I was helping my sister with a research project in the Everglades, tracking Cape Sable Seaside Sparrows. These tiny little brown birds had radio transmitters, so you slog through water, mud, and saw grass (avoiding the alligator nests, mosquitoes, snakes, and poisonwood bushes) holding a receiver above your head and following the beeps in your headphones.
I failed to get my heading before starting out, so after about three hours of slogging and chasing this little bird, I suddenly realized I had no idea how to get back. The 360 degree view was water and saw grass – nothing as far as the eye could see, no landmarks whatsoever. The real complication was that it was my last day there and I had a plane to catch that afternoon.
I managed to find my way, but I’ll never forget the feeling of being in the middle of nothing for as far as I could see.