Lost In The Woods

You realized that you have been circling around the woods and finally realized that you've lost your way! What should you do? Here are some tips for you.

Assess the situation
Stay put and try to remember where you came from before backtracking. If that doesn't work, check if you have enough food to keep you going. Then look at the sky, if it's grey or notice that night is approaching, you should seek a shelter immediately!

Get noticed
There are two ways to be noticed:
A) Universal distress call always comes in three - three shouts or three whistle blows, so do this periodically
B) Build a smoky fire in the day using lots of slightly damp leaves or make a bright fire at night at an open space. Be careful not to start a forest fire!

Find your bearing

Even with no compass, you can still have a rough idea of where you're heading as the sun always rises in the east and sets in the west. If you wear an analogue wristwatch, you can use it as a compass. Go to www.world-time-zones.org to learn how.

Mark your path
This way, you will know whether you're going around in circles. So gather a pile of stones, branches or leaves along the way in your trail. This will also help a search team to easily track you once they notice the pile.