Lost hunters use moose hide to keep warm

[Huntin' Gun]

As a former search and rescue member I have seen incidents where someone with a compass has been found and when asked what happened, they had panicked and were positive the compass was wrong.That is the point I was trying to make.Also after following a lost persons tracks and picking up his shoes, socks, and eventually a jacket the poor guy was found six or seven hundred yards from safety at a well lit cabin(panic again).He didnt make it.That is one statistic I would like to forget.Happy Hunting.

From what I understand that is a common thing to find with hyporthermia caualties. In the final stages of hypothermia the victim actually feels too hot, and actually sheds layers. This happens a lot of the time, and the abandoned coat is found along the person's tracks. And then, like you said, the person is found dead not too much further on.
Unfortunately, from what I've been taught, that is typical.

It's really a shame that in the case you mentioned, the person was so close to safety.

 

[Otokiak]

I'd also say they faired pretty well by skinnning up the moose and sleeping under his hide ... not enough details on why no fire, didn't eat some moose(cooked or raw would've given them energy), what gear was on hand ... I've been all over NFLD and it's rough terrain and weather conditions change fast. Glad to hear they survived.

Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA

 

[Ardent]

I think they did just great, as they're alive. Newfoundland's climate is less than forgiving, probably the worst sort of climate going in fall for hypothermia, coastal winter conditions are about the least comfortable going. They did what they needed to do and it worked.

 

[SCDL]

From what I understand that is a common thing to find with hyporthermia caualties. In the final stages of hypothermia the victim actually feels too hot, and actually sheds layers. This happens a lot of the time, and the abandoned coat is found along the person's tracks. And then, like you said, the person is found dead not too much further on.
Unfortunately, from what I've been taught, that is typical.

It's really a shame that in the case you mentioned, the person was so close to safety.

Yup.

People often end up delusional and hallucinating.

It's not a pretty way to die.

 

[Ardent]

As a former search and rescue member I have seen incidents where someone with a compass has been found and when asked what happened, they had panicked and were positive the compass was wrong.That is the point I was trying to make.Also after following a lost persons tracks and picking up his shoes, socks, and eventually a jacket the poor guy was found six or seven hundred yards from safety at a well lit cabin(panic again).He didnt make it.That is one statistic I would like to forget.Happy Hunting.

Going by your avatar I presume you have some familiarity with aviation, same issue there. Even pilots with thousands of hours and decades in the air have ignored indications from instruments because they didn't line up with what they perceived was happening, ultimately crashing. Always trust your instruments for sure, be it in the cockpit, or a simple handheld compass, even if they don't make sense.

 

[.17]

Although I have flown lots as I worked at a hunting and fishing camp in northern Sask. I am not a pilot but I know what you are saying.The avatar is in rememberance of my Dad who was ground crew during the war but got to fly in a mosquito and talked about it all the time.I have been a huge fan of the plane ever since.

 

[ALLS London]

everything I ever really needed to know, I learned from star wars...

glad they made it out ok, and hope everyone learns a lesson about knowing where you are and where you're going. I'm going to go double-check the flagging tape in my kit right now.

 

[xeon]

You sir, sound like a statistic waiting to happen! Don't mean to come down on you but I think you need a little training in outdoorsmanship before you come up with comments like this. Thanks for the laugh!!!!!!!

As a former search and rescue member...

I think .17 knows what he's doing.


I doubt everyone is 100% prepared for getting lost no matter who they are. Its a lot easier to say what someone should have done online and in hindsight when they aren't the ones in a situation like that. What if the batteries go on your gps and you forgot your compass in the truck. Unpredictable things happen no matter who you are and since they're still alive I'd say they did a stand up job in survival mode with what they had. If it were me I would have probably waited until the morning to go looking for the moose but hindsight is 20-20. Glad they made it out alright.

 

[ALLS London]

I was on a SAR exercise a few years ago, and someone dropped their GPS, breaking it. Having not taken compass bearings simultaneously, we were then stuck with "okay, NOW WHAT", and learned a valuable lesson.

I'm no longer with a SAR group, but I remember that lesson pretty vividly whenever I wander off the beaten path.

 

[hawk-i]

Come on guys...you don't go into the bush without a compass and if you have any outdoor training you also know to follow your compass...also a GPS is great but not always accurate and it is electronic so should not be used as your main means of survival and navigation.

A good compass and a map and knowing how to use it will improve your chance of survival...Also being prepared at all times is a must, being able to start a fire even in the pouring rain is a must as well ...remember shelter, water, and food in that order will save your bacon.
.17,....sorry to hear of your unfortunate find of the fellow close to the cabin. However when you say something like "anything can happen and they did good" in this case its justs a bunch of garbage because they did NOT do good and where probably lucky the out come was as it was.

