People will generally pick a side when going around obstacles - step left around this rock, left around this tree - and this tendency results in a big circle. If you're stuck in nature, make a point of alternating which way you go around obstacles.
If you closed your eyes and tried to walk in a straight line, chances are you wouldn't make it more than 100 meters from your starting point no matter how long you walk due to the natural tendency to circle. In the study I was reading one person didn't make it more than 20 meters.
Throw in a dense forest with little visibility and no distant horizon landmarks to reference and you're likely to hang out in a space the size of a football pitch thinking you've traveled miles.
Back when I was in wilderness training (kind of like scouts but more prepper leaning) we were given training for how to go in a straight line through the woods, then we were taken to a wooded area and told to trailblaze our way to the fire trail 3 miles away. We each had a chaperone with a GPS on them and they were keeping track and would fail us if we got more than 40 degrees off course for more than half an hour without correcting. 10 of us went out, and even with training only 6 of us made it, and two of us turned that 3 mile trip into a 10 mile hike.
We eventually got much better, but that first foray really gave us a healthy respect for how unprepared that average person is at wilderness survival.
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u/stfupcakes 5d ago
People will generally pick a side when going around obstacles - step left around this rock, left around this tree - and this tendency results in a big circle. If you're stuck in nature, make a point of alternating which way you go around obstacles.