Gutsy survivor keeps hunting

[Foxer]

Gutsy survivor keeps hunting
Wilderness ordeal fails to deter hunter
By GLENN KAUTH, SUN MEDIA
The Edmonton Sun




A three-day hunting ordeal that left him trapped in a canyon hasn't kept Roy Getson from his favourite pastime.

"It didn't deter me from what I like doing," said the avid hunter from Edson. "If I didn't have to work, that's what I'd be doing."

Despite his bravery, Getson is doing a few things differently since his miraculous rescue from the canyon he slipped into while on a sheep-hunting expedition near Nordegg in late September.

Most importantly, he won't go hunting alone anymore. Last week, for example, while out in the Cadomin area near Hinton, he was with friends.

While he's now recovered from the ordeal, he does suffer a few lingering effects.

"Everything is all cleared up, (but) the cold gets to me now from the hypothermia. As soon as I get outside and it's cold, I'm freezing."

Despite his good health, Getson said he still thinks about his time in the canyon every day. Trapped next to a three-metre-wide creekbed, he only had garlic sausage to eat, which he rationed off over the three days he spent there.

Every night, the creek waters would rise, leaving him soaked. In the meantime, it rained and snowed as temperatures dipped below freezing, all of which left the 25-year-old with hypothermia.

Because of his shivering, Getson said he couldn't sleep at all.

By the second day, his wife Rhonda became worried after he failed to call. She knew something was wrong because, she said, "Roy never gets lost."

On the third day, she, family members and rescue teams were in the Nordegg area, 298 km southwest of Edmonton, looking for Getson.

As Rhonda feared the worst, Getson fired a few remaining bullets from his gun to alert a helicopter flying overhead.

But because he was in such a narrow gap, the helicopter couldn't see him. Getson, though, was smart enough to throw a bright-orange neck warmer to the ledge, which rescuers ended up spotting.

One of them then rappelled down into the canyon to bring him supplies, and by the next day Getson was out and hugging his family.

Despite his harrowing ordeal, just a few weeks later the fearless Getson bagged a moose while out hunting again.

He's been out several times since and he even plans to go back to the Blackstone Gap area near Nordegg where he fell.

"I do plan on going back there next year," he said. "I'll give it another go (but) I'll stay away from my canyon."

 

[Foxer]

I posted this in articles too, but... I know for a fact we have a few very experienced search and rescue folks who frequent the hunting section. This story had a happy ending and that's great, but maybe this is also a little warning to all of us about what can happen out there, even to experienced folks.

So if those who have experience with G-SAR could pipe up and give some advice on how not to get killed in situations like this, that might be a good thing.

Here's a few things i've heard from folks who know a thing or two, someone can correct me if i'm wrong.

- In most cases, unless your spouse or friends are fast talkers it will be at least 24 hours after you are 'missing' before they will even consider beginning a search, and can be another 8 - 12 hours before they assemble the team. So if you go out, it's a good idea to be prepared to be at least 48 hours out there.

- your best plan is to stay put. But - if you haven't been found after 4 days of when you will be 'missed', you should seriously think about getting out on your own.

- fire and water are your two biggest problems. Focus on them first, and remember you'll need a hell of a lot more wood than you thought.

- Space blankets are pretty useless for sleeping under, but make great 'reflectors' to channel the heat of your fire onto you by putting them up in a semi-circle around the fire so the light shines into your shelter. They also do pretty well as 'waterproofing' for your shelter by incorporating them into your roof.

 

[leslea_kate]

Those space blankets also work pretty good as a heat reflector when used as the "ceiling" of a lean to. Packing 2 of em costs nothing for space, but 2 of em can make a HUGE difference between surviving & being comfy.

Something I'd recommend for any hunter who is untrained in outdoor survival, beyond the bare minimums, is to talk with folks who do have training. Even if it's just stuff they learnt while in cadets.

The best would be to practice the stuff.

