First steps when you are lost
What happens in your head before anything else
The Rule of 3s (a hierarchy, not a countdown)
- 3 minutes without air or massive bleeding
- 3 hours without thermal protection
- 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food
- Each priority assumes the previous one is handled
- Used to prioritize, never to convince yourself you have time
STOP, as soon as you realize you are lost
- S - Stop: stop, sit down, drink, eat
- T - Think: last known safe point, 3-hour priorities
- O - Observe: hazards, shelter, water, remaining daylight
- P - Plan: decide, say it out loud, execute
Calm your body
- Box breathing: inhale 4 s, hold 4 s
- Exhale 4 s, hold empty lungs 4 s, repeat
- Naming your fear out loud lowers the alarm
- Talk to yourself, narrate what you are doing
Stay or move
- Out of 800 lost people studied, only two chose to stay put
- A stationary target is found much faster
- Stay put if someone knows your route
- Move only if you are certain of a landmark leading back
- Never split from the group to search alone
General priorities
- Mindset, rescue, shelter, fire, signaling, water, food
- The state of your fire reflects the state of your morale
- Break your goal down into manageable tasks before nightfall
Kids: Hug-a-Tree
- Hug a tree, stay close to it
- Use a whistle instead of shouting, it takes less energy
- Lie down if a helicopter flies overhead
- No one will be mad at you: do not hide
lostandalive.com/guide/mental · 112 (Europe) · 911 (Amérique du Nord)