> And don't forget the skyfall! I'm not quite sure how high that
> starts up, but I get the impression it is also very high.
Good point.
> But as to getting lost...I can see a couple of factors:
>
> 1) as mentioned by others you can't always see landmarks. Fog, low
> cloud, and probably more frequently: intervening objects, such as
> hills or trees. Even in the plains of prax there is probably a
> slight roll, which may well obscure the block if you aren't within
a
> few dozen miles.
There are other landmarks besides the huge horizon spanning sort.
People used to traveling in this sort of manner, take notice of
things like: "Thats the lichen covered rock that has that jagged
edge that points roughly towards the old elm at the edge of the
forest with that one branch that looks like an alynx about to
pounce. And the opposite branch points towards Old Man Urgold's
sheep pasture and once I'm there I can just follow the crick down to
the barley field behind our stead."
Landmarks exist in droves. Hundreds of them in every passing hour regardless of where you are, just some landscapes are more subtle then others. "Yes thats the barrel cactus I passed about an hour ago, cuz the flower is pointing to the east towards that big ocotillo."
In my experience of hiking extensively cross-country without trails through rough terrain (deserts and mountainous country mostly), if somebody can see and is familiar with the area, it is practically impossible to get lost. You may not know EXACTLY where you are at any one point in time, but you always know roughly where you are and how to get someplace you do know exactly.
Of course there are extenuating circumstances. Thick fog can get you lost in your own backyard. Some forests are magical and some areas slip into Otherworlds and are supernaturally confusing. Some people have a naturally poor sense of direction and can't find West while standing on the California coast. But I have a hunch that this is a cultural phemonoma and that peoples who live intimately with the land do not have people with bad direction sense. Finally, if you are not familiar with the area you're likely hosed, especially if you are a Heortling from the hills trying to navigate across the Wastes (you don't know what to look for).
> 2) This is a bit like saying "How could you ever get lost if you
> have a compass?"
user error. compass and map are harder to use then most people
think. If you know how to use them well, its very difficult to get
lost, even in country you aren't familiar with. Good line of site is
required however.
> doesn't tell you if the stead is just over the ridge to your
> right, or a couple of more ridges over
IMO if you're within a couple ridges of your stead, you likely know
where you are.
> For that matter someone mentioned how you couldn't get lost on the
> Rockwood mountains....true to a point, you always know which way is
> down. But still no guarantee that you can find that one narrow
> safe way down if you lost track of where it was.
That is much different than being lost. Sure you may not know the
most efficient way up or down. But you know where you are and where
you are heading and if you don't go the right way, you turn around
and try that alternate route you identified 2 km back. I've done
that before "whoops this isn't the pass, its that next notch over."
An hour detour and you're back on route. I've even done "whoops this
isn't the right mountain, its that peak over there. Might as well
sign the register as long as I'm here." A 3 hour detour and I'm back
on route.
2 bolgs worth
-Mitch
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