Lost Script

Payoff: What Happens When We Get Lost… and How to Prevent it.

Shots:
-​ Multiple face on narration locations
-​ Specific shots:
-​ Ahhhh aerial
Roester Study
Interview Transcript and Video
Another Study
Spatial Patterns of Lost Persons
Photos:
-​ Confused Face
-​ Shocked Face Hands
-​ Shocked Face Map
-​ More Faces from Home

Shots: Walking around

(map down) 75% of all lost cases are found within just 2 miles of their last known location, often
a trail. (point at trail sign)

Which seems strange. How do we get lost… when we’re so. close? (A camera panning around
as I frantically look at a map)

(news clips)

You might assume it's just poor planning… or bad cell service…or bad navigational skills.

I thought that too. (looking up from cell phone)

But then I found this massive database of 50,000 search and rescue cases. (B computer)

Including things like how long someone was lost… how far they traveled… and whether or not
they survived. (highlighting text)

But it also reveals something deeper… (face on)

Patterns in human behavior that show how we behave when we’re lost. (C walking through tree
brush)

Because, it's not just poor planning.

It's psychology.

You could argue that when we find ourselves lost, our brains start working… against us… not for
us.

The harder we try to find our way, the deeper we get.

(D ahhhh aerial)

There are some fascinating studies that suggest why exactly this happens (highlight “lost person
behavior”)… which I’ll get into.

But more importantly, there are ways we can override these behavioral patterns.

And turns out, the man behind the search and rescue database, who is kind of the MVP of
search and rescue research, Dr. Robert Koester - was up for a call.

I have run hundreds of searches (...) in the field (...) and have a PhD in search theory.
I’m going to go over what happens to your brain when lost… and while I can’t promise you’ll
never get lost… I can show you some things that can help you get back.

And no, it’s not just about staying calm.

(black screen shut down)

Segway Story

This is Geraldine Largay. You might have heard of her.

(2-3 news clips saying her name “Geraldine largay”, “Geraldine largay”)

She was hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2013, when she stepped off trail for what was supposed
to be a quick bathroom break… and… got lost.

Phone records show she desperately tried to get cell service. One text to her husband read:​
​
“lost since yesterday. off trail 3 or 4 miles. call police” (phone text type screen)

Her body was tragically found 2 years later… just half a mile from the trail.

Despite being an experienced backpacker and hiking on a marked trail, she lost her way.

It's easy to point to things like the loss of cell service and the lack of compass skills… as
culprits.

Definitely true.

But here is what I was more curious about. She thought she was “off trail 3 or 4 miles”. But was
found only a couple thousand feet off trail (highlight article feet range).

That's a big difference.

And this… THIS hints at something deeper going on.

Study 1

In 2023, researchers at UC Santa Barbara used virtual reality to learn more about something
called “spatial navigation” - which is a cognitive process that allows us to orient ourselves.

Participants were asked to navigate the same maze under two different conditions.

A low-stress condition: clear lighting, neutral background music.

And… a high stress condition. dim lighting, fog effects, a countdown timer, and on-screen
warnings designed to induce pressure.

The stressed conditions caused participants to travel farther… by taking longer, less direct
paths.

Even though both groups had already been trained on the maze layout, the stressed group still
missed known shortcuts.

This is like being in your local grocery store. Someone pulls the fire alarm… and dims the lights.
This study suggests you will find your way out… but won’t take the most efficient route… even if
you are familiar with it.

Study 2

Okay, but this is a maze. What about a more realistic outdoor setting? (E through the trees)

Well this study, conducted in 2023, had 66 male participants navigate a grassy virtual reality
setting.

Half of them were under no stress. The other half was asked to immerse one hand in ice cold
water.

Turns out, this hand in ice test is a classic proven way to induce stress on humans.
(highlight name on internet)

Both groups started off at a location. And were guided down a winding path to an apple.

They were then asked to go find their way back to the starting location.
The stressed participants misjudged the starting location worse than the non stressed
participants.

They specifically misjudged distance. Their estimates of the original location were way off.

Sound familiar?

Simply put, these studies… combined with stories like Geraldine’s… suggest our navigational
skills severely underperform when we’re stressed. Especially when trying to calculate things like
distance.

(F eyes up surprised)

But perhaps there is a deeper explanation to all of this. Not just the how… but why. Why does
this happen?

Greenbelly

If you're worried about getting lost, you might wanna pack our Greenbelly Meals. I’m Chris
Cage, the founder.

They’re ready to eat adventure meals loaded with over 600 calories and a bunch of other
macros. Which makes them an ideal backcountry lunch. They’ve often been called a rice crispie
treat on steroids.

(its like a rice krispie treat, its fantastic)​

Biological Shutdown. Explain what happens biologically to

So why do our brains seem to misfire… and work against us… in a time when we desperately
need them most?

The moment you realize you’re lost, your brain doesn’t respond like it’s solving a complex maze
- it responds like you’re being hunted.

The amygdala, the brain’s ancient threat detection system, kicks into high gear.
It triggers the release of a lot of chemicals (like adrenaline), shifting your entire nervous system
into fight-or-flight mode. Heart rate spikes, breathing accelerates.

And this... this is where the real problem is.

You’re not being primed to think. You’re being primed to run.

That stress response shuts down higher brain function, particularly in the prefrontal cortex - the
part responsible for decision-making, memory, and spatial reasoning.

Their sense of time is off, Their ability to remember landmarks they just recently saw goes
down. Their overall ability to have higher executive thinking is going to be decreased.

Instead of seeing a familiar forest, you just see trees.

