Survival: What To Do If You Get Lost Outdoors

Description

http://paulkirtley.co.uk/

Knowing what to do if you get lost outdoors is more important than many people credit. Survival situations often arise from people getting lost but people don't always see it as a survival situation at that stage.

Every year hundreds of people get lost in the woods and on the hills - often when they are just out for a day hike. And they don't always do the right thing.

So in this video I share some tips, tricks and best practice for what to do if you should find yourself lost or even a little geographically confused.

None of us can walk in straight lines. Without an external frame of reference, we walk in circles or a spiral. Add to that the fuzzy thinking which comes with rising panic and the situation can go from bad to worse...

Something to guide you is the acronym "STOP". That is Stop, Think, Observe and Plan. To find out more about what this means exactly and how to apply it, please watch the video.

This video forms part of a series of 20 FREE videos I've made to help people with wilderness bushcraft, survival skills and general outdoor life.

To get instant access to the other free videos, you should visit

http://paulkirtley.co.uk/free-tips-and-advice/

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Video Transcription

hi there I'm Paul currently founder of the award-winning frontier bushcraft and author of Paul Kelly's blog the leading source of women's bushcraft advice and information on the net now every year hundreds of people get lost in the woods and they don't always do the right thing so in this video I'm going to share with you some tips tricks and best practice of what to do if you should find yourself lost or even a little bit geographically confused the thing you have to remember is stop and that's to stop but it's also an acronym for the things that you should do and think about that stop think observe and plan the first thing to do is admitting you're lost it's not the end of the world it's an inconvenience and it can be sorted out but you will feel a sense of rising anxiety or even panic don't keep walking and making the situation worse the starters none of us can walk in a straight line so people tend to walk in circles or even spiral add to that the fuzzy incomplete thinking that comes with stress and you're likely to become even more lost

what you need to do is physically stocky take a deep breath and calm yourself sit down even have a bite to eat a brew or a smoke whatever relaxes you clear your head and begin to look for clues think about how you got to where you are think about the route you've taken run through it in your head visualize your journey think about the points at which you made navigational decisions and the possibility you made a mistake there where there are any notable landmarks or large terrain features that you'd easily recognize again observe your surroundings carefully this can really help to tell you where you are relate what you see to maps and other navigational aids also observe your resources take stock of what you have that may be of use do you have a shelter or items which will help with signaling or drawing attention to your position now it's time for some clear thinking you've stopped calmed yourself thought about your situation and how you got there you've observed your surroundings and taking stock of your resources now you have to do your best to make an objective consideration of the options open to you way up the chances of success of the different options and make a plan now you've gathered your thoughts and gained a better fix on your location it may well be possible to use tried and tested navigational techniques to relocate and continue on to safety can you simply backtrack and return to a known position this is something rarely done by lost persons but often very viable even more so if you possess tracking skills and if neither of these are an option it's best to make yourself comfortable and wait for rescue but remember to make yourself visible and be ready to signal to searches so there you have it stop a useful acronym and a useful framework for you to think about what to do in a situation where you're lost you're in an outdoors emergency you're a little bit geographically confused that's a stop think observe and plan I hope you find that interesting I hope you find it useful I hope it serves you well if you like this video please go across to my blog at porker Toledo UK where you'll find 20 more free videos like this one I'll send you those straightaway as soon as you get over there that's at Paul curtly Co UK thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next video