Have you ever lost someone in the woods? Have you ever been lost in the woods?
It’s important to have a few tricks up your sleeve for tracking someone in a life or death situation like this.
There are obvious ways to track someones whereabouts when they’re missing. 
I recently discovered a new one when Tina and I got separated here in the deep woods of Maine.
- For a long time I’ve used Google maps location tracking feature on Tina’s phone so I know where she’s running (Yeeess… she knows! The things you people think.). When we’re in new cities or forests and she goes running early in the morning I like to check google map to see that she is still in the area she said she would be.
- A phone call on the cell is always a good way to make sure someone is OK if you’re worried.
- Also, texting is important because when phones have very little signal a call may not go through, but a text message has a good chance.
But what if the phone is having problems?
I discovered this new trick when Tina and I were recently separated up here in Bangor, Maine. We knew getting separated was a near certainty so we made plans to meet at a certain spot after a certain amount of time. But this didn’t work out for us this time.
It all started when we left the RV in the woods to go find supplies. That’s right, we drove into town to go shopping. I wanted to eat at Texas Roadhouse and Tina just wanted to go shopping at LL Bean, and Kohls, and the Craft Store and Bed Bath and Beyond, etc. How would I find her when she could be in one of a dozen stores by the time I finished my meal?
I could use Google maps or text her. But here’s the rub. Tina’s phone has been dying big time. We’re holding out for the new Pixels to arrive so she’s limping along with a defective phone. Her battery only lasts about 10 minutes or less. In fact, her battery died by the time I finished my country fried chicken smothered in cream gravy, loaded baked potato and salad with blue cheese dressing. What was I going to do? Go search in every store she could possibly be in? No! I’d die of boredom in the ladies mittens and gloves section of Kohls and my body would be found behind a display rack 3 days later!
Then my phone buzzed and it hit me. I looked at the notification and there she was. She had just purchased some crafting items at the craft store just 2 stores away with our credit card. Eureka! Credit Card Purchase location tracking!
Every time a purchase is made on our card I get an immediate notification on my phone. I’ve found that the credit card notification feature provides near real-time location tracking. With this method I can usually track Tina down to within 100 feet of her location and, sadly, these notifications occur at a very high frequency providing lots of location data.
And those are my Maine Woods Tracking Tips.
P.S. Happy Birthday Tina! Hope you bought yourself something nice… 🙂