3 Huge Mistakes When You Get Lost

By PJ DelHomme

A Special Forces veteran and survival expert explains the common mistakes people make when they get stranded in unfamiliar territory.

Jason Smith, retired Special Forces combat medic and survival instructor

Jason Smith doesn’t mind getting lost. He’s actually pretty good at it. Smith is a veteran Special Forces medic and former instructor for SERE courses (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape). In 2020, Smith and two other contestants competed on a survival show called Alone: The Beast—and they won.

Today, Smith continues to teach survival courses and build custom knives with his company Hobo Forge Survival. He’s also the host of our “SMART Tips & Tricks: Cold Weather Survival.” We asked him about the biggest mistakes people make when they get lost in the woods. The first mistake, he says, starts long before you step foot on the trail.

#1: Not Being Prepared

“Being lost is okay,” Smith explains. “People get turned around all the time. What compounds that situation is not being prepared for it. Are you prepared to spend the night? Physically and psychologically.”

Being prepared starts with knowing how to survive with just what is in your pack or pockets. How do you build a shelter and stay warm for the night? How do you make it easy for search and rescue to find you? Can you make a fire with a foot of snow on the ground? Knowing these things builds confidence and allows you to not just survive, but thrive in a survival situation.

Smith compares being lost to getting a flat tire. A flat tire really isn’t that big of a deal, he says. “But what makes the flat tire worse is when you don’t have the skills or the tools to change it. Then, it’s going to be scary.” When people get scared, people start to panic. When we panic, we don’t think clearly, and we expend energy. Panic sets us up for the next big mistake.

Can you build a shelter and start a fire?

#2: Being in a Hurry

When the reality of being lost sets in, which usually happens as the sun starts to go down, that’s when people tend to do everything as fast as possible. “When you rush to do things, it makes more problems,” Smith says. Imagine rushing to change that flat tire. Think about what might happen if you don’t set the jack properly and it collapses. “You’re just compounding the problem with more problems, which could be worse than your initial situation,” Smith says.

Instead of freaking out, think about this classic acronym, which is S.T.O.P.: Stop, think, observe, plan. Use it when you’re lost or when your kid wanders away from you in the mall. It’s a universal blueprint to help you collect yourself when panic wants to take the reins. Don’t be in a rush to find a way out. Take time to assess the situation calmly.

“And you’re going to be way better off if you can get yourself together before it gets dark,” Smith says. “The vast majority of people are scared to go into the woods to begin with. Once it gets dark, that fear intensifies.”

#3: Not Paying Attention

Do you remember your drive to work this morning? Do you recall how many stoplights there were? How many right turns did you make? Did you drive north or east? Chances are you were on autopilot, and that’s okay. It’s different when you’re in the woods, especially if you’re in a new area. “Just pay attention,” Smith says. “It seems easy enough, but people underestimate their ability to get lost.”

Before you hunt or hike, Smith recommends getting to know the area simply by looking at a map, using Google Maps or satellite imagery. Which direction will you be hiking? Where is the truck in relation to the ridge you want to glass? How far is it to the meadow where you want to rattle? As you hike, always know the direction you’re heading. Is there a peak off to your left the entire time? Take note of that. It better be on your right when you hike back. If the woods are thick and landmarks are few, Smith relies on a compass. “I mean a real compass, not the one on my phone,” he says.

One thing that Smith stresses in his courses is that there isn’t just one way to survive in the woods. He teaches his students different ways to start a fire, and they might prefer one over the other based on the available tools. Some might prefer birch bark for tinder, others moss. The same goes for shelters, signaling, water—you name it. “Survival is a results-based issue,” he says. “You either survive or you don’t.”