Guy in peaches with broken leg.

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

Good work hirshey!     glad he and your crew are all ok.   

[2MANY]

I agree with the positive comments here.
The people that are critical are most likely afraid of the dark and of hunting alone and are jealous of this man's ability.

[TheHunt]

I hunt alone a lot of the time.  But when I am out of state or in terrible area in Washington I rent a SAT phone.  I don't think everyone affordable to everyone but for 240 dollars for a month it is worth it from my wife's perspective. 

This fellow is still out there and getting with it.  Good for him.  I am hoping to fish and hunt until I cannot do it any more...  After that I will be in someone's camp just enjoying the activities and keeping a eye on it so nothing happens to their stuff. 

[CoryTDF]

This has long been a fear of mine while hunting alone. I recently acquired a SPOT device. I have been thinking about having one for some time. Usually if I am going to be gone long I will print off a map and write up each days plans. I circle the areas I think I will be in and ones that I may go into. I try to make it pretty detailed. I leave the maps and plans with my wife before I leave town. The new addition of a SPOT will be helpful but I will still make and leave the map and plans with the wife.

Hunting alone can be fun, but it can also be dangerous. At the very least it is good to leave plans with somebody before you leave. I'm glad this man was found and is now safe. Good on the crew that got him out.   

[b23]

I think we sometimes forget how easy it is to sit behind our computer screens and have 20/20 vision.  I've learned, mostly the hard way, you're either part of the problem or you're part of the solution and when in doubt or I don't know all the particulars, it's best to just keep my thoughts to myself.

It's unfortunate he lost his elk but I'm sure he's great full to all those involved in his retrieval, he didn't lose a lot more.

[js139]

I agree with the positive comments here.
The people that are critical are most likely afraid of the dark and of hunting alone and are jealous of this man's ability.

This is quite the assumption. I don't mind hunting alone, but people always know where I will be at and when to expect me back. I make sure I have means of communicating if people are in the area looking for me. That being said, it is a weighing of the risk. In my opinion, steep loose rockslides are not a great place to hunt a big bull elk if you are alone. If I shoot one there, I have 6 other guys with me in an hour to get it out. Alone, I have to worry about 100lbs on my back and walking through that for multiple trips. I've slipped and fell several times without that much weight on my back, let alone packing an animal out in that crap. In my opinion, that is too risky a place to hunt when there are other viable options readily available. Does that mean I'm scared of that dark? Or does that mean I am better at weighing the risk/rewards when operating by myself?

[2MANY]

I agree with the positive comments here.
The people that are critical are most likely afraid of the dark and of hunting alone and are jealous of this man's ability.

This is quite the assumption. I don't mind hunting alone, but people always know where I will be at and when to expect me back. I make sure I have means of communicating if people are in the area looking for me. That being said, it is a weighing of the risk. In my opinion, steep loose rockslides are not a great place to hunt a big bull elk if you are alone. If I shoot one there, I have 6 other guys with me in an hour to get it out. Alone, I have to worry about 100lbs on my back and walking through that for multiple trips. I've slipped and fell several times without that much weight on my back, let alone packing an animal out in that crap. In my opinion, that is too risky a place to hunt when there are other viable options readily available. Does that mean I'm scared of that dark? Or does that mean I am better at weighing the risk/rewards when operating by myself?

So you would put 6 others at risk for your reward?

[wsucougs8]

I have helispots marked on my personal hunting map and gps incase I get lost. You just never know when you need to call in for a medivac.
[/quote]

Where did you find the helispot info? Online?  Thanks!

[Rob]

I think 8 hours is pretty dang fast for a "wilderness" type of rescue.

I had a hunting partner experience chest pains while on a duck hunt on Fir island on the Skagit.  We called 911 at 5am, and he was not on a helicopter until 10am.  We could hear I-5 traffic from where we were, and I had GPS coordinates to give SAR.  Fortunately it was just angina so he was fine, but if it had been a cardiac arrest situation I don't think he would have made it.

I carry an ACR PLB (no subscription needed).  Weighs 5 ounces and fits inside my first aid kit. 

The lesson I learned was, if you get hurt to the point you cannot self extract, then get comfortable - it is going to be 12 to 24 hours minimum before you get out.  You might get lucky, some of my mountaineer buddies have hit their PLB button and had a helo show up 45 min later, but that would not be what I would expect.

[Karl Blanchard]

Dave is my next door neighbor.  He filled me in when I got back from Idaho this past weekend.  I gotta run and pick up kids and then I'll jump back on and catch up.

[Naches Sportsman]

I have helispots marked on my personal hunting map and gps incase I get lost. You just never know when you need to call in for a medivac.

Where did you find the helispot info? Online?  Thanks!
[/quote]
I found  almost all of them by exploring in my neck of the woods. Some came with the map.

