Kim

3) Most don't.

4) Carry a dry, snow-free forest with you?

5) Wouldn't it be easier to figure out which way the wind is going and just stay upwind of the fire rather than trying to outrun it?

6) Good luck, I'm sure your common sense will carry you through any situation.

 
Originally posted by: davestar
"If you find yourself lost in the woods, fvck it, build a house. 'Well, I was lost, but now I live here. I have severely improved my predicament!'"
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Mitch Hedberg ftw!

Good thread. Some decent laughs in here.
:thumbsup:
 
Originally posted by: chambersc
1) Snow doesn't burn, duh, but trees do.

2) I said situations like the Kim's...obviously not where there is a blizzard are you to start burning wood in vain.

3) What, cars don't have lighters anymore?

4) Be prepared for a trip...carry the essentials

5) If you stay in one place in a fire, you will die. If you follow my advice and start a fire, keep moving.

6) Slash and burn, folks!
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1) finding wood to burn in snow is harder then yout hink it is.

3) most new cars do not have them. also they are not disined to get wood to burn

4) i agree.

5) wrong. start a smaller fire (if you can) and control it. the smoke from the fire is going to lead people to you. So STAY THERE.

6) yeah..good idea. burn large parts of a forest. great idea.
 
Originally posted by: vi_edit
Originally posted by: Kanalua
The main message from the show Survivorman: if you're lost; stay put, make a fire and get comfortable, then sit tight and wait to be rescued (he usually only hikes out when absolutely necessary or in the interest of making the show interesting).
Click to expand...

That's what I've always been tought as well. Stay put and wait. Do what you can to shelter yourself from the elements and make your presence known.
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yeap. thats what i was taught in boy scouts!
 
There's no problems burning wet or fresh wood. It's just harder.

On the plus side though you'd get a ton of smoke!
 
just this morning i found myself in a large forest, how the hell i got there I don't know, but I certainly wondered around for a bit trying to find.. anything. when I found nothing, I saw I was lucky enough to be in a very dry, yet very cold forest.
what did I do? well I followed the OP's advice and lit me a fire! now im home, albeit with 3rd degree burns covering the lower half of my body, but alas, I'M HOME!
 
Originally posted by: destrekor
just this morning i found myself in a large forest, how the hell i got there I don't know, but I certainly wondered around for a bit trying to find.. anything. when I found nothing, I saw I was lucky enough to be in a very dry, yet very cold forest.
what did I do? well I followed the OP's advice and lit me a fire! now im home, albeit with 3rd degree burns covering the lower half of my body, but alas, I'M HOME!
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that was not a forest. that was the Lowe's greenhouse. and you are not home you are sitting in jail. hallucinating from the pain.
 
Originally posted by: spidey07
There's no problems burning wet or fresh wood. It's just harder.
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wtf....harder is a problem. wet wood is a PITA to stay lit even in a fireplace with a hot fire burning.


Also i don't get why so many people have such issues when they get lost, just use some common sense and don't flip out.
 
Originally posted by: chambersc
3) What, cars don't have lighters anymore?
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The car battery would go dead before anybody would be able to get a decent fire going with a car's cigarette lighter.
 
Originally posted by: waggy
Originally posted by: destrekor
just this morning i found myself in a large forest, how the hell i got there I don't know, but I certainly wondered around for a bit trying to find.. anything. when I found nothing, I saw I was lucky enough to be in a very dry, yet very cold forest.
what did I do? well I followed the OP's advice and lit me a fire! now im home, albeit with 3rd degree burns covering the lower half of my body, but alas, I'M HOME!
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that was not a forest. that was the Lowe's greenhouse. and you are not home you are sitting in jail. hallucinating from the pain.
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🙂
 
this is why i always carry a 6 oz can of napalm with me
or at the least , a large smoke grenade
 
congrats i have put you at the top of my list of people get lost in the forest with...all i have to do is step back and let you burn the forest...

that way you take care of killing and cooking yourself so that I will have cooked meat to eat while i wait for the rescue party
 
Boy scouts taought me to stay and wait, make out the best I can. Common sense, however, also says that if I know there's no chance of being found and I'm low on resources, to head out, follow a stream and hope for the best.

In any case, lighting a fire in snow is next to impossible unless you miraculously stumble onto dry wood. even if you strip away the bark, the wood will still be wet. The best option for making a fire IMO would be to place the wood in the car to let it dry, weather the 1st night in the car, and light a fire the next day. And always carry a flare gun if your going into that environment.

Even better, don't go to deep into the wilderness during the fvcking winter! BRILLIANT!!!
 
Originally posted by: irishScott
Boy scouts taought me to stay and wait, make out the best I can. Common sense, however, also says that if I know there's no chance of being found and I'm low on resources, to head out, follow a stream and hope for the best.

In any case, lighting a fire in snow is next to impossible unless you miraculously stumble onto dry wood. even if you strip away the bark, the wood will still be wet. The best option for making a fire IMO would be to place the wood in the car to let it dry, weather the 1st night in the car, and light a fire the next day. And always carry a flare gun if your going into that environment.

Even better, don't go to deep into the wilderness during the fvcking winter! BRILLIANT!!!
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It is brilliant, but sometimes tyou go anyway!

Aside from that, I leave matches, two glow sticks, 2 road flares, some small candles in the back and one of those emergency axe/hammer/saw thingies in the front should I ever drive off a cliff into a lake.

I think lighting a candle in your car emits enough heat to keep you from freezing to death after you gather some wood to dry in your car for the night.
 
Seriously, you guys need to log-out and watch the Discovery channel more.

Get lost, so start a forest fire...buhahahah.

Starting a forst fire is a federal offense. Oh, I know, you can use the "I read chambersc
survival thread at ATOT" defense.

BTW: If the forest is wet or covered in snow, remove the bark a of tree, scrap the (dry) inside into to shavings to use for tinder.

Fern
 
I remember I got lost in the woods once. But I'm too manly to seek civilization... instead civilization found me. By the time my makeshift lodging was discovered, it was a bustling metropolis complete with a monorail.

I'm just kidding, I made that up.
 
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