How to stay calm in the woods!
- Thread starter Wiseguym70
- Start date
I spoke of it early, the only other necessity I need to stay comfortable in the wilderness besides my headlamp is this wrist compass. No fiddling with a compass hanging around your neck or buried in your pockets. Super convenient and keeps you on track!
Walking in the Pitch Black Dark is not my idea of fun and is un-nerving especially in predator country, which is why I don't leave home without this. Not to forget that they are great when you are field dressing game in the dark and need both hands to work with)
That is the same one they issue us on the Railway.....for those long walks to the back of the train in the middle of the night.
- Location
- AB foothills
What about recommendations for panic? Never happened to me but I always assumed the idea is simply to stop and sit down, control your breathing, think about what you do know, and build a fire. The fire takes your mind off the situation and gives a sense of security. Any other thoughts?
I'm sure your daddy's trusty WW2 sniper rifle could get you out of any mess you get yourself into, no?
Right enough, a Montreal cougar got her claws into me when I was 19 but fortunately she just chewed on me for a bit and then spit me out like a dead squirrel.
'I've never been lost, but I've been mislocated for a spell sometimes.' (Daniel Boone) It happens to me when I'm sure I know where I am and then find out otherwise, can be quite a nasty feeling of rising panic. I remember one time when I was hunting as a kid and came to a hilltop to see a whole unknown town on the horizon in front of me- that was nasty indeed but of course there was a perfectly reasonable explanation when I thought about it. Two things, first is you get used to it. Second thing is that you have to reflect that it doesn't much matter if you're mislocated because you know you can wander around for a long long time with no harm- that's where experience comes in. Yeah you want to stop where you are and figure out what happened, how you got misplaced, what direction the road or some other landmark is in. The important thing is not to run around trying to find yourself that way- you hear stories of lost people crossing right over highways and continuing on into the woods on the other side. Take it easy, if you really can't figure things out then stay in the area so people can find you.
Actually, I mostly get into trouble these days because I've assumed a path or a logging road etc was always going in one direction- often of course they don't, they have a gentle turn to them that fools you because it's so gradual. Talked to a special forces guy that had gotten used to warm weather and got lost in Southern Ontario when a snowstorm came in- he said he got pretty worked up until he decided to trust his compass: it can happen to anyone.
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
Ever notice how the sound of silence in the woods id deafening?
How about those tree rats, man it sounds like a Grizzly Bear is going to Land on you from above if one has been taking in the Natural Beauty of the Environment
Rob
Closest I ever came to ####ting my pants was up on the Barrens when a ptarmigan jumped up under my feet while I was suffering from bearanoia.
You don't need to be suffering from bearanoia (I like that btw) to have a brief cardiac event from a grouse poppin' up outa nowhere. I've been as calm as a cucumber in my happy place before having my heart rate tripled by them little buggers.
Comfort yourselves, guys, by reflecting that it's harmless critters like grey squirrels that make all the loud noises and that you would never hear the predator that has sneaked up on you and is about to pounce. (The first part is true, the second is pure bearanoia.)
Now that's funny, knowing where North is with a compass will help you find your way around, at least it does for me.
I hunt with an old guy some times and he makes me nervous because he has a habit of falling asleep while on a stand. Not with me but with someone else he fell asleep and didn’t wake up until an hour after dark. Now having to find a guy after dark makes me really nervous. When he falls asleep it ends well as it has happened more than once, I know the feeling as I need to bring coffee these days for the end of the day. When I start to feel sleepy I try to make myself nervous to stay awake and have fallen asleep for a bit before, never after dark. Deer here in Ontario really start to move at sunset so I am on high alert.
I hunt with an old guy some times and he makes me nervous because he has a habit of falling asleep while on a stand. Not with me but with someone else he fell asleep and didn’t wake up until an hour after dark. Now having to find a guy after dark makes me really nervous. When he falls asleep it ends well as it has happened more than once, I know the feeling as I need to bring coffee these days for the end of the day. When I start to feel sleepy I try to make myself nervous to stay awake and have fallen asleep for a bit before, never after dark. Deer here in Ontario really start to move at sunset so I am on high alert.
When I was a kid we lived in northern Ontario and I spent a lot of time in the bush playing. Never had a an issue getting around I just instinctively new which way I needed to go. Then puberty hit. After that I could get lost heading down the hall to the washroom. So I went out and bought two good compasses , Silva Ranger, and a smaller Huntsman, and then signed up for a good wilderness survival course which included a good section on map and compass work.
