Lost or Stranded/FUBAR scenarios while hunting.

[AZBIG10]

I have seen a series called I shouldn’t be alive. If you haven’t seen it. It is worth 45 minutes of your time. Basically it’s campers, hikers ,hunters, climbers and other outdoor enthusiasts that got into deep water while amongst  the woods, mountains rain forests etc.

 

i am interested to hear everyone’s stories/ experiences whether in AZ or another state. What did you do to get home safely or back to camp etc.

im not much of a story teller but I will lead off with my own experience here in AZ.

 

A close friend of mine was going through a recent break up with a gal and wanted to go on a mtn biking trip to get his mind off of her. He invited me but i didn’t own a mtn bike. He remedied this issue by offering  his own bike to me and he would ride the mtn bike he just bought for his ex GF. The irony! We discussed details and we were set to head north the next morning. He had me pick up a gallon of water before we met up so I could fill up a camelback bladder he was going lend me for the day. I had never been mtn biking before but road BMX as a youngster. I stopped at the grocery store fora few items, Red Bull , gallon of water , peanut butter and some protein bars for the trek.

 

After a 4 hr ride we arrive at the trail head and he tosses me the water bladder. It’s suppose to be a 6 hr ride so poured the gallon into the bladder. The thing leaks water as fast as I can pour it in. I stopped wasting my water and started to drink as much as I could and searched his truck for empty water bottles.  For the mtn trek.No luck! I choke down as much water as I can and we drop off onto 1 of the 3 trails. 3 hrs into the ride we get seperated. So I just keep riding.... and riding. Ended up over shooting my turn off by 5 miles and my back tire now has very little air in it. The temp was 95 degrees and Rising.

 

I eventually come to a wash that I thought was the trail... ride another 1.5 miles. And Hit overgrown deadfall. I push through walking my bike and find a road some time later. The two track looks to be all down hill to what looks like what could be civilization. but no trespassing signs are posted my gut said don’t take the easy route and go down hill on the no trespassing route. I was certain I could find a ranch house or somebitng if I take the no trespassing road. Gut said nope don’t do it.

 

I finally stopped! 5 hrs into the ride and I needed to get my thoughts together. Cotton mouth had set in after hour one and the only thing in my pack was a Red Bull and somebcheap cardboard protein bars. I slammed the Red Bull and tried to eat a bar.it was way to dry. I then decided I needed to get TF back on the trail. I was officially turned around and off the trail. The red bull made me feel good for 10 minutes but I quickly felt like heat exhaustion was creeping on me. I sat on the two track for some time thinking some one would drive by. After an hour I decided to walk the bike up the two track.

 

 

Approx 4 miles later the road is getting worse and looks less traveled. Feck! I try to ride the bike but the tire was flat and the terrain was too rocky. I sit down again. 30 minutes later I can hear a horn honking! It sounds like it’s just west of my location. I can’t see a road but I decide to shoulder the mtn bike and barrel  of the side of the mtn. I get to where I think I heard the car horn and nothing. I sit back down again. I’m further off track now No trail no road etc. I’m dying of thirst over heated and it is over 100 degrees. I am a bit panicked now. Probably should have panicked much earlier but I was so focused on getting out and i felt i was just around the bend and just needed to go a little further.

I spent a good 20 minutes reflecting on how many mistakes I had made leading up to this point and the severity of my situation was sinking in. I kept thinking “is this when some one drinks there own piss”? I thought nope I’m dying before I drink urine. I lay down and try to cool down a bit. I hear a car or the sound of tires on gravel. You guessed it just west of me. I shoulder the bike and beeline towards the sound. The car starts honking! My pace increased 10 fold! 

 

I ended up hitting a maintained dirt road! Frick yes! After walking the road a Subaru stops and says hey get in! I’m like who TF are you! They said your lost man get in!!! I sat in the back of the car and they fed me and let me load up Gatorade. I passed out in the back seat and woke up back at the trail head like it had all been a bad dream. I threw that Pos bike in the back of my truck and tossed the keys to my buddy and said get us home.

 

never got the two guys names from the Subaru. Not even sure I thanked them but man I was sure happy they picked me up and brought me back to my rig. I’m sure they thought I was a prick as I wasn’t present in the moment when they bailed my dumbass out of trouble. 

 

Lessons learned.

plan better be more prepared and thank your rescue team!!!

 

 

 

 

 

[AZBIG10]

Forgot to add.. that dirt road that was downhill with no trespassing. I went on google earth to see where that led and it basically would have led to my demise! Happy I went the way i did!

[goinhuntn]

6 minutes ago, AZBIG10 said:

Forgot to add.. that dirt road that was downhill with no trespassing. I went on google earth to see where that led and it basically would have led to my demise! Happy I went the way i did!

Lucky they found you!! Don’t leave us hanging on what would have led to your demise??

[biglakejake]

this brings back visions of....casey affleck and matt damon.  Gerry'd dude.

[trphyhntr]

1 hour ago, AZBIG10 said:

I have seen a series called I shouldn’t be alive. If you haven’t seen it. It is worth 45 minutes of your time. Basically it’s campers, hikers ,hunters, climbers and other outdoor enthusiasts that got into deep water while amongst  the woods, mountains rain forests etc.

