It’s the beginning of spring. The waking nature and day by day warming temperatures attract more and more people to enjoy the fresh air. People living in Estonia are lucky because there are many beautiful forests and hiking trails and most of the time they don’t have to drive far from the city to go on an adventure. The soon-to-ripen berries and mushrooms give even more reason to go to the forest.

Unfortunately, such trips to nature may not always end with a pleasant experience if you get lost on the road and can no longer find your way home. Every year, the police receive hundreds of calls about people lost in the forest, and many times, large-scale operations have to be launched to find them. Unfortunately, help may not always arrive quickly enough, as it is difficult to find a person lost in a large and dense forest in the dark.

Let’s see how you can ensure that you and your loved ones get help quickly enough if you get lost in the forest!

GPS tracking comes to the rescue

We are used to associating GPS tracking with vehicles, but nowadays one can find solutions in the selection of services and devices that are perfect for real-time tracking of the location of both people and pets.

This is a great additional opportunity to increase the safety of yourself and your loved ones. May your adventure take you to a beautiful forest, stunning bog, or anywhere else in nature.

Our miniature GPS device

Navirec’s autonomous and tiny Mini GPS device is a reliable companion when you go out into the wild, as it allows you to determine your location with great precision and, if necessary, call for help.

This small device weighs only 40 grams and is about the size of a matchbox, so it can easily fit in both a backpack or a pocket. The durable 800 mAh Li-ion battery is rechargeable with a standard USB cable and the waterproof case with IP67 protection ensures the device’s performance even in rainy conditions. The Mini GPS device displays the user’s location in real-time and the movement route with speed.

When it comes to life-threatening situations, mobile positioning is used to locate lost people during police operations. Unfortunately, this only gives the approximate distance of the phone from the serving base station in response. The accuracy of the positioning depends largely on what location the phone is in.

In cities, the GPS positioning is more accurate – within a radius of about 200-300 m. But in rural areas, the precision of mobile positioning drops significantly and the result is given within a radius of about 2-3 km. Thus, mobile phone positioning leaves quite a large area for searches.

GPS device positioning is extremely accurate – position display error is <3 meters. Moreover, the location is updated every few seconds. For example, if the GPS device is turned on when entering the forest, the starting point of the route will be shown on the map in the Navirec solution. Users also see the distance and trajectory traveled, and the current location of the device. All this can be viewed in the Navirec solution both on a computer and on a smart device via the Navirec app.

Should a person get lost in the forest, the GPS device gives a very good overview of where they started their journey and in which direction they were moving. Therefore, it is always worth taking the GPS device with you and creating user accounts for your loved ones in the Navirec solution, so that they can see the location of the GPS device if necessary.

The solution also allows users to see the exact coordinates of the device’s location, which can be passed on to the police before starting the search. This may be necessary if you are lost in a large and deep forest where no other markers such as driveways or other landmarks are found.

The Mini GPS also has an alarm button that allows you to send an alert to your selected contact number. Should your phone’s battery run out while in the woods when you get lost, you can send your location coordinates at the touch of a button and quickly notify them of your need for help.

As you can see, a GPS device is an affordable and reliable tool to increase the safety of yourself, your children, and your elderly loved ones!

How else to prepare when going to the woods?

One can easily get lost in a familiar place as well. Therefore, when going to the forest, bog, or elsewhere in nature, you should always make the necessary preparations in case everything does not go as planned:

• make yourself acquainted with the area map in advance & bring a compass if possible;
• start your trip before noon and avoid being left in the dark;
• bring enough drinking water and snacks to provide energy;
• dress according to the weather and brightly colored;
• take the necessary medications with you;
• if possible, don’t go to the forest alone and stay within sight and hearing of your companions;
• bring a fully charged mobile phone and take the battery bank with you if possible;
• inform your loved ones about going to the forest and the planned time of return;
• take your Navirec’s Mini GPS device with you;
• in case of emergency, inform your relatives and call 112.

Take the safety of yourself and your loved ones in your hands and order a Navirec GPS device by courier to your home, to the nearest Omniva parcel machine, or pick up the device at our office in Tallinn!