What to do when you get lost in the forest. Memo
If you are lost in the forest:
The main thing, as in any critical situation, is not to panic, set an action plan for yourself and strictly follow it.
Determine one direction you are going to go. To do this, navigate by the sun (in our hemisphere, at one o'clock in the afternoon, the sun is always in the south).
Try to go to the towers of cellular operators and when a signal appears on your phone, immediately report the problems to your family and the police.
When moving through the forest, leave traces behind you - tie pieces of bright material or a bag to tree branches, break off branches, etc.
Listen, perhaps there is a railway track or road nearby.
If your wanderings lead you to a river, be sure to go downstream. Otherwise, you will run into a swamp - forest rivers originate there. Moving downstream, there is a high probability of coming to a village or town - settlements are usually located along rivers. A forest stream can also lead to a larger river, along which you also need to move using the method described above.
If you come across a fishing or hunting hut, it is better not to leave it - search teams will examine them first, along with roads and other landmarks.
If you get lost already in the dark, then light a fire, boil some tea and calmly think about the situation. Remember the special features of your route: rivers, lakes, ravines, unusual trees. It is better to refuse further movement and spend the night by the fire, building a canopy of spruce branches as a shelter. A fire is a unique thing. It not only warms, but also feeds, allows you to dry clothes, and protects.
If you hear the noise of cars or a train at night, you don’t need to chase the sound - transport doesn’t stand still and can make you run in circles. In addition, in the dark it is impossible to remember the path. Make a note of the direction in which you heard the noise and continue moving in that direction at dawn.
To avoid becoming a victim of such a situation, you need to take some precautions before going into the forest:
Tell your family, friends or neighbors exactly where you are going to go and what route you will take, and when you plan to return, if possible, take a travel companion with you.
Take with you a supply of drinking water and food for several days, matches (several boxes packed in plastic bags, it is advisable to put them in different internal pockets to prevent getting wet in case of rain), a knife, medicines, a compass.
Be sure to take a mobile phone with a fully charged battery and sufficient funds in your account, and an electronic navigator (if available) also with a charged battery.
Save the emergency numbers in your phone's memory (the telephone number of the police duty station in your area, the unified free police telephone number: 022 - for Megafon and MTS subscribers, 002 - for Beeline and Tele 2 subscribers, the unified emergency service telephone - 112).
Clothing and backpack bodies (baskets) should be of a bright, unnatural color for the forest.
In the forest, while fishing, or outdoor recreation, do not abuse alcoholic beverages, especially in hot weather.
If your relatives went into the forest and did not return by the planned time, you should immediately report the incident to the police. Remember: the sooner information is received by law enforcement agencies, the greater the chances of finding your relative.
Forewarned is saved
When people go into the forest, they often don’t think about the possibility of getting lost. But you need to be prepared for such a situation.
The main rule is not to go into the forest alone. It is much easier to survive in a group. The second rule is that there is no need to drink alcohol, as a person ceases to adequately assess the situation. Thirdly, if you are going to the forest, you should understand where and why you are going. Now the season of berries and mushrooms has begun. People go into the forest, thinking that they know the places, but some can get lost 2-3 km from their villages and dachas. It seems like familiar terrain, but memory or health sometimes fail, and as a result, a person cannot always leave the forest.
You need to be prepared for the forest. It is necessary to take the most important things with you, so that if something happens you can survive in the forest for some time. Namely:
Dress according to the weather. If possible, take a spare set of clothes with you in case the weather changes.
Stock up on food, preferably for the day ahead. Usually people only take a snack, which they eat quickly, and if they start wandering, there is nothing left for later.
Map, if you know how to figure them out. In addition, GPS navigators are now common, on which you can trace your path and return to the point from which you came. In the old fashioned way, people use compasses, but you shouldn’t take a compass if you’re not sure that you can navigate with it correctly.
Matches, lighters, and something in which you can heat water. All incendiary materials must be sealed in a bag or other waterproof material so that in case of emergency they do not get wet.
It is advisable to have an ax or knife with you to chop wood for the fire.
People who do not plan to stay overnight in the forest, as a rule, do not take any of this with them, but they should.
If you still get lost...
If a person gets lost, he needs to stop and think about where he ended up. Overcome panic, calm down and remember how he came in. Maybe he noticed landmarks around him. The lost person can also listen to sounds: suddenly he hears the sound of a train or car.
