RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CITIZENS' ACTIONS IF LOST IN THE FOREST

What to do to avoid getting lost in the forest? Nowadays, it is not uncommon for a person, due to circumstances, to find themselves in a situation of autonomous existence, the favourable outcome of which largely depends on their psychophysiological qualities, solid knowledge of survival basics, and other factors. The main task of a person in an autonomous situation is to survive. The word "survive" has always been used in a very specific sense - "to stay alive, to escape death". Survival is understood as active, reasonable actions aimed at preserving life, health, and working capacity in conditions of autonomous existence.

1. Before going into the forest, inform your relatives where you are going.

2. If you are driving to the forest by car, consider whether you have enough fuel to travel there and back.

3. Keep a knife, matches in a dry box, and a watch in your pocket, not in your bag – they will help you not to panic and to orient yourself, like a compass.

4. Dress brightly – in camouflage, you may not be found even from three metres away. Red, orange, yellow, or white jackets are preferable. It is advisable to attach reflective strips or patterns.

5. Try not to stray far from a familiar route, do not take shortcuts through unfamiliar terrain, especially through swamps.

6. If your relative is lost, call rescuers immediately. Often, independent searches only lead to trampling the tracks by which the person could have been found.

7. If you are trying, for example, to shout to someone who is lost, wait for them in one place for a sufficiently long time. Sometimes found people say that they were heading towards the signal, but upon arrival, they discovered that the car had just left, having not waited for them for even fifteen minutes. However, running out of the forest quickly is quite difficult.

8. It should not be forgotten that a trip to the forest involves strenuous physical activity, which may be unusual for city dwellers. Therefore, consider that you might feel unwell in the forest. If you have any chronic illnesses, they may worsen, so you should not go into the forest without necessary medication. And, of course, you need to have at least a minimal supply of water with you to take medication if needed.

What to do if you get lost in the forest? There are many known cases where people, having gone into the forest without sufficient experience and knowledge of local conditions, easily lost their way and, losing their bearings, found themselves in a dire situation. How should a person behave if they get lost in the forest? Upon losing their bearings, they should immediately stop moving and try to reorient themselves using a compass or natural signs. If this is difficult, a temporary camp should be set up in a dry place, which is not easy to do, especially in mossy forests where sphagnum, which greedily absorbs water (500 parts water to one part dry matter), covers the ground like a carpet. A temporary shelter can be a lean-to, a hut, or a dugout. Moving through the forest can be difficult due to fallen trees and thickets, or dense undergrowth. The apparent similarity of the surroundings (trees, terrain features, etc.) can completely disorient a person, causing them to walk in circles without realizing their mistake. However, by knowing various signs, one can orient themselves by the cardinal directions even without a compass. For instance, the bark of birch and pine trees is darker on the north side than on the south, and tree trunks and stones are more densely covered with moss and lichens. Resin droplets on coniferous trees are less abundant on the north side than on the south. All these signs are clearly visible on a solitary tree in a clearing or at the edge of the forest. To maintain a chosen direction, it is advisable to select a clearly visible landmark every 100-150 meters of the route. This is particularly important if the path is blocked by fallen trees or dense bushes, which force deviations from the direct course. Attempting to push through can always lead to injury. In winter, one can travel along frozen riverbeds, taking necessary precautions. It is important to remember that the current usually erodes the ice from below, making it particularly thin under snowdrifts near steep banks. In riverbeds with sandy shallows, icicles often form, which, when frozen, turn into peculiar dams.

they are often hidden under deep snow and are difficult to detect. Therefore, it is best to bypass all obstacles on river ice, and at river bends, one should stay away from the steep bank, where the current is faster and the ice is thinner. Often, after the river freezes over, the water level drops so rapidly that "pockets" form under the thin ice, posing a great danger. On ice that seems insufficiently strong, but there is no other way, one should move by crawling. In spring, the ice is thinnest in areas overgrown with sedge and near flooded bushes.

