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I have a co worker that told me a hunting trip he did years ago .
Lol before everyone had gps and cell phones.
They went in a truck up by snoqumie pass.
Lucky they had full tanks of gas and had extra gas .
Because they drove around for almost two days.
Trying to find there way out of the mountains.
When they did get out they were in Kelso
And almost out of gas.
Hehehe.
 
There are actually quite a few people who have vanished into the Oregon wilderness and never been found over the years.

 
My co worker admitted they had no maps no compass .
They had one flashlight some snacks and water and beer .
It was supposed to be a day trip .
Lucky they had a truck that had two gas tanks and had a extra gas can in the back.
Other than that they had no survival gear .
 
I took one with my sons,learned alot. Now I carry 2 road flaresin my pack to start fires. Several years ago Best buy had an onlin ad for SPOT locatorers in green on closeout for $5. Bought 20 & gave them out to other pilots that fly over harsh terrain in prewar planes with no transpondors or any location instaments. Worked great for a hunting backup too.
 
I always carry flaggers tape, a compass, emergency blanket, and fire building supplies.

You go into the woods planning to get lost.

A couple years ago I invested in a GPS unit. And that was the best investment. Always carry extra batteries!


But I learned that all the prep and supplies can only help you so much.
A good friend of mine went hunting with his buddy and their adult son a couple years ago and the son got lost. For 3-4 days.
We all thought he was dead. But miraculously they found him.
Turns out he fell down an embankment and hit his head on a rock, he got confused and thought he saw a van driving down a road so he kept following it, luckily he had the wits and supplies to make a fire each night.
When they finally found him 5-6 miles where they were searching he said he never crossed water, but where he was he would have had to crossed two rivers/ large streams.

I've gone in some really steep terrain and could have easily fallen, twisted my leg or broken my legs.
And no one knew where I was at.
Stopping in those moments and realizing what could happen is best so you pay a little more attention to your speed and steps.
 
I took one with my sons,learned alot. Now I carry 2 road flaresin my pack to start fires. Several years ago Best buy had an onlin ad for SPOT locatorers in green on closeout for $5. Bought 20 & gave them out to other pilots that fly over harsh terrain in prewar planes with no transpondors or any location instaments. Worked great for a hunting backup too.

I buy those 30min flares that come in a two pack from walmart and keep in my bag.
I usually carry a small bottle of gasoline too!
 
As pointed out by many :
Learn to use a map and compass.
This takes practice...but its a skill well worth having.

Take the time to look around and remember land marks on your route.
Learn your pace count....and keep it

If you do get lost...
STOP when you realize that you are indeed lost.
Take a break then and there...eat a snack , take a smoke , drink some water....do whatever to calm the :
Oh Sh!t...I have no idea where I am thoughts.

While the picture below has a map of Germany....
The knife , compass , protractor , pace counter , and a map of the area go with me , if I am out in a unfamiliar area.
Andy
DSC06038.jpg
 
The terrain looks a lot different after dark. A good flashlight is a must - not a 1.99 special. Start looking at a bare minimum of 200 lumens and up the more the better. Dont forget an extra set of batteries. A head set frees your hands.

I once walked into a deadfall area during an evening hunt trying to get out after dark almost cost me dearly i kept falling through the slash piles. I wont hunt if i do not have the proper equipment.
 
Getting lost or turned around has never been an issue for me.

From a young age I was in charge of studying the maps, knowing the roads, the topography of any new are we were going into. It was MY job. I never wanted to let the group down. I also knew that my dad had complete confidence in me that if I got lost, I would make it back to camp before they did. I have a great visual memory and maps, things on print are where I shine. This was my advantage. I was the person chosen to be the driver when out of town because after a few circles, I could get us where we needed to go without a map after being there once. True homing pigeon.

I've been forced to walk out of the true wilderness in a complete blizzard. Hit the ridge the vehicle was on miles away without going past it in hip deep snow, in the dark.

Fast forward to a buddy of mine who ain't quite like that. Goes out shooting rabbits in eastern oregon and ends up with SAR called. Ran out of daylight and couldn't read stars or have a compass. I have not poked fun of him for that but it's been unlimited a few times.

Getting lost has to do with panic as much as not knowing where you are with no navigation aids. Your cellphone won't save you, doesn't matter if you have maps stored, it's a finite power supply and unless you carry a backup power source, you see screwed. I've used cell phones and maps as a GPS with cellular tuned off to save battery power but only as a secondary confirmation of where I was and where I am going.

The unprepared will get lost.
 
I was Elk hunting up Cow Creek w/my cousins about 30 years ago. We knew the area really well, hunted it quite a bit, I even took a nice 6x6 out of it the year before. Planned the hunt the night before, started out before light down into a canyon w/a rig at the bottom. About 20 minutes in it stated snowing, not just a little bit, visibility was reduced to 20-30 ft, literally. This was prior to using GPS or even radios. I thought I knew where I was and kept on in the direction I was going, still at the top of the canyon, skirting the ridge, I couldn't see a thing. I dropped into the canyon and came up on a clearing, HELP was written on a big flat rock, the snow wasn't sticking in the letters to much. I thought one of my cousins had written it. No foot prints, no one was supposed to be on the ridge I was on. I finally made my way out of the canyon w/no idea where I was, still snowing. I hit a road, some guys picked me up, they'd seen our rig and gave me ride to it. I was about 3 miles from the bottom rig. I was so confused as how I'd gotten there. Within an hour my cousins showed up (they lived down there, I was visiting). I related my story and told them about HELP on the rock. Apparently someone had written it years ago, both my cousins had walked by it in the past. No one knew who did it or when, kind of odd the letters didn't go away.

A white out will remove anything familiar and will dampen any sound in the woods. It was pretty unsettling being in an area I knew and not being able to figure out where I was. I tried to wait it out but it never let up.
 
