Survival Skills for Lost Hikers
The Most Important Survival Skill in the Universe
© Jed Hunt
Dec 10, 2008
Fire building? Nope. Makeshift shelter construction? Sorry. The abilities to signal for help, find food and water, or perform first aid don’t even come close. The ability to control panic is infinitely more important than anything shown on Man vs. Wild.
A Survival Situation in the Making
“I knew the area pretty good,” says 29 year-old Anthony Taylor, a well-built, experienced hiker from southwest Missouri. Taylor admits to having been in some “tight” situations before, but a spring 2006 trip into Arkansas’ Devil’s Den State Park would definitely qualify as his closest call ever.
“The weather had been perfect all day, then out of nowhere, the temperature dropped like crazy and a storm blew in.” Taylor was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and carried only a small daypack containing basic emergency supplies, a few energy bars, and water.
“I was only a few miles from my truck,” he says, when he lost the trail he had been following because of the storm. Once the weather cleared less than an hour later, Taylor, soaking wet, realized he was lost.
“Man, was I cold, and it wasn’t even dark yet.” Night, however, was coming quickly and he knew it.
The First Few Critical Moments
Taylor confesses that despite all his hiking experience, this was the first time he had ever been lost. It was frightening immediately.
“To be honest,” he says, “my first reaction was to just start running toward where I thought my truck was. I just wanted out of there before dark.”
This reaction is not uncommon for people in Taylor’s situation. A term first coined in 1915 by Physiologist Walter Cannon, the “Fight or Flight” response to acute stresses such as those generated when hikers discover they have become lost, are perfectly normal—yet manageable—emotions.
“I knew I’d just get myself more lost if I took off running, so I just stopped for a minute.”
This single, simple decision may have saved Taylor’s life.
Panic Affects Other Survival Functions
The senses become overloaded in times of extreme stress and—if not properly controlled—the human brain will essentially press the panic button and all rational thought jumps right out the window. The body responds to panic in a variety of ways:
- Pounding heartbeat
- Sweating
- Irrational thought and/or confusion
- Upset stomach
- Difficulty breathing
- Trembling or shaking
- Dizziness
Not everyone will feel all these symptoms, and some may experience more. Still others may have an extreme reaction to panic and become almost totally paralyzed with feelings of fear and terror.
How to Overcome Panic
Evan Thomas, in his February 3, 2003 Newsweek article, “Fear At The Front,” explains how soldiers overcome panic: “By constant repetition, a soldier's duties are supposed to become routine, reflexive, automatic. Rather than think—and possibly panic—a combat soldier is supposed to rely on ‘muscle memory.’"
Obviously, hikers and backpackers shouldn’t race out into the woods and get lost on purpose just to practice for such an occasion. They can, however, condition their minds to handle panic more easily simply by being aware of the dangers of panic.
Practical Steps in Wilderness Panic Control
What can a lost hiker do to control feelings of panic? Try these simple steps:
- Stop where they are and relax.
- Focus on slowing their breathing; heartrate will follow.
- Think positive; there is always a solution.
Panic control means good decision-making, and good decisions bring lost hikers home.
What about Anthony Taylor? He sat down on a log to think about his situation. In the silence, he heard a car on a nearby road. He made it home in time for dinner.
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