When things go sideways

[Stinky Buffalo]

Police urge "anyone going out this fall season to have an emergency kit with fire starting materials as it could save your life during this time of year"

Always good to have some basic survival gear on hand. You never know when a short walk turns into an impromptu overnighter!

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/loc...emergency-kits

What do you have in your "don't leave the truck without it" kit?

[1hogfarmer]

A Lead injection system

[Grizzly Adams1]

Good advice and cell coverage isn't universal. Mini hatchet and fire starting kit plus some emergency rations. Dressed for expected conditions as well and you should be all right.

Grizz

[Vacation]

Well went I stuck a havalon in my leg last year skinning out an elk, and started bleeding heavy, I was happy to have first aid gear prior to getting into emerg for stitches. Communications is a must too. Expect the unexpected for sure.

[Sooner]

Good reminder SB.

My friends joke I carry too much on the quad & sled but if we ever have to, we can make quite a nice camp out with fire for the night. My pack always has a first aid kit, various fire starting methods and fire sticks.


I wonder why he left the atv?


Years ago I knew a guy who got his truck stuck in an area I know well. He went 4wheelin by himself when camping with friends. When he didn't return, they went looking but there was no way to find him with all the oilfield roads and trails in the area. Next day the helicopter found his truck. He was gone. Thought he heard something so he ran into the bush to get away. Truck had a custom rag top so he thought the noise was a bear and it would get him. Got lost, spent 2 or 3 days in the woods before being found. Would have been 1 fairly comfortable night if he stayed with his rig lol.

[Smoky buck]

I forgot so much stuff in my truck I could probably build a long term shelter and ride things out

[Drewski Canuck]

Leaving the ATV without any note of where he was going, and failing to mark his trail with trail - seismic tape, only adds to the problem.

Some years ago, there was a "what to do" video dealing with a snowmobile breakdown. The person took off his sock, dipped it in the gas tank to get it good and soaking wet, then squeezed the gas onto the pile of brush a few times where he was going to build a survival fire. The sock was then speared through with a stick.

Then he took the spark plug out, and held the spark plug with the spark plug wire attached near the cylinder head, with the gas soaked sock, and pulled over the sled to cause a spark and ignite the sock. The sock was burning on the end of the stick, and transferred to the pile of deadfall to ignite the fire. Even without matches, you can start a survival fire if you think about it.

Smoky fires also are easy for rescuers to find.

Lots of things you can do if you simply stay put with the machine.

Drewski

[Dewey Cox]

If you get lost in the woods just saybthe magic words.

"I don't think the 6.5 Creedmoor is that great of a rifle chambering"

Someone will be along shortly to tell you all about their rifle in 6.5cm, and then you can ask them for a ride to your truck.

[Okotok]

Different emergency, but back in the 80's in the middle of nowhere in Southern Saskatchewan, I'm cruising along with my buddy in hs 70 Camaro. We both pull out a smoke. Lighter in the car doesn't work, no matches, damn! Start thinking about crossing the battery etc. Look in the glovebox, grab a screwdriver. Open my door and scrape it on the pavement for 10 seconds or less. Red hot, lit smokes solved. Pre-Macgyver in case you were going to say something.

[jungleboy]

Originally Posted by Okotok

Different emergency, but back in the 80's in the middle of nowhere in Southern Saskatchewan, I'm cruising along with my buddy in hs 70 Camaro. We both pull out a smoke. Lighter in the car doesn't work, no matches, damn! Start thinking about crossing the battery etc. Look in the glovebox, grab a screwdriver. Open my door and scrape it on the pavement for 10 seconds or less. Red hot, lit smokes solved. Pre-Macgyver in case you were going to say something.

That’s the kind of outside the box thinking that counts when the going gets testy.

It’s not about the cigarette it’s about solving a problem with the tools at hand.

[Pathfinder76]

[Dewey Cox]

Originally Posted by Pathfinder76

That seems like a lot to pack around while you're hunting.

[roper1]

Either a fanny pack or a full backpack with emerg supplies at all times. If we have the horses, fanny pack on so they don't run off with the necessities. Lighters on my person in different pockets just in case.