So when I see someone condoning their story as going good, it makes me wonder how much that person really knows about survival...also search and rescue and survival are two seperate issues.

I was not disrespecting you, just questioning your judgement on this issue.

Happy hunting!! but getting lost is Not happy hunting

 

[RockyMountain]

From what I understand that is a common thing to find with hyporthermia caualties. In the final stages of hypothermia the victim actually feels too hot, and actually sheds layers. This happens a lot of the time, and the abandoned coat is found along the person's tracks. And then, like you said, the person is found dead not too much further on.
Unfortunately, from what I've been taught, that is typical.

I've experienced this first hand. After several hours of shivering, I suddenly stopped shivering and started feeling awesome. I felt like I could just go to sleep and have an awesome comfortable rest. I knew from what I had learned about hypothermia that at this point I needed to start a fire, although it took alot of mental effort to force myself to act on this. It was about -2 deg. C and raining and I was soaking wet.

Going out into the bush without a reliable way to start a fire in adverse conditions is a FAIL. Forget the compass or the GPS or any of those things. I'm glad the people made it but in case anyone was wondering, they FAILED by any reasonable standard of survival savvy before they even made it into the bush.

And crawling into a wet, bloody moose hide? yuck.

 

[ALLS London]

Come on guys...you don't go into the bush without a compass and if you have any outdoor training you also know to follow your compass...also a GPS is great but not always accurate and it is electronic so should not be used as your main means of survival and navigation.

A good compass and a map and knowing how to use it will improve your chance of survival...Also being prepared at all times is a must, being able to start a fire even in the pouring rain is a must as well ...remember shelter, water, and food in that order will save your bacon.
.17,....sorry to hear of your unfortunate find of the fellow close to the cabin. However when you say something like "anything can happen and they did good" in this case its justs a bunch of garbage because they did NOT do good and where probably lucky the out come was as it was.

So when I see someone condoning their story as going good, it makes me wonder how much that person really knows about survival...also search and rescue and survival are two seperate issues.

I was not disrespecting you, just questioning your judgement on this issue.

Happy hunting!! but getting lost is Not happy hunting

These are all good points, I generally plan on spending three nights away if I'm going fishing at the local conservation area, just in case.

That said, it's easy to forget one essential item and have it screw with your trip, like when the wind picks up and tosses your map into the stream, to be carried away. Truth is we don't know a lot of details, this is a pretty sensationalist article.

But I agree with you, a little bit more planning would have been WAY more helpful. Perhaps someone local to them can introduce them to CGN and it's wilderness survival forum

 

[Ardent]

Come on guys...you don't go into the bush without a compass and if you have any outdoor training you also know to follow your compass...also a GPS is great but not always accurate and it is electronic so should not be used as your main means of survival and navigation.

A good compass and a map and knowing how to use it will improve your chance of survival...Also being prepared at all times is a must, being able to start a fire even in the pouring rain is a must as well ...remember shelter, water, and food in that order will save your bacon.
.17,....sorry to hear of your unfortunate find of the fellow close to the cabin. However when you say something like "anything can happen and they did good" in this case its justs a bunch of garbage because they did NOT do good and where probably lucky the out come was as it was.

So when I see someone condoning their story as going good, it makes me wonder how much that person really knows about survival...also search and rescue and survival are two seperate issues.

I was not disrespecting you, just questioning your judgement on this issue.

Happy hunting!! but getting lost is Not happy hunting

I think they 'did good' too and work in places the roads don't go anywhere near in the north- a helicopter ride from the end of a goat trail, true remote. It's easy to sit behind a desk and say 'They did it allll wrong', the fact is, they both lived in very harsh conditions and did something a lot of folks wouldn't. They made a mistake, and survived it. Survival wouldn't even be a word if mistakes weren't made. If they lived, they 'did good', feel free to explain your background and why we're wrong as I've been wrong before.

 

[350 Mag]

Moose hide was smart but Spruce bow shelter would have worked too....also whenever I hunt in colder temps I always wear wool underwear and socks....when wet, Wool will still insulate your body...whereas wet cotton will wick body heat away from you....


I carry a GPS, Compass, SPOT and map of the area I am hunting....I also carry a small 1st aid kit with emergency blanket, fire starter, body-stapler, small first aid booklet. I also carry some energy bars and juice boxes.


SPOT is a cheap insurance policy...it will work almost anywhere.


