How not to get lost hunting, and what to do if you do

[turq]

I thought about this for a day so here goes.
There are stickies. For new hunters this thread will be something I hope you take heed of.
Getting lost can kill you.
My contribution is some areas in Oregon are areas that should not be for novice hunters.
IF that riles you, you're the ones I meant to target.
Example,,, The Wenaha unit. Some of it is not dangerous, other parts near and I mean near say 2 miles can kill you
a decade or so ago I got visiters at 8pm at my cabin tent their Dad did not come back to camp, he had a single action 357; I had seen him days before season on the road.
He was out; no tag, it got dark. Didn't get found big questions around it I'm sure.. The Wenaha Wilderness is steep and at times confusing. You hunt near it and the next thing you think is down this draw will take me back tothe road. Only to lead into a drainage down. Lost.

Other places like this in Oregon? The North Fork of the John Day river it's a canyon I would not want to try to "walk out of".

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[Ura-Ki]

Imnaha, it's awesome hunting, but extremely challenging if A) your not in awesome shape and B) your not used to such extremes in terrain! The Other end of the of eastern Oregon Mountains can also be extreme, There are very few roads in, and its hard to navigate! I have done S.A.R. up there in both areas looking for crashed planes, and it's brutal!

 

[Unicykle]

Simple things like have a map/compas or at least look at a map before you go and know the sun goes east to west. Have good gear thats light and small ( better to have and not need than need and not have), plan on having to spend the night and or getting hurt.

 

[RVTECH]

If you think you are lost you probably are and one of the best things to do is to ACCEPT the fact you are lost - early enough to have time to relax and make camp for the night.

Lots of lost people are found dead due to falls, head injuries, broken legs, falling off cliffs etc. due to hysterical fear and running around aimlessly at night.

Been there, done this - except for the hysterical part.....

 

[Mistman]

I hunt the Rogue/Umpqua divide, 3 years ago a kid missed a road, got lost, radioed his dad to say he was setting up for the night, never head from again, The place was crawling with S&R, sheriff patrol, locals on horses, etc.. They found him the day after we left, he tried scaling a waterfall and fell to his death.

It can happen anywhere that inexperience, lack of knowledge of the terrain, being unprepared and vast roadless areas come together. Experience and preparedness will get you through most anything, being comfortable in the woods w/out knowing where you are helps a lot too.

W/today's tech there's really no excuse for someone to get 'lost', getting hurt is another thing. You can only prepare so much for an accident if your solo, most aren't big deals but some can be life threatening for sure. I read a story years ago about a bow hunter who fell, an arrow cut his femoral artery, he bled out before anyone could help him.

 

[titsonritz]

Map and compass and you should never get lost.

 

[titsonritz]

Unless your name is Sobel I guess.

 

[Mark W.]

One of the most common mistakes made by people traipsing around in the woods is not looking at where you just came from. So once they don't know where they are they have never seen the way back as everything looks different from the other side. I taught the wife how to hike years ago, Also how to find a broken trail in the woods like when snow covers the trail and you can see it.

Called standing post. One person Or even a bright colored ribbon tied to the last place you knew where the trail is. Then the other person walks in a large arc in the direction of travel to try to pickup the trail. NEVER LOOSING SIGHT OF THE PERSON ON POST OR THE RIBBON. It works very well. When I taught her this we were down at Crater Lake hiking out on a spit of land that had a very steep drop off on one side and came to a point. A short section of the other side led to the parking lot.

While on the trail we met two guys from Norway who we talked to for about 20 mins they had been hiking all over the US as well as were very experienced hikers in Norway and Europe. They were turning around as they could not find the trail about a 1/2 mile up ahead. As we moved apart I told the wife I bet I can find the trail. She looked at me crosseyed and said you better not get us lost. Using the Post and sweep method 4-5 different times I followed the trail which a lot of it was buried under snow. We came out on the trail within 20 ft of where I had parked the car. The whole hike was about 4 miles long. About 1.5 of it was in this area of snow cover. When I couldn't see the trail ahead I would have the wife post up and I would move out as far as I could and her still see and communicate with me and the I would turn 90 degrees to the line and move in an arc If I did not find the trail moving that direction I would back track after about 45° of travel I then once found I would move the wife up and we would either continue or I would do that same thing over.

 

[bbbass]

The Wenaha unit

If you go into the Wenaha, likely as not you will get snakebit.

My usual haunting area got burned out this year. But hunting one of the draws of West Birch Creek, it's best to go back the way you came... attempting to hit the road on the other side (it bends close but does NOT cross) can result in a miss that gifts you a walk (in heavy timber) to the town of Ukiah, 20 miles away.

Simple things like have a map/compas or at least look at a map before you go and know the sun goes east to west.

