Introduction
Modern life in a First World country is fantastic. Access to everything you need. What’s even more beneficial, is having a computer in your pocket. That’s right, your smartphone, it’s a computer and a radio transceiver. It can communicate with almost anyone in the world via radio waves and the Internet. All it needs to do is reach a cell phone tower. Let’s focus on a few aspects of this though, what the cell phone was originally created for, and what it has replaced. It plays a part in understanding your reliance on this device.
Cellphones were primarily created for a mobile means of communication. Handheld radios also did this well, but not as well as a cell network. There is a lot that goes into a cellular network in terms of supporting infrastructure, most notably the need for towers to dot the landscape, and the number of users on one tower. This is key to understanding how fickle and vulnerable a network like this can be. I don’t want this article to become a history lesson though… So what did the innovation actually do? Also, how did it change the culture of self-reliance?
Prior to cellphones, there was no reliable way to communicate with family, friends, or co-workers when they were on the move, covering substantial distances. Sure, payphones existed. But what if you were not near one? More than likely, you had to walk to a house to use a phone, or a good Samaritan stopped to help. Also, they had to memorize where everything was. There was no ability to instantly search for a location, and start electronic navigation to it. People took even the most casual outing outside of their home more seriously. There were no Google or Apple maps. They had to know where they were going, and every road to get there. People paid attention to any and all pay phones they passed in case of an emergency. Why? Because having a small device to call or reference a map didn’t exist. If they were having an emergency, then they were on their own.
I’m hoping this is jogging your memory, imagination, and daydreams. If you are young, this probably was not a reality for you. So I want you to take a second and reflect on this. I have memories from my childhood when strangers came to the front door to ask for directions, or to simply use our house phone! Imagine how would you respond if someone came to your door asking for directions. “Is your cell phone broken?” would probably be the first words out of your mouth along with suspicion. This is the world we live in now, but it wasn’t always that way. Why is this important?
Setting the Scenario
The scenario I am leading you on is finding your loved one or friend without the use of a cell phone, or any electronic device at all. This actually is not a skill that your parents or grandparents even used because of radio or the landline telephone. The skill I am about to teach you was used by your ancestors. Pioneers used something similar during navigation of advanced party members, or scouts. However, modern society has created a twist that makes this skill even easier to accomplish. Ironic, isn’t it?
This is a niche or nuanced scenario, but it is a great start to use this as a basis to build up other skills in the future. Also, to be frank, the scenario is scary and doom pilled. Imagine your Significant Other alone, without your comfort and protection, in the world trying to make it back home. Couldn’t they just drive home? Sure, they absolutely could, but what if their car runs out of fuel? This scenario is nuanced in that it surmises some sort of event that has disrupted fuel supplies and modern communications, and people are having to walk home. The likelihood of normal society being restored is weeks out, and people cannot sit at their work, school, or shopping center in hope that things go back to normal. You might not be able to immediately make it to them, or the power grid is out and cell phones can’t communicate. An even simpler similar scenario is becoming lost in the wilderness, and the cell phone is dead. This scenario was daily life before the days of the telegraph. It is history.
We can war game and discuss this all day, but let’s play by the scenario rules. The SO is walking home, and their journey might take several days if traveling on foot. We are also going with the assumption that cell phones don’t work. If I can teach you how to overcome this nightmare, then I have confidence in you to keep your family together, and safe in one of the most stressful crisis scenarios imaginable for a modern family: A lost spouse or child without communications, wandering the world exposed to the evils of the world.
It is time to introduce you to the modern breadcrumb trail, and the rendezvous corridor. This is a method used to find your Significant Other (SO), child, or anyone you are looking for) in an environment or scenario where modern telecommunication devices cannot be used, or have failed.
