Article here: http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/14/us/california-missing-man/index.html?c=homepage-t&page=0 .

In a nutshell, a 72 year old deer hunter was separated from his hunting buddy and survived in California's Mendocino National Forest on his own for 19 days.

The article is light on details, but he did several things right: After realizing he wasn't going to find his way out, he stayed put. He knew he couldn't take a deer so he worked on smaller game, including squirrels and lizards. He made a fire. He packed his clothes with dry leaves for insulation. He made himself easy to find by calling out for help. Most importantly, he never gave up.

Sounds like he was pretty smart and did what he had to do. Well done.

That's one tough old-timer. I hope one of the major outdoor sports magazines picks up this story.

To survive that long in those conditions, he must have had some basic equipment, knowledge, and skills, coupled with good decisions, and a little luck.

He did well and it would be nice to see more details about him and his story about what actually happened.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20131013/articles/131019812#page=0

A little bit more info.

It's nice to read a happy ending to a lost in the woods story.

From the information pieced together from a few articles he knew what to do and kept his wits about him:
He kept a wound from getting infected, conserved his bullets, used a hole under a large log for shelter, stuffed the shelter & his clothes with dried grass & leaves for insulation, started a fire and kept it going, conserved energy by hunting small game that came within range, found a water supply and stayed near it, etc...

The lesson I take from this is knowing what to do in an emergency and keeping your wits about you can save your life.

Most kits are for much shorter stays;

Two useful checklists:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/survival_kit.htm

http://www.survivalblog.com/2011/10/the_ultimate_altoids_tin_survi.html

Listen - if your 72, maybe pack a PLB.

Wow, that old dad did great. Wonderful to hear!



Big +1 on that.

I would say it's even more important to pack a PLB if you are 27. Chances are you will have more opportunities to use it...

Yep, the key word was 'Lost', a map and compass would have provided a solution.

Every situation currently being discussed here started out with getting lost. The mushroom pickers, the 72 yo hunter and the couple from 5 years back. A map & compass or a simple gray scale non-mapping GPS and you have a much better handle on which direction to move. Carry both and you are still just talking ounces -- and you aren't lost.

That said, I have a PLB too

I don't want to overgeneralize or stereotype but it seems like the older folks are the least likely to carry "newfangled" stuff like PLBs and GPS units. Heck, my late dad had trouble with his cell phone!