Every summer some poor soul is found up in the Cascades at the bottom of a huge cliff where he fell to his premature end. I have always wondered; how does someone accidentally walk off a cliff? After my Team in Training practice yesterday I think I now know how this happens.
I gave everyone a map of the Redmond Watershed with arrows directing them on a 4.5 mile loop. Well, everyone missed the first turn 2 miles into the run. The trail ended at some neighborhood cul-de-sac and even though it was highly unlikely that there were giant homes in the public watershed, everyone just kept running. Out onto the streets, then onto the highway, then God knows where else.
Besides blaming myself for making the assumption that people could run and follow a map at the same time, I blame Audra and Cat. they were leading and at the point when they realized they were lost, instead of turning around and finding the true course, they just kept going. The reason I think they did this lies in some ingrained human frailty. Because they were the "leaders" turning around would have put them in an awkward or shameful group situation. The "followers" were not totally without fault either. Some of them must have sensed or known that they were off course, but they kept silent and just kept following.
So back to my lost hiker. When you are lost in the woods, (or anywhere I suppose) panic sets in and though it may not result in running in circles screaming, it can however make you walk mindlessly on. Instead of spending energy on actual route finding one's mind spirals off in many directions including everything BUT route finding. The poor hiker feels alone, desperate, and ashamed, and the view from the top of the cliff is obscured by his fear, and tears, and many furtive glances over his shoulder.
I feel that in the spirit of public service I should advise people that when you are lost; Stop! Go BACK to a place where you know you were not lost, then proceed again paying close attention to clues for the proper route. It's quite simple but not at all obvious at the time.
When you are lost, walking or running mindlessly on will sometimes lead you right off the edge of a cliff.
1 comment:
While the advice is spot on (going back to the last area known to be correct) the assignment of blame might more correctly be placed on pack mind or decision by committee to use a business metaphor. In this instance our fastest runners (Audra, Cat etc.) who happen to be pleasant and agreeable sorts in addition to being fast, kept running back to our pack of more surly slower types telling us to turn around, this is the wrong way. After doing this twice, the pack basically said - forget it, we're over it - keep move forward and we'll figure it out if it is wrong. Fortunately, no cliffs. If anything the lesson is probably - do what you know is right despite an overwhelming consensus to the contrary of grumpy old slow people (me included) – actually maybe that was your point!
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