What does it mean to be lost? I think most people would define lost as "not knowing where you are". I would also add that a person can be lost if they "don't know where they are going". There are of course combinations of the 2 definitions.
-You don't know where you are and you don't know where you want to go.
-You don't know where you are but you know where you want to go.
-You don't know where you want to go but you know where you are.
I am not going to focus on the first two, at Outdoors and Outabounds we describe the 3rd definition as part of what I mean when I say "erase the compass". I am not promoting leaving your compass behind or ignoring it! So what does it mean to "know where you are but not know where you are going"?
I know lot's of self proclaimed "mavericks" you know the type, they claim to "think outside the box" and "never color inside the lines". I have even had the opportunity to hike with a few of them. In fact most the "outdoor enthusiasts" (including myself) define ourselves this way. I know very very few people that plan a hiking or camping trip without doing research on what trail to take to get to a destination. A few years ago I realized that I was one of those people. When did leaving the trail become a legitimate option?
"When did that little dirt trail become our master?"
I truly believe that we need to wander a lot more. Columbus, Magellan, and Shackleton stepped out in faith! They were willing to explore the parts of the map that were marked with the every foreboding "There Might be Giants". They were all very versed in astronomy and always new "where they were" but they had no idea where they were going. (In the case of Columbus he knew where he was going he just didn't know he was completely wrong.)
In the day in age we live in actually "getting lost" is pretty hard to do. Sure there are places we can go and get lost, South American Rain forests or the sveltd in Africa but even then SATCOM and GPS are available (for the right price).
Let's bring it back to how all this should affect us in out outdoor adventures. I live at the foot of Pikes Peak. The mountain is massive, and 99% of the people on it are on trails. A large percentage of them are taking the Barr trail to the top of the 14,110ft mountain. As though that trail is the only way up the mountain. Yes, it is the easiest and the fastest way to hike the mountain and is a perfect option for those people who have no time to take a different route...think about that for a second. A large majority of the hikers don't want to get lost if they go off trail. This is the funniest reason to me since you can see Colorado Springs for almost the entire climb. You can walk in one direction, any direction, and you will run across a road or trail. In fact this is true for almost anywhere in the mountains on the Front Range.
Bottom line:
Don't be scared to walk off the path, like anything in life you need to be prepared and have a "toolbox of skills" that you can rely on. But everything is in your reach, erase the compass, and take the time to know where you are but not care where you are going.
-Coach Stack