Mmmmmmm, I no longer hunt the woods. But when I did, I carried overnight stuff in a daypack, always. An extra compass, extra knives, warm gloves, an extra pair of socks, a watchcap for sleeping, a space blanket, a ground cover, some snacks, an extra flashlight, several 12hr lightsticks, a folding saw, a ring saw, some pitch, a candle, a flare, a bunch of firestarter sticks, two butane lighters, some handwarmer fluid, some waterproof matches, some flagging tape, some corded string, a flat stainless steel hand axe, monocular, two whistles, a handgun, extra ammo, and a Tommyknocker. (This was before cellphones and GPS)

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.

Good idea! Tho I never used it to mark my backtrail, I did use it many times to return to the downed animal after fetching up the hunting buddies.


There are actually quite a few people who have vanished into the Oregon wilderness and never been found over the years.

Bigfoot gotta eat too!!!


My co worker admitted they had no maps no compass .
They had one flashlight some snacks and water and beer .
It was supposed to be a day trip .
Lucky they had a truck that had two gas tanks and had a extra gas can in the back.
Other than that they had no survival gear .

Most of my hunting excursions were either daytrips out from camp, or short hikes out from truck. Never was one of those to set out with a pack intending to stay the night out. It is amazing how short of time it takes to get turned around out there when you're not really a woodsman, (and I'm not), and I think few of us are that Jeremiah Johnson guy.

You're story reminds me of some of the many people I rescued while in the USCG... those that left Long Beach, or Newport Beach, or San Diego in a 12' smallboat, with no radio, no compass, no water, no extra gas, no shirt, no shoes, headed for Catalina Island with a case of beer. Wind or fog, run out of gas, boat swamped, some other mishap... people are amazingly unprepared and things "just happen" to them.

Re cellphones and GPS, you can't always get a signal. And the cellphone map is not as good as it could be.... a few years back we were camped with family up in the Eagle Caps when a minivan came creeping up and a bunch of city dressed folks got out and asked us where they were and how to get to Boulder Park... it seems that they were following NAV instructions on their cellphone, didn't have a map of Forest Service road system, and the road their unit told them to use was a bit over from where they needed to be. I asked them why they didn't have a map and they said they were just out for the day and didn't need one because of cellphone GPS/Nav. Uh huh. Locals pull those city folks butt out of the fire yet again. :rolleyes:

Nationally, we lose people/families every year because the NAV unit tells them to use some road that they shouldn't. They take their city car thru heavy snow or desert and continue well past the point of no return, because safety is just around the next bend in the road. Sigh.

Over-reliance on electronics w/o the underpinnings of woodsmanship is IMO a dangerous think. That said, a radio, cellphone, and GPS/SAT emergency beacon might be considered mandatory equip today.
 
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As Dyjital noted, some people have an innate sense of direction. My dad was always accused of that and I inherited it to a degree. I'm usually the guy who's got it figured out, I'm a map guy and love studying maps of areas I go.

Some people can't find there way out of fenced field. My step dad would get lost if you spun him around, just no sense of direction. One of the guys I hunt w/now is pretty bad, even w/Rhino's I still have to keep track of him. He's not tech savvy, needs readers and won't wear them so can't see his GPS anyway and when he does put them on so he can see his display he's got no idea what it's showing him.

Tech can be bad, some people rely on it too much. You need to be able to interpret the tech data as well as realize sometimes it can be erroneous. You can lose gps signal or com w/your partners on a hunt but still should be able to keep hunting w/out freaking out.

Keeping your head and using it are most important, once you start to panic or become desperate you can't think straight and will likely make your situation worse.
 
I always carry flaggers tape, a compass, emergency blanket, and fire building supplies.

You go into the woods planning to get lost.

A couple years ago I invested in a GPS unit. And that was the best investment. Always carry extra batteries!
My GPS uses 2 batteries. I never go out for the day with used batteries and I have a small pack that holds 8 more.

A little GPS tip. It's much easier for the GPS to track you if left on, than it is for the GPS to pinpoint your location when being turned back on, especially if there is heavy overgrowth.

Those little space blankets weigh nothing and take up virtually no space in a backpack. Take more than one.
 
Take the time to look around and remember landmarks on your route.
Excellent point.

And look for these landmarks before you start out. A particular peak, rock formation or an unusually tall tree on a hilltop - and jot it down on your map - oh yes - and don't forget a pen so you CAN write/draw on your map. Often some landmarks stay within sight throughout your hike - but if you did not take note of them before starting out you may think you just noticed them and they will do you you no good.

Don't forget - eyes on the horizon.
 
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Some people can't find there way out of fenced field.

Never was a woodsman. At least I can admit it... now. I studied books and magazine articles but never had a dad or anyone else to train me up.... it's not something you learn in the U.S. Coast Guard. As if they had a Recon school or something. LOL

I don't get lost in Walmart, but my wife does... with her dementia I cannot let her be separated from me. A walk away from the campsite means we stay together at all times. However, there are times in the Walmart parking lot that I can't remember which door I came in and where I left the car. Getting old ain no fun. Sigh.

And that is why some older hunters need to stay in camp with the rifle leanin agin a tree. Too many exceed what they remain capable of doing. Too many heart attacks, failed knees, forgotten meds, etc. Know when to give it up!!!


and don't forget a pen so you CAN write

your last will and testament to how much you love your wife and family!
 
We call it trail tape, everyone carries a small role of a different color. Only ever used it to flag a trail out from a downed animal to find the way back in. You have to freshen it up once in a while as it will disintegrate but kept in a baggy in the pack it'll last quite a few years.

Some places in the woods have tape all over, if I know it's old I pull it and stuff it in my pocket.
 

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