Lost hunter finds a camp.

[Hilljackoutlaw]

When a Lost Kid Wanders into Your Hunting Camp

On a deer hunt, a youngster gets separated from his family. Hours later, he stumbles upon the author's camp asking for help.

www.outdoorlife.com

I shed my pack one time to stalk quieter and couldn't find the damn thing for 3 hours. Never again. I bought the tiny pack that rides inside my big pack and it holds survival stuff only. So if I do shed the big pack I still take the little pack in case something happens. This doesn't help.me find my big pack if I forget where I shed it, bit atleast I can survive the night if I were to get into a situation.

 

[Wildabeest]

When a Lost Kid Wanders into Your Hunting Camp

On a deer hunt, a youngster gets separated from his family. Hours later, he stumbles upon the author's camp asking for help.

www.outdoorlife.com

I shed my pack one time to stalk quieter and couldn't find the damn thing for 3 hours. Never again. I bought the tiny pack that rides inside my big pack and it holds survival stuff only. So if I do shed the big pack I still take the little pack in case something happens. This doesn't help.me find my big pack if I forget where I shed it, bit atleast I can survive the night if I were to get into a situation.

OnX waypoints are your friend!

 

[NECALI]

When I was about 10 ( now 62) I was following along with my Uncle deer hunting in Northern CA. We split up from my Dad and brother to hunt back to the Jeep for lunch. Lots of timber and no view of surrounding landmarks. We crossed the trail that led back to the Jeep and kept going. He later said he didn’t think it was the right trail. We ended up walking until dark and ended up way far away from where we were supposed to be. Every once in a while he would fire his rifle three times in succession. To no avail. We stumbled into a camp and thankfully they gave us a ride back to our camp, which took us back about 11:00pm. My Dad and brother had stayed out till dark yelling for us. My brother said he got sick of hearing Dad yell for us so much, but thankfully we were Okay. That’s the only time I was with someone and got lost. I don’t take the blame as I was only following him. LOL. As a Dad, I have spent many evenings worrying when My Son or others in our group don’t show up when they should. We always carry radios, and they are a great asset, but do have their limits.

 

[np307]

Man that would be pretty wild to have a kid walk into your camp like that. Seems like a logical order to things took place in the account given. Warmth first, then food, then get the story. Contact someone, whether SAR, my family who can then relay info, or the kids family. My thought would probably be "by this point dad has either contacted SAR or is just as lost, so they'll either be looking for the kid or need to know about the dad."

A good friend of mine got lost near Linville Gorge years ago. Back before gps and smartphones. To this day he can't really piece together exactly how it happened, he was supposed to meet a buddy at a point after they finished hunting that evening and they would walk back to camp together. He took the wrong trail apparently and ended up turned around. His buddy contacted help when my friend didn't show up in camp. Meanwhile, he's hiking around the national forest with a climbing stand on his back. He says that after he realized he was lost he had finished crossing a creek and thought "if I have to cross another creek with this stand on my back I might drown." Dropped it in its place and kept walking. The next creek crossing ended up being very deep and he slipped and fell. At some point during the night he tried to make a fire and get some sleep. It was muzzleloader season and he had pyrodex pellets. Try as he might, he could not get them to light. He laid down to try to sleep and couldn't because of a noise he heard. He swore it sounded exactly like someone dipping a 5 gallon bucket into the creek and it happened repeatedly through the night. He yelled and yelled but it was just some strange trick his ears were playing.

When day broke he followed the creeks downhill and found a road. He walked for a long while until someone passed by. They didn't even stop. This was around the same time that Eric Rudolph was in the woods up there and he assumed thats why they didn't stop. The next vehicle did though and took him up to a general store to use the phone. When he walked in the owner said "you must be the fella that got lost last night. Everybody been looking for you."

Later in the year or if a cold front moved through it could've really been a bad night for him. Thankfully he made it through and was able to find help relatively quickly. Being familiar with his story has definitely shaped the way that I do some of the things I do when hunting. Of course cell phones with OnX and portable battery banks help out a whole lot too.

 

[TheGrayRider]

Never ever ever never ever never ever - get separated from your weapon or your backpack.

 

[Lilhowie83]

When a Lost Kid Wanders into Your Hunting Camp

On a deer hunt, a youngster gets separated from his family. Hours later, he stumbles upon the author's camp asking for help.

www.outdoorlife.com

I shed my pack one time to stalk quieter and couldn't find the damn thing for 3 hours. Never again. I bought the tiny pack that rides inside my big pack and it holds survival stuff only. So if I do shed the big pack I still take the little pack in case something happens. This doesn't help.me find my big pack if I forget where I shed it, bit atleast I can survive the night if I were to get into a situation.

The first thing I do when I slip off my pack is drop a waypoint.

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

The first thing I do when I slip off my pack is drop a waypoint.

I do that now. Haha

 

[TheJason]

My best friend and I were hunting in the Scapegoat Wilderness, almost a couple decades ago. The area we were hunting is subtle and rolling, and it’s easy to drop into a wrong drainage.

He went out to hunt for the afternoon. It was foggy and snowing. I stayed to work on dinner. He was late. Very late. Then, I saw his daypack on his cot. My heart sank.