I was familiar with the topography, but not the actuality hunting up Ruckle Ridge. I had a compass with me, and knew the ridge went west to east... until it didn't. The ridge fanned out into nothingness. No sun to determine east/west/north/south because of heavy clouds and fog. I had failed to take a compass shot at the rig, and upon reaching the top of the ridge and heading out, assuming I knew the topography and direction well enough. Walked in circles for a few hours before I made myself follow a steady compass heading. Cost me some real trepidation before I found a road and wandered my way back to the twuck. Don't do this.

 

[RVTECH]

Or even a bright colored ribbon tied to the last place you knew where the trail is.

A roll of blaze orange surveyor tape should be in your gear for any, long distance hiking adventures where you are out of sight of camp, vehicle, where you start out etc.

Heck a couple years ago a guy got lost literally about a mile West of where I live. He was found alive the next day.

 

[41mag]

About 35 years ago I went elk hunting with a buddy from LaGrande. Don't even recall the name of the area now (ETA: Maybe Catherine Creek??), but it was NE about 20 miles by pavement into a well know area, past some decent camp grounds to a trail head/horse camp and set up our little travel trailers for the duration. Had some decent portable awnings & various gear, had quite a little nest set up. It was not 'high country' nor was it 'late season'; still, bad weather was coming. We had just got the stew pot properly arranged, a little antifreeze applied & sat back to watch the giant snowflakes beginning to accumulate.

Out of the last rays of visible light, a couple of hunters stumble in and their tale of innocence, ignorance and incredible luck emerge. Dressed in the lastest fashions of downtown Beaverton, their denims were soaked, as were their gym shoes along with their sorry butts. Early in the day they had made a turn on the next ridge to the east, and had been walking all day. Got 'em warmed up a bit, extracted their story, hauled them 8 miles over to THEIR campsite, a couple of ratty pick-ups with canopy & a ground tent. They seemed to recognize how close they came to their old blue eyed buddy, Mr. Death.

 

[Joe13]

OnX Hunt app.

Don't leave home without it

Bring a potable battery charger and cord though

 

[Bon Sauvage]

It's not that hard people. Carry a deck of cards with you when you go out into the sticks and you will ALWAYS be safe.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

When hiking in a group , its best not to get lost....Its awkward when you have to eat your friends...
Andy

 

[orygun]

Salmon Huckleberry wilderness. If you're lost, walk uphill! If you get to the top and don't know where you are, stop and build a fire. You do have fire building stuff with you, right?

First thing first, anyone entering an area they're not intimately familiar with should have a map they studied before hand and took with them and a compass. Even if you hunt with a GPS, if you don't have a compass (and have an idea how to use it), you had better be carrying a personal locator beacon.
I learned how to use a compass at a young age and when I would enter an area I didn't know, I would spend a few minutes looking at roads and other terrain "markers" before leaving the truck. Markers being things like rivers, roads, etc. I've hunted wilderness areas by myself many times and being 58 and typing this post should imply I've always found my way out. And I have.

There was one time I was in an unfamiliar area and was stupid enough to not have taken a compass with me, but had looked at the map before I left the truck. I got turned around. I walked for a while and then heard the creek... I made a 180 and walked right back to the road I came from.

We were hunting with Dad years ago in the south side of Starkey. We were driving to check out some other areas. I wanted to get out of the truck and make the approximate 2 mile trek back to the truck. All down hill. Dad wouldn't stop and let me out. Not because he thought I'd get lost, but because he thought I might shoot something and he'd have to help!

My family bought me a PLB. They have no faith! But it's not a bad thing to have if you hunt alone.

 

[Mark W.]

When hiking in a group , its best not to get lost....Its awkward when you have to eat your friends...
Andy

mmmmmm long pork

 

[No_Regerts]

mmmmmm long pork

Some are longer than others....

 

[kenboy]

Hunted Wenaha in the 90's for many years back packing in from the north end.
Amazing how you can get to know an area and when a foot of snow drops, you can get so turned around because the landscape can become unrecognizable.
GPS landmarks are your friend.

 

[WillametteWill]

Agree on the map and compass but they are nearly useless unless you are trained to use them. I know far too many people that have them but don't understand subjects like declination, finding yourself on the map, etc. My wife and a group of scouts rescued a Marine that got separated from his group (days off hike). He had no supplies and likely would have frozen. She was able to send me a message via her locator and so I could call off the SAR that was being spun up. We carry the electronics but rely on map and compass mostly.

Most of our hiking has been in rugged areas of the Sierras, SoCal mountain ranges and deserts of the southwest. Just like up here, many areas are very unforgiving. We would frequently hear on the news when a hiker was lost or found dead, "He was an experienced hiker." That just told us (usually) that they frequently hiked unprepared and it eventually caught up with them. However, sometimes you do everything right, are prepared and still bad stuff can happen. Increase your odds by being trained and prepared.

Chance favors the prepared mind.

 

[PDXbiker]

I don't hunt but wouldn't this topic be included in a State Hunter Ed Safety course. Anybody here taken one?