 

i am interested to hear everyone’s stories/ experiences whether in AZ or another state. What did you do to get home safely or back to camp etc.

im not much of a story teller but I will lead off with my own experience here in AZ.

 

A close friend of mine was going through a recent break up with a gal and wanted to go on a mtn biking trip to get his mind off of her. He invited me but i didn’t own a mtn bike. He remedied this issue by offering  his own bike to me and he would ride the mtn bike he just bought for his ex GF. The irony! We discussed details and we were set to head north the next morning. He had me pick up a gallon of water before we met up so I could fill up a camelback bladder he was going lend me for the day. I had never been mtn biking before but road BMX as a youngster. I stopped at the grocery store fora few items, Red Bull , gallon of water , peanut butter and some protein bars for the trek.

 

After a 4 hr ride we arrive at the trail head and he tosses me the water bladder. It’s suppose to be a 6 hr ride so poured the gallon into the bladder. The thing leaks water as fast as I can pour it in. I stopped wasting my water and started to drink as much as I could and searched his truck for empty water bottles.  For the mtn trek.No luck! I choke down as much water as I can and we drop off onto 1 of the 3 trails. 3 hrs into the ride we get seperated. So I just keep riding.... and riding. Ended up over shooting my turn off by 5 miles and my back tire now has very little air in it. The temp was 95 degrees and Rising.

 

I eventually come to a wash that I thought was the trail... ride another 1.5 miles. And Hit overgrown deadfall. I push through walking my bike and find a road some time later. The two track looks to be all down hill to what looks like what could be civilization. but no trespassing signs are posted my gut said don’t take the easy route and go down hill on the no trespassing route. I was certain I could find a ranch house or somebitng if I take the no trespassing road. Gut said nope don’t do it.

 

I finally stopped! 5 hrs into the ride and I needed to get my thoughts together. Cotton mouth had set in after hour one and the only thing in my pack was a Red Bull and somebcheap cardboard protein bars. I slammed the Red Bull and tried to eat a bar.it was way to dry. I then decided I needed to get TF back on the trail. I was officially turned around and off the trail. The red bull made me feel good for 10 minutes but I quickly felt like heat exhaustion was creeping on me. I sat on the two track for some time thinking some one would drive by. After an hour I decided to walk the bike up the two track.

 

 

Approx 4 miles later the road is getting worse and looks less traveled. Feck! I try to ride the bike but the tire was flat and the terrain was too rocky. I sit down again. 30 minutes later I can hear a horn honking! It sounds like it’s just west of my location. I can’t see a road but I decide to shoulder the mtn bike and barrel  of the side of the mtn. I get to where I think I heard the car horn and nothing. I sit back down again. I’m further off track now No trail no road etc. I’m dying of thirst over heated and it is over 100 degrees. I am a bit panicked now. Probably should have panicked much earlier but I was so focused on getting out and i felt i was just around the bend and just needed to go a little further.

I spent a good 20 minutes reflecting on how many mistakes I had made leading up to this point and the severity of my situation was sinking in. I kept thinking “is this when some one drinks there own piss”? I thought nope I’m dying before I drink urine. I lay down and try to cool down a bit. I hear a car or the sound of tires on gravel. You guessed it just west of me. I shoulder the bike and beeline towards the sound. The car starts honking! My pace increased 10 fold! 

 

I ended up hitting a maintained dirt road! Frick yes! After walking the road a Subaru stops and says hey get in! I’m like who TF are you! They said your lost man get in!!! I sat in the back of the car and they fed me and let me load up Gatorade. I passed out in the back seat and woke up back at the trail head like it had all been a bad dream. I threw that Pos bike in the back of my truck and tossed the keys to my buddy and said get us home.

 

never got the two guys names from the Subaru. Not even sure I thanked them but man I was sure happy they picked me up and brought me back to my rig. I’m sure they thought I was a prick as I wasn’t present in the moment when they bailed my dumbass out of trouble. 

 

Lessons learned.

plan better be more prepared and thank your rescue team!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Cliffs notes?

[AZBIG10]

24 minutes ago, biglakejake said:

this brings back visions of....casey affleck and matt damon.  Gerry'd dude.

Just googled this *^^ I need to sit down and watch it.never  heard of it before.

my experience was 1996

[AZBIG10]

6 minutes ago, trphyhntr said:

Cliffs notes?

You got a story! Put it up. 

[firstcoueswas80]

My dad and I got turned around one day for like 15 minutes.  I was like 8 do those 15 minutes were horrifying. 

[biglakejake]

fubar

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

Me and the kids got lost after hanging 2 elk in a tree this year, we were only 2 miles from camp or so and I was sure on the direction back. Well my phone had died from the cold while breaking the animals down so no onx which I had all ready to go. It was super dark with no moon which didn't help. several hours later we had made a large left arch right past camp and into a dead end canyon. After getting as high as we could we could see a vehicle driving and knew where we were. Funny thing is we came upon our own tracks from the previous day and remembered the route we were on then and walked right back to camp in yesterdays tracks. It wasn't far to go in any direction to hit a road but the kids were getting nervous and cold for sure. Cell service was spotty so couldn't get ahold of the wife although I did get a text out earlier that we had 2 elk down and would be late getting back. I think she was more worried than we were. We rolled in about 9:30pm after heading out that morning.