The basic service allows you to send check in/O.K generic message, message 2 requests help from Family and Friends via preset message, message 3 is an S.O.S button.

There is no text pad on the SPOT. Just a preset message that is emailed out to family and friends.

Once the S.O.S button is activated Search&Rescue teams will be dispatched....so don't ever test it....and you have to pay....but would be well worth it if your quad rolled and your leg was broke.


This year SPOT added a NEW feature....it will link with Android Phones or I-Phones and allow you to send text messages via satellite.....pretty cool.

 

[xeon]

I'm thinking that a lot of the people here have a huge VHS collection of Survivor Man, Man Vs. Wild, and Ray Mears Bushcraft and have a contorted view of the reality of most survival situations.

If all hunters/outdoorsmen had to take a SAS survival course before getting their licence then sure these people probably failed at survival in the SAS books. Reality is, they are your average joe and probably didn't think they'd be tracking in as far as they did and got turned around. They put themselves into a survival situation and they survived the best they knew how. How the heck do they fail, they survived having to survive.

 

[hawk-i]

There is no use in continueing with this issue....as I said in my first post ... I would consider one night in the bush without proper gear an inconvenience and not an ordeal...and I said it before and I'll say it again...IHMO...they did BAD not GOOD by putting themselves in this position in the first place. I've spent many a night alone in the bush and never once have I come close to thinking I was lucky to survive the "ordeal".
Happy hunting!!!

 

[Vugee_AOD]

There is no use in continueing with this issue....as I said in my first post ... I would consider one night in the bush without proper gear an inconvenience and not an ordeal...and I said it before and I'll say it again...IHMO...they did BAD not GOOD by putting themselves in this position in the first place. I've spent many a night alone in the bush and never once have I come close to thinking I was lucky to survive the "ordeal".
Happy hunting!!!

One night/two nights, gear/no gear. It doesn't matter. When your in a bad situation you're in a bad situation. You're thinking best case scenario. It doesn't matter who you are, everyone has their limits and you never know if they may be tested. They were in a bad spot and they did what they could to increase their chances of survival.

 

[riden]

I carry a GPS, Compass, SPOT and map of the area I am hunting....I also carry a small 1st aid kit with emergency blanket, fire starter, body-stapler, small first aid booklet. I also carry some energy bars and juice boxes.


SPOT is a cheap insurance policy...it will work almost anywhere.


The basic service allows you to send check in/O.K generic message, message 2 requests help from Family and Friends via preset message, message 3 is an S.O.S button.

There is no text pad on the SPOT. Just a preset message that is emailed out to family and friends.

Once the S.O.S button is activated Search&Rescue teams will be dispatched....so don't ever test it....and you have to pay....but would be well worth it if your quad rolled and your leg was broke.


This year SPOT added a NEW feature....it will link with Android Phones or I-Phones and allow you to send text messages via satellite.....pretty cool.

There is now also a SPOT designed for smart phones that allows you to text through the satelitte

 

[marcham]

There are apps for blackberry that dont need signal you just have to be moving

Except that a SPOT / PLB uses satellites for communication.

What the folks at SPOT don't tell you is that satellite coverage can be, well, spotty. If you are in a canyon, or on the side of a tall mountain, your distress signal may never get out. With PLBs on the other hand, the SARSAT system uses a combination of geostationary and low earth orbitting satellites to pick-up distress signals. And since you only use PLBs in distress, you know the batteries will last at least 24 hrs when you activate it. GSAR (ground search and rescue) / coast guard and SAR aircraft crews can also follow a homing beacon right to your PLB, no such device exists for the SPOT.

The cost of ownership of a PLB is much less than the SPOT beacon, once you factor in the monthly subscription. They are now $225 at MEC.

Search and rescue crews are NOT sent when you press the SOS button on the SPOT. The notification goes to a call centre (SPOT's emergency response centre). This centre has no SAR crews at their disposal nor any legal liability to act. They have to figure out who is the closest agency to call that can help you and then relay what they've received. Normally, SAR crews won't react immediately to a SPOT beacon, they'll try and use the contact phone numbers provided with your registration and attempt to determine if this is real emergency or accidental activation.

PLB / ELT / EPIRB signals on the other hand are received by RCC (rescue coordination centres) manned by Air Force / Coast Guard personnel who have SAR ressources at their disposal 24/7. Even if you activate a PLB outside of the US/Canada, the local country agency will be the lead, but your country of registration for the PLB will be involved and ensure an adequate level of oversight to ensure a rescue is launched.

Want to show your family where you are? get a spot.

Want to get rescued when you are in a life and death emergency? get a PLB.

 

[RRCo.]

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