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Ask HN: How easy is it to get lost in a forest?
- PaulHoule 5y agoI have gotten lost in a particular woods where the space seems like it should be square but it is really a triangle.
- yuppie_scum 5y agoYikes. Go hiking sometime.
- greenyoda 5y agoYeah, I've gotten lost while hiking in a big state park, even though I had a map and a compass. (This was before the days of smart phones and GPS.) Eventually, I found landmarks (an unambiguously marked trail, a road, or a body of water) that allowed me to figure out where I really was. Back when I led hikes, I'd always scout out the route with a friend first, to avoid getting a whole group of people lost.
- MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago
- WheelsAtLarge 5y agoExtremely easy, as an 8 year old kid I got lost in an area that I regularly visited. Lucky for me I was with other people and I was able to hear them so I was able to guide myself towards them by following the noise they were making. It's easy to lose your way even if you know the area. A wild area regularly changes and many points look the same so it's hard to always have a good point of reference. I advice anyone that goes into a forest or such to have a plan on how to get out or a plan on how to get help if they get lost. At the very least, have a compass and a map of the area.
- spindle 5y agoRecently I got lost in a tiny pocket of forest of about an acre, across the road from my house, when it was night and there happened to be no moon. (But I was fine once I got over my embarrassment and used the compass on my phone.)
- ksaj 5y agoI've been lost on my own property. It was 11 acres, and almost entirely forest. But I didn't stay lost. I've read that people have a habit of walking in a circle, so I just basically trusted that, and figured at the worst I would eventually find a road or other property, etc. In that process, I found out that is really quite true, because I ended up exiting near the property entrance.