HIKERS’ EXPERIMENT

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17953, 3 December 1932, Page 13

HIKERS’ EXPERIMENT

“LOST” PARTY POUND PRACTICE WITH SMOKE SIGNALS An interesting experiment in buslicrnft was conducted during a recent week-end by number of New South Wales climbing and hiking enthusiasts, members of ttie Mountain Trails Club and Sydney Bushwalkcrs. By arrangement, one" of the four parties became “lost” in nvi area of 50 square miles, bounded on t,he west by the railway line between. Waterfall and Lilyvale, and on the east by the coast between Garie and Worong. I lie “lost” party camped on a Saturday night near the source _ of Palm Creek, and on Sunday morning climbed to the 700 ft. high contour on the southern boundary of National Park. The recognised signal for lost parties is three tires. Each of the parties assigned to the search sought the high ground and scanned the surrounding heights for '■ignals. At times the mist rose in spirals and deceived the searchers, ut other times dense clouds hung round the tree-tops and obscured their view. The first of the search parties to pick *ip the smoke signals was that which set out from llelensburg, and by

midday their “eooees” from a neighboring hillside were, heard faintly by the “lost” men. Visibility was improving, as the day wore on, and the other search parties reached their objective soon afterwards.

Two lessons brought homo forcibly t;> members were the value of fieldglasses and the advantage of lighting fires a few' ieet below, rather than on tho actual crest of a hill.