When did you get lost? Share your story.

[Luc-Porter]

Ok. We have all suffered from a case or two of geographical embarrassment. That Oops, this doesn’t look right moment.
I’ve gone off track for years. Not always ended up where I thought, but I always managed to find my way.
Most recently I lost my way on K2K. ( lost about 2hrs after losing the track, not taking a compass heading because blasé) and bush bashing more than I needed to right my wrong.
I’ve never been truly lost. I was once told, you never know your lost, till you have been doing it for a while.
Would love to hear the how and the stories you have behind the ( I think I F*^ked up moment. ) the time you weren’t where you thought.

[davidf]

Could write a book. from exploratory mountaineering in kyrgyzstan (maps did not exist) to the blue mountains.

[Lindsay]

In the main street of Milngavie, Scotland, looking for the start of the West Highland Way. Walked right past it and almost a kilometre the wrong way.

[Son of a Beach]

I've been geographically embarrassed a few times, but never truly lost. Like, I knew where I was, I just didn't know where the track was.

The first TWO times were on the same walk - I think it was my first ever solo walk.

The first time, I hadn't noticed a hair-pin turn on the track up from the Ballroom Forest and had followed the pad that many other easily disoriented people had made and just went straight ahead until it petered out completely. I went back and forth so many times, trying to figure out where I'd gone wrong. At least I know where the track was... I just couldn't figure out where it went for a while. Eventually I noticed the hairpin turn behind some vegetation. That was a valuable lesson for me! Tracks sometimes make hairpin turns, hidden by vegetation while a false pad (or drainage line) continues straight ahead. Watch out for these.

The second time (on the same trip), I started out from Scott Kilvert Hut in the morning, not having noticed that the track goes around the other side of the hut. Instead I followed the pad that goes at first along the edge of the lake, and then into the forest which again petered out to nothing. Back and forth I went again, trying to figure out where I went wrong. But this time, I never went all the way back to the hut, and so never figured out what I did wrong until the next expedition to that hut. Instead, I eventually gave up trying to find the right way. I figured that I knew exactly where I was, and where I wanted to go, so I just made a B-line through the bush, over the plains and then through the scrub until I intersected with the track heading up towards the Cradle/Benson pass. I knew the track was there somewhere, and so I felt fairly confident that this was a safe way to go - and that if it did fail, I could just give up and go back to the hut. So from this, I learned that I need to pay more attention to signage and maps, and don't just wander off along any pad thinking it must be the only way.

The last time I got 'lost' I was a lot more experienced than that early trip, but I was with two relatively inexperienced walkers. I was walking at the back of the group as I often do, and a more gung-ho guy was out front. It was my first trip on the Blue Peaks track which is quite obscure and difficult to follow in places. He led us way off the track, and by the time we realised that we were nowhere near the track, we had to figure out if we should just back-track (which would take ages), or otherwise figure out where we were and determine a more optimal route back to the track somewhere further on than where we'd left it.

This might have been difficult, because a lot of the landscape in that area is devoid of good landmarks. However, I spotted a very distinctive tarn not far from where we were standing, and found it on the map simply by its shape (I think it was the one below). From there it was easy to plot a route back to the track. But it all added about an hour to the length of our walk.

Again, this was another good learning experience for me. Be more assertive and be a leader when walking with less experienced people, no matter how confident, or assertive they may be, and don't just follow them mindlessly.

This distinctive tarn well off the Blue Peaks track was the only landmark that was easy to identify on the map. Thankfully we found it soon after realising we were a long way from the track.

Tarn.png (9.61 KiB) Viewed 18310 times

[ribuck]

...I knew where I was, I just didn't know where the track was.

I know the feeling. My first ever bushwalk was Mt Vic to Blackheath along the Grose Valley. A friend and I had heard about the walk and thought it was a great idea. We were quite late starting from Mt Vic which was a bad move. But we jogged/ran it and got to the bottom of Govett's Leap Falls at dusk.