I carry the fanny hunting 5 quarters 20 miles from home, just never know.

[Talking moose]

Quad in pick up box Summer and winter. Always fishing and exploring the back country logging roads.
30 km walks through the dark isn’t fun if your stuck or broke down.
Nice to have a way out.

[JeanCretien]

Originally Posted by Dewey Cox

If you get lost in the woods just saybthe magic words.

"I don't think the 6.5 Creedmoor is that great of a rifle chambering"

Someone will be along shortly to tell you all about their rifle in 6.5cm, and then you can ask them for a ride to your truck.

Best post ever!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Grizzly Adams1]

Neighbor lady, almost 80 went trail riding at the Hummingbird a couple of weeks ago, by herself. 5:00 in the aft, she decides she's lost and calls a friend by way of Inreach. He calls 911 and almost mobilized Rocky Search and Rescue before she messaged back that she was unlost.

Grizz

[TheIceTitan]

Originally Posted by dewey cox

if you get lost in the woods just saybthe magic words.

"i don't think the 6.5 creedmoor is that great of a rifle chambering"

someone will be along shortly to tell you all about their rifle in 6.5cm, and then you can ask them for a ride to your truck.

lol!

[Jamie Black R/T]

Originally Posted by Dewey Cox

Someone will be along shortly to tell you all about their rifle in 6.5cm, and then you can ask them for a ride to your truck.

and have to ride shotgun on the back of a 80cc hot pink atv...id rather walk.

[fordtruckin]

Originally Posted by Stinky Buffalo

Always good to have some basic survival gear on hand. You never know when a short walk turns into an impromptu overnighter!

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/loc...emergency-kits

What do you have in your "don't leave the truck without it" kit?

While a good reminder the article is pretty weak! No mention on how if or when a fire was used. Just guy was lost but found, oh and carry a fire starting kit, it could save your life. How about I you get lost stay with your machine if able too? Or don’t go wandering off if one of your friends left to go get help, stay where they last knew where you were unless it’s an absolute life/limb/eyesight emergency.

[CBintheNorth]

Originally Posted by fordtruckin

While a good reminder the article is pretty weak! No mention on how if or when a fire was used. Just guy was lost but found, oh and carry a fire starting kit, it could save your life. How about I you get lost stay with your machine if able too? Or don’t go wandering off if one of your friends left to go get help, stay where they last knew where you were unless it’s an absolute life/limb/eyesight emergency.

Exactly my thoughts!
A reminder about the basics would have been better than telling people to bring a lighter.
We don't even know why that's relevant in this case.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by fordtruckin

While a good reminder the article is pretty weak! No mention on how if or when a fire was used. Just guy was lost but found, oh and carry a fire starting kit, it could save your life. How about I you get lost stay with your machine if able too? Or don’t go wandering off if one of your friends left to go get help, stay where they last knew where you were unless it’s an absolute life/limb/eyesight emergency.

That's true!

I think there's lots of people that head out into the forest who are unfamiliar with our local climate and landscape. Maybe they come from more densely-populated areas and never had to think about that before.

Or they really don't realize how big and remote the forests are, and how deep into the forest a machine can take you. The miles go by quickly.

For some, they have no basic safety training. And, frankly, no common sense. It helps to think "what if?"

Just like the guy who got lost in EINP a year or two ago - didn't leave enough daylight, and headed down some rabbit trails. They sent a helo, and the rescue team picked him up on quads. He wasn't prepared to spend a cold night out in the woods, although his two dogs may have kept him warm enough.

I've been trying to drill it into my kids. If they hit the trail without their essentials they get an earful.

[big zeke]

A few years back, chasing moose. Popped a bull on the side of a cutline at dusk (well within legal light). Bull walks in the bush, lotsa blood. Played hide & seek for 20 mins before he expired, I had flagged my way in hanging seismic tape every 20 yards or so. By the time the tag was on it was dark, followed my flags for a way, missed a few in my flashlight and was pretty sure I wasn't getting closer to the trail or my quad, in the fracas I twisted my ankle, walking was tough. Phone batt was dropping fast so texted and then called hunting partners (very poor service) before phone died.