After that it just took time and a lot of miles and hours in the bush to refine the skills necessary to build confidence. To build confidence you need bush experience, positive experience. It is normal to get turned around, but with good compass and navigation skills you can get yourself back on tract fairly quickly and without any uneasiness or panic. Without the skills getting turned around leads to getting lost and panic.
One last word, GPS devices are nice, but they should never take the place of good compass and map skills. A map and compass plus the knowledge in your head on how to use them far surpasses any GPS unit.
After that it just took time and a lot of miles and hours in the bush to refine the skills necessary to build confidence. To build confidence you need bush experience, positive experience. It is normal to get turned around, but with good compass and navigation skills you can get yourself back on tract fairly quickly and without any uneasiness or panic. Without the skills getting turned around leads to getting lost and panic.
One last word, GPS devices are nice, but they should never take the place of good compass and map skills. A map and compass plus the knowledge in your head on how to use them far surpasses any GPS unit.
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
A lot of the disconcerted feeling is fear of getting lost. The way to beat that, is to become totally familiar with the area you hunt. So familiar that you don't need anything to know where you are. That takes only a few years if you wander the bush. If you stick to the trails, or bush roads, you never will be totally familiar.
I hunted with a guy for 40 years. One day, we were driving back to camp along a bush road, and I came to a well used intersection. Curious, i stopped and asked him which way to go. Not only did he not know, he guessed wrong. Pay attention to your surroundings, don't just wander aimlessly or follow the leader.
The same guy was leading the group when they dropped me on watch, they headed off down the trail they had walked every year for ten years or so. (first time that year though) after about ten minutes, the whole group, blindly following our hero, appeared out of the bush on an ancient logging road, below me. Ten minutes is all it took for them to walk a circle. All because they chose to follow a guy who doesn't pay attention.
There are many many clues in the bush that you can use to localize where you are. Once you know the territory, a small creek, a ridge, the general lay of the land (should I be going uphill or down?) The type of trees growing, a blow down, the distant sound of maybe a rock crusher, or from a height. maybe you can see a cell tower.
Directional clues, pines on ridges with branches bent to the prevailing winds. etc. etc.
Be aware that there is a human tendency to follow the same path when you walk through a bush, frequently coming upon the same rock, the same spot to cross a creek, etc. Sometimes when you think you don't know where you are, a few more steps will bring you to something familiar.
I hunted with a guy for 40 years. One day, we were driving back to camp along a bush road, and I came to a well used intersection. Curious, i stopped and asked him which way to go. Not only did he not know, he guessed wrong. Pay attention to your surroundings, don't just wander aimlessly or follow the leader.
The same guy was leading the group when they dropped me on watch, they headed off down the trail they had walked every year for ten years or so. (first time that year though) after about ten minutes, the whole group, blindly following our hero, appeared out of the bush on an ancient logging road, below me. Ten minutes is all it took for them to walk a circle. All because they chose to follow a guy who doesn't pay attention.
There are many many clues in the bush that you can use to localize where you are. Once you know the territory, a small creek, a ridge, the general lay of the land (should I be going uphill or down?) The type of trees growing, a blow down, the distant sound of maybe a rock crusher, or from a height. maybe you can see a cell tower.
Directional clues, pines on ridges with branches bent to the prevailing winds. etc. etc.
Be aware that there is a human tendency to follow the same path when you walk through a bush, frequently coming upon the same rock, the same spot to cross a creek, etc. Sometimes when you think you don't know where you are, a few more steps will bring you to something familiar.
A lot of people are edgy when they go in the bush. The more you go the more comfortable you'll get to be out there.
One thing you should do if your going to hunt alone is leave a clear plan at home and stick to it, this way if you should happen get set back or worse someone will know where you should be.
One thing you should do if your going to hunt alone is leave a clear plan at home and stick to it, this way if you should happen get set back or worse someone will know where you should be.
Good advice here, and I know what your saying in regards to fellas that do not pay attention to there surroundings. Some fellas are just plan scared of the idea of going into the bush, and therefore do not go. Which is maybe just as well.
But if you want to get good in the bush you have to spend time walking around in it. Like the man says if your hunting the same tract of land all the time you should get to the point you will know all the land marks and significant features and certain trees by sight. Being aware of your surrounding not only helps your orientation and safety it also makes you a better hunter as you will be aware of tracks a sign that are present.
But you should also be comfortable venturing into new territory. Bush also looks different at different times of the year, leaves on and off the trees. The view you get walking into say a stand in the bush will looking very different coming out. It just takes time and experience.