We took one look at the cliffs and decided that we had mis-read the map, that there couldn't possibly be a track up there. And indeed the map had some writing at that point which obliterated where we had assumed the track would be.

There was nothing for it but to go back down to Junction Rock and come up the Horse Track, which we did -- well after midnight. We sure felt silly when we discovered that the track did go up from the bottom of Govett's Leap Falls after all.

[taswegian]

I've never been lost but couple interesting experiences.
Many years ago son, young (8?)daughter and I were returning from The Walls.
In those days I used the shortcut up to the Trappers Hut as opposed to the only one available now.
We'd done that trip a few times before.
We'd arrived at Trappers and was leaving when she asked could she go on ahead.
Well Yes!
So off she went then we followed. Now young legs get mobile quickly and with no sign of her at the fork we turned downhill expecting to find her.
Nothing. Got to the bottom so realising what had happened I drove to the other carpark but nothing.
Ventured up the track a bit then returned and drove back to other carpark. Nothing
This time I decided I'd just keep walking to the Trappers if necessary as I knew she wouldn't go past that.
We found a very hot and sweaty young girl who'd come down to the bottom carpark, realised the error and returned to the Trappers then finding no sign of us returned the way she came.
We'd been bellowing and hooting but sound got whisked away.
Had a few changes after that in several areas.

Another time, work not bushwalk was chasing a boundary off Cradle Road just north of Lehmans Creek.
I was setup on the side of the road and turned the line off into the rather open and beautiful Myrtle forest.
Put a bush stake on line and headed east looking along that line for old marked trees. (myrtles carry survey marks for at least 100 years in our damp forests)
The procedure was to keep on line then walk slowly around every large myrtle within 3 to 10 feet of my supposed line.
All went well but after continually moving east, losing all sight or sound of the road and continuous twirling around trees I suddenly realised I didn't have a clue which way was east or north. It was quite weird.
The sky was overcast so gave nothing away, I knew eventually we'd hit the Forth but long before that it would start to steepen.
The land was undulating but then we started down a slight decline so decided I'd turn about and time ourselves walking what we assumed by then 'had to be west'.
Eventually we made it out.
It's an experience I've never fortgotten.
I didn't take my compass as it was just a short foray on a known line and, well, she'd be right!
Youthful impetuous confidence......

[ribuck]

A few decades ago, I was with a group stream-bashing in pagoda country. We were counting stream bends, but lost contact with where we were.

"Never mind", we thought, "it will become obvious soon". But it didn't. The map showed no terrain detail at all, and the group was becoming despondent. They didn't think it would be possible to re-establish our position without more context.

I climbed up a pagoda, and spent a full twenty minutes looking around, mentally cataloguing every minor detail of landform and vegetation. Then I announced to the group that there was only one possible spot on the map that was consistent with all the tiny clues that I had gleaned.

I was the hero of the group for a few hours. Except, I should point out, I was nominally the leader so shouldn't have lost map contact in the first place

[puredingo]

Not LOST lost but on my last day of a walk where I was going from the Long gully CP Wog Wog camping ground, well...I definitely had my moments.

I reached the saddle under the castle and hung a left on route to the Monolith valley, here I stumbled upon a party of the surliest bushwalkers in history, a couple didn't even bother acknowledging my existence others tinkered around pushing and pulling gear wearing sour looks on their bitter faces. I greeted the one bloke who was directly on the track with a hello and asked him how the going was up ahead as this was my maiden journey. He grunted at me something about unfollowable track, worst he's experienced and not to waste my time. Well there was no way I was going all the way back around, up Yadboro river and up Seddon pass...so I pushed on.

My first "major" ( there was many minors) was missing the right hand lead under Mt Owen. I there therefore I trudged on around to Viney creek and up onto said Mt!!! This cost me a couple of hours...and unnecessary life risking.

Second one was mistaking the caves and cliff lines above Burrumbeet brook for the track up and over Corang Arch...I searched for hours up on that plateau, spun my map and compass in all sorts of directions trying to make sense of things.

