Lost

[Hunter]

The other evening I took the dogs riggin. It was getting on up in the evening and they struck a super hot track that I just couldn't resist. For some reason I just felt this wouldn't take long. The first tree actually didn't take but, about 45 minutes but, as soon as he layed eyes on me he was coming out. The prick just walked and bayed and of course I followed thinking they would tree any moment or hold up long enough for me to catch the dogs. That wasn't the case. Finally after about 2 hours and the woods dark as night they took off on a dead run leaving me without even a signal on my beep beep. I said screw it I'm heading back to the truck since it's on high ground and get a signal. It was when I turned around that I realized I had no earthly idea where I was. I've been turned around at night before but, never really felt the "LOST" feeling come over me. I knew better than to panic. I sat there for a minute and grabbed a swallow of water and camled my nerves. I dug around in my pack and found my little pocket mag lite I carry for emergancys but, it only lit up enough to see maybe 10 yards and it was getting dim. I still didn't get to worried, I've spent several nights in the laural hotel. (huddling under a Laural bush) but, I never done it because I was lost. I started up hill to get my bearings. I figured once I was on top I could find a ridge I knew or some distant lights. When I topped the ridge my heart skipped a beat. There wasn't a light to be found. There wasn't enough moon light to make heads nor tales of anything. I thought I was on a lower ridge that I'd been on before and was fairly close to the truck. Just head up hill again.....wrong move. I was going deeper into the place we call no mans land. (where there's no roads and you can walk for a day or two in a straight line before you come to anything and that anything is a big lake) Follow a creek I've always been told. So I headed back down to the creek. It was so thick I couldn't walk threw it so I gave up on that and headed high again. Once at the top I sat down on a log in a clearing and started checking out the stars. I couldn't be sure but, I thought I knew where the North Star was. I got my bearings off that star and new the road my truck was on was north of "no mans land". I sat there for a pretty good while and said a prayer (not a real religious guy but, a believer non the less) I started walking and before long my little mag lite was so dead it was useless to even hold it. With no light and a swollow of water left I told myself I was going to pick my way up this last ridge and then wait until daylight and get out of here. The wife knows to give me a full 24 hours before calling the rescue squad (LOL!!!) so I knew no one would be looking for me. As I finally got to the top I came to a gravel road and on that gravel road not 50 yards from me was my truck. Amazing!!!!!! I didn't know if I wanted to laugh, cry or what so I just layed down and thanked God and maybe done both. (you'll never know that part) When I opened the door the clock read 5:15 AM. I had been walking for just shy of 10 hours. I opened my tracker to check on the dogs and woudn't you know a tree beep. I drove about a mile and came right to within 200 yards of my dogs. The jack ass just took my dogs on a great big circle. I grabbed another mag lite..(Big Bertha) and went to them. I walked in, in the dark to keep the dern bear in the tree and shined the light on the dogs and the tree. I praised everyone and we went straight to the truck. That was the shortest time I've ever spent at a tree. I was beat but, atleast I still wasn't lost.

[Buddyw]

Thanks for sharing, good reading about other people's screw ups!, Makes me feel a little better of a couple of my experiences..

I've gotten turned around a few times. Easy to get turn around in the dark like you mentioned when your not paying attension chasing dogs that turn and don't move in a straight line
I got screwed up Once was elk hunting with a lady friend that wanted to go..(Ha.. she's never asked to go again!) I was hiking to what I thought was the truck, but it was a Canyon Bowl with tall timber, and as I headed the direction I thought was towards the truck I walked right around the bowl and was heading 180, Came to a Clear cut that I was not expecting to see.. had that ah shit feeling, (still didn't have the nerve to tell the lady I wasn't where I wanted to be..) .. about the time I got the sense to stop and Light a Smoke and try get some bearing on what clear cut that was.

About that time we bumped a herd of Elk (which I used as an excuse of why we did it!)

Finally figured out what, and where I was, On the wrong side of the canyon, and about dark we Ended up Brushing up to the road and had about a 7 mile hike on the road to where my truck was. Luckily I ran into an old timer (good friend now) that gave me a ride back.. My pride almost declined the Ride, but I think he seen the look in her eyes and said.. Bud.. You'd better hop in!

I learned a good lesson that day. I just wish I could tell you what that lesson was!

[crowley]

GPS is all i can say. since i learned how to use one i hate being in the woods without it. when the dogs are baying,the only thing on my mind is getting to the them. if the bear keeps backing, it's not hard to loose track of which way your traveling. the gps tells exactly where you are, your truck, and any roads that might help. that said, most of us get in a bind cause, we're not going very far, there's plenty of daylite left, and my favorite, i know this country like the back of my hand.

[ZeluvaRIP69er]

Great story man!

You came prepared, you had a light and SOME water, and you knew not to panic and try and figure your way back to the truck!

