I went out yesterday for what was supposed to be an overnighter (turned out I walked faster than I thought I would and got back to the truck yesterday evening), and since I was alone, I had plenty of time to think.

I got to wondering if it is possible to safely (let me emphasize again, safely) "get lost" so that I could then find my way out. At the moment my only idea is to be blindfolded and driven to a trailhead I've never visited before by someone who does know right where we are, and then being elected navigator to find a specific location. I'm not sure how well that would really work though.

Then I began to wonder about other situations. Someone here, I don't remember whom, has mentioned going out and pretending that he/she had forgotten some item (even though it's actually in the pack), and then making do without it. Since it's right there, if the exercise doesn't work then you're not really in any trouble. So I wondered what would happen if I took my brother's pack and marked some random item with a bit of red thread and he did the same with something of mine -- neither one knowing what the other had chosen until we're out there and reaching for it. And then not being able to use it for the remainder of the trip because it was "forgotten" or "broken".

What do you think? How could I simulate being lost in a safe, yet effective, manner? What about learning how to deal with other difficulties? The point of all this is, of course, to learn how to respond instead of reacting when an unforeseen problem arises, thereby increasing the likelihood of surviving.