One reason people get into survival situations, in the wilderness particularly, is because they do not care enough about situational awareness. The scenic beauty all around, the excitement of an adventure, the joys of being closer to Nature, the chat sessions among the group, all lead to losing focus and therefore sight of what is all around. And when on the trail, this means that you are not aware of the environment around you. You keep walking down the trail and suddenly realise that you do not know where you are.
This happens more often when a group is travelling on a trail. Talking among themselves, subconsciously they individual believes that someone else knows where they are going. Actually they are so engrossed among themselves that no one is concentrating on situational awareness. And that’s how they get lost.
One reason people get hurt is because they do not address the reality of situational awareness when constructing shelter or when selecting a shelter location. Any place seems good enough and in the middle of the night they are bitten by hordes of ants because the shelter was right in their path. Or a dead branch they did not notice earlier, broke off the tree above and crashed into their shelter. Or a flash flood came in washing away their camp.
Situational awareness is important as far as animal tracks are concerned too. You do not want to be walking on an elephant trail or indeed the trail of any predator that can harm you.
Keep your senses about you and be concerned about situational awareness. This will prevent you from getting hurt or lost, leaving you with the luxury of the fun that you came to seek in the outdoors.
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