There are animals in the forest, bears, wolves and others, but for the most part they do not pose a danger. There are exceptions: an animal that is hungry or wounded, or that is protecting its offspring. But if you meet a large animal, try to scare it in some way. If there is a metal object, knock on it; animals are afraid of sounds unnatural for the forest. The most dangerous season is early to mid-autumn, when elk begin their rut - mating season. They pose a threat at this time.
There are many paths, roads, clearings in the forest; there are abandoned construction trailers and forest huts. If you do come across some point like a forest house, you don’t need to leave it anywhere if you don’t know where to go. In such houses, the people who come there, the same hunters and fishermen, leave a small supply of food. The tradition is to leave a little something in the hut for other travelers. After some time, either one of the hunters or fishermen, or rescuers will come there. If there is a path leading to the hut, if it is clearly visible, you can go out along it. This path can lead to someone's landmark or clearing.
Rescuers always start looking for traces from linear and point landmarks. For example, from a river, forest huts. If you find yourself somewhere near a river, and the river is good and wide, then it flows somewhere. Along the river there are huts and settlements. You need to move with the flow of the river. The river is a linear landmark; rescuers look at them first. But we don’t recommend going upstream: forest rivers originate from swamps and lakes. There is nothing to catch there except mosquitoes.
If you had to spend the night in the forest...
It is important to know how to organize a camp if you have to spend the night in the forest. The first thing you need to do is make a fire, because it is cold at night and there are a lot of mosquitoes. It is advisable to have water near your overnight stay. There is a lot of food in the forest in summer and autumn; you can eat berries or mushrooms. Next to the fire you need to prepare a place where you can protect yourself from dampness and wind. For example, break some fir branches and lay out something like a bed for yourself. During daylight hours, before darkness sets in, you need to prepare the necessary supply of firewood for the whole night. In order to protect yourself from the wind, you can build a barrier wall, or find a depression in the ground nearby. You should definitely think about ensuring that no elements other than wind and water harm you. For example, in a strong wind, dead wood may sway and fall on top of you. Therefore, be sure to ensure that there are no dry trees nearby.
Help by phone
If a lost person has a phone with him and the ability to call from it, this is a great success. From your phone, even without a SIM card, you can call 101 to the rescuers. You can also dial 112, and then when the autoinformer turns on, press button 1. The caller will be asked the necessary information: what is his name, how old is he, where did he come from, where does he live, where did he go whether he is alone, and other information that is necessary to provide assistance. If a person is in touch and able to work, dispatchers try to get him out using the map. They find out where the lost person was moving from and for how long, what he saw along the way. The dispatcher looks at the map and determines approximately where the person might be. Based on surrounding signs, rescuers can lead a lost person to the nearest linear landmark. First of all, they are brought out in the sun. Knowing where in the sky the sun is at a certain time, you can orient a person.
If a person was in contact, but suddenly it was cut off abruptly, then using the information collected, rescuers can coordinate the local population, the village administration, and they will help search. Based on the last call from a phone, it is not possible to determine the exact location, but it is possible to determine the sector angle from the nearest tower, and thus calculate the approximate location of a person.
Perhaps someone still believes that only a person who gets there for the first time can get lost in the forest. But this is far from true: jokes with the forest are bad and the consequences can be extremely unpleasant even for experienced huntsmen and scouts. Do you like hiking? Do you often take your family outdoors? Do you love picking mushrooms or berries? Take note of the practical recommendations below that will certainly help you when hiking in the forest or mountains.
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What to take with you when going to the forest
When preparing for a trip, first of all put several necessary items in your backpack or bag: a watch or compass, a whistle, matches, a lighter and, of course, a knife. A watch is needed because it can replace a compass at any time if you don’t have one or it gets lost. Using them as a guide is quite simple: point a large arrow at the sun, and divide the angle between the hour line of the arrow and the unit in half. The bisector created in this way will always indicate the direction of south.
If you still get lost. What to do
The most important thing in such a situation is not to be scared, not to fuss and not to panic. In such conditions, fear is the most dangerous possible enemy. It is natural when people who realize that they are lost begin to get nervous and worry. But at the same time, they inevitably lose the strength they need so much - both moral and physical. This means that the primary task is to maintain maximum calm.
Finding Basic Landmarks
When you realize that you are calm and ready to look for a way out of the current situation, take a careful look around. Take your time, use all your powers of observation and attention, and slowly begin to look for landmarks around you. The best of them are rivers, springs and streams. If the area is familiar to you (and most often this is the case), then you probably know in which direction these waterways flow. Then boldly go to the shore and determine the location of the nearest settlement there.
An equally reliable landmark can be a power line or some country road - even if they turn out to be old and abandoned, but in any case they will lead to where people live. At the same time, try not to move away from your landmark, even if you are tired and you really want to take a shortcut.
