Sense of direction?

H4831 said:
If nothing else, this thread should make us stop and think how damn inadequate we are, compared to animals, birds and even fish. Your dog can always find his way home and so can a cat. A few years ago a family from Vernon BC were in the west Kootenay and their cat got away from them. That was in August and one evening in the following January the cat meowed at the door of their home in Vernon! The cat was lost on the east side of the Columbia River system and Vernon is on the west side. The only way the cat could have crossed was on the Trans-Canada Highway bridge at Revelstoke, or wait until a dammed up lake on the river system froze, then cross on the ice.
In the old days on the prairie many people were saved because their horses could take them home, even in the worst of blinding blizzards.
A few years ago a grizzly was making a nuisance of himself in a valley in south western BC. They trapped him, put a radio collar on him and trucked him to a western state that wanted the bear. A month later the grizzly was back in his valley in BC!
Yet people have perished because they got lost in a blizzard going from the barn to their house.
In short, it seems like every other creature is better at finding their way around, than are people. It sure makes a guy think.
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You read Louis L'Amour don't you....?....
 
I like the ancient joke of the rookie asking the old native Indian if he ever gets lost.
"No, me never gets lost, but sometimes the tepee gets lost!"
 
kamlooky said:
Could be the sole problem, thinking too much makes you lose your senses.
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In one way..

In my situation of been disorientated, it was my mates 'Doubt which then put doubt into my noggin, which lead to admitting defeat and spending the night out.. in hindsight, I knew where I was going but was not 100%, then each time I was doubted it lowered my Percentage until the decision to stop was made.

WL
 
Well there ya go.
Stick a novel in yer back pocket in case you git yer arse all terned around owt in the bush.
And the pages you red could be used fer other perpusses.

Getting lost or turned around plays with the mind.
Did a couple gooders in days of yore that still stay with me.
Walked through the bush and found an old road. Really old and all grown in.
Said to meself, self, this is a good road to follow. And follow it I did.
After an hour or so my dejavue centses started to kick in.........hmmmm.
Bin here before. Tossed me capella on the road and started to walk somemore.
After an hour I found a hat on the middle of the road.
Looky like mine and it fit.
Sat down and had a long talk with meself.
Needed to figure out where I came out the bush onto this road.
Near dark the shape of me truck started to show.
The problem with this is...........do you shoot or not?
 
Nester said:
Famous last words f:P:2:

Anywhoooo...when it happens and it will (sure pal whatever) it scares/embarasses you something fierce.


I have been out a couple times and got a bit turned around and became quit discombobulated after realizing that night was right around the corner and I was kilometers away from my truck and in virgin territory. Of course you don't want to just turn around and follow the easy path back but take a shortcut that will have you back in no time at all. Of course I have my map, compass and Gps with me but hell, you dont' need that; you know where you are, why check? Just right over there, behind that hill..........or the next one past that lake (lake?) .........yep just across this golf course........


Lo and behold, all is not what it seems. Pull out the map/gps and my gosh! You over here and not over there! You have that nice internal conversation with yourself that you really goofed or that your gps is obviously running on low batteries and hence the wrong grid.



Too get truly lost try some map/compass in Wainwright/Suffield/Sarcee training areas during a nice cold cloudy wet night. Makes you pay attention right quick.
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I never worry about becoming lost..........my usual concern is, "then I grab hold of that thick beam rack to find the easiest/shortest route back to my truck." Usually at least 2 mile drag, not unless I can find a wide enough cutline that my Toyota can fit through.;)
 
Boomer said:
I am a sucker for a good Sackett yarn, although for some reason Flint was my favorite, or was it Matagorda, or maybe . . . John Wayne did make a good Hondo, and unlike many movies kept much of the original dialogue.
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I knew it... Boomer had to be a Sackett fan... Flint was a favorite of mine also... I have read them all four or five times over... read all of Max Brand and Zane Grey also, but Louis is my hands-down pick of the litter...
 
hoytcanon said:
I knew it... Boomer had to be a Sackett fan... Flint was a favorite of mine also... I have read them all four or five times over... read all of Max Brand and Zane Grey also, but Louis is my hands-down pick of the litter...
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What made Lamour the top western writer is that he traveled to the country he wrote about, and could see in his minds eye how the story would play out. That and his use of true historical events as backdrops to the stories added a sense of authenticity to the tales. But I digress, I guess I got lost in all the excitement . . . or was it turned around?:)
 
hoytcanon said:
Your analogy of getting lost from the woodshed to the cabin in a snowstorm was a scene from a Louis novel...
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My parents farmed for years on the prairies, long before I was born. I heard many horror stories of people getting lost in blizzards and some actually get lost going from the barn back to the house and perished, as I stated.
I do not repeat what other people have written, unless I specifically say so.
Bruce
 
kamlooky said:
Well there ya go.
Stick a novel in yer back pocket in case you git yer arse all terned around owt in the bush.
And the pages you red could be used fer other perpusses.

Getting lost or turned around plays with the mind.
Did a couple gooders in days of yore that still stay with me.
Walked through the bush and found an old road. Really old and all grown in.
Said to meself, self, this is a good road to follow. And follow it I did.
After an hour or so my dejavue centses started to kick in.........hmmmm.
Bin here before. Tossed me capella on the road and started to walk somemore.
After an hour I found a hat on the middle of the road.
Looky like mine and it fit.
Sat down and had a long talk with meself.
Needed to figure out where I came out the bush onto this road.
Near dark the shape of me truck started to show.
The problem with this is...........do you shoot or not?
Click to expand...

When travelling by aircraft in wilderness areas one must be prepared to sit out lots of bad weather and something to read is always welcome.
Out of sight in the fog is a floatplane tied up.
 
Having parents who were also born and raised on the flat SASK prairie both talked about the grandparents having a rope tied from the front door of the house to the front of the barn, with a ring with a rope tied to it to hang onto when it was storming out to ensure getting from one place to the other.Parents also talked about the team of horses getting them home a few times after a storm blew up on them or the way home from a trip to town for suppies.They always kept blankets and some farmers had an old buffalo robe or two, and lots of straw in the sleigh box , and would just give the horses their heads and crawl under the blankets and wait for the sleigh to quit moving, and that was usually when the team was in front of their barn !!!
 
H4831 said:
My parents farmed for years on the prairies, long before I was born. I heard many horror stories of people getting lost in blizzards and some actually get lost going from the barn back to the house and perished, as I stated.
I do not repeat what other people have written, unless I specifically say so.
Bruce
Click to expand...

Bruce, I wasn't suggesting plagiarism... more an affinity of detail, common to ones experience and understanding...

At any rate... this dialogue has revealed important new evidence on the being that is Boomer...
 
My 11 year old daughter can always point north on demand. We test her all the time, in the car in the woods.. Most of the time she doesnt lift her head from her book, or meal, just points.
She sure doesnt get that from me.
My 12 year old son always sleeps with his head to the north. Falls asleep anywhere, as soon as he is out his body moves around until his head is to the north. Took us a while to figure it out. Had to position his whole bedroom around that fact. Wife and I joke about getting lost and just waiting for him to sleep so we know where we are.
 
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