A factor that might affect your chances of surviving in the woods or a flatland even is, FOG! we have a thick layer here in illinois and i was thinking, if you get lost in this cold weather with no sense of where you are, could be potentially fatal. this is what i think what is your opinion?

Fog can definitely contribute to getting lost, going places you didn't want to go, and falling off of things. The higher moisture content of the air can also have a significant impact on how cold you can get, I would think.

Generally, I would plan to sit tight and stay warm until I could see well enough to know where I'm going. If you're lost and people are looking for you, you're almost always better off staying put anyway.

That's why your survival kit should contain a backup compass. Carrying both a map and a compass is splendid advice, and not only for fog conditions. And why not use a GPS?

None of these things are do-all magical artifacts that can pull you out of any situation. But they are immensely helpful. And as always, practice before you need it...


Fussing about in low visibility can be pretty spooky, even if you're not lost (but you can be - pretty quick). That's why you don't forget about capacity for creating shelter, fire, getting water and so on. Then comes signaling for help, plus having someone to call the cavalry if you're not home at X o'clock. In fact, everything that has been written and said about survival and what to bring along for those hikes with only a daypack applies to fog situations...


Fog (particular in the winter) comes along with his friend Hypothermia. Mr. Fog is confusing and annoying, but otherwise harmless. Mr. Hypothermia kills. Those drops of liquid water suspended in the air will make everything wet: You, your natural sheltering materials and your firewood. Which makes survival a lot tougher than in dry conditions.


As for trying to find home versus staying put, I'd say that depends on the seriousness of the situation. It makes sense to think real hard through what your situation really is. How thoroughly lost are you? Wandering aimlessly around the bush is a waste of energy. But if you have PAID ATTENTION on your way to Lostwille it is usually doable to find your way out again. Usually, you're able to point at the map and say "I am enveloped by this road here, that power line and this river. Now I can go east and track the road back to civilization, I can go north or west and track the river or south and track the powerline."

But - If you try to make it back and it takes longer than anticipated you'll be forced to spend the night outdoors anyway. So - do you spend precious hours of daylight building the best possible shelter and fire, or do you walk the walk? Though call - that's why brewing a nice cup of tea (or equivalent) to think things through is such excellent advice, at more than one level. It gives yourself a clear head and time to think through what actually can be a life or death decision.

In wilderness conditions especially, wandering in the fog presents unexpected dangers. Up in the cascades it happened more than once where I got fogbound (cloudbound)working on radio repeater sites. Coming down the hill, you had about 10 feet of visibility. Once coming down Tiger Mountain (between Auburn and North Bend) I was creeping down the road in the fog doing about 2 mph and out of nowhere appeared a big black bear in the middle of the road. I would not want such an abrupt encounter while afoot. Another time on Grass mountain northeast of Enumclaw I was on a forest road in the fog and nearly got run over by a logging truck doing way too fast for the conditions. He banked his rig into the uphill side of the road, and I just about went over the edge trying to avoid him. Had I been walking the road instead, I probably would've gotten squished. He said he saw my headlight beams just before my rig came into view or he'd have hit me for sure.

I think chaosmagnet has it right: sit tight and stay warm until you can see where you are going. Even with a GPS or a map and compass you can fall off a cliff, run into a snake or bear, or twist an ankle on uneven ground. Then where would you be? Worse off than before, that's where! Best to hunker down and wait for the fog to clear. This is why shelter and fire/warmth items are so important in your kit. Even when you expect to be back in just a few hours.

Now that's great advice! I always carry the means to boil up a nice cup of tea. Stop, brew, and think can make a real difference when you are confused or foggy.

About the only times I have had to seriously use a compass have been times when I was enshrouded in fog and most of those have been on San Miguel Island, the motherland of fog here in SoCal. It is a really interesting experience to cover terrain you have walked many times in clear weather in a thick pea soup - it is a whole new ball game. A GPS really comes in handy, if you have marked the proper waypoints. Trust me, it is real fun looking for a white SUV in fog.

Even in summer fog, you can be susceptible to hypothermia, especially if you are immobilized without adequate clothing or shelter, particularly if you also have a nice breeze.

Another adverse effect of fog is the wetting of rocks and soil, making your footing a bit more unreliable. Stumble and tweak an ankle, and you will begin a descending spiral...

That might be hard to decide, depending on conditions.

If you're wearing warm clothes, maybe have a fanny pack with a big plastic bag and some firestarting materials, staying put would probably be the way to go.

Traveling in a cold fog wearing shorts, tank top and sandals, no shelter, no firemaking materials, no place to stay warm... that could be a tough call. Keep moving to stay warm? Stay still and become hypothermic?

Sue