What else could be a landmark in the forest?
The bark of trees, if the side is north, will be rougher and darker than on the south side. Everyone knows from school that lichen and moss appear on the bark of trees in the northern part of the trunk. In addition, the hills and hills on the southern side are always drier, and there is noticeably less grass there, and there are more gullies and gullies, since the soil is more eroded by water due to the scarce and thin turf layer.
Pay attention to the posts that are usually installed in logging clearings. These clearings are always cut in one of two directions: either west-east or north-south. These pillars are always numbered from an increasing number, so this is also a fairly promising guideline.
Started walking in circles?
Remember the very first advice - maximum calm. Under no circumstances should you wind yourself up with tales about goblin or ghouls - this will upset you even more. Instead, focus on what is real and proven by science. It’s just that the length of one step (most often the right one) is often less than the length of the left one. That is why it only seems to you that you are walking straight, but in fact you are moving in a circle and inevitably returning to the place where you were already. Such “tricks” usually happen in forests and in more open spaces, where the loop of the path traveled will be shorter.
In the evening and morning, when the fog looks like thick steam due to increased pressure in the atmosphere, audibility becomes ideal, so much so that noise from trains and large cars can be heard many miles away. This will be your lucky chance to decide which direction to go.
How to prepare for an overnight stay in the forest
If you still couldn’t get out of the forest during the day, you’ll have a difficult night ahead. There is no need to be scared, but you need to be patient and organize your thoughts. At night the main thing is fire! And not so much because the light and crackling of a fire scares away nocturnal predators (they themselves will never attack unless provoked), but because the fire will give you the necessary warmth.
In addition, fire will also be useful for cooking, which in turn will provide you with an influx of new strength to find a way out of the forest. At the same time, you need to start preparing for the night before dark. When choosing a place to spend the night, look for a dry area and at the same time collect as much firewood as possible so that at night you don’t have to go to get it from somewhere unknown.
The problem of food
Let’s say that all the food you brought with you has long since run out. Remember: eat in the forest only what is familiar to you. Of course, it’s a big plus if this misfortune happened to you in the fall, when there are a lot of mushrooms and berries around, but if it’s spring or the first weeks of summer, you’ll have to really try to find food. You can look for berries that have successfully overwintered under the snow and are well preserved.
However, the most valuable and nutritious product of the forest is still the mushroom. If you are lucky enough to find last year’s mushrooms, then you need to boil them in two waters, first cutting them as finely as possible. The problem of nutrition can be solved if you find yourself near some body of water where you can find frogs, waterfowl or try to catch fish. Sharpen a suitable stick, and the rest is a matter of ingenuity and sleight of hand.
All these recommendations require some preparation in some places, but if such a nuisance does happen to you, you will have to remember everything that is needed in such conditions. But the main advice in such cases is to remember to tell your loved ones or acquaintances where and for how long you are going to go and where approximately you will be.
Educational film. How to survive in the forest without equipment
In the film, the characters eat, also known as Siberian hogweed.
All over the country, including in New Moscow and the Moscow Region, they work seven days a week. There are many cases where mushroom picking tourists disappeared and it was necessary to look for them. “Evening Moscow” found out from experienced tourists how not to get lost in the forest.
So, a few days ago, two tourists from the Perm region disappeared in the Ural Mountains. The daughter of one of the tourists raised alarm on social networks. Experienced travelers, they still found themselves in a dangerous situation. Meanwhile, people are increasingly going on extreme tours without any preparation at all.
“I once happened to get lost in a forest near Moscow,” Andrei Rodkin, a public figure and one of the participants in the creation of the DPR, told VM. - But I simply listened to my father-in-law, although my own sense of direction in the end turned out to be correct. Since then I have always carried a compass with me. I’ve never needed it, but it’s worth having and knowing how to use it.
The social activist believes that modern tourists rely too much on electronic devices.
The fact is that modern tourists, I’m afraid, often rely too much on gadgets, says Rodkin. - But anything can happen to them. I am sure that a basic set of skills is necessary in any case: a compass and a paper topographic map, the ability to navigate by the sun, and remember landmarks on the road. The main thing is to clearly separate a picnic and a hike. You can do anything at a picnic, but the forest doesn’t like bare elbows and knees; Light shoes are also dangerous: there are a lot of vipers now.
Nowadays, if an organized tour group goes to the taiga or mountains, it can (but is not obliged) to register its route with the local Ministry of Emergency Situations. You just need to call the local department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and indicate the size of the group, the point of departure and the date of return. Then, in case of any problems or loss of communication, it will be easier to find tourists.