Also I had figured since it was close to camp I would just pack all the tenders, backstraps and odds and ends which ended up being about 58 lbs. That up and down finding our way through deadfall and the extra miles hurt a little. We did have all that was needed to survive as well so not a big deal but we did get turned around for sure. I will say that we saw more glowing eyes that night than maybe I have ever seen. Had a ringtail and fox 10 feet from me on the trail and I was sure it was a lion or 2. Man those eyes look big in a headlamp. 

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

I just remembered a sketchy thing I went through, me and my buddy at about 12 years of age rode our 2 stroke 80's out by happy valley and 7th st carrying gas and food for the day. We rode all day and when ready to leave I said I want one more lap on our little makeshift track but my buddy took off, well I crashed hard and smashed some ribs and was pinned under my bike. All alone it took me an hour to get to my feet then I had to lift that bike and get it started, well it got dark and I had no light at all. I proceded to get lost and run out of gas and had to push the bike a mile or so until I found my gascan stash. another hour to start the dam bike and I rode the main roads back to my dads shop. a day in the hospital and many days in bed and I was fine but I remember the feeling laying there under my bike with that pain. 

[biglakejake]

if this is adult fubar the topic can be manageable.  kid stuff would be lengthy.  i must have changed some at 15.  adult stupidity was mostly confined to south-of-the-border lol.  capsizeing a tin boat in the sea of cortez, flat tire with a leaked out jack at midnight 'somewhere' between penasco and caborca in '84, incidents involving authorities in ensenada and san quintin in the '90s.  once lost power 30 miles out of cholla and mike had to go over the side to fix a fuel problem.  for like an hour in the 80f water with h u g e  sharks everywhere-i never got on that un-named fiberform again.

lee

reminded of 'Tough Times in Rough Places' by Carmony. 

[AZkiller]

This one time, at deer camp...

[NOTAGS]

I learned the value of carrying a compass when I was about 19.  My dad and I were elk hunting in Colorado in new country to me, he had been the prior year.  As we loaded packs he asked if I had a compass.  NAAAHH, I don't need one, I've got a built in sense of direction. He made me take his extra and put it in the pack. Dark timber on an overcast day showed me how lousy my sense  of direction really was.  After about an hour of "heading back to camp", and nothing looking familiar, I pulled it out.  In my mind the. compass was broke, as it showed me heading 180 degrees  in the wrong direction.  I put I back and kept walking on my original path.  Another half hour of nothing being familiar, I decide maybe I was the one that was broke.  That "broken" compass took me to camp on a  long humbling  hike back.

 

Ironically, my hunting buddy did the same thing in Colorado elk hunting when GPS's first hit the consumer  market some  years later   I was back at our rondevous site on a pack in trip, and watched his flashlight going the wrong direction about a mile away.  Fortunately we had radios, and I convinced him his GPS was correct. He didn't carry a compass since he had a GPS, but wouldn't believe it.  I've had to go looking for him a time or two over the years, LOL.

 

[PRDATR]

2 hours ago, NOTAGS said:

I learned the value of carrying a compass when I was about 19.  My dad and I were elk hunting in Colorado in new country to me, he had been the prior year.  As we loaded packs he asked if I had a compass.  NAAAHH, I don't need one, I've got a built in sense of direction. He made me take his extra and put it in the pack. Dark timber on an overcast day showed me how lousy my sense  of direction really was.  After about an hour of "heading back to camp", and nothing looking familiar, I pulled it out.  In my mind the. compass was broke, as it showed me heading 180 degrees  in the wrong direction.  I put I back and kept walking on my original path.  Another half hour of nothing being familiar, I decide maybe I was the one that was broke.  That "broken" compass took me to camp on a  long humbling  hike back.

 

Ironically, my hunting buddy did the same thing in Colorado elk hunting when GPS's first hit the consumer  market some  years later   I was back at our rondevous site on a pack in trip, and watched his flashlight going the wrong direction about a mile away.  Fortunately we had radios, and I convinced him his GPS was correct. He didn't carry a compass since he had a GPS, but wouldn't believe it.  I've had to go looking for him a time or two over the years, LOL.

 

Good lessons right there.  I bought a GPS back in the late 80's and a buddy and I were bow hunting in 6A. At the end of the day we started heading back to the truck. It was getting dark and it was overcast when I pulled out the GPS. He was sure it was taking us in the wrong direction but after about 20 minutes things started looking more familiar and we soon saw the truck. I have since always also kept a compass in the case with the GPS and I also keep a business card in the case I loose it.

Back in the early 70's we lived in Northern Maine near the border and went out hunting in the forest. We got turned around and soon had no idea in which direction the car was. We could hear the faint sounds of B-52's taking off from the base so we headed in that direction as we lived in the trailer park next to it. That was a long walk.