“Survival”

[airedale]

Years ago I took a friend of mine and his son on their first Coon hunt. We were hunting corn fields that bordered big woods, things were going along good as we made a couple of trees and had taken two Coon on the edge of the woods. About 11 pm my two English Coonhounds then struck another track inside the woods and headed in deep. They got back in so far we could not hear them anymore on the trail so I had to get out my radio telemetry antenna and receiver to locate the hounds who were wearing transmitter collars. I got a signal and checking my compass they were headed directly north so north we headed.

Things started looking not so good when we hit the edge of a big swamp about a mile back, still could not hear the dogs so I took another reading with my receiver and could still get a signal directly north. Now we had to work our way around bogs, streams and potholes of water which slowed things down dramatically and on top of that the temp had dropped into the teens so it was getting cold. Finally after slogging  through and around that miserable swamp we could hear the dogs treeing. It takes another half hour to get to them and it is 1 AM and they are smack in the middle of a small pond on an island with an old bare snag of a tree with a big old coon sitting up in the top.

Things kept going downhill from there, I let my friend do the shooting while I spotted the coon with my light. At the shot the coon flew out of the tree into the water with my old female hound going in after it. In the water coons can be dangerous to dogs as they will get on their heads causing them to drown and from what I could see that was exactly what was going on in this pitched battle. Without hesitation I kicked off my boots and coat and in I went to my dog with my friend's son following. The water got to be about chest deep and man talk about cold! So I get to my dog and pull her and the coon back on to the island where her and her daughter took care of business, I put the finishing touches on with good heavy club. Turns out the coon was hit in the front leg so that is why it had a lot of fight left in it.

So now we wade back through the pond to dry land and things continue to go downhill, the kid's light goes dead from water intrusion, he is so cold hit teeth are chattering  and I now notice my light was getting dim which was brand new and being used for the first time. I told my buddy there is no way I am going back through that swamp on this black night with only one light working at 2 in the morning especially with me and the kid sopping wet and freezing our asses off. 

Made the decision to stay put, build a fire and make our way through the swamp out at first light when we could see. Got out the old Zippo windproof lighter and picked up some dry fire starter starter and had a good roaring bonfire going in short order. Through the years I have made a small fire many times in the middle of the woods coon hunting listening to my dogs and all the other creepy sounds so that was the easy part. Took off all my clothes and hung them over the fire to dry and put back on my Carhart  coon hunter's coat and got close to the fire to keep warm. We made the kid a bed of dry balsam branches and he fell asleep next to the fire while me and his dad told sat there and told tall tales until daylight.

As soon as we could see to walk got dressed into my smoky smelling dry clothes,  took a reading with my compass and headed out, in a couple of hours we came out of the woods right where the truck was parked.

Later found out my brand new Cajun Coon hunting light had a shorted wire on it's charger and never charged up the battery to full.

Below is my old girl "Specky" that was hunted in the above, one of the top two or three hunting dogs I have ever seen and had the pleasure to hunt behind.

The simple point of this tale is to make sure you have the skill to make a fire when hitting the timber.

Al

 

Edited January 6, 2021 by airedale

[Nomad]

6 minutes ago, DirtTime said:

I have 5 of those and one of the strikers in every fire kit I have. Those small kits are in every pack I take into the woods.

People don’t die from things like getting lost or  sudden snow storms , they die from being unprepared for getting lost and sudden snow storms .

[DirtTime]

Just now, Nomad said:

People don’t die from things like getting lost or  sudden snow storms , they die from being unprepared for getting lost and sudden snow storms .

That's why I said earlier in the thread panic is the #1 cause of death. If you don't have the right gear to help you get through a tough spot you will start to panic which causes one to stop thinking rationally. That's why I practice things even if I have to do them out in my back yard. I would rather know I have a skill set to get through things, and know my gear works before I get neck deep in shit with no shovel.

 

Fire kits contain the matches, a ferro rod and striker, flint and steel, and a few different tinders.

[DirtTime]

I'm thinking @Buckmaster7600 went on a beer run at some point and stayed in the house.

 

I was hoping for a play by play trip report. Setting up the shelter, making the fire..................

[Nomad]

Awesome story Al ! That practice making previous fires paid off !

Years back hunting in the mountains of Washington state, my buddy dropped me off in the mornings darkness , with instructions to follow the ridge and towards evening head down and id reach a road and he’d drive it looking for me at dark .

It was winter ,snowing, cold , and blowing , I hunted along the ridge till there was only one set of footprints still ahead of me , it was treacherous walking at times on a cliff Edge with ice and snow . Eventually I caught up to those footprints ,it was an older fellow , he had a roaring fire going ,his boots off feet and socks warming near the fire . This was hours into my walk , and he said  he often did well at this spot . We talked I said I was there from NY, he said , “ I know , you sound just like my son in law . Lol .

Ive often thought of that old man , he certainly was at ease , that far in alone in a storm . Me I was just hoping I could find the darn road .

[Splitear]

13 minutes ago, airedale said:

Years ago I took a friend of mine and his son on their first Coon hunt. We were hunting corn fields that bordered big woods, things were going along good as we made a couple of trees and had taken two Coon on the edge of the woods. About 11 pm my two English Coonhounds then struck another track inside the woods and headed in deep. They got back in so far we could not hear them anymore on the trail so I had to get out my radio telemetry antenna and receiver to locate the hounds who were wearing transmitter collars. I got a signal and checking my compass they were headed directly north so north we headed.

Things started looking not so good when we hit the edge of a big swamp about a mile back, still could not hear the dogs so I took another reading with my receiver and could still get a