Getting Lost is Frightening

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

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To be lost is to know fear. It’s a fear rooted deep within us — like the fear of snakes or fear of the dark.

Like most animals, early humans had a survival advantage to having a home territory. In it they knew the locations of food, water, shelter, hiding places, and danger. Getting lost outside your territory was something that did not end well. And millions of years of evolution have kept this fear alive within all of us.

When people become lost they do strange things. They walk in circles, just like in the movies. And often they act in ways that hurt their chances of survival or make it difficult for rescuers to find them.

It’s easy to dismiss these people as stupid or irrational — until you yourself become lost. Then you know the fear.

Below is a link to an article in WIRED Magazine adapted from the book From Here to There: The Art and Science of Finding and Losing Our Way, by Michael Bond. It cites research that shows losing your way actually affects how your brain processes information.

The article touches on the story of Geraldine Largay, a 66-year-old retired nurse who became lost hiking the Appalachian Trail. She was never seen alive again.

But most instances of getting lost do not end in death. A pair of hikers were found in New Zealand after being lost 19 days. They did the right thing. They stopped walking and made themselves visible to rescuers.

I’ve written about what you should do if you become lost in the wilderness. But that advice does not touch upon the emotional aspects of being lost. It’s important that you are aware of this powerful fear. Knowing about it will help you combat this strong emotion if you become lost. And no matter your skill level, if you spend enough time in the woods, you *will* become lost at some point, if only for a few minutes.

Here is a link to the article in WIRED Magazine.

Why Humans Totally Freak Out When They Get Lost

Link to the book:

From Here to There: The Art and Science of Finding and Losing Our Way