People sometimes don't realize how different even familiar terrain can be when covered with snow. It is real easy to do what you did, and ski right across a road without realizing it. However, you recognized you had a problem while you were still in a position to do something about it. Before it was totally dark, and everyone in the group was exhausted. And you had a compass and knew how to use it.

Good on you!

Yes!

Virtually every time I have become lost, it was because I didn't listen (until late in the game) to that little voice that says "something's just not right here!" And when I do tune into that little voice, it has almost always saves me a lot of grief. And how often a short back track, even uphill when you are tired, is way better than pushing on, hoping things will somehow sort themselves out!

I think this site should have a policy of not discussing firearms at all. It gets annoying when a seemingly useful discussion gets locked because somebody didn't tiptoe in the correct manner with respect to firearms.

No need to remind me, I'm obviously a guest here. I still have an opinion about what's appropriate. While obviously it's your site, it's also part of my experience in my life, and I have contributed a significant amount of intellectual property here.

I come in peace. -ireckon

IMHO, I think we mostly do a good job around here. Other than the odd blip, we've had many gun discussions that are quite interesting. I've learned to appreciate them and their place in preps. I've had people suggest that I carry one, and when I ask for suggestions about EDC, PSK, BOB, etc.... I expect it to come up. The key for me is that I've never felt like I had to defend myself as to why I don't carry one. As a non-gun owner, I really appreciate that respect.

Deal!!

Not to start a discussion on the politics but not to mention being in Canada, we don't have the option to carry anyways.

How did we go from losing our gear to a firearms discussion?

I think it's fair to say, whenever someone with gear gets separated from it accidentally, they feel pretty stupid about it afterwards. If we were smart, it'd never happen.

wandering off is one of the few problems we have with lost people here in Minnesota.no mountains or deserts of course but the forests sort of all look the same with no real high places to get up and look around,the woods are deep in places with no real view of where your going.there are some very old over grown logging roads from the horse drawn wagon era and people get on those thinking they will lead someplace but they just end up deeper in the woods.i have never been lost but did get out of the canoe to look for a portage and by the time i wandered back and forth looking for a path,some are nothing more than game trails,i came back to the lake by just going down hill and found that i was 100's of yards from where i left the canoe.



Hmmmmmm..i don't remember pushing thru this thicket on the way in.
maybe if i walk over the other way around it i'll get back to camp before this rain comes on------



this is not right at all!!..i'll pick up the pace and trot thru here..i have to be close by now..puff--puff-puff----

LOL. Good one. Great pics. I've done a lil SAR and in the nearest major city there are mountains nearby. Every year people get lost on the main one. I'm always like, How? See all that glitter? Thats the city. It's dark? Look at that glow below you. That's the city. WALK DOWN HILL! It makes one wonder.

I've done a lot of SAR centered on Tucson, AZ, which is basically surrounded by mountains. Especially in the Santa Catalinas, I have seen the city lights casting shadows at night. However, one of the best and easiest ways to get hopelessly lost and tangled up in some very rough country is to blindly strike out for those city lights and walk downhill. We have pulled dozens of people (and sometimes their corpses) out of those hills who attempted just that without knowledge of the country or a decent map.

I know this general situation is repeated in many locales around the world. It is one thing to see where you want to go, and another thing to be able to get there.