And ironically, one of the best shows I've seen (and yep, I had all sorts of training in cadets & the military) to teach the basics is "Survivorman". There's a few knockoff shows that mimic Les' basic format, but I've yet to see one as well done. And again, practice the stuff. Even if it's out at a family farm for a couple of nights. That way, IF you do get too far gone, you have a place to warm up or get medical attention if you need it. Oh & when doing the farm thing (or out in the woods near a cabin & so on), keep a radio or cell phone with you, just in case you need it.

Theory is great. Skills are better.

A basic list of stuff to bring on a hunt, outside the rifle, ammo & knives, includes:

Something to start a fire... Waterproof matches, zippo, windproof lighter, Magnesium block with the striker insert & the like.

Food. Energy bars go a long way in a pinch, weigh little & take up very little room in a pack.

Couple space blankets. For the reason above. They're also not big, so if you are, you won't regret having an extra. They're even sold in dollar stores... May as well have a couple!

Emergency whistle.

At least one water bottle & water treatment tablets. Not all water is good water.

A small first aid kit (hint, GET TRAINED!)

A deck of cards... Boredom kills more people than you'd realize. (boredom leads to thinking too much which leads to despair or making stupid decisions.) Hint, an unopened deck is protected from water damage by the cellophane. The cellophane, jokers and silly advert cards can all be used for tinder to start a fire, if there's no natural tinder dry enough. So can the box the cards came in (hint, put a rubber band around the unopened deck, so you can keep em together if you have to use the box for tinder). Further, anyone can play solitaire, or build card houses to keep busy.

Oh & the best reason for having cards when lost/injured/trapped... Start playing solitaire and within minutes, some ass will be hanging over your shoulder going "that black 10 will go on that red Jack over there".

L

 

[bone-collector]

Survivorman is NOT recomened by any members of the search and rescue, even if he has gotten funding from the federal government in some cases he is a GOOF, from sleeping under unstable rock ledges to trying to light a fire with a rifle, as well as food poisoning himself, lighting his shelter on fire as well as building shelters on river banks in the fall to find out they flood at night!, Les is no better than the bearsuit doofus IMHO. he preaches after 4 days start walking they wont find you!, you know why that is, because YOU the lost person DID NOT TELL anyone were you were heading.

#1 make sure someone or better yet a couple of people know were you are going
#2 leave a list of clothing you will be wearing and what type of boots you wear (makes tracking a whole lot easier in a place a few people may frequent also leave a defined footprint by your truck or were you were starting from we then have a definet picture of your boot tread pattern and a stride pattern to follow, beleive it or not this will speed up the search quite a bit)
#3 make sure the folks you let know were your going know that if your not back by a certain time give or take 4 or 5 hours CALL the RCMP and report you missing.
the RCMP will look first and if your on your way home great if your not the chain of callout has begun

#4 remember it takes 6-8 hours to organise a search in a smaller location faster in places like vancouver or toronto

and so folks understand the RCMP get the call, they have to call SAR (search and rescue) they then call out local coordinators, who then call up sar managers and then team leaders, then the team leaders must go through there lists trying to find searchers, THEN they get a plan together, choppers and planes are not always readily available, and weather dependant may not be able to lift off for several hours or even days.

some basics that we use for training are:

#1 never build a shelter near water, you will get the morning dew and cold air from the water leaving hypothermia open

#2 dont put the shelter up on a hilltop, winds and cold air moving down will get you

#3 if your heading out for 3 dsays pack for 5

#4 if you are lost have faith in the search team and your callout people we will find you, dont wonder off after day 3

#5 remember every hour you travel takes searchers up to 5 hours to track you. so if you walked 5 hours to hunt expect it to take up to 25 hours+ to find you unless there is clear sign

#6 get a fire going and supply of wood also keep greens by your fire, anything to smudge it and make lots of smoke, in the event a chopper or plane is up they will see it, smudge from daybreak on, search teams will send members to higher ground to see whats going on

in my GSAR vest I have the following items that can be used easily by anyone and they are lightweight
-snare wire $3, as good as rope at building a shelter and potential of catching game

-folding saw $10 firewood and shelter material

-flare pen with 6 bear bangers and 6 flares $30

-compass sylvia ranger $40

-basic first aid kit $25

-gels energy packs taste like sh!t but you can live on them $3 each

-change of clothing (wool sox, fleece pants and shirt)

-fire starter tinder kit $10

-small baggie of fishing hooks and weights $5

-ammo for my rifle at least a full box beyond what I hunt with

some basic goodies that help in a time of need.

