The Magic Bus Strikes again (radio, property, map)

[AttilaTheHunny]

Originally Posted by nenette

You make a good point- One of the sad things about this situation is the movie did not talk about this kids mental health issues as did the book. So the movie glorified this as an "adventure" type saga when in actuality this was a depiction of what happens when people don't get the help they need. Instead of using this as a learning experience so people learn to intervene when there is bizarre behavior the movie encourags this type of behavior by glorifying the situation. People act like lemmings and follow this kid right over the edge.

My husband and I saw the movie, although we never read the book. I'd think, the movie alone, taught a valuable lesson: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE WILDERNESS and never overestimate your ability to survive within it. But apparently, this is lost on a number of idiots wandering into the wild without even a compass. Oh well.

[JavaPhil]

Originally Posted by Glitch

I got lost once, but not for long. I had a compass and topo maps, this was before GPS', and I took frequent bearings. However, I mistook a slough for a creek I was looking for on the Topo map, and began following the slough in the wrong direction. Not by much, just a few degrees, but it was enough.

After a couple hours I realized my mistake. I was still paralleling the river when I should have been moving away from the river. I set up camp, and got my bearings straight the next morning. I had hiked about 3 miles in the wrong direction before I realized and corrected my mistake.

It is very easy to get lost when you have no navigational aids. Trying to "dead-eye" your way to a location 10 or 20 miles away that you have never been before is not advisable. Even with navigational aids, such as a compass and/or topographical maps, you can still end up going in the wrong direction for hours before realizing the mistake.

The old "moss grows on the north side of the tree" trick commonly used in the lower-48, just does not work in Alaska. Alaska gets so little direct sunlight that the moss grows on all sides of a tree. Using the sun to navigate by is also very risky this far north. In the summer the sun is in the northern sky and makes clockwise circles, only setting for a couple hours in the northwest before rising again in the northeast. Distant landmarks, such as mountains are also of limited assistance, only providing a very general direction.

You're absolutely right in every instance, but what I was talking about was doing all of those on my way out to a place I had never been. If you take frequent bearings on your way out, score trees, stack cairns, etc, you would follow your own bread-crumb trail back home. That's why when I go hiking, I make a point of looking back at my trail, because the view will be one that seems familiar on the way home. Stacking cairns and scuffing arrows into the dirt are ways of telling myself that I have been there before.

And God only knows that if I had a brain, I'd be dangerous. Seriously. I know that I am NOT a real outdoorsman. I am a city boy. I spend time out in the boonies, but I don't make my life out there. A man has to know his limitations. I have too many to count, but when I run across one, I make a check mark in my little mental notebook. Good cook, check. Decent pool player, check. Marksman, check. Outdoorsman - AAAAAAAA! NOT! (Danger, Will Robinson!)

Taking the air in the wilderness without a clue and no precautions is tantamount to suicide.

[bajadrmin]

Stupid question of the day... Whats a Topo map?

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by bajadrmin

Stupid question of the day... Whats a Topo map?

For Kansas, a blank piece of paper (okay, there might be one circle made with a dashed line over on the left hand side).

It's a map showing topology, perhaps useless in Kansas, eh?

[Marty Van Diest]

Originally Posted by Floyd_Davidson

For Kansas, a blank piece of paper (okay, there might be one circle made with a dashed line over on the left hand side).

It's a map showing topology, perhaps useless in Kansas, eh?

LOL...


It's a map showing topology, which means it shows the difference in height of one area to the next. It's very useful in mountainous areas, perhaps not used much in Kansas.

With a topo map you can find mountain peaks and you can tell where you are on the map in relation to those peaks.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by JavaPhil

You're absolutely right in every instance, but what I was talking about was doing all of those on my way out to a place I had never been. If you take frequent bearings on your way out, score trees, stack cairns, etc, you would follow your own bread-crumb trail back home. That's why when I go hiking, I make a point of looking back at my trail, because the view will be one that seems familiar on the way home. Stacking cairns and scuffing arrows into the dirt are ways of telling myself that I have been there before.

And God only knows that if I had a brain, I'd be dangerous. Seriously. I know that I am NOT a real outdoorsman. I am a city boy. I spend time out in the boonies, but I don't make my life out there. A man has to know his limitations. I have too many to count, but when I run across one, I make a check mark in my little mental notebook. Good cook, check. Decent pool player, check. Marksman, check. Outdoorsman - AAAAAAAA! NOT! (Danger, Will Robinson!)

Taking the air in the wilderness without a clue and no precautions is tantamount to suicide.

That is when most people get lost, trying to get someplace where they have never been before. Getting back to someplace where you have been before is much easier, particularly if you have a GPS with waypoints marked. Checking out the route you have traveled as you go is a good idea, and it does help you find your way back with much more confidence.

GPS' are getting much better, but they still lack the ability to tell you what you can expect as far as the terrain and vegetation is concerned. I use a older (1995) Garmin GPS and Topo maps these days. At least I don't have to continually correct for magnetic north anymore, like I used to do with a compass. Unfortunately, the majority of the USGS topographical maps were made before Alaska was admitted into the Union and a lot of things have changed in the last 50 years.

In addition to the difficulty of just navigating to someplace you have never been before, it is important to be alert to your surroundings. A couple times I have been so wrapped up in trying to determine my exact location that I missed fresh signs of bear, until I was almost on top of them. Or the weather may change abruptly, requiring you to seek shelter or set up your tent sooner than you expected.

You also need to leave some extra time to enjoy your surroundings. At least for me, my goal is not just to make my way from point A to point B, but also to enjoy myself while I travel. That means taking in the sights and watching the wildlife. If I didn't enjoy myself, I would not be hiking. I would drive an ATV or snowmachine instead.

You don't have to be an outdoorsmen to enjoy getting away into the boonies. You just need some knowledge on how to do it safely, and a little experience. I also completely agree with both you and Clint Eastwood, "a man has to know his limitations."

For those who have never been to Alaska before and want to venture off well maintained trails, start off small. A short 5 mile hike (which could take all day) is a good way to get a taste. Then plan longer hikes as you gain more experience and more confidence in your abilities. Starting off with a 50 mile two-week hike when you are completely unfamiliar with the flora, fauna, or terrain is not something I would advise.

[Jerseykat]

Isn't that a topographic map, as in topography?
Topology has to do with mathematics.

[Marty Van Diest]

Originally Posted by Jerseykat

Isn't that a topographic map, as in topography?
Topology has to do with mathematics.

You are right...it's topography. I don't even know what topology is.

[Jerseykat]

LOL Marty I had to look topology up.

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by Jerseykat

Isn't that a topographic map, as in topography?
Topology has to do with mathematics.

Topology includes the study of Topography.

topography: "precise detailed study of the surface features of a region"

topology: "topographic study of a given place"

Which is to say that "topology" was used correctly, but that "topography" would have been even more specific. Topology is more often used in describing computer networks, and topography is more often used to describe geographic elevation.

Whatever, the point was that user bajadrmin is from Kansas, where there are no elevation variations for a topologist to study, and therefore a topo map is of little use unless it maps the Internet rather than the ground... which is why he'd never heard of one.