Basic Skills and Lost-Proofing

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Perhaps most important, maintain a sense of place when you're exploring. Watch for prominent landscape features—both near and distant—that you'll be able to spot on your return trip. Such landmarks are the street signs of the wilderness; you can't note too many of them. Hills, ridges, streams, trees, rocks—anything distinctive enough to be recognized later is worth filing mentally for future reference. Remember, too, that it's particularly crucial to look back frequently as you walk, in order to view the trail and landmarks as they'll appear on your return trip. As any individual who's been lost can attest, things can look surprisingly different when viewed from a new angle! The weather, the wind direction, and the sun's position can also help you maintain your bearings, but you shouldn't rely too heavily on such factors, because they'll change throughout the day.

The idea is to take in all the visual and sensory signposts in nature, to become so totally aware of your surroundings and your place in them that you can't possibly lose your way. After all, how can you be lost in the wilderness if you're . . . at home in the wilderness?

DON'T WAIT: PRACTICE NOW

In conclusion, I'd like to repeat a point that I stressed throughout the first seven parts of this series: The time to learn and sharpen your survival skills is now, before you have to use them. Don't just read about the techniques: Go out and practice them . . . one at a time. Build a debris but this weekend, and sleep in it. Take a course in foraging. Read Part III of this series, which is about fire, and then make and use a bow drill. As you develop competence and gradually reestablish the umbilical cord connecting you to nature, you'll gain not only confidence in your ability to survive an emergency or catastrophe, but also an abiding sense of harmony that carries over into everything you do.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For more information on Tom Brown Jr.'s tracking and wilderness survival schools, write Tom Brown Jr., Box 173, Asbury, NJ 08802-0173, 201/479-4681. And for information on ordering the back issues mentioned above, turn to page 124.

Information on Compasses and How to Use Them

Anyone who spends much time in the outdoors should carry and learn to use a compass, unquestionably an essential survival tool. There are many excellent books on the subject, including Be Expert With Map and Compass: The Orienteering Handbook, by Bjorn Kjellstrom (Scribner's, 1976), which is currently out of print but should be available in libraries, and Staying Found: The Complete Map and Compass Handbook, by June Fleming (Random, 1982), sold in most bookstores for $4.95.

In addition to honing your skills in the use of man-made direction finders, you may well want to teach yourself how to . . .

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