I have a binder somewere here with full lists if I can find it I will get it posted if folks want it, you can also contact any SAR team in your area and get help on what to pack and how the system works, as well JOIN UP, SAR is always looking for members, you get the benefits of training courses not offered to the general public and a sence of knowledge.

 

[dumbdawg]

can't beat what bone-collector said

 

[bone-collector]

Leslea I wasnt bashing you atall, I was after the survivor dude, and I apolagise if it seemed I was giving you crap.

Les does show a couple of usefull things no doubt but he has gone glorified with his show doing segments in tropics and the swamps of florida, his mountain segment was left wide open for failure, sleeping under unstable rock ledges, camping next to a large river in late fall, walking on a glacier etc.

his arctic show was as bad, trying to light a fire by pulling the lead out of a bullet, crimping the bras and shooting his tinder suply hoping the muzzle flame would light it??????????

his boreal forest episode was the best, burning down his shelter, showing people to run from wild animals (the cow moose incident) trying to eat lillypad root and getting puking sick, building a fire yards away from his shelter etc, Les was the ultimate in DONT TRY THIS SH!T IF YOUR LOST show at that point.

Les also says start walking after X amount of days he changes every show this is were myself and any SAR member would have a huge problem, your survivl rate just dropped drasticaly by doing this.

if you do find yourself lost REMEMBER it takes time to get a search in progress, if I get a call at 4am by the time we are organised to leave the office its probably 9am then to get to your LKP (last know position) could take several hours, esentialy a full blown search may no get going until the following day so now you have been lost technicaly since 6pm friday evening when your mom called the RCMP, its now sunday morning 36-38 hours later depending on terrain, weather, and tracability and how many days you walked in will ad to this , if we have to track you all the way and you walked 12 hours into the mountains we could be looking at 48+ hours to track you, now we are 3-4 days (this is a worst case scenario as well) staying calm and in one spot will save your life in the end, providing you didnt deviate from your location you told people you would be at!

things to do and not to do:

dont waste ammo doing the SOS thing until day 2 or 3 after you were due back, and dont do it in the evening, searchers will be at camp and not out after dark as a general
try it around noon when teams are in the bush looking and space the shots out at least 5-10 minutes apart that will allow teams to coordinate on the radios as to what they heard, alos if you hear a bang(gunshot/bear banger) reply to it with a sos 1 minute apart in shots even if its was another hunter you heard they will find it odd and at the least tell someone when they pass a roadcheck.

this is all good for someone out hunting that has not been injured or stuck in a bad spotbut just got turned around.

space blankets are good for 2 things as well, reflecting heat from a fire and a water barrier on the shelter, human body heat will not be nuff to reflect it into a shelter.

reality is in this day and age there should only be 2 reasons you didnt make it out, animal attack (rare but does happen) or injury (broken leg etc) GPS's and maps that are available today are amazing tools and cheap reasurance, SAR is not cheap especialy if choppers and planes do get used.
As well nowadays they have little pocket books for everything in every area of Canada, animal tracks, wild mushrooms,wild plants etc, $7 is cheaper than McDonalds especialy when your lost.
A great place to find a few books like these beleive it or not is Canadian Tire, all the ones I have been in have a small book rack by the tills and have some great books.

 

[Foxer]

food is an interesting topic. That survivor man guy seems to almost pass out if he goes without food for about 8 hours but how much do you REALLY need to keep up enough strength and energy to survive? I know you can go weeks without food - but not if you're putting out a lot of physical energy.

So how much food do you need? What kinds are the best/lightest to have with you? At what point should you be thinking about harvesting a litte?

I've heard stuff like people taking ichiban noodles with them, but i have no idea how much food energy you need or how much is in those foods.

 

[Salty]

I've heard stuff like people taking ichiban noodles with them, but i have no idea how much food energy you need or how much is in those foods.

