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This article is part of
Willderness Way
VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2.
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How I got out of the creek is still a
mystery to me. “What happened?” I asked. The log had looked
sturdy. I had not
anticipated the slick moss that sent me flailing, grasping for
anything but only finding air. When I struck the water, the current
grabbed me and without hesitation began pulling me down its winding
road.
The pack that had carried my precious gear was no longer useful
and had become a powerful anchor, pulling me under the pristine water. As
I panicked and gasped for air, I tried to doff the pack. I thought, “If
only I had undone my waist belt before starting across the log.” Finally,
it came off, and I frantically swam for shore, as a cat might after
falling into water.
Just three months ago, I had attended a Wilderness
Adventure and Survival program. It had been challenging, but had it
prepared me for this? Feeling doomed, I thought, “What would my
instructor do?” I recalled how he had said, “Stress will play a
significant role in any survival situation.” I had heard his words but
wasn’t sure what he had meant by “stress.” Was it similar to meeting a
deadline at work? Was it like the hardships I faced trying to manage my
family? Could he have been referring to the stress I experienced while
attending his class? After all, I did go without food and sleep during my
training.
Trying to gather my thoughts, I sat down and used the
STOP acronym as a means of organizing myself for the evening. I
decided to go to ground for the night. I needed to dry out and build a
shelter.
My matches were wet. Fortunately, I had my metal match and a
Birch tree was close by. Using the bark as my tinder and the Squaw Wood
(which was also in the vicinity) as my fuel, I managed to have a blazing
fire within ten minutes. I smiled and let out a yowl. It didn’t take long
to take the chill away and dry out. I love fire!
With limited
daylight, I began to settle in for the evening. I gathered more wood,
found a good tree well, and collected enough duff to insulate my body from
the evening elements. 
“Tomorrow, I’ll worry about how to get home,” I thought, and I
decided that tonight I would reflect on my survival training.
The
night was cold and I had to get up several times to re-fuel the dwindling
fire. I didn’t get much sleep.
When morning came, I had an
uncontrollable shiver and was sure that I was in the early stages of
hypothermia. I stumbled out of bed, quickly rejuvenated the fire, and
stood as close as I could. The steam was rolling off my clothes. It took
over 15 minutes before I felt in charge of my body again. Memories of
yesterday began absorbing my energy and I felt the hopelessness of my
situation.
While looking around my location, I stopped and watched the
wildlife that was in the area. The animals that had normally avoided me
seemed to be watching my every move. I asked myself, “Do the squirrels and
birds know of my predicament?”
Once warmed, I refocused my energies
and decided to inventory my gear. The majority of my equipment had been in
my backpack, which had been washed away by the raging water. All I had
were the clothes on my back and the small survival kit in the side pocket
of my pants. I did not have my map or compass since both had been in the
outer pouch of my backpack.
Again, thoughts of doom began to overwhelm
me as I realized my predicament. I was in rugged mountainous terrain, far
away from any civilization, and without the necessary tools to navigate
out. I knew a northern heading would take me to a well-traveled road, but
which way was that?
Using a Stick and Shadow
The sun had been up for several
hours when I decided to use a stick and shadow to determine my cardinal
directions. Using a flat level area, I cleared away debris until I had a
three-foot circle of brown dirt. I found a straight stick, sharpened it at
both ends, and pushed it into the ground until its shadow fell onto the
center of the cleared area. I placed a twig at the tip of the shadow and
waited.
Two more times (ten minutes apart) I placed another twig at
the shadow tip and then used these three twigs as my guide, to draw a
straight line in the dirt. Knowing the sun rises in the East and sets in
the West, I determined that the first marking on the shadow line was west
and the second one was east. Since I was in the Northern Hemisphere (the
sun was south of my location), I knew that the shadow tip side was north.
I drew another line perpendicular to the east-west line and
then used the perpendicular lines to establish N/S/E/W direction.
I
smiled and felt pride in what I’d done until I realized I couldn’t take
the stick and shadow with me. I wondered, “How would I manage to stay on a
northern heading?” I could travel towards a peak or other landmark on my
route of travel, but what about when trees surrounded me and the landmark
wasn’t visible?
I remembered that the sun moved approximately 15? an
hour towards the western horizon. I also knew that I was north of the
sun’s path. I thought “How could I use this to my advantage?”
I stood
facing north and established the sun position as it related to me
(slightly behind and to the right of me) and began walking north, using
the sun as my guide. Every 15 minutes I would allow the sun to move a
little further towards my left. To increase my accuracy, I stopped every
hour and re-established my northern heading by redoing the stick and
shadow process.
Throughout the day, I managed to meet my other needs:
water was abundant and easy to procure from the many streams; fiddleheads
and horsetails were my main food staple, and I managed to avoid
overheating by taking breaks during the heat of mid day. 
When night came, I felt rested and wanted to continue my
travel. The moon was out, providing ample light, and I was sure I could
find the resources necessary to meet my needs when I stopped. My only
problem was that I could no longer use the sun as my guide. To make things
worse, the sky had a partial cloud covering that made it impossible to
find the North Star. What could I do to keep on a northern heading?