Anyway, finally made Wog Wog by that afternoon albeit in a frazzled state. The problem was it was dense fog and drizzle the whole day, my map was tatters of wet paper by the end and my hand nearly frozen into a claw from the continuous grip of the compass...could not make out a land mark to save my life. But I had fun and didn't see one solitary person for two whole days in the Budawangs which is rare?

[Moondog55]

The day I lost my sled in a white out after falling over and losing my headlight
Already posted somewhere here but I can't find it
Wasn't a pleasant experience

Found it Page 6 about half way down

viewtopic.php?f=46&t=17549&p=239559&hilit=Lost+in+whiteout#p239559

[crollsurf]

Not sure I've ever been truely lost. I have also always wanted to have a go at blogging and in particular , to blog about an upcoming walk through the Snowy Mountains.
Anyway, here is my first blog and on day 3, I did lose the track for a while http://croll.me/2017/08/02/victoria-falls-to-govetts-leap/

[puredingo]

What a bust this thread turned out to be! I expected tall tales of woe and misadventure....

Now everyone go out this weekend mapless and with no compass then report here with your death defying stories.

I will be entertained damn it!!!

[jdeks]

Does vertical count?

some years back trying to lead-climb an old route off the back of mt tibrogargan. climb notes just said 'follow the slab around the overhang then keep on up the crack'. must have picked the wrong slab because got past the overhang and had nothing but more slab. one doesnt simply downclimb an overhang so no choice but to go up.

ended up doing a monster traverse to rejoin a horrible, loose, flakey chute which was probably worse than just going right up the slab. I think my runout got to about 6m, which meant the rope was more or less just decorative.

Was very relieved when I found a rusty old piton bashed into a corner.

[wildwanderer]

What a bust this thread turned out to be! I expected tall tales of woe and misadventure....

Now everyone go out this weekend mapless and with no compass then report here with your death defying stories.

I will be entertained damn it!!!

Ha! obviously because we are all extremely competent navigators who float 2cm off the ground, laughing at thick scrub and thundering river crossings.
or perhaps our stories are too embarrassing to tell...


For embarrassing.. I'l start. I took a mate with me on a day hike in a attempt to show him the joys of bush walking.

I wasn't lost but but made a very elementary navigational error, exiting the main trail before the proper turn off and taking us on a thick ferny hillside traverse that was infested with leeches. We both ended up with almost a dozen on us... I also fell on my face while attempting to look at a map, avoid a log and watch for leeches.. Was inspiring leadership that day..

Sadly my mate hasn't come hiking with me since...

[Luc-Porter]

Yeah a bust,
I was hoping people would weave tales of epic delight, did get some good ones, who knows? maybe we are a day away from a truely legendary story.
I've a mate who will not walk with me on your typical bushwalk/ off track adventure. Being somewhat technophobic, I own but cannot use a GPS. I generally use map and compass solely.
If I suggest an exploratory walk to a canyon or vague location on a map, He says no. My walks never end up as easy as I make them to be. However, if I give him a call and say "Hey mate, hear me out, I've got a bonkers idea " He is in, agrees without anymore detail. Go figure. Hey, It's not an adventure if it all goes to plan.

[puredingo]

I'm with you Luc, I've only got a basic GPS and so far all I've used it for is to count kilometres but I'm sure it does other thing too? So I just stick to the old M&C and hope I'm at least within the map square or there about.
At least you got a mate to bounce things off, when I'm bamboozled I usually just slump to my knees and shake my fist at the heavens and scream " why me , God...why do I do this!!"....

But I always find myself loading up the pack for the next weekend...a gluten for it.

[cajun]

".... gluten for it?" lucky you aren't intolerant!

Sorry - it's Friday.

[puredingo]

I may as well be since the wife is and she does most of the cooking...Fricken preemptively text screws me again!

[north-north-west]

People are always telling me to get lost.

Being by nature a contrary individual, I don't.

[Moondog55]

So in order to re-establish the equilibrium of society I here-bye request you the become found

[north-north-west]

Since you put it so nicely, MD, it shall be considered. Requests I occasionally do. It's the commands that get up my nose.