The Recovery Corridor
Fundamentally, this involves your SO leaving behind a breadcrumb trail. (Think Hansen and Gretel.) People used to do this. Animals do this, as well. Your dog does so by marking territory with scent glands. You aren’t going to go around sniffing bushes, but the concept is almost the same. Your SO will leave behind a marker, a signal, a sign of life, just something that the two of you two agree upon before this scenario. In this instructional, it will be in the form of orange duct tape.
Leaving behind little pieces of tape is not that much help in itself. What makes this technique work is the agreed-upon instructions that you and your SO discuss before crisis strikes. For example, this is how it went with me:
“This is how I want you to use orange duct tape to mark your trail on your way back home, lost in the woods, et cetera in case (insert scenario) happens and I’m coming to find you. I want you to put a piece of tape on every other road sign, or every sign every 200 meters. I want this about chest high, with the tape facing the road so I can see it from both directions. Position two pieces if you stop nearby to rest or to sleep. Remove the second piece of tape when you start walking again. Do this along the entire route you take. I will be looking for your trail.”
So what this does is create what I call a “recovery corridor.” Your SO creates a long, linear, “snare” as you (the rescuer) can stumble upon any segment, and then instantaneously be on the right trail. If your SO stays on a road, or on a route that’s preplanned, then the likelihood of finding them becomes significantly higher. The only variable left in the equation is time, namely: how far behind are you? A solid choice is staying on a road, and only marking street signs. Let’s look at an example:
The Disneyworld example here works quite well. It is understood that most of you live outside of Florida, and the only way home is to proceed north. This is a good classic example of your SO staying on a constant northern movement, and you are reasonably able to predict the same. The SO only uses one highway, and that is the closest highway to I-75 on the eastern side.
This can fill you with positive hope knowing the chances are in your favor. After all, you are the type of person that would never sleep peacefully knowing that they are out there, and you didn’t try.
What to Consider
There are many other tactics, techniques, and practices that can accompany the rendezvous corridor. That’s exactly what they are though, added on flavor to the same meal. By now, you are probably already imagining techniques, materials, et cetera that you would use for your area, and your scenario. This is exactly what I want you to do. Brainstorm some marker ideas. You might use cartoon stickers instead of tape. That would work great in a dense urban environment. However, I want you to consider some things before making your own selection and plan.
This is not a comprehensive list, but these are questions you need to ask yourself:
- Is the material lightweight, and can be carried in quantity?
- Is it too conspicuous that someone would want to snag it, or so common that it could get misinterpreted? (Such as using litter on the side of a road.)
- Will it fall off, come undone, disintegrate in rain, or be blown off by wind?
- Would an animal eat it?
- Is it too big, or too small?
- Can it be seen when walking, AND at 70 mph?
- Can I emplace it on the decided-upon linear terrain feature? (Roads, river banks, power lines, road signs.)
Next, consider: Where could you create the rendezvous corridor?
- Roads
- Waterways
- High-tension power line right-of-ways
- Railroads
Where on the corridor should you place markers? Permanent, stationary objects!
Be wary of creating a breadcrumb trail anywhere else. You need to see the marker from some distance to keep the continuity of the trail. If you miss one or two markers, then you can veer on the trail. Zigzagging through the woods in a bad idea. Too many trees can obscure the next marker, and you will be left frustrated and allow panic to start sinking its claws into you. Panic and frustration will shut you down, and that is the opposite of hope. This is why I stress placing markers every 200-300 meters. Enough material to stretch it out, but not enough to get off-trail.
Conclusion
The breadcrumb trail creates your rendezvous corridor. The use of markers along a predesignated route from where you are, to home, will allow you to find a SO in a sea of millions without any communication device.
Reliance on information-on-demand has significantly degraded these ancient skills. I know this scenario is very unlikely to happen, but it is a basis for similar planning and practical exercises. More importantly, if it does ever manifest then fear, panic, hopelessness, and regret won’t consume you. I know you love someone, and they love you back. This can, and will, give you and your family the fighting spirit to punch through one of the most scary crises.