A quick check to the pantry reveals that 'mr noodles' packs 190 calories per serving A good idea probably cause they weigh like nothing - easy to deal with and something warm is a good thing...

I just asked Mrs Salty how many calories we're supposed to have. She tells me 1000 per day would be a weight loss situation for an average man. 2000 more than enough. So 5 packs of noodles daily would prolly keep you going a long time - that's getting a tad bulky though. But a few noodle packs and some of those nuclear powered energy bars would probably be not a bad way to go..

 

[John Y Cannuck]

With the exception of moose hunting, most of us Ontario hunters don't have to worry too much.
That said, a fella did spend the night in an area less than a mile square a few years back. Nothing wrong, just walking in circles, found by helo in the morning. He didn't sleep, basically wandered all night. When found, he was only a few hundred yards from the highway. If he'd stopped walking, he'd have heard it.
To the Western guys who imagine Ontario is one big city, well, you're wrong, there are a lot of places with no roads for many many miles, a lot of swamp, some serious rock ridges, and lakes and rivers in numbers you can't imagine. If you are lost in one of those areas, (typical moose country) well, you'd best be prepared for a serious camping spell.

 

[jackenape]

Gps units are great, but always have a compass and an aerial. Even google earth printouts are handy, especially if you are lucky enough to have a decent pic taken of your hunting grounds. Even the crappy ones are helpful with the roads overlay applied.

 

[leslea_kate]

Survivorman is NOT recomened by any members of the search and rescue, even if he has gotten funding from the federal government in some cases he is a GOOF, from sleeping under unstable rock ledges to trying to light a fire with a rifle, as well as food poisoning himself, lighting his shelter on fire as well as building shelters on river banks in the fall to find out they flood at night!, Les is no better than the bearsuit doofus IMHO. he preaches after 4 days start walking they wont find you!, you know why that is, because YOU the lost person DID NOT TELL anyone were you were heading.

#1 make sure someone or better yet a couple of people know were you are going
#2 leave a list of clothing you will be wearing and what type of boots you wear (makes tracking a whole lot easier in a place a few people may frequent also leave a defined footprint by your truck or were you were starting from we then have a definet picture of your boot tread pattern and a stride pattern to follow, beleive it or not this will speed up the search quite a bit)
#3 make sure the folks you let know were your going know that if your not back by a certain time give or take 4 or 5 hours CALL the RCMP and report you missing.
the RCMP will look first and if your on your way home great if your not the chain of callout has begun

#4 remember it takes 6-8 hours to organise a search in a smaller location faster in places like vancouver or toronto

and so folks understand the RCMP get the call, they have to call SAR (search and rescue) they then call out local coordinators, who then call up sar managers and then team leaders, then the team leaders must go through there lists trying to find searchers, THEN they get a plan together, choppers and planes are not always readily available, and weather dependant may not be able to lift off for several hours or even days.

some basics that we use for training are:

#1 never build a shelter near water, you will get the morning dew and cold air from the water leaving hypothermia open

#2 dont put the shelter up on a hilltop, winds and cold air moving down will get you

#3 if your heading out for 3 dsays pack for 5

#4 if you are lost have faith in the search team and your callout people we will find you, dont wonder off after day 3

#5 remember every hour you travel takes searchers up to 5 hours to track you. so if you walked 5 hours to hunt expect it to take up to 25 hours+ to find you unless there is clear sign

#6 get a fire going and supply of wood also keep greens by your fire, anything to smudge it and make lots of smoke, in the event a chopper or plane is up they will see it, smudge from daybreak on, search teams will send members to higher ground to see whats going on

in my GSAR vest I have the following items that can be used easily by anyone and they are lightweight
-snare wire $3, as good as rope at building a shelter and potential of catching game

-folding saw $10 firewood and shelter material

-flare pen with 6 bear bangers and 6 flares $30

-compass sylvia ranger $40

-basic first aid kit $25

-gels energy packs taste like sh!t but you can live on them $3 each

-change of clothing (wool sox, fleece pants and shirt)

-fire starter tinder kit $10

-small baggie of fishing hooks and weights $5

-ammo for my rifle at least a full box beyond what I hunt with

some basic goodies that help in a time of need.