The most treacherous obstacles in the forest are swamps and quagmires. A characteristic feature of marshy terrain is its low level of habitation, lack of roads, and the presence of difficult, and sometimes completely impassable, sections. Swamps are rarely equally passable throughout their extent and at different times of the year. Their surface is very deceptive. The most difficult to traverse are bog swamps, the distinguishing feature of which is the whitishness of the surface layer. Small marshy areas can be easily bypassed by stepping on tussocks or the root systems of shrubs, or crossed by wading, after first probing the bottom with a pole. If it is impossible to pass or bypass dangerous areas, one can throw down some branches, lay several poles crosswise, or weave a mat from reeds, grass, or straw, and cross to solid ground over this prepared "bridge."

Lakes overgrown with peat and vegetation pose a significant danger to humans. They often contain deep, shaded bodies of water, covered with floating plants and grass, with these "windows" being almost indistinguishable from the outside. One can suddenly fall into them if safety precautions are neglected. Therefore, when crossing an unfamiliar swamp, one should tread slowly and cautiously, without making sudden movements, always carrying a pole to probe the ground ahead. If you fall into a swamp, do not panic or make sudden movements. You need to carefully, leaning on a pole laid across, assume a horizontal position, then try to reach for reeds or grass with your hands and, pulling yourself up, crawl away from the dangerous area. If several people are moving through the swamp, they should stay close to each other to be able to help a comrade at any moment. The thickness of the peat layer, its density, and the firmness of the ground can be checked using a wooden or metal rod with a diameter of 20 mm, marked with notches every 10 cm. To overcome extensive waterlogged areas, "swamp shoes" and other devices can be made from improvised materials.

There are strict rules for getting out of a difficult situation that should be followed and that everyone should be aware of.

First rule: STOP!!! If you cannot find your way home, the most sensible thing to do is to stop. If you start rushing back and forth, you will feel as if the forest is swallowing you, and you will start to panic. Moreover, aimless running will make you sweat, and then you might catch a cold. That is why you need to stop and calm down, try to control your panic. The best way to calm down is to hug a tree. Choose a birch tree as a friend, hugging it will calm you down and help you gather energy. Another tip: take off your outer clothing and then put it back on. This will help you concentrate on a specific activity and calm your nerves. Now you can calmly think about your future plans. Under no circumstances sit on the ground or a stone, as these are the main heat thieves in the forest. It is better to make an elevated seat from moss and branches and only then sit down.

Rule Two: BE HEARD AND SEEN To signal your presence, repeat your actions three times. For example, give three long whistles or call out three times. After some time, do it again, and so on. Do not shout too loudly or too often. There is no point in wasting your energy on this. And there is also a danger that from constant shouting you will go deaf yourself or lose your voice, so you will not be able to give a sound signal to the searchers even when they are passing close to you. By the way, you can also give sound signals by hitting sticks against trees; the sound from them travels far through the forest. It is clear that the searchers will not appear immediately, so make yourself visible. First of all, find an open space, preferably on a rise. It is useful to build three tall (about three meters) crosses out of branches in the nearest clearing. If you have matches, you can light three bonfires. Or make three deep furrows in the ground with your heel. Or pile up three heaps of stones near the path, as searchers usually follow it. In a word, set up signs that do not exist in ordinary nature and that can be seen from a helicopter. You can, for example, hang decorations made of rubbish (bottles, cans, crisp packets, etc.) on a fir tree. If there is no rubbish nearby, build a fence around the tree.

Rule Three: STAY WARM If you have made yourself visible, it is sensible to build a hut-shelter for yourself; spruce branches and moss can be used as building materials. To keep warm, you can light a fire, but first you should make sure that it will not cause a forest fire. When lighting a fire, do not limit yourself to just small twigs: they will burn quickly and will not bring the expected result. It is better to put larger logs. It is good if you are familiar with forest plants that can be used as food. For example, wood sorrel. However, you should not abuse it either, as it can disrupt digestion. By the way, some layers of pine bark and the light green tips of spruce branches are also edible. However, as practice shows, the forest can sometimes be so bewildering that knowledge acquired just five minutes ago flies out of your head. Therefore, once again: first of all, you need to calm down and think about a plan for further actions. And there is no need to be clever about it – hug a tree.