At night it is better to stay in one place: a modern city dweller does not know how to navigate by the stars, and getting injured - falling into a hole, running into a branch - is as easy as shelling pears. Organize a place to sleep for the night, perhaps a canopy of clothes and branches, collect branches (dry!) for a fire. Plant it so that the nearest trees are 1-1.5 meters away, so as not to become the culprit of a forest fire. You need to sleep parallel to the fire, and not with your feet or head towards it. Animals, seeing a fire, will not attack at night. A canopy or hut will protect you from rain and wind.
Remember: if you are walking along a path and branches hit you in the face and chest, this is an animal path. You need to get off it to avoid encountering an animal. If you still couldn’t avoid it, defend yourself with fire, a stick, or screaming. Climb a tall tree.
And one more thing: immediately distribute your food supplies for at least 48 hours. When the food runs out, the forest will help you. Just remember: you need to boil the water, cook only those mushrooms that you know for sure, and drain the water from them twice. Nuts and berries will help. If you suddenly get lost in winter, even tree bark will help curb your hunger.
THE MOST IMPORTANT! Don't be afraid. Think through all your actions in advance. If a person walks through the forest without landmarks, he will actually make a circle in a few hours, get tired and return to the same place from where he came. The fastest rescuers find those who remain in place, behave calmly and do not confuse their own tracks.
Details Created 07/27/2015 Views: 15825IF YOU ARE LOST IN THE FOREST
- If you realize that you are lost, immediately stop and look around.
- A village can be reached by a country road, a power line, or a river.
- If these landmarks are not available, arrange temporary parking in an open area if possible.
- From now on, ensure maximum visibility of your path and location. Provide yourself with water and warmth.
- When going on reconnaissance, leave marks so that you can return to the parking lot.
- Do not complicate the work of rescuers with chaotic movements.
Teach children what to do if they get lost in the forest.
- Have you stopped hearing people's voices? Stop immediately! Shout!
- Try to attract attention to yourself by shouting loudly.
- If no one answers you, stay where you are. Don't try to find your way back on your own.
- Mark the place where you are to make it easier to find you, for example, hang some clothes from a tree or bush.
- Look around. If there is an open place nearby - a clearing or the shore of a reservoir, move there. Leave your marks in the same place.
- Shout and listen from time to time. Help may be on the way.
- Stay in one place! Don't run through the forest! Don't stop the rescuers from looking for you!
- Rest assured, help will definitely come.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE LOST IN THE FOREST
The forest is a great opportunity to take a break from the noisy city and enjoy a “quiet hunt.” But it is full of surprises, so you need to be especially attentive and careful.
When going to the forest, follow these recommendations:
If possible, do not go into the forest alone;
Learn to use a compass, learn the basic rules of orienteering in the forest;
Pay attention to weather conditions - in cloudy weather it is better to postpone the trip;
Wear comfortable, waterproof clothes and shoes, preferably bright colors (to be more visible against the background of the forest);
Take with you a telephone, a supply of water, food, matches, medicine (if necessary), a knife, it is advisable to have a map of the area where you are going;
Be sure to inform your relatives and friends about the proposed route, the duration of the hike, the expected time of return, and inform them in a timely manner about changes in your plans;
Before going deeper into the forest, pay attention to the sun, remember which side it is located on. If the sun is on the right, then when leaving the forest in the same direction, it should be on the left.
If you find yourself in a situation where you are lost in the forest, follow these recommendations.
If you still realize that you are lost, try to calm down. Panic in this case is a terrible enemy!
If you have a phone:
Dial the emergency phone number "112";
Tell the operator from which settlement and region you entered the forest;
Describe in detail to the operator what you see on the sides (river, swamp, power line), the operator will adjust the route and indicate after what time you will reach which landmark. If necessary, you can contact him repeatedly. Practice shows that a rescue operator will lead a person to a populated area in 3-4 hours.
If you find yourself in the forest without a compass or phone, and you cannot determine your location even approximately:
If you get lost, under no circumstances continue your spontaneous movement, do not panic. Stop, calm down, look around, get your bearings.