I have a binder somewere here with full lists if I can find it I will get it posted if folks want it, you can also contact any SAR team in your area and get help on what to pack and how the system works, as well JOIN UP, SAR is always looking for members, you get the benefits of training courses not offered to the general public and a sence of knowledge.

Damn... I didn't see too many of the shows where he did those things... GOOD to know though, thanks.

first Point 1, common sense. If only it were common. Point 2, EXCELLENT information.

GOOD stuff.

L

 

[leslea_kate]

I didn't think you were bashing me at all BC. I've seen only a few eps & some of the stuff I saw made good sense, some seemed pretty dumb. Like setting up a camp on a sandbar.

You have some VERY good points about Les... I couldn't believe the stupidity of the shooting the fire bit. TOO dumb for words.

The biggest thing about walking out... I was told the answer to that is "Don't".

(more below... Long post there BC )

Leslea I wasnt bashing you atall, I was after the survivor dude, and I apolagise if it seemed I was giving you crap.

Les does show a couple of usefull things no doubt but he has gone glorified with his show doing segments in tropics and the swamps of florida, his mountain segment was left wide open for failure, sleeping under unstable rock ledges, camping next to a large river in late fall, walking on a glacier etc.

his arctic show was as bad, trying to light a fire by pulling the lead out of a bullet, crimping the bras and shooting his tinder suply hoping the muzzle flame would light it??????????

his boreal forest episode was the best, burning down his shelter, showing people to run from wild animals (the cow moose incident) trying to eat lillypad root and getting puking sick, building a fire yards away from his shelter etc, Les was the ultimate in DONT TRY THIS SH!T IF YOUR LOST show at that point.

Les also says start walking after X amount of days he changes every show this is were myself and any SAR member would have a huge problem, your survivl rate just dropped drasticaly by doing this.

if you do find yourself lost REMEMBER it takes time to get a search in progress, if I get a call at 4am by the time we are organised to leave the office its probably 9am then to get to your LKP (last know position) could take several hours, esentialy a full blown search may no get going until the following day so now you have been lost technicaly since 6pm friday evening when your mom called the RCMP, its now sunday morning 36-38 hours later depending on terrain, weather, and tracability and how many days you walked in will ad to this , if we have to track you all the way and you walked 12 hours into the mountains we could be looking at 48+ hours to track you, now we are 3-4 days (this is a worst case scenario as well) staying calm and in one spot will save your life in the end, providing you didnt deviate from your location you told people you would be at!

things to do and not to do:

dont waste ammo doing the SOS thing until day 2 or 3 after you were due back, and dont do it in the evening, searchers will be at camp and not out after dark as a general
try it around noon when teams are in the bush looking and space the shots out at least 5-10 minutes apart that will allow teams to coordinate on the radios as to what they heard, alos if you hear a bang(gunshot/bear banger) reply to it with a sos 1 minute apart in shots even if its was another hunter you heard they will find it odd and at the least tell someone when they pass a roadcheck.

this is all good for someone out hunting that has not been injured or stuck in a bad spot but just got turned around.

space blankets are good for 2 things as well, reflecting heat from a fire and a water barrier on the shelter, human body heat will not be nuff to reflect it into a shelter.

reality is in this day and age there should only be 2 reasons you didnt make it out, animal attack (rare but does happen) or injury (broken leg etc) GPS's and maps that are available today are amazing tools and cheap reasurance, SAR is not cheap especialy if choppers and planes do get used.
As well nowadays they have little pocket books for everything in every area of Canada, animal tracks, wild mushrooms,wild plants etc, $7 is cheaper than McDonalds especialy when your lost.
A great place to find a few books like these beleive it or not is Canadian Tire, all the ones I have been in have a small book rack by the tills and have some great books.

The only time I had to do the 3 shot thing... I heard people RUNNING AWAY... Fortunately, I got out ok.