Half an hour later they found me, sitting under a tree with 2 cyalume sticks glowing and me blowing on a whistle, I had gathered branches and was about to light them when they approached...I was ready to stay the night. Everything I needed was in my fannypack.

I've hunted for over 40 yrs, plenty of bush experience...it can happen to anyone.

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by big zeke

A few years back, chasing moose. Popped a bull on the side of a cutline at dusk (well within legal light). Bull walks in the bush, lotsa blood. Played hide & seek for 20 mins before he expired, I had flagged my way in hanging seismic tape every 20 yards or so. By the time the tag was on it was dark, followed my flags for a way, missed a few in my flashlight and was pretty sure I wasn't getting closer to the trail or my quad, in the fracas I twisted my ankle, walking was tough. Phone batt was dropping fast so texted and then called hunting partners (very poor service) before phone died.

Half an hour later they found me, sitting under a tree with 2 cyalume sticks glowing and me blowing on a whistle, I had gathered branches and was about to light them when they approached...I was ready to stay the night. Everything I needed was in my fannypack.

I've hunted for over 40 yrs, plenty of bush experience...it can happen to anyone.

And if you're prepared, doesn't have to be a big deal.

Grizz

[pikeman06]

Definitely pack a lighter in your pocket and one in your truck or quad or both. Get a big smokey fire going and stay put. Let someone know roughly where you are hunting and you will survive unless mortally wounded.

[Albertadiver]

Rather than retype, this is from an old thread I created back in 2009. Thankfully that's the most lost I've been still to date. Just tells me I need to get out in the bush more! The last few years haven't been kind with injuries and surgeries. Finally have my health back and intend on using it!

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?p=412711

Originally Posted by Albertadiver

So yesterday we were hunting out in 316. It was a cloudy dreary day until about 3:00pm when the sky cleared. The three of us were hunting various cut lines and cut blocks off of an oil service road.

After waiting at the top of a cut line for a few hours, I decided to head back to the truck to re-group and try the other side of the road till dark. On the way back I decided to loop around a cut-block and head back along an old very narrow cut line (about 6' wide with a fair amount of undergrowth) to try to figure out what was making so much noise in the bush ( Turned out to be a bull moose).

I started looping around, heard all sorts of crashing in the bush and started bushwhacking through some pretty dense aspens interspersed with spruce. So I followed the noise till I found tracks and saw they were moose. I didn't have a tag, so I kept heading in the direction I thought I should be going. Eventually coming out into another cut block. Which was weird because it didn't have any 'exit' used by cats to drag the logs out of the block. It was older, the trees in it were about 6' high. So I pull out the GPS and look for the waypoint I made for back at the truck. Said I was about a km away. But the direction it said to go didn't feel right. So I pulled out my compass, and it disagreed with the GPS, so I made sure that the compass wasn't near anything metal and tried again.

(I realized after I hadn't calibrated my GPS compass) So I said to myself that the GPS compass must be wacky, but I figured if I put the curser over the waypoint I want to go to, it tells the distance between me and the point I picked.

So I walked in a direction straight up hills, through bush, muskeg, whatever for about 30minutes and it said I got within 500m of the truck. Then the GPS says it lost signal and when it re-acquired my position I was over 1.5km from the truck. So I started getting pretty anxious. The sky was a dull grey, no sun anywhere to use as a reference, and obviously I couldn't trust my GPS. So I looked for the tallest hill and started climbing to get a view of maybe the road or some other feature I saw earlier like a gas plant.

So I get to the top, and didn't see a thing that I recognized. That was a pretty bad feeling. I was frustrated with myself and thought, 'this doesn't happen to me, I know my way around the bush!' So I admitted defeat and called the guys on my two-way radio to get them to whistle. Turns out I was about a km from the truck and by then the sun came out and I used my compass / sun / and the whistle to home in on getting back to the truck. Even when I got to the truck, my bearings were still totally out of whack in my head. I crossed my own tracks twice on the way back to the truck.