To choose the right direction, you need to determine the parts of the world. If you stand at noon with your back to the sun, then your shadow will show the north, the west will be on your left, and the east on your right;
Be guided by local signs;
If you come across a stream or river along the way, follow them downstream, this path will almost always lead to people, here it is also easier to find a path leading to a populated area;
Leave traces behind you: nicks on tree trunks, broken branches, unnecessary luggage;
Stop and listen carefully, in case of possible noise (car horns, locomotives, other signals of artificial origin), the safest thing to do is to follow their sound, trying to maintain a straight line of your movement - the noise of a tractor can be heard 3-4 km away, the barking of a dog 2-3 km away, a moving train - 10 km, beeps of a diesel locomotive and an electric locomotive - 4-5 km, loud screams - 1 km, sounds of a gunshot - 2-3 km, car horns - 2-3 km, the sound of an ax and the noise of a motorcycle - 0.5 km.
If you feel smoke, go against the wind (towards the source of the smoke).
If you realize that you won’t find your way home before dark, start setting up a place to stay for the night:
Before dark, make a hut-like shelter from branches and a bedding from scrap materials;
Make a supply of fuel, light a fire, pay special attention to fire prevention measures: the place for the fire must be cleared of all flammable materials at a distance of 1-1.5 meters;
Distribute food supplies evenly, be sure to boil or purify water from natural sources using a filter.
Starting a fire
Before starting a fire, all precautions should be taken to prevent a forest fire. This is especially important in dry, hot seasons. A place for a fire is chosen away from coniferous trees, and especially dried out trees. Thoroughly clear the area about a meter and a half around of dry grass, moss and bushes. In winter, when the snow cover is high, the snow is carefully trampled down, and then a platform is built from several tree trunks.
Use dried trees and branches as fuel. In wet weather, dry fuel can be found under the trunks of fallen trees. Dry herbs can be used as fuel. To start a fire, you can use something that ignites quickly, for example, small pieces of dry wood, fir cones, tree bark, twigs, dried spruce needles, herbs. Even in the rain, the resin of fir cones or dry stumps will quickly catch fire. Dry birch bark also contains resinous substances that quickly catch fire. Fuel is added to the fire little by little. As the flame increases, larger branches can be placed. They must be laid one at a time, loosely, to ensure good air access. If you forget about this, even a hotly burning fire can “suffocate.” Keep the fire going.
A small fire is easier to start and control than a large one. Several small fires around you in cold weather will provide more warmth than a large fire.
For cooking and drying clothes, the most convenient fire is a “hut”, which produces a large, even flame, or a “star” fire of 5-8 dry trunks arranged in a star shape. They are set on fire in the center and moved as they burn. For warmth during overnight stays or in cold weather, 3-4 thinner stems are fanned out on a thick trunk. Such a fire is called a taiga fire.
When leaving the parking lot, smoldering coals must be carefully extinguished by filling them with water or covering them with earth.
Location orientation.
As children, we were often taught how to navigate the area and how not to get lost in the forest.
Moss usually grows on the north side of trees, anthills are located on the south.
But nature is changeable, and you should not rely on these signs; it is better to be guided by objective data.
Take a closer look. If you notice power lines, walk along them.
Listen. Walk in the direction of the sound of water or the noise of cars.
Having reached the river, it is better to move along it with the flow. Rivers usually flow into large bodies of water, and there is a chance of meeting people there.
Very often a person is led astray from the right direction by walking in a circle. This phenomenon is quite simple. The step size of the right leg is different from the left, this leads to the fact that the person seems to be “raking” with one leg. Most often, a person unconsciously turns left. As a result, if you go “straight” without any reference points, you can deviate significantly from the course.
Wild animals
Various dangers can lurk in the forest, including wild animals. They are generally afraid of humans and will not attack first unless provoked.
When meeting a wild animal, you must try to go to a safe distance.
The main thing is not to run away from the animals, otherwise, obeying their instincts, they will rush after you.
Food
There are a lot of berries and mushrooms in our forests. Of course, you can eat berries, but you don’t have to rely too much on them; you won’t be able to eat a lot of them, and in small quantities they are not very nutritious.
If you know about mushrooms, you should pick them. Otherwise, it’s better not to take risks. It is better to boil the mushrooms in water twice.
You can eat tree bark and burdock root, which tastes like potatoes.
Accommodation place
It is better to choose a dry place in an open area near water. We need to collect as many dry branches as possible to make a fire so that it burns throughout the night. This will provide the necessary warmth and scare away predators. For an overnight stay, it is worth gathering fir branches; they retain heat better. You should go to bed by the fire, stretched out along it. It is, of course, difficult for a person to fall asleep in a stressful situation. You need to go to sleep with the thought that in a few hours it will be light again, and the chances of salvation will increase.
Do not despair, give in to panic, or lose hope of returning. The main condition for salvation is the desire to survive!
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