[Karl Blanchard]

So first off, in talking to Dave, he is pretty shaken up over the whole deal and is soberingly aware of how lucky he is.  He was in fact hunting with his cousin, who is an older gentleman.  He is also retired military and hard of hearing.  During the whole ordeal, right until dark, he could see his cousin sitting on a stump across the basin.  Even with a fire going and firing multiple shots, his hard of hearing cousin never even looked his way.  His excuse later was that he could hear the shots but he couldn't tell which direction they came from.  He didn't carry his cell phone either because sprint has zero coverage past the Y in Naches.  Lesson number one, get a better service carrier.

As Dave realized his fate for the night he built his rock shelter, had his small fire built, gathered wood within reach, and deployed his space blankets.  Lesson to be learned here folks.  Don't buy the super cheap space blankets.  They are paper thin and tear into a million pieces during a real world application.  Sometime later that evening, he heard the sound of quads down below him on a skid road.  Using his LED flashlight he was able to signal the riders.  Riders signaled back and then rode away.  He said watching those headlights disappear over the hill was a gut wrenching feeling.  Later that night (early morning) the initial troops arrived.  I'm assuming this is you js139.  Are you the former Marine?  Anyways, the rest has already been discussed. 

His cousin sat till dark and then walked out to the truck.  He had to drive down to Whistlin Jacks to phone out to Search and Rescue and Dave's family to inform them he was past due. 

Dave is very humbled by the experience, and beyond greatful to everyone involved, from the initial hunters who found him, to the rescue crew that got him out.  He was very impressed at how carefully and skillfully they performed the task (good job Hirsh ). 

Unfortunetely he is in construction so until he heals up, he is out of work, and he is also out of a whole bunch of elk meat!  He was very lucky in the draws this year with not only pulling a bull tag but also drawing an Alkali rifle deer tag, which he burned 17 points on   He can get around a little bit but hiking is out of the question.  Luckily I know a guy who went out there one time   I am making it a priority to get my buck killed in Colorado with enough time to get back so I can take him out.  I'm fully confident that I can find him a decent buck within killing distance of a road, using my rifle that is.  I'm gonna boil his elk head for him this next week and I will see if its ok to post a picture.

This was not a case of some knuckle head doing something stupid.  This is just a *censored* happens type of thing.  Luckily Dave is an experienced woodsman and was able to keep his head and think through what was going on.

[gotcha]

Ya where he was is not any easy place to walk let alone carry him out. Glad he's ok and good job to my cousin and everyone evolved.

[PlateauNDN]

So first off, in talking to Dave, he is pretty shaken up over the whole deal and is soberingly aware of how lucky he is.  He was in fact hunting with his cousin, who is an older gentleman.  He is also retired military and hard of hearing.  During the whole ordeal, right until dark, he could see his cousin sitting on a stump across the basin.  Even with a fire going and firing multiple shots, his hard of hearing cousin never even looked his way.  His excuse later was that he could hear the shots but he couldn't tell which direction they came from.  He didn't carry his cell phone either because sprint has zero coverage past the Y in Naches.  Lesson number one, get a better service carrier.

As Dave realized his fate for the night he built his rock shelter, had his small fire built, gathered wood within reach, and deployed his space blankets.  Lesson to be learned here folks.  Don't buy the super cheap space blankets.  They are paper thin and tear into a million pieces during a real world application.  Sometime later that evening, he heard the sound of quads down below him on a skid road.  Using his LED flashlight he was able to signal the riders.  Riders signaled back and then rode away.  He said watching those headlights disappear over the hill was a gut wrenching feeling.  Later that night (early morning) the initial troops arrived.  I'm assuming this is you js139.  Are you the former Marine?  Anyways, the rest has already been discussed. 

His cousin sat till dark and then walked out to the truck.  He had to drive down to Whistlin Jacks to phone out to Search and Rescue and Dave's family to inform them he was past due. 

Dave is very humbled by the experience, and beyond greatful to everyone involved, from the initial hunters who found him, to the rescue crew that got him out.  He was very impressed at how carefully and skillfully they performed the task (good job Hirsh ). 

Unfortunetely he is in construction so until he heals up, he is out of work, and he is also out of a whole bunch of elk meat!  He was very lucky in the draws this year with not only pulling a bull tag but also drawing an Alkali rifle deer tag, which he burned 17 points on   He can get around a little bit but hiking is out of the question.  Luckily I know a guy who went out there one time   I am making it a priority to get my buck killed in Colorado with enough time to get back so I can take him out.  I'm fully confident that I can find him a decent buck within killing distance of a road, using my rifle that is.  I'm gonna boil his elk head for him this next week and I will see if its ok to post a picture.

This was not a case of some knuckle head doing something stupid.  This is just a *censored* happens type of thing.  Luckily Dave is an experienced woodsman and was able to keep his head and think through what was going on.

 

[2MANY]

There you have it.
Poop occurs and as far as I'm concerned he survived = He won.