Someone once asked Daniel Boone if he had ever gotten lost. He replied no, but he had gotten turned around for a few days a couple of times. Today I will share my own personal experience of getting turned around in the woods.

I have always had a keen sense of direction that went back to my childhood days. During the summer I would stay at my grandmother’s country farm nestled adjacent to state forest land. Late afternoons often found me purposefully wandering deep in the woods, challenging myself then to find my way home. The exercise developed confidence in my ability to maintain an accurate sense of direction — a skill I that still have today.

Several years ago, however, I was mushroom hunting in the Sultan Basin east of Monroe on a very cloudy and overcast day. I had parked my car at the start of a familiar logging road and proceeded to walk roughly ½ mile into some thick second growth hardwood and fir where I had picked before. The brush was heavy but held lots of fresh chanterelle mushroom. I proceeded to circle areas where they were plentiful, with my head looking down for mushrooms hidden under the leaves. When I finished picking, I headed in the direction to where I thought I had parked. The cloudy day and dense woods, combined with walking in circles while picking, had impaired my personal built-in compass.

After perhaps 45 minutes of fighting brush, I arrived at the paved road I had driven in on but I wasn’t sure of which direction to turn to get to my car. I chose a likely direction and began walking, periodically making makeshift arrow piles from stones along the road to plot my path. After perhaps 3/4 hour, I finally recognized some roadside scenery and determined that my car was in the opposite direction. It took two more hours to make it back to my car, getting tired in the process. I chalked my experience off to bad luck, thinking it would never happen again. It didn’t, at least for another two weeks when in exactly the same area I got turned around. I shaved ½ hour off getting back to the car time by utilizing my stone arrows from the two weeks prior.

I decided then it was time to change my methods for wandering around in the woods.

My experience taught me that when leaving the car, I note all landscape features that might allow me to return, including sun position, distant mountains, streams, and sound of nearby highways. I also pack a backpack with anything I would like to have in case I “got turned around for a few days” — having it loaded and ready whenever I have the urge to wander in the woods. Items I pack include the following: water bottle, snacks, compass, matches, candles, flashlight, a few large plastic bags which can be used as boots, windbreaks or roof in the rain, strong string, hooks, fluorescent tape or string to mark my trail, knife, and first aid kit. I also wear very visible clothing in the woods, especially during hunting season. Cell phone, GPS, or edible plant books might be thrown in at the last minute, but the rest are always packed and ready to go.

I really like going out into the woods, but I decided that I enjoy coming back safely even more.

Roger Urbaniak of Mercer Island is a longtime contributor to Northwest Prime Time. His website, http://www.RogersOutdoorChannel.org, encourages others to explore outdoor activities through articles, resources and more.