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#264308 - 10/14/13 09:58 AM Lost hunter survives 19 days
chaosmagnet Offline
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
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.

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#264309 - 10/14/13 10:33 AM Re: Lost hunter survives 19 days [Re: chaosmagnet]
Phaedrus Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/28/10
Posts: 3148
Loc: Big Sky Country
Sounds like he was pretty smart and did what he had to do. Well done.
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“I'd rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that can't be questioned.” —Richard Feynman

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#264310 - 10/14/13 10:45 AM Re: Lost hunter survives 19 days [Re: chaosmagnet]
Byrd_Huntr Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 01/28/10
Posts: 1174
Loc: MN, Land O' Lakes & Rivers ...
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.
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The man got the powr but the byrd got the wyng

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#264311 - 10/14/13 11:22 AM Re: Lost hunter survives 19 days [Re: chaosmagnet]
Quietly_Learning Offline
Member

Registered: 05/29/12
Posts: 164
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.

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#264319 - 10/14/13 03:05 PM Re: Lost hunter survives 19 days [Re: chaosmagnet]
TeacherRO Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 03/11/05
Posts: 2574
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.

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#264330 - 10/14/13 06:43 PM Re: Lost hunter survives 19 days [Re: chaosmagnet]
Glock-A-Roo Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 04/16/03
Posts: 1076
Wow, that old dad did great. Wonderful to hear!

Originally Posted By: TeacherRO
Listen - if your 72, maybe pack a PLB.


Big +1 on that.

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#264333 - 10/14/13 07:22 PM Re: Lost hunter survives 19 days [Re: Glock-A-Roo]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
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...
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#264368 - 10/15/13 02:18 AM Re: Lost hunter survives 19 days [Re: TeacherRO]
Am_Fear_Liath_Mor Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 08/03/07
Posts: 3078


Quote:
Listen - if your 72, maybe pack a PLB.


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

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#264369 - 10/15/13 02:46 AM Re: Lost hunter survives 19 days [Re: Am_Fear_Liath_Mor]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
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 wink

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#264371 - 10/15/13 06:44 AM Re: Lost hunter survives 19 days [Re: chaosmagnet]
Phaedrus Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/28/10
Posts: 3148
Loc: Big Sky Country
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!
_________________________
“I'd rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that can't be questioned.” —Richard Feynman

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