As long as someone knew where you were going, I would say you made no mistakes, just had a long, eventful night with the hounds

[Hunter]

Yes, I will have a GPS (the Astro) in the near future actually acouple days hopefully. I always tell my wife the general area I will be in incase something does happen. My wife actually had a pretty good idea and that was putting a tracking collar on my pack. I had never really thought about it but, a Johnson 4000 or something light would be a good idea. My pack is something I carry every trip. I keep my collars and leads in it when I get done hunting anyways. I believe I will buy a light weight tracking collar and have her sew it into it some how. Just take the magnet out when I take them out of the dog collars. Heck if you get hurt or God forbid die atleast the whole world won't have to search for weeks to find you. (Her words not mine) I'll just leave that collar number on the fridge and have my Brother-in-law and buddies program it into their trackers.

ZeluvaRIP69er In my "hunting" pack for the winter I carry alot more stuff but, I'll be putting alittle of it into my "day" pack now.

In my "hunting" pack I carry. Water, an emergency blanket (the small aluminum looking one) flash light and extra batterys, some kind of wrapped energy bar my wife gets from walmart, extra knife (a small case XX), 10-15' of thin cord, large black garbage bag, (makes a damn good sleeping bag) fire starter kit (vaseline in a pill bottle filled with cotton balls and yes this has saved my ass a bunch) 2 lighters, panty hose (they actually help keep your legs warm if you wear them or you can put meat in them), a pair of socks and a T-shirt. I vaccum seal the matching items together like the socks, panty hose, and T-shirt and the fire starter kit, cord, and thermal blanket. That way it's all together and out of the way. It sounds like a bunch of stuff to carry but, it actually only takes up the 2 outside pockets and probably weights 3-5 lbs. I also carry my food for the day and another bottle of water. I try not to get into my "emergency" stuff that much. I'd rather have it and not need it as need it and not have it.

[huntwithkids]

I had a good lost one night myself. In country I "know like the back off my hand" The dog started down at the creek and headed a feeder. I drove up the next rode knowing it would circle around and above her where I could hear her. Parked started walking in and each time I went into another little draw I would not hear her. When I came out of the draw she was farther away. A couple of these and I figured I had better get back to the truck cause I was not catching up. This is about the time fog came in so thick that when I turned on my light I could only see about 10 yards of white. So I headed out or what I thought was out. Went the completely wrong way. Came upon a pile of old skyline, so I knew I had to be right below an old landing which would have a road on it. Went uphill and onto road I thought I was parked on. I headed the direction that would have been to my truck if I was on the road I thought I should be on. Not to long and I realized that the road was getting worse not better and sure enough it ended. I figured a road was better then pucker brush so I just turned around. Went back down the road till I happened upon some folks, who I just happened to know Funny how things work out So we got to talking realized I went clear across canyon. I was just about to get in and hitch a ride when I heard the dog again. Now she was close and I was able to catch her crossing the rode. We both got a ride back.

[Bo D]

Sounds all too familiar guys... I do like the idea of having a live collar in your pack or on your belt just in case something were to happen to you. Cell phone servise isn't all that great where I hunt either.

What I started doing was leaving a collar with the magnet removed on the roof of my truck. If I get turned around now at least I can follow a signal back to the truck. Oh yeah, I never leave home without a compass now either...

[Lil Joes BigGame hounds]

Getting turned around is one thing, getting turned around with a client. That will really make you feel like an idiot. I was guiding barbary sheep hunters last year on a place i had only been in once before. We were on our way out when it got DARK. Well long story short when I was just to tired to walk any more a truck pulled up and stopped about 400 yards away. so I walked to it and it was a rancher that was on his way home and stopped to check a water tank that was just a little ways from my truck! Man that was embarrassing but those are the chances you take when you don't know the country that well.

[Justaguy]

You feel so silly when it happens to you !
Now I have a really good since of direction but I got totally turned around one night coon hunting with my dad in an area that I had never hunted before. It was a warm summer night and the dogs started pretty close to where we turn out. When we left the truck we were walking along a old road/path that ran parallel to the creek. As we walked and talked following the dogs I did not detect that the creek made a big sweeping slow turn. We finally came to a spot where we got out from under the trees and looked up and saw a big full moon setting over the ridge top to what I thought west. I said something to my dad saying look the moon is going down so early this evening and he just laughed at me and said it was coming up. Now he and I have laughed and played jokes on one another my whole life so I thought he was just trying to set me up for something and I agreed with him for a while. But when I finally saw the moon getting higher in the sky it felt like the ground moved as I got my true sense of direction back. Was the weirdest feeling .. almost like I could feel the ground move under my feet.

Now I really wasn't lost, all I had to do was turn around and follow the road/path back to the truck but it did give me the funniest feeling.... And of course a few weeks or was it months of kidding from my farther...