When a hunting trip almost becomes a life changing event

[stickbuck]

On the first morning of my daughter Avery’s youth sheep hunt in the Selah Butte North unit, our lives were almost changed in a matter of seconds. It was the scariest moment of my life and it has forever changed me. With sheep on our mind, we quickly ascended up a ridge in the canyon and sat down in a perfect spot where I had been seeing sheep pretty consistently over the past month. This spot would give her a shot of less than a 150 yards. Still a pretty good poke for an 8 year old girl in her first hunting season.

We had been sitting for less than five minutes when we heard rocks rolling further up the draw out of sight. We waited a few minutes to see if the movement came any closer before making our way up the draw. The undeniable sound of rams squaring off instantly had us gathering our packs and attempting to move closer without being detected. We stalked uphill 150 yards and I peered around a ledge and found four rams standing on an open hillside 198 yards away. I glasses them for several minutes and even the smallest ram was not a legal juvenile. She was definitely bummed, but I let her put them in the scope to practice a bit for when a shooting opportunity actually arose. It was only seconds later that they busted us and took off up the ridge and out of sight.

She was motivated at the sighting and badly wanted to get another look at them so we headed in the direction they went. It was good because it gave us an opportunity to glass into a few canyons we couldn’t see from the highway. After an hour of glassing, she was ready to hike back to the truck. We quickly skirted the flat topped ridge and began side hilling back towards where we had bumped the sheep.

As we were traversing down the steep hillside, Avery tripped and lost her balance. I can’t even imagine what was going through her mind. In an effort to regain her balance, she started into a run. I don’t think it was her intention, but it is what happened.

Within one second of tripping and attempting to regain her balance, she went head over heels and began rolling down the steep hillside. I watched as my daughter helplessly cartwheeled like a ragdoll. At the 25 foot mark, she somehow stopped. It was a miracle and I honestly don’t know what stopped her from falling. It was still another 150 feet to the bottom of the draw. She instantly began screaming and I feared the worst as I ran to her. Thankfully she was screaming and alive.

Upon reaching her, I quickly began surveying her body checking for injuries. Somehow she had only struck her arms and lower back on the large rocks and had miraculously avoided hitting her head. I picked her up and held her close as she screamed for several minutes. Once reality set in, I sat there trying to figure out how I was going to get her off the mountain. We still had to drop 900 vertical feet to get back to where the truck was parked along the highway. She stood for several minutes and decided she would attempt to walk on her own.

It seemed like an eternity, but we made it to the bottom of the draw in about 20 minutes. Now we had to climb back up the other side before the final descent. With every few steps, her back became increasingly stiff making it harder and harder to navigate the terrain. As we neared the truck and encountered flat ground, I was beyond excited to have avoided an almost disastrous life changing event. I am the type of hunter and person that rarely takes risks and chances especially when my kids are hunting with me.

Just a few days later, the stiffness and pain has subsided and she is motivated to continue her pursuit of tagging a sheep. I feel incredibly lucky to have avoided something that could have changed our family’s lives forever.

[Karl Blanchard]

Man that's scary stuff. Glad she pulled through with just a few bumps and bruises.

[TheStovePipeKid]

I'm a man of faith myself and would attribute such things to the man up stairs. I'm glad she is ok. I too am not a risk taker, but sometimes as adults we learn by experience that we can tackle activities that are somewhat beyond the skill if our dear children. You might consider having her wear a bike helmet or a rock climbing helmet next time out. Not the coolest look in the world, but no one has ever regretted protecting their brain. Good luck hanging that tag.

[TVHunts]

Geez, scary doesn’t explain that situation. Glad she is OK and not ruined and still wants to pursue her sheep.  Good job Dad 

[vandeman17]

Wow matt that is crazy! Glad she is ok. Sounds like a trooper!

[X-Force]

Scary!

Glad she is doing well and is excited about getting back at it

[coachcw]

wow thats scary for sure ..
I'd love to see her prevail on the hunt and end with a most positive outcome.

[jackelope]

Wow. The big guy was watching out for your daughter that day. Happy to hear she's OK and ready to roll again. I'm definitely not a risk taker and I'm also not agile. Being on those steep mountainsides is not my favorite place to be.

[KFhunter]

there's no shame in tethering her to you on sketchy terrain glad she came out and just has a story to tell  ok   

[fishngamereaper]

Glad she's ok...you spend enough time on the mountains your going to take a spill or ten.. sounds like she powered through and is coming out stronger on the other side..good luck in her hunt..

[slowhand]

there's no shame in tethering her to you on sketchy terrain glad she came out and just has a story to tell  ok   

I like this idea. 
Thank goodness She is ok.
I had an almost lost a child experience once. My oldest at the age of 5 got a large chunk of Costco hotdog stuck in his throat while driving home from shopping. I pulled over as fast as possible and managed to get it coughed up. I will never forget the look in his eyes while He was running out of air. It took Me days to get over it. It made Me consider what it would be like if I lost one of My boys to an accident.
Super scary stuff!
I hope She is successful and will be rooting along.

[stickbuck]

Wow matt that is crazy! Glad she is ok. Sounds like a trooper!

No doubt Adam! It was beyond crazy and I hope I never have to witness something like that ever again.


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[stickbuck]

wow thats scary for sure ..
I'd love to see her prevail on the hunt and end with a most positive outcome.

Filling the tag will definitely be the icing on the cake after Saturday. Definitely has put things in a different perspective.


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[Pegasus]

Glad there were no serious injuries for Avery and that she is willing to "get back on that horse" and continue the hunt. Hunting has its risks and I think all of us may have a story or two where we may have cheated death. Sometimes it is just the trip to and from home and sometimes its is stupid things that we do....maybe we should start a new topic about "the dumbest things we did"? Sometimes it is not something dumb that we did but just that "sh*t happens" like it did with your daughter and she was lucky to survive it. Good luck with the rest of the hunt.

[Pinetar]

Can't imagine going through that, scary stuff! Glad Avery is doing fine with just some bruises and bumps. Good luck with her hunt. Be safe and have fun!