This isn't a survival story. It's just the first time I had to use any of the skills I've been reading about, even if only in a minor way.

My nephew and I were out chasing bunny rabbits on Sunday, but the area we hiked into had too many ATV riders and campers to be safe to hunt in. So our hunt turned into "hiking with a gun." The weather was beautiful. We practiced figuring out where we were using the topo map and compass bearings, which we're still not very good at: out of six position fixes, we were only certain of four of them. The other two, we could never be sure which peak on the map was which peak on our horizon.

I learned that if you take off your boots and socks to cross a stream, and then clean and dry your feet most carefully, except for one tiny grain of sand that you missed in the web between two toes, you will get a blister there in before you know what happened. Ouch!

We started back to the car around 5pm, with an hour of easy dirt-road hiking to get there. Our check-in time of 8pm left us plenty of time, so we enjoyed a leisurely walk back. Just as the sun touched the horizon, we noticed we were finally in an area with no ATV's and no people around. We decided to leave the road and use the last of the daylight to see if any bunnies would show themselves.

We chased a few noises in the brush (birds), but in the half hour of legal-for-hunting light we had we didn't find any rabbits. It finally got too dark for safe hunting, so we headed back to the road. And back to the road. And back to the... hey, who moved the road?

Oh, and someone turned off the shiny ball in the sky. There's not much of a twilight in the desert.

Well heck, we're lost.

We remembered the STOP acronym we learned from somewhere. (S)top: We stopped walking, took off our packs, and relaxed for a few minutes. The desert is a beautiful place at night; it'd be a shame to spoil it by being panicked. We drank some water, gave some water back to the desert, and waited until we felt calm (well, until I felt calm... my nephew was just as cheerful as always. He's a fantastic wilderness companion for that reason alone). Then T(hink), O(bserver), and P(lan). We got out our flashlights and the topo map, looked around, and tried to figure out where we might be. There are some mountain peaks on the horizon, but goodness, if it was hard to tell which peak was which in the daytime, it's impossible at night. So no help there. Looking around, we didn't see any other landmarks. It sure would have been nice to know where we were when we left the road (next time, get a position fix!). But looking at our topo map, we could see that no matter where we were, by going due East we must intersect the road somewhere North of our car. We decided to go 200 yards East, and if we had not found the road by then, to stop and reevaluate our plan. Oh, and it's cooling off, so time for jackets. That's when my nephew discovered that his spare clothes and jacket were damp. He must have dunked the pack during our stream crossing. That could be a setback if we end up staying lost. Fortunately, only one sleeve his cotton pullover got damp.

We're going to have to work on his gear, I think. I didn't think that keeping things dry would be difficult (it's the desert!) or that cotton would be a problem (it's the desert!). It hasn't rained here in over four months, but we managed to teach ourselves a lesson anyhow.

We got our packs back on, scanned the area to make sure we weren't leaving anything behind, took a bearing, and headed East counting our steps. Before long we ran into an arroyo that headed our way, a nice bit of luck. Arroyos are much easier to walk in, being mostly rock and gravel and relatively few cactii. But after we thought we had gone 200 yards, no road.

I'm getting worried again, so we go back to the STOP acronym. My newphew is as happy as he always is, but I'm getting nervous again, so I waited until I was bored (boredom, I figure, is a sure sign that I'm not panicked). What could have gone wrong? Could we have crossed the road and not noticed? Our visibility is limited and there's not a big difference between a bad dirt road and the bottom of an arroyo, so that's possible. Looking at the topo map, we noticed that the road makes a hairpin around an Arroyo (hmmm). If we are in that Arroyo, it would explain why we haven't hit the road yet. From the map, the hairpin is only a hundred yards long, so we decide to go another 200 yards East along the arroyo.

Well, that's the end of the story. 100 yards later we found the road, climbing out the arroyo just as the map said it would, and a short hike from there, we were back at the car.

If we had not found the road after our second 200 yard hike, then we would not be anywhere near where we thought we were. I like to think we would have switched from the "self rescue" mode we were in to "stay put, get comfy, and help rescuers to find you" mode, but to be honest, I was anxious for self-rescue. Thinking that the road must be just over the hill, that there won't be the bother of search teams and helicoptors and the embarrasment of having to be rescued, those are mighty powerful thoughts.

We did a lot more things wrong than right, but made good use of the STOP acronym. I hope you enjoyed our small adventure.

You where not lost just adventuring. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I am glad to hear that you got back safe.

rabbits moved the landmarks.

I'd say you did it as right as could be expected.

The creek was a suprise, you came out all right from it. Lessons learned- plan for water when packing, and wool is good.

Your choice to attempt a self rescue wasn't a bad one. I'd have tried it to. The question you need to realistically ask is, if the second attempt had failed, would you have made a third, or dug in?

You had going for you was your company. Good morale, always needed. And you didn't panic.

One of course shouldn't over-rely on high-tech gadgets but a GPS could have taken you straight to the car. It's like a cell phone--don't absolutely depend on it, but if it works, it can be very handy.

Yes, just curious about that: did either of you have a cell phone?

They sure are powerful thoughts. I can certainly relate to that as I'm sure anyone that's been lost in the woods (or desert) can also relate, whether it 100 yards or 100 miles from the house/camp/car/etc. Those thoughts are more powerful when you're with someone young and/or inexperienced whom you know looks up to you and will rely on you in an emergency.

Sure you made some mistakes but you also did a lot right and survived quite comfortably. You had water with you and extra clothes and apparently your map skills were good enough to get you to the car. Ironic that you were practicing those skill not long before you were forced to put them to use. Looks like your practice paid off. Sounds like you maintained a calm appearance also, inspite of your worry. Worry is one thing, panic is another. Seeing as how your young companion was never worried, I venture to guess that you didn't appear worried to him, which means you must have remained pretty calm. Maybe more than you give yourself credit for.

For what it's worth there have been mistakes in every single survival story I have ever heard. I don't think anyone ever gets it 100% "right" if there is even such a thing. I know I have been getting lost in the woods since I was a kid and I have never done it "right" and on many occassions I have done it a lot more "wrong" than what you described.

It was a great story and we'll all learn from hearing it. Thanks a lot for sharing it!

IMHO, I say pat yourself on the back for getting yourself and your companion out of a potentially bad situation, being prepared, remembering what you've learned, putting practiced skills to good use and not spreading worry to your companion.

... and don't stop practicing or thinking like a survivor. It obviously pays off. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for your encouragement and comments. I've enjoyed reading them.

Yes, those bunnies are devious!

We did each have a cel phone. Coverage isn't too bad in that area, provided you can get to a high spot. I wasn't thinking about rescue yet, so hadn't considered using them.

Although we were close to our check-in time, our responsible party wouldn't report us overdue for another 3 hours after that. I think we would have used at least an hour of that grace period seeing if we could think our way to the car. That's provided we still felt fine with plenty of water, good body temperature, no injuries, etc.

One thing I wish we had done, though, the moment we figured we were having an adventure, was to start leaving markers behind. I carry a roll of trail marker tape and a sharpie just for that, so I can write our names, the date and time, and direction traveled on the tape and tie it to something. I just didn't remember to do it.

Thanks again for your comments!