Finally, hours later he came walking in. Wet, cold, and exhausted. He too had walked into a camp. They pointed him up the trail after he warmed up.

Glad this kid is okay. That must have been terrifying.

 

[S-3 Ranch]

I had this idiot hunting on my ranch ( 15,000 acres) and on night I get a call “ hey I got my truck stuck and need a ride “
” sure where are you “
” I don’t know “
” on a fence line?”
“ I don’t know “

three hours later I find the truck with no hunter , 1/2 mile late, no flash light, no phone, I find him

well he got a butt chewing for
1. all my roads lead to a fence or main road
2. never leave a vehicle and your phone to wonder around lost

 

[Caseknife]

Many years ago, before I was able to go into elk camp, my Dad and his hunting partners had a hunter walk into their camp lost. He said he had "been following the ribbons", that was in the early 70's and the USFS was cutting "P" lines for future roads all through the forest. It was a lost cause to follow the ribbons. He was wet and cold and many miles from his camp. They had just sat down for a dinner of liver and onions and had him join them. After he was warm and well fed, Dad gave him a flashlight and told him where we lived at the mouth of the canyon. The lost hunter wrapped an extra piece of fried liver in a napkin and he was led out to the main trail and told which way to go to the road. I know that he made it back to camp because I was out in the front yard when this stranger stopped and returned Dad's flashlight.

 

[mtmuley]

I lived in Idaho for a couple years. Hunted deer in the area near Craters of the Moon. I usually parked my truck on a high knob before taking off. One morning I got a late start and happened into some birds. After chasing them I put the shotgun away and just headed out after deer. That country is interesting, and I was new to it. Took dark and finally seeing the lights of Shoshone to find a road. This was way before the tech we have now. I could have spent the night, but it sure made me more aware. mtmuley

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

I lived in Idaho for a couple years. Hunted deer in the area near Craters of the Moon. I usually parked my truck on a high knob before taking off. One morning I got a late start and happened into some birds. After chasing them I put the shotgun away and just headed out after deer. That country is interesting, and I was new to it. Took dark and finally seeing the lights of Shoshone to find a road. This was way before the tech we have now. I could have spent the night, but it sure made me more aware. mtmuley

Very easy to get turned around in that country for sure.

 

[mtmuley]

Very easy to get turned around in that country for sure.

No kidding. Amazing place. mtmuley

 

[Lilhowie83]

I do that now. Haha

I learned the hard way too. It's amazing how different things are coming back to your pack, even if you just go a short distance.

 

[longbow51]

My best friend and I were hunting in the Scapegoat Wilderness, almost a couple decades ago. The area we were hunting is subtle and rolling, and it’s easy to drop into a wrong drainage.

He went out to hunt for the afternoon. It was foggy and snowing. I stayed to work on dinner. He was late. Very late. Then, I saw his daypack on his cot. My heart sank.

Finally, hours later he came walking in. Wet, cold, and exhausted. He too had walked into a camp. They pointed him up the trail after he warmed up.

Glad this kid is okay. That must have been terrifying.

Heck, you were probably pretty close to us. We had red beers and elk steak. "I'll let you be in my dream if I can be in your's". Bob Dylan

 

[TheJason]

Heck, you were probably pretty close to us. We had red beers and elk steak. "I'll let you be in my dream if I can be in your's". Bob Dylan

We were at the head of the Landers Fork. One time we were dropping off the continental divide. There is one spot where it is the absolute most subtle ridge fork you could imagine. By the time the snow and fog lifted we were about 1000 feet into the Dearborn River.

 

[gouch]

I never lost my pack but one day while turkey hunting, I came to a spot on a hillside and noticed that there were morels growing as far as the eye could see. So, I leaned my shotgun up against a tree and started filling plastic bags with mushrooms. Took me three hours to find that damn gun.

 

[Flatlander3]

When I was about 10 ( now 62) I was following along with my Uncle deer hunting in Northern CA. We split up from my Dad and brother to hunt back to the Jeep for lunch. Lots of timber and no view of surrounding landmarks. We crossed the trail that led back to the Jeep and kept going. He later said he didn’t think it was the right trail. We ended up walking until dark and ended up way far away from where we were supposed to be. Every once in a while he would fire his rifle three times in succession. To no avail. We stumbled into a camp and thankfully they gave us a ride back to our camp, which took us back about 11:00pm. My Dad and brother had stayed out till dark yelling for us. My brother said he got sick of hearing Dad yell for us so much, but thankfully we were Okay. That’s the only time I was with someone and got lost. I don’t take the blame as I was only following him. LOL. As a Dad, I have spent many evenings worrying when My Son or others in our group don’t show up when they should. We always carry radios, and they are a great asset, but do have their limits.

@NE, what radios do you carry? I've been trying to find a decent pair that works in the mountains

 

[Khunter]

@NE, what radios do you carry? I've been trying to find a decent pair that works in the mountains

Inreach better than radios.

 

[NECALI]

@NE, what radios do you carry? I've been trying to find a decent pair that works in the mountains

We just go into a sporting goods store and look for the ones with the farthest range. They seem to be getting better all the time. None of the two way type will work very good if your partners are on the other side of a hill and down in a canyon, but for the rolling hills type hunting we do, they work very well. We have Midland radios now and are happy with them.