Odd you mention the Mc D thing... On one training exercise, when everyone was told, bring food for a day, one kid showed up with $10... For McDonalds. Suffice to say, his parents, who were the ones to push him to that spot, had a riot act read to em by the CO (back in Air Cadets). Fortunately, the CO was used to parents pulling this sort of crap & had an extra IMP for the kid.

Crappy tire may get a lot of flack, but they DO have a LOT of good stuff. I've gotten a LOT of outdoor stuff there over the years.

L

 

[pitdogboy]

Good post BC... Surviovorman tech = death imho.

 

[whammy]

While I agree that survivorman isn't the best, keep in mind, he does in fact survive for 7 days in all those situations while videotaping the whole thing. The most important things is SURVIVAL...
Also,
Les Stroud is miles ahead of Bear grylls.

 

[fogducker]

Odd you mention the Mc D thing... On one training exercise, when everyone was told, bring food for a day, one kid showed up with $10... For McDonalds. Suffice to say, his parents, who were the ones to push him to that spot, had a riot act read to em by the CO (back in Air Cadets). Fortunately, the CO was used to parents pulling this sort of crap & had an extra IMP for the kid.

that had me for a bit..some people eh..what a wanker,that parent


but a great thread here,its good for all of use to keep our survival skills updated and practiced

 

[leslea_kate]

LOL, understatement there Fogducker... 2 months later, the SAME parent did the SAME stunt. Fortunately, the CO had a hunch & the bus "stopped by" the kids house on the way out of town (it was on the way) and he had a talk with the kids parents about the requirements for certain activities. That one wasn't a survival camp, but just a general outdoor training camp (aka we slept in heated cabins, not out in leantos in the snow).

Excellent thread.

Interesting thing I saw at Costco this afternoon. A survival kit for 4 people for 3 days. It included much of the stuff we've talked about here. Including water, first aid & shelter options for in a pinch. $144. It looked like a fair to middling kit. Definitely the sort of thing that could come in handy if kept in a vehicle you take out hunting.

Oh yeah... It also had a deck of cards...

L

 

[bone-collector]

While I agree that survivorman isn't the best, keep in mind, he does in fact survive for 7 days in all those situations while videotaping the whole thing. The most important things is SURVIVAL...
Also,
Les Stroud is miles ahead of Bear grylls.

actualy he dosnt survive for 7 days alone, this is a show and he is always under close eyes from above, hes never technicaly alone as 1 of us would be if we messed up out hunting.


after some thought on food I came up with the following (gotta love lazy teenagers in the house)

easymac craft dinner in a cup add hot water

cambels soup on the go, small light cheap edible cold

cup of noodles add hot water (same as ichiban but in a cup)

ready cooked ichiban and spice, kids seem to like it

hot chocolate mix

theres more I will think of it

 

[Foxer]

The only time I had to do the 3 shot thing... I heard people RUNNING AWAY... Fortunately, I got out ok.

Same thing happened to me. Man - i was beginning to think i'd NEVER get out of that mall.... D - jk!)

 

[leslea_kate]

^ROFL Foxer!!! I can honestly say I wasn't remotely near a mall... Or civilization for that matter, when I did the 3 round bit.

Bone, good ideas... Something I find takes up little room, but provides protein is good ol fashioned jerky. Whether home made or storebought, that's up to the individual. A little bit can go a long way in a pinch.

One of my beefs about a lot of the stuff a person can put in, is the MSG. Suffice to say the damn stuff is almost everywhere & it's horrid to have a sensitivity/allergy to the stuff. AKA no ichiban, cup o noodles or even campbells (other than tomato) for me... The benefits wouldn't outweigh the problems. Fortunately, there are other options.

One of the things I found to be really interesting, is how plain ol potato chips make AWESOME firestarter. Those things burn REALLY well. as easy as paper to light, but burn longer.

L

 

[whammy]

actualy he dosnt survive for 7 days alone, this is a show and he is always under close eyes from above, hes never technicaly alone as 1 of us would be if we messed up out hunting.

He may not be completely alone, but he certainly doesnt have meals cooked for him every day by a crew, and he certainly does make all his own shelters and fires(even if they arent great)