I pride myself on having my bearings in the bush. I do a lot of route finding when backcountry hiking / backpacking but not nearly as intensive bushwhacking as when I'm hunting. I was mostly anxious because I wanted to get back to the truck and was frustrated with myself because the guys were waiting for me. It was a relatively innocent situation, but if I didn't have the radio to communicate back to the guys, or a compass, I probably would have headed North, farther from the truck, and farther from any roads whatsoever. Could have went bad quickly.

Things I think I did right.

1. Have a compass - a good old fashion compass. One that I know how to use.
2. Have my 2-way radio - with backup batteries.
3. Not blindly trust my GPS, but it did help me somewhat. Even so, I always make a waypoint for home base (usually truck) for day hikes, or hunting trips. This helped A LOT.
4. I had a Mylar emergency shelter, fire making tools, extra food, just in case. Didn't need it, but I could have spent the night with a fire and not been hypothermic. It would have been embarrassing, and worried a lot of people, but I would have survived. I could have also fired three shots in distress - (I always carry extra rounds for this reason).

Things I should have done better.

1. Have a better topo map of the area - we didn't have one, just a google maps printout. Big mistake there. I usually ALWAYS have a detailed map of some sort. The fact that this was going to be a fairly straightforward cut line / cut block hunt within a few km of the truck shouldn't have been an excuse not to have a better map on my person.

2. I should have forced myself to stop for 5 minutes and thought more about what was making my GPS act up. Then make a better decision of where to go. Everything I've read / experienced / been told is that a person needs to stay calm and think their way out of a bad situation. I was surprised with myself at how quickly anxiety levels can go up.

3. Paid better attention to my surroundings, even when stalking an animal. A topo map would have helped a lot.


As for the hunting, we had a few chances, but didn't pull the trigger. I saw two mulie bucks first thing in the am, 50yds from the truck, on the road. So I couldn't shoot. They disappeared in a hurry. The animal I did get close to was a Bull Moose. Which I didn't have tags for. The other guys had a mulie in the crosshairs only to have it disappear into the thick bush. I still think it was a successful trip because I got out hunting, I learned something about myself and getting lost. Lesson Learned!

[Stinky Buffalo]

I can totally relate to that, AlbertaDiver!

I'm always surprised at how fast I get turned around in the bush.

One thing for sure, it gets so much harder when it's dark. Spending the night isn't so bad when you're prepared.

It also helps when your hunting companions/spouse don't panic and have confidence that you'll be okay until sunup.

[Lornce]

Anong with a basic survival kit with a space blanket fire starter, compass, etc. I carry a SPOT location beacon and a Garmin handheld GPS that has got me out of the bush a couple of times. The SPOT has been great for sending messages to the little woman so she doesn't worry and has an SOS. My Garmin is an older eTrex 22 but still works great with Backroads maps on it. Both can be stored easily out of the way. Spare batteries of course. Safer for us old guys.

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by Lornce

Anong with a basic survival kit with a space blanket fire starter, compass, etc. I carry a SPOT location beacon and a Garmin handheld GPS that has got me out of the bush a couple of times. The SPOT has been great for sending messages to the little woman so she doesn't worry and has an SOS. My Garmin is an older eTrex 22 but still works great with Backroads maps on it. Both can be stored easily out of the way. Spare batteries of course. Safer for us old guys.

I've got a SPOT X I carry even on my regular vacation trips, lets me reassure the family all is well and communicate issues I'm having, even if I'm thousands of km. from home. GPS has got me out of a couple of pickles, great technology.

Grizz

[Lornce]

Another great thing about the handheld GPS's is if you turn them on as you leave the vehicle, they leave a trail on the map that is easy to follow back on. Been great for packing out game. I also pre-program waypoints that I want to get to on the Garmin Basecamp map.

[roper1]

[QUOTE=Stinky Buffalo;4674287] You never know when a short walk turns into an impromptu overnighter!

69 yr old gent from Okotoks spent outside last night. They found him alive 4:00 pm today. Hope he had some gear & will be Ok