For those that have not taken such a course, and I agree, they are an invaluable aid, there are tricks, and mind games you can play, when alone in the bush, to keep you sane, and most important, calm.
Simply keep your mind busy, don't drift into that mindless 'what am I gona doooo?' thing.
Spending a night unprepared in the bush, isn't a heap of fun, but, it can be a life changing experience. You learn to use your wits, there are no backups, no expert to ask.
Pretend, just like you were a kid, if you like, that you are on a simple camping trip. Keep your brain occupied, and out of that spinning state that accomplishes nothing.
A cool head that has done this before, can organize him/herself. There are things that must be done before dark, that kind of thing.
But for most of us, one, or at the outside two nights is all you can expect to spend, before you are found, that is, if people know you are missing.
Be prepared, be sure that people know where you are going, and when you are expected back. Your life could easily depend on that one item.
If you hunt, or camp, in northern regions, like Ontario north of about the French river, or or north of the Trans Canada corridor along Lake Superior, or similar wild places in other provinces, the chances of a much longer stay in the bush multiply rapidly.
About thirty years back, another camp had a helicopter searching for a guy who spent the night in a parcel of land that isn't ten miles on each side, bound by roads, hydro lines, and a wide logging road.
It's easy to get circling.
And yes, it's true, that people are right, or left legged, in the same manner that they are right, or left handed, and tend to circle one way or the other, even given the flat ground of a desert.
