gettin turned around! lost if you will

[high country]

I have tried just about everything from the store over the years. trioxane works well, but cottonballs are easier to come by and next to free. pitchwood, fatwood, candles.....they all work, but what could be more heartbreaking then watching your candle go out on your last match? I settled on cottonballs and the striker because it always works.

[rasbo]

Hypothermia is a bitch!  I've had it twice.  One time I don't remember how I got home or how I had the sence to get in the tub and slowly soak my temp back up.  I do remember that it took me over 6 hours before I could feel my hands and face plus once I got warmed up I slept for 18 hours.

I fell down a small water fall on the snake river,filled my hip boots,the hike back to the truck was the coldest Ive ever been,my pants were like stove pipes..didnt get hypothermia,but no more crossing in those tempts

[Shed Stud]

If you know the woods find the pitch wood! Never fails with a good flint, just shave it thin. I find a good piece in the summer and one round works at home all year. One slice in your pack and your good to go for days.

[ICEMAN]

If you know the woods find the pitch wood! Never fails with a good flint, just shave it thin. I find a good piece in the summer and one round works at home all year. One slice in your pack and your good to go for days.

My concern is that alot of these "know the woods" tecniques are great when in mild or dry weather, but I do not want to rely on them when I need a fire immediately. being a wetsider, I am liking waxed paper, magic relight candles, things that start easy, and dont blow out... 

[dscubame]

Iceman - in addition take 3 feet of snow and frozen everything into the mix.  Temperature in the single digits for prolonged periods of time.  You can spend 3 hours with gallons of gas / oil mix trying to start frozen wood.  I hear you Iceman and one should not have a false sense of security with any survival tactic.

[DBHAWTHORNE]

Fortunately I have never been truly lost. I always carry a compass and have a pre-planned emergency heading. If I am in a unfamiliar area I carry a map and compass and more often than not I have a GPS for backup. I always carry a flashlight, knife and fire starting device at a minimum.

[DBHAWTHORNE]

If you know the woods find the pitch wood! Never fails with a good flint, just shave it thin. I find a good piece in the summer and one round works at home all year. One slice in your pack and your good to go for days.

My concern is that alot of these "know the woods" tecniques are great when in mild or dry weather, but I do not want to rely on them when I need a fire immediately. being a wetsider, I am liking waxed paper, magic relight candles, things that start easy, and dont blow out... 

Candles are always great. Finding pitch or carrying a little pitch is unbeatable too.

[Sneekee23]

My Late Grandfather and his hunting party used to hunt the Blues back in the 50's to early 60's where the blues took his life on my fathers first elk hunt at age 12.  I believe the year was 1964 and from what I have been told it was one of the worst snow storms in Blues to that date.  A couple of hunters from the neighboring camp which was from the Longview Washington area and my Grandfather bedded a couple big bulls the night before and they planned to make a hunt on them the next morning.  During the late stages of the hunt the storm came in fast and before anyone noticed the snow was piling high.  My Grandfather who grew up in Montana hunting the big sky, was a veteran to elk hunting big country and was always prepared for the worst.  When my grandfather did not make it back to camp and with snow still flying my great grandfather started trying to reach him on the radio and finally got a faint call back from my grandfather.  It was stated that he knew where he was but was struggling to reach the trail do to the snow level.  Walla Walla Search and Rescue was reached and the Sheriffs Department and a search was conducted.  During the search A Deputy was reported over due and was lost himself (I do not know if he was found).  The last radio transmission that Search and Rescue had received from my Grandfather was that his woolies were soaked through and that he couldn't feel his hands anymore and could not hold his 375HH any longer so he left it hanging in a tree.  I don't know how long Search and Rescue looked for my Grandfather but I am sure they were thorough for the conditions.  They found him in the spring just a few feet off the trail sitting next to a tree.  One of the Search and Rescue volunteers found his 375 HH and returned to my Grandma the following spring.
I have been deer hunting with my father since I was 10 and elk hunting with him since I was 15.  Since then I have found a total of 5 lost hunters while rifle hunting elk in November and every one of them to this day sending me a text or stop into camp to thank me for coming out of know where. While bow hunting elk this year, my dad got busted at 10 yards on a screaming big 5 I called in for him and with a S%$$t A$% grin on his face he asks me "Do you think your Grandpa would have enjoyed this?"  My answer to him was I believe he does and then I told him to shrink to a normal person size to only 6'2 or less, he is a tree at 6'6 260. I like to think that my Grandfather is with my father and I on every elk hunt that we enjoy together.  Love you pops and thank you for being my hunting partner for so many years.... oh ya and thank you for putting up with my sarcasm.

[Tony 270]

I'd tell you the story, but it just hasn't happened yet.

[high country]

Iceman - in addition take 3 feet of snow and frozen everything into the mix.  Temperature in the single digits for prolonged periods of time.  You can spend 3 hours with gallons of gas / oil mix trying to start frozen wood.  I hear you Iceman and one should not have a false sense of security with any survival tactic.

fire requires: air, fuel, heat and a chemical reaction to begin combustion. if your material is super cold, you need to meter the amounts to allow it to reach its ignite point. this is where you planning of materials is critical and building the fire before hypothermia sucks your common sense from you. start small build from there.

[ThunderChicken66]

27 years ago a buddy and I went on a five mile hike up the beach on the very NW tip of Washington.  20 miles later and avoiding several falls of 50 to 200 feet in the dark we make it out.  Wet, freezing and in trouble with our folks.  Bad judgement led us to stray from our original course.  I haven't been lost since, but each time I get turned around, even for a second, I remember that trip.  Not fun.  I was scared and glad to get out.  You'll learn from it as most of us have.

Good hunting.

TC66

[sakoshooter]

You probably don't want to hear this but never, and I mean never, go into the woods unprepared. I don't know how many times I've been teased about wearing my pack all the time but over the years I've had more than a few experiences in which my gear saved the day for myself and others. Fog or other weather can close in awfully fast especially this time of year when we've only got 8 hours of daylight. No time for screw ups or wandering around.
This stuff pretty much stays in my huntin pack no matter where or how I'm hunting - Gun or Bow.
Fire Starter, Lighters, Matches, Compass, Disp Handwarmers(2)
Water(2 pts for all day hunts)
Ready to eat food
Flashlights(2)w/good batteries
Knives(3)Main knife, Skinnin knife &Lil knife for capin the head
Toilet Paper(should be at the top of the list, sorry)
Down Vest, Extra Gloves w/finger covers
Gortex Jacket(lightweight shell)
Rope, Space Blanket, Hot Pink Surveyors Tape(1 roll)
This gear doesn't include my gun, binos, spotting scope, meat bags, extra shells or archery stuff depending on hunting season and style.

[mjbskwim]

Heck,sneekee23,my mom lost an uncle in a white out in South Dakota,in between the house and barn.
Your grand dad had all odds against him out there.

Thanks for all the fire starter info in here.great stuff.

I have always carried a compass with me as I didn't inherit my fathers great sense of direction.I know I'll get lost.

[Steve Jo]

Fire requires practice.  It's a skill.  practice it often.

[CastleRocker]

Fire requires practice.  It's a skill.  practice it often.

Exactly.  As a logger, I built a LOT of fires in the worst weather our area can dish out. 

I've been... let's call it "misplaced" (I knew where I was but nobody else did), up on Kodiak Island one December in between crab seasons and if it wouldn't have been for knowing how to build a fire in some really, really bad weather, I wouldn't be typing this right now.  Long story.

I always carry three completely unrelated means of building a fire in my pack, but I also practice building actual fires with them.  THAT I think is the key.  Practice!