The Horrors of Becoming Lost

Sources, notes etc are available here: bit.ly/3soD84D (links to a public Patreon post). Any mistakes, edits, corrections will be posted on this pinned comment. Thank you so much for all of your feedback, it means the world :') Corrections: 14:40 Austrian TV, not German

Slowly dying of starvation in a pitch black cave for 3 weeks is beyond nightmarish

If Hans wanted to put his life at risk, that's not great, but acceptable. Putting others at risk, especially children, is UNACCEPTABLE.

I swear YouTube content is getting better than tv nowadays. I love coming across hidden gems like this channel.

I became lost in the woods with my mother as a child. One moment we were on a trail, and the next, we weren't. I still remember the tall, blue flowers that covered the forest floor where the trail should have been behind us. An undetermined amount of time later (still the same day, thank God) we found a highway and walked alongside it until we got back to the parking lot where we started. At that time my mother would have been 25yo at most, yet she carried me on her back for an unknown distance. Listening to stories like this make me feel lucky that we made it home that day.

If you find yourself lost in the woods: 1. Stop as soon as you realize. 2. If you have anything colorful or that stands out, mark the spot you are at. Wrap a piece of clothing around a tree. Lay your tent out, whatever. That is your center marker now. 3. Choose a tree (Make sure you can see the base of the tree clearly!) straight in one direction and while walking to it, constantly turn around to make sure you can see your base camp. 4. If you did not see the trail or anything that resembles civilization. Mark the tree with something that visually stands out and go back to base camp. From there choose another direction and tree to walk to, always looking at base camp. Repeat this process for all 4 directions from your center marker 5. If all 4 directions turn up in nothing, go out to any of the previously marked trees, and now choose another tree further out in the same direction. Always keeping sight on the previous tree. Do this in all 4 directions. Keep repeating this process until the distances are simply too large or you run out of items to mark the trees with. ONLY choose trees that you can clearly see the base of, as it means you will be able to see the tree you are currently at from it. And only walk in directions you know you can return from, avoid steep slopes, rivers, marshy or swampy land etc..

I’m so glad you mentioned Keast, because I did like 5 takes when the video opened like “This…wait didn’t we already do stubborn German teacher foolishly leads boys up a mountain to their deaths?” The fact that this happened more than once is incredible.

I once saw a TV show where one person cursed the other one with, "May you die silent and alone." I don't think I've ever heard anything more chilling.

The first story is a great example of a general rule of thumb: Mother Nature may have very few consistencies, but punishing those arrogant, unprepared, and inexperienced enough to believe they could overcome her is one of them.

One time I was hiking in the rainforests of Vancouver Island, and started following some neon trail marker ribbons... Except as I went deeper the trail started becoming really bizarre, going under collapsed giant trees and through muddy quagmires. Eventually, every direction I looked had a trail ribbon. I felt like I had lost my mind, and felt panic creeping up because the sun would soon set. I started scrambling back the way I came, horrified at not only being lost, but spending the night in the rainforest alone. It was then that I realized the ribbons had faded writing on them that faintly read "search and rescue." The entire time I hadn't been following trail markers for my route, and instead was retracing an old search and rescue effort for someone else who had gone off trail. The irony of how I had become lost was almost as ridiculous as how I was saved. Two stoned barefoot men ran into me when they heard me screaming and helped me find the trail again. I was left with an enduring gratitude for hippies, and intense fear of dense forests. They are almost liminal and claustrophobic.

Cavediving sounds like such a nightmare to me. It combines all my biggest fears (claustrophobia, drowning/suffocating, getting stuck, getting disoriented, creepy sea life, darkness, and so on)

As someone who lives in the deep woods of northern Minnesota, there is nothing scarier than realizing you have no idea where you are. Due to the lack of snow this winter, I got lost in my woods because I couldn't recognize it without the snow. I stopped immediately, pulled out my compass, and said a prayer. Thankfully I found a nearby dirt road and made my way back but it's a good reminder to ALWAYS have your compass and know HOW to use it when in the woods.

I've heard a number of these stories before, but you cover them and such detail, and with such passion that I feel like I'm hearing them for the first time. Once again, amazing work.

Gerry and Pieter's is so depressing. So close to being saved or saving themselves. So close. Sure we can say "Why didnt they do this or that?" But anxiety, panicking and fear can mess with anybody's mind. Logic is basically shoved out the window.

Pieters last dive is so viscerally terrifying I cannot explain it. I’ve seen a lot of cave diving videos, as well as accidents. All terrifying in their own right. But the fact he did manage to find an air pocket.. and he survived for 3 WEEKS in pitch black darkness.. I can’t explain the sense of dread i feel.

Gerry’s story is so sad to me, and frightening in its simplicity. I top embarked on an AT home from Harper’s Ferry,WV. While I only hiked for about 15-20 miles or so and then camped for 3 days and then returned I discovered first hand just how easily and fast things could go sideways. From losing your orientation, improper storage of food, water filtration, weather the list goes on. And I was literally decked out in probably too much gear and had received training from trail guides on previous excursions. Yet still, it was abundantly clear I was one misstep from tragedy the whole time.

The script for this video is beautifully crafted. One of the finest I've come across. Empathetic, but not soppy, and erudite, but not pompous in any way. Lovely work.

Gerry's story is the most sad to me. She just went off the trail to go to the bathroom and got turned around. And she was half a mile from the trail.

The second story is beyond tragic. Imagine surviving for that long and choosing to put your trust in the rescuers and wait, only for no one to find you. It's stories like these that make me wonder what will happen if I ever get lost and follow the well-known piece of advice "if you ever get lost stay put, help is on the way". I can't even imagine what it must have felt like to be in the pitch black without proper food and water or any way to tell time.

Your channel is one of the most professional and respectful tragedy coverage channels on YouTube. You don't steal footage, you don't sensationalize, you don't plagiarize, and you seem to take your work very seriously.