That’s why hikers miss trails they were just on or cross the same stream three times without
realizing it.

When we’re lost, we’re wired to keep moving - even if that movement… makes us more lost.

Primal Navigation. Explain what tools we have to navigate

So are we all at the mercy of our mammalian brains?

Not necessarily.

At least for me, understanding these studies definitely gave new appreciation for the meaning of
“stay calm”.

Which is definitely helpful advice. Because we can somewhat override our stress response by
pausing to breathe and collect so to speak.

(G phew oh mouth blow out face)

But it's not the whole story. We actually have some tools hardwired into us to help us navigate.
Whether we are aware of them or not.

Study
In 2009, researchers led a series of experiments to test whether people can maintain a straight
walking path without obstructions or many visual landmarks at all.

(H walking in straight line)

Participants were hooked up to GPS trackers… and asked to walk in a straight line for several
hours.

Through large, open environments. Think dense forest… and the vast featureless Saharan
desert.

In both environments, participants were found walking in circles. And often, quite literally
crossing their own path multiple times.

In fact, the study was called “walking straight into circles”.

If all you can see is the trees and you're not really skilled in navigation cross-country, people will
wind up walking in circles.

This might sound discouraging if you get lost in a featureless setting.

However, there is more to this study that provides a more optimistic outlook for us. And this gets
back to our built in navigational tools.

The participants ONLY walked in circles… IF the sunlight or moon was not present.

In other words, even with no survival or navigation training, the moon and sun seem to help us
navigate… either consciously or subconsciously.

Evolution Explanation

And I learned we have something a little better than that just using the moon and sun to follow a
straight line.

We have what is called a cognitive map.

This cognitive map is developed by informational inputs - smells and visuals - that help you
determine your location in an environment. Think signs, landmarks.

all of this information has to be integrated and goes into building a cognitive map.

Your cognitive map is also going to be highly reliant upon landmarks.

This information is then stored in our memory.

Allocentric navigation which is like a bird’s-eye view. Think aerial maps.

And egocentric navigation which is like a first-person system view. Think more street view and
directions… like turn left in 500 ft.

And the more landmarks we have, the better our cognitive mapping and navigation can be.

All of these inputs build to what we would describe as “familiarity” in a region.

The neuroscience behind cognitive mapping can go pretty deep… and a guy named
John Okeefe actually won the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 2014 for his
work discovering these “place and grid cells”.

But this cognitive map was essential from an evolutionary standpoint.

It would help our hunter-gatherer ancestors travel long distances and navigate complex
terrain… and ultimately return home.

So we have the ability to build maps inside our brains.

But stress… stress… and more specifically the amygdala… somewhat erases, at least
temporarily, our ability to access this cognitive map.

Koester Insight on Patterns

Koester also noticed patterns in these search and rescue cases. We humans tend to do a
handful of things when we get lost.

These patterns ended up being the basis for his search and rescue operation procedures.

Getting lost often starts off at a specific decision point - a trail fork… or directional change - that
is missed.

the biggest thing that can worsen your navigational performance is you're not paying attention.
So you're distracted. You may have walked by the trail intersection and didn't see it

Humans, as discussed, have a tendency to unknowingly walk in circles…

But also, if present, we have a tendency to follow linear features - ridgelines, forest lines, rivers.

It's like, hey, it's not demanding from a navigation perspective to follow this. I'm just going to
follow it in the hopes. It leads me to civilization in some way.
Or we might go up a hill for a vantage point or go down a hill looking for civilization.

Circles… lines… up and down…

But not many of us do what is considered the best thing to do.

How to Navigate When Lost

Now, when it comes to “what to DO when you're lost”, there are entire books and survival
courses on this.

I actually kept coming across the US Army’s Survival Manual when researching this - covering
everything from basic navigation to how to spearfish with bamboo. I’ll link up to that below if
interested.

But let's cover some universal basics. That hopefully all of us can remember and help us not get
lost.

First…

Stop.

the first thing you need to do is just sit down and take some deep breaths and just kind of let
that initial fight, fight or freeze pass

This might take a minute to adjust. But your amygdala and stress response just spiked… and
you need it to calm down in order to think and navigate clearly.

Next…

Assess your surroundings. Identify landmarks - a rock formation, body of water, anything
unique and memorable. These are inputs that will help build your cognitive map.

Finally…

Plan. This step is more tactical. But can you guess what Dr. Koester recommends doing?

Backtracking. (face on)

Typically backtracking, although it's one of the least common strategies of lost people, is most
likely to be the most successful strategy.
You are going to want to mark where you currently are… and systematically work your way back
to your last known location.

I’ve called this the satellite method. It looks like it has also been called the hub and spoke
method.

Steps. But you are going to flag your current location - break a visible tree limb, stack rocks,
tear off a strap, whatever will be easy for you to find again. (I flagging)

Then walk 50 paces in the direction you think is correct. (J pacing)

If it's not, return back to the flag. And repeat in another direction… until you do.

If that first wave doesn't work, expand the perimeter like a target, (for example, 50 additional
paces)… until you do.

By staying calm and slowly building out this perimeter, you should be able to cover a couple of
miles…

which, according to the data, will have a high likelihood of getting you back to where you
started…

and not end up in the search and rescue database.

Conclusion

Hopefully with some preparation and, now, some awareness… and tactical steps, you will feel
more comfortable if you do get lost.

I’m not going to ask you to subscribe, because that would be cliche. (eyes)

A big big thanks to Dr. Koester for his help making this video. Links to all studies referenced in
the description.

Peace (kiss)

(split screen for credits here)

(bloopers)