Lost in the woods...PLB Question

[wihill]

Well, I'm going to head the opposite direction of those listed -

Having taught land navigation, and spent time alone in the big, dark woods - being unprepared can be quite the experience.

Having an adequate compass (the military ones are nice, but unnecessary), the CORRECT style of map, perhaps a protractor if you're so inclined, and the ability to read and locate your position are basic skills that everyone wandering the wild should know.  A GPS is a helpful tool, but can sometimes cause more grief than good.

A PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) is another tool that is SEPARATE from general navigation.  A PBL doesn't tell you where you are, it tells someone else (ie, EMS, Forest Service, SAR, your loved ones at home) your exact location in the event that the PBL is activated.  This tool is your "Oh crap, I'm dead - come get me NOW" button to the rest of the world.

Many, many things can happen out in the woods.  Especially while carrying objects that have a purpose of killing something, and possibly a person that is more intent on a specific animal than his/her surrounding terrain.

Imagine scenarios that would include slipping from a cliff side, having a limb fall from a tree in a high wind/rain storm while sleeping overnight, a treestand that lets loose at the wrong time - all of which could possibly pose a significant bodily injury (broken back, dislocated knees, etc).  Every season in WI we loose hunters due to stress enduced heart attacks, or falls from treestands etc.  Some of these people are hunting alone, with no way to reach help for days sometimes.  Every now and then one makes it through.

I'm not trying to scare everyone into running out and purchasing a PBL, just trying to iterate its usage.  A PBL is not a compass - it is not a GPS - it is not a Hollywood idea that a couple wraps of duct-tape and a treelimb will have me walking out of here to the choppper -

A PBL is Help, when you need it most.


If it makes you comfortable knowing that you have it, by all means get the one that makes you feel that way.  SPOT, ACR, etc are all competent units.

[jhg]

I will disagree with any suggestion that  there are not places in the US that are remote anymore. All it takes is a high canyon to subvert cell phone signals and a locomotion injury and you might as well be alone on the moon.
I concur with those who suggest an old school compass and good maps of the area and knowing how to use them. Want to really know where you are? Get an altimeter too. You can peg your location to a very high degree of accuracy.
My own personal formula for survival is this: can I at any time, any place, provide myself these things:
1) warmth/dryness
2)shelter
3)water
If I can do that. no mater what is going on around me or where I am I know I am safe (and so won't expend unnecessary enegry rushing to "save" myself. I always carry a small pack that holds everything I need to survive the worst conditions the locality/season can dish out.
A compass is a very elegant device and is only being replaced by GPS because we like groovy gadgets, not because GPS works better. (unless you HAVE to know within one yard your location).

Joshua

[jhg]

A PBL sounds like a great idea...

[Cavetroll]

You can be out of "help" as soon as you step out your door.

[Cavetroll]

I got a good one. I'm thinking it was 1973-1974. Cadiz Ohio. I was 12 or 13.
Anyway's, I was staying with my sister and husband Sam (Him and I are still BUDS). This was during the summer. Myself and Sam fished Tappan Lake at night for BIG catfish. I hiked in back of the house as I had done before. I gained elevaion and scoped out a number of ponds left from stip mininig. I made a mental not of them. The next morning I went exploring. I found the ponds, caught a 4 pound bass and got lost! After traffersing the back parts of the area I wadded a river and went to a house. The trucker kicked his dogs out of his Chevlle and drove like a MAD MAN through the hills.
Sam wanted to beat my ass! Nancy my sister was just too glad to have me back. She didn't want to tell my Mom I was dead. LOL.
Carry a compass and a map.

[DeoreDX]

I do a lot of long distance hiking and have learned all the orienteering and have lots of basic survival skills, but having a few very basic items can make survival situations much much easier.  But before we even get to that, always make sure someone knows where you are and knows when you are supposed to be out of the wood.

A few things I make sure I always have with me on any day hike through the woods.

1.  Clean water.  You can go a long time without food but clean water is a must.   I always have some way to make clean water, most of the time with my Kathadin Hiker water filer, but at a bare minimum I carry a bottle of Polar Pure which will last just about forever in case I need drinkable water (Iodine crystals that can purify water).

2.  Way to start a fire, ususally a small lighter

3.  Compass.  Even without a map knowing the general which general direction you are heading is very important.  SOmetimes it's helpful to look at a map first and have an escape plan, like (If I get lost I know there is a road about 20 miles to the east so just head east and I will run into it eventually).

4.  Knife.  Sure does make roughing it in the woods a whole lot easier  

5.  Rainware, ususally an ultralight SIlnylon Poncho or emergency plasic poncho.  Even in the summer it's easy to get hypothermic in the rain.

[wollelybugger]

I have been lost in the big woods in Pa. a couple of times. It is a very frightning thing to have happen. You start to lose your senses and start to panic. In Pa. all the woods look alike and there are no landmarks, just more trees. It takes a lot to focus and  stay calm and not to panic. I forgot my compass both times I was lost and it was way before GPS. The GPS dont work under heavy canopy and most of the woods in Pa. in the summer and fall have lots of leaves. I have seen hunters since then and I can tell if they are lost by the look on their faces. Be careful, I have friends who got lost when the fog rolled in and they were hunting in their own property. Snow storms are also bad for seeing and can make you walk in circles.

[SELFBOW19953]

I do not live in, and doubtfully will ever get to hunt in, an area where a cell phone and GPS will not save me.  I never even considered owning a cell phone until I got divorced in 1998.  I had no one to report to, so I could come and go as I pleased.  I realized that if I got hurt, I was SOL because no one knew where I was. To this day, my cell phone is in my truck turned off 85 to 90% of the time.  I only carry it when I hunt or fish. It is ALWAYS in my shirt pocket, and turned on (vibrate only), when I hunt.  

I always call my wife and a buddy to report in about 30 minutes after dark.  I also check up on my buddies.  All this in an area where it's virtually impossible to hunt without hearing cars, dogs, and/or people.

[slivrslingr]

The PLB's are a great idea, unfortunately they are unreliable.  Just like with a GPS or cell phone, if you are in a deep canyon or in thick woods, the signal doesn't go where it needs to go.  I've read some stuff about the SPOT PLB's and most users have been very disapponited.  If you get one, just be prepared to help yourself in case it fails.