2 lost cyclists rescued from Takhiantia forest

CHONBURI:--Two Bangkok mountain bikers had to be rescued after getting lost in a Takhiantia forest.

 

Exhausted but unhurt, Satjapong Pattanasukasan and Pongsak Sittitham, both 39, were found by a search party of about 20 rescuers and residents after four hours deep in the Song Pi Nong forest March 14.

 

Satjapong said he had biked in the jungle famous for mountain biking about 10 years ago and came with a friend to do it again. They parked at Tumpratun and cycled into the forest in the morning.

 

But the two wandered off the set path and found themselves lost and unable to get back to the road. With it getting late, they called a friend to ask for help

 

Satjapong said he got lost because he didn’t realize the forest hand grown and changed in 10 years.

-- PATTAYA MAIL 2019-22-03--

 

<deleted> think its funny, I would have walked them further into the forest and left them there

No gps on their mobile phones then?

8 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

No gps on their mobile phones then?

GPS does not work very well under trees if at all sometimes, been there and done that a few times on bike trails in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

Just now, Rimmer said:

GPS does not work very well under trees if at all sometimes, been there and done that a few times on bike trails in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

I'm often out in the jungle (hiking and cycling), 5 years back phone gps was iffy, now it's perfect all the time.

I can't understand anyone getting lost in "jungle". 

You just walk a maybe a few miles in any direction and you will soon run out of "jungle' and see a road or highway.

 

Nearly all jungle has now been cut down and what you see is secondary jungle. See picture in article above.

i.e. The original dense foliage was cut down long, long ago. Especially in S.E. Asia.

17 minutes ago, lonewolf99 said:

Nearly all jungle has now been cut down and what you see is secondary jungle. See picture in article above.

i.e. The original dense foliage was cut down long, long ago. Especially in S.E. Asia.

You're joking, Chiang Mai is surrounded by jungle, you could walk in circles for weeks and never know if you were 1/2Km from a road..

43 minutes ago, lonewolf99 said:

I can't understand anyone getting lost in "jungle". 

Then you haven't spent enough time in the jungle.

56 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

You're joking, Chiang Mai is surrounded by jungle, you could walk in circles for weeks and never know if you were 1/2Km from a road.. 

Well then...

This jungle is a whopping 8 km north/south and 5 km east/west (less actually).

Surrounded by smaller and bigger highways.

Use a  compass:

Move north and you will hit a golf course.

Move east and you will bump onto hw 331.

 

 

14 hours ago, Rimmer said:

Satjapong said he got lost because he didn’t realize the forest hand grown and changed in 10 years.

His Mensa application was turned down for some reason. 

11 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I'm often out in the jungle (hiking and cycling), 5 years back phone gps was iffy, now it's perfect all the time.

That seems to be my experience with the one on my mobile. Don't think I have ever had much of an issue outside, only when inside buildings. Maybe weather can affect it. 

11 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Well then...

This jungle is a whopping 8 km north/south and 5 km east/west (less actually).

Surrounded by smaller and bigger highways.

Use a  compass:

Move north and you will hit a golf course.

Move east and you will bump onto hw 331.

 

Reminds me of some hash friends way back in Singapore who got lost in one of the reserves, the virgin hare started panicking, the older very experienced hasher said 

'Can you shut up please, I can't hear the traffic on Thompson Road with you making all that noise'

How do you hand grow a forest? 'the forest hand grown'

Just now, mikebell said:

How do you hand grow a forest? 'the forest hand grown'

With hand jobs?

Where they started from, they by-passed a map of the whole area...

Maybe next time they pay a little bit more attention.

(Have seen these 2 guys several times around Pattaya bicycling)

MAPKMK 2019_2nd.pdf

 

Help! We're lost and tired and need someone to find us and carry us out.

GPS does not work very well under trees if at all sometimes, been there and done that a few times on bike trails in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

 

This is correct. Tree canopy can block decent satellite signal. If possible use it at a pond, swamp, river where tree canopy is less thick.

 

I recommend a quality dedicated GPS device by Garmin that has much better receiver capability than a cell phone.

 

One thing to consider if you have a Garmin GPS device in heavy forest is to get a long branch and secure device to it and then raise it up as high as possible to allow it to get satellites signals. Then lower device once position is acquired and immediately mark the position (waypoint). You have a short time before signal is lost again. Continue doing this and you will establish a direction of travel.

 

Ofcourse, the first rule is to mark a position at your vehicle or trailhead before departing into forest.

 

Also carry extra batteries.

 

I am S&R in NWT. It is surprising how many inexperienced hikers do not turn on their GPS until they are lost and so failed to mark their original entry location.

I'm often out in the jungle (hiking and cycling), 5 years back phone gps was iffy, now it's perfect all the time.

 

Your phone is probably relying on cell phone tower triangulation and not GPS.

 

The improvement you have experienced is more likely the improvement of cellular coverage.

 

A good handheld GPS device and a cellphone allow for two different types of locating geographic position—cell tower AND GPS Satellite. Although here is a good article about Android:

 

http://backcountrynavigator.com/android-gps/

 

Two things to remember if going into backcountry.

 

GPS on a phone uses much battery life quickly compared to Garmin GPS and how do you recharge phone battery in forest? But you can carry extra batteries for GPS.

 

Also a GPS like Garmin has stronger antenna to receive satellite signal so can still work better in the trees than a cell phone GPS.

 

I can't understand anyone getting lost in "jungle". 
You just walk a maybe a few miles in any direction and you will soon run out of "jungle' and see a road or highway.
 
Nearly all jungle has now been cut down and what you see is secondary jungle. See picture in article above.
i.e. The original dense foliage was cut down long, long ago. Especially in S.E. Asia.

It is common to walk in circles if you are not on a real path that has vehicle traffic.

I am trained S&R in Canada and receive a bit of decent training over the years.

People who become lost typically get a bit anxious and this makes it even more likely they will walk in circles instead of linear route. Especially for people who do not spend much time in the forest.

Ofcourse, obstacles like waterway and steep ravine or dense bamboo can decrease ability to keep straight line travel.

That seems to be my experience with the one on my mobile. Don't think I have ever had much of an issue outside, only when inside buildings. Maybe weather can affect it. 

Weather does not affect GPS or cellular radio signal. These are both dependent on line of sight, they need a path to the satellite or cell tower so trees or geography can block signal but not thick fog or rain.

Well, in theory anyway...Lol...with the downpour in the tropics, it is like being underwater and that actually does restrict radio signal!

Well then...
This jungle is a whopping 8 km north/south and 5 km east/west (less actually).
Surrounded by smaller and bigger highways.
Use a  compass:
Move north and you will hit a golf course.
Move east and you will bump onto hw 331.
 
 

OK, now I have better understanding.
This is not like Canada.
These guys basically got lost in someones back yard.

Joke away...these guys deserve it...Lol

On 3/22/2019 at 7:50 PM, lonewolf99 said:

I can't understand anyone getting lost in "jungle". 

You just walk a maybe a few miles in any direction and you will soon run out of "jungle' and see a road or highway.

https://www.livescience.com/33431-why-humans-walk-circles.html

https://www.livescience.com/33431-why-humans-walk-circles.html

I like the one leg shorter than the other explanation but not sure how that applies to bicyclists?

3 minutes ago, ShortTimed said:

I like the one leg shorter than the other explanation but not sure how that applies to bicyclists?

 

Depends if they're wheeling the bikes. I remember wheeling mine home as a kid many times with a slow puncture, and continually having to pull myself back into a straight line.