Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go?
Cheshire cat: That depends on where you want to get to.
Alice: I don’t care where.
Cheshire cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.
Alice: …so long as I get somewhere.
Cheshire cat: Oh, you’re sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.
Why is it so easy to get lost in the jungle? In fact there are many reasons and here are few:
- Trails rarely go in a straight line but twist and turn round natural obstacles.
- There are no far-off landmarks to aim for, the jungle blocks your line of sight.
- Most people will naturally walk in circles if they lose their bearings.
- Trails get overgrown, there can be landslides, trees fall across trails, trails get washed away,
- Trails made by humans look very like trails made by animals to the untrained eye.
- The sun isn’t much help for navigation if you’re on the equator.
- The stars aren’t much help either as you rarely get to see them in a tropical rainforest.
- Learning to ‘read’ the jungle requires familiarity with the plants and trees (these are your landmarks).
- Maps are usually drawn from (often out-of-date) aerial photographs and often get the details wrong.
- Even with a compass it is usually difficult to move in a straight line (e.g. trees/rattan/bamboo etc block a straight path)
- GPS can pack-up in the humidity of the jungle.
- Heat, humidity and/or hard rain all affect our ability to think clearly.
- Most people panic if they get lost in a jungle and make poor decisions.
In the video below I cover some very basic considerations to help you if you are going into the jungle and show you how, if you do get lost, you can avoid getting even more lost.
Of the people I know here in Malaysia who regularly go into the jungle, all of them have been ‘lost’ at some point or other (including the Orang Asli and including me!) – there is no shame in getting lost in the jungle and anyone can get ‘turned around’ in the right (or rather, wrong) circumstances – of the people I know who got lost and have some junglecraft skills, all were able to find the trail again on their own and get out of the jungle. The most important thing is to remember the ABC (always be cool) rule and, should you get lost, to take your time to assess the situation thoroughly before deciding what to do next.
The other advantage of knowing some junglecraft skills is that getting lost isn’t as likely to send you into a panic – with the right knowledge, the prospect of an unplanned night-or-few in the jungle isn’t going to send you into a spin and, with a cool head, you’re more likely to make the right decision about what to do next (…should I stay or should I go?)
If you are coming to the jungle for the first time, your eye isn’t going to be ‘tuned-in’ to the jungle and it will be difficult for you to follow the trail with the practised ease of a local. One way to quickly improve your trail following ability is to ask the guide (and you should take a guide with you) to let you lead for a while and really test yourself – if nothing else it will probably provide some amusement for your guide who will find it hilarious that you can’t see the trail that is so blindingly obvious to him!
I’ll cover more on navigation in later videos and ways to minimize the risk of getting lost in the first place but, should you get lost, remember to STOP and think before you go further, trail blaze any path you then take and find a way of making a noise/smoke or other method of attracting the attention of any nearby rescue party.
Even with GPS and all the basic equipment in the pack, getting lost in the jungle is something “special”. The problem is time, should I take more time and walk back to the original path, or, cut through?… Alone, is ok. When nobody worries about you, you are free to choose.
But when you say to your wife “I go check the other side of the hill, maximum 1 to 1h30…” Well, when the other side of the hill takes you already 1h… You have to rush” (and I hate to rush)
The way back may look easy, but a little bit of inadvertence brings you suddenly “nowhere” (the rush effect) . So, I checked the GPS… I went too fast and miss the trail. I could continue to climb up, cut and reach the top, or go down and climb again using the original trail… Too late, not enough time, so I cut.
Jungle is pure challenge. Nothing to see or recognize just like in Western Forest. It’s green, compact, harsh, spiky and… Damn Hot.
Cutting trough jungle, in ascent is really problematic. And without a machete, forget it. When I go hiking in the jungle, I can’t afford “extra night” or cosy bushcraft in the wild. So, I always carry a light latin machete to cut minimum stuff, in case… And happily I had that blade with me.
Many people talks about “the ultimate tool”. there isn’t. It just depend of what you plan. If I had to camp, take my time (like Paul) the Parang is the ultimate tool. But just cutting through, more than 350 grammes to swing, may be problematic after a certain time…
There is something really important to explain, when you lose a lot of water, mainly sweating, a large amount of salt/potassium is extract from the body. I had plenty of water with me, but I was damn weak simply because of the lake of sodium/potassium in my body. Whatever you drink goes out instantaneously, heart is affected, of course. So, the stress is not really coming from “being lost” (gps tracks well) but its the direct impact of the weather on the metabolism. 100m in the jungle is worse than 1000m in the North…. In this physical condition, each 10m is a big deal.
This little adventure was just a new experience… Learning from experience is the best. Nothing really hard-core, but I won’t forget to take some salty food (or keep some salt with me)
Also, as Paul explain in the video, Drymax Climate Max etc synthetic textile is a nightmare. just forget any of this “bullshit packaging”
In all the case… You never stay dry long in the Jungle (unless in that bamboo chair, relax)
Hi iawmy,
Thanks very much for the comments – you make many very interesting points and I agree with you that being lost in the jungle is a very unique experience and one that can send many people into a spin.
A few days ago, here in Malaysia, a group of five tourists (from Australia, UK and South Africa) got lost in the Sungai Bantang Recreational Forest and one of them collapsed and died from a heart attack. The details of exactly what happened haven’t been released yet, but it is all too easy for things to go wrong in the jungle and the heat and stress can prove to be a fatal combination particularly if you’re not used to the climate.
As you say, ascents can be a real challenge particularly when it’s wet and I have often had to pull myself up from one sapling to the next which, as you say, makes cutting even more difficult.
And I agree about heavy parangs too – when you have to use one all day it can become very tiring, very quickly! Often a short parang is better and lighter to use.
The answer with the jungle is to slow down and take it easy as rushing almost always makes things worse.
I think you make a very good point about traveling alone in the jungle as well and, in a way, I think it may be easier to get lost when traveling in a group and/or when there are time constraints. On your own, you can set your own pace, fully concentrate on where you’re going and make your own decisions on your own terms.
Also completely agree with you about rehydration salts – this is something often overlooked and can create problems when it is. I sweat heavily in the jungle and have found that hydration powders really do make a difference and perk you up in a way that water on its own will not. I’ve experienced that feeling of being lightheaded in the jungle and ‘zoning out’ that seems to accompany dehydration and salt level depletion – this is, of course, not a good state to get into as you are more likely to loose your way and make poor decisions.
As for synthetics, apart from cycling shorts (to avoid chaffing) I avoid them totally – ‘wicking’ away sweat in the jungle just ain’t going to happen (for me at least!) and the sweat lingers as an uncomfortable film between your skin and the shirt.
So thanks again for making all those points.
Cheers!
Paul
I trained with a jungle survival expert here in Panama and the ideal navigation technique we use in thick jungle (not following a river or trail) is to stick to a straight line by having a three man navigation team where the compass man establishes the bearing, sights along the compass and picks out the line to follow, the machete man cuts a path along the line, with the compass man calling out ‘left’ or ‘right’ to keep him on the bearing. Just before the machete man disappears from sight the compass man calls ‘stop!’ Then the compass man and the third man (whose job is count the paces) move to the machete man’s position. Then they start all over again. It is labourious but you stay on a straight line. Just following a compass it is easy to face the right bearing, but actually move sideways so you end up off course. GPS is great until it stops working.
Hi Caleb,
Many thanks for the comment and excellent advice – I’ve used the same system myself when travelling in a group and it works well if everyone stays disciplined. It’s more tricky when you’re on your own and I tend to get myself orientated in the right direction with the compass and sight on a tree/rattan/palm whatever ahead and then move towards it as best I can….as the jungle isn’t always going to let you move in a straight line anyway this allows you to snake through the undergrowth and towards the tree you sighted on. If it is really imperative that you move in a very accurate straight line there’s always the option of using a long pole (piece of bamboo) that you throw forward in front of you …. I’ve never tried this (too impatient) but I think it’s a technique that comes from Sweden for moving across snow.
Couldn’t agree more about GPS…happened to me last week when ‘new’ batteries turned out to have zero charge (I was glad to have a compass with me!).
Thanks again,
Cheers!
Paul