Going in getting out easy

These days there are so many things out there to use to keep from getting lost going into unkown place easy way to stay safe MARK YOUR TRAIL IN !!! Then getting out is easy i like the thumbtack glow in the dark push pins you place into tree hit with flashlight they glow allso place a piece of blaze colored plastic on pin you see that in daylight there are many ways to mark a trail think on it not hard

 

I guess the only problem with marking one's trail is that other people can also follow you. I have however marked a couple of trails in my own forest. I mostly follow game trails, but of course they criss-cross each other all over the forest, & without marking it is easy to get side-tracked when you are trying to reach a specific place. Mostly I just mark the tree bark with my tomahawk, but new trails used for getting firewood out are marked with either strips of old cloth or surveyors tape.
Another method I have used in the past in unfamiliar country is to follow a water course, but you have to be careful if you ever cross over to the other side, branches of a creek for instance when returning can take you in the wrong direction! I learnt the hard way!!!
Good post Tom.
Keith.

 

Never mark trail into camp if trailing wounded game into unkown area mark trail in so out becomes easy

 

Obviously the only time you would mark your trail would be when you expected to return, OR if you were expecting a friend to follow. In the latter case your friend can remove the markers.

Being prepared for an intruder is very important, this is NOT dependent on you marking or leaving a trail. Predators are out there regardless, so make sure you are armed & able to defend yourself.

Two things that may help, 1) ALWAYS look behind you frequently, a trail will look completely different seen from only one direction. You need to know what it will look like when you are coming back out. 2) You can use markers that only you recognise. Instead of blazing trees, use rocks or sticks. Not in such a manner as anyone will notice like sticks in assembled in the shape of an arrow, or rocks in the same configuration or in a line. But a rock placed at the base of a tree, or a stick placed in such a manner that is obvious to you but no one else.
A good way to find your way in & out without leaving any sign is to follow a creek or a game trail. Game trails though will branch, so you would need to mark the branch NOT to follow coming back.
Keith.

A game trail in the forest.

 

I doubt very much that the predators we are concerned with here are ones that posses these skills. My moccasin tracks are very hard to spot on a forest game trail even by me. Predators I think are more likely to be looking for tents & camp fires & listening for noise & voices. Yes there are signs of passing as you say like broken bushes & sticks, but these are just as likely to have been caused by other animals other than humans. Clear modern boot prints are about the only sign that could be found that would warrant following, & even then one would have to consider the age of the print & like I said, not many people have this skill.
Even so, in some places such clear prints may invite someone to follow, so the word is, wear moccasins & tread lightly
Keith.

 

if someone is intent on tracking or following me then they are probably a better tracker than I am-which isn't really saying much.
when travelling I hardly ever come back the same way I went, for a start its boring, seeing the same things coming back that I saw going out-I want to see something different.
even in normal life, its not wise to use the same route both in and out, you never know who's watching, vary your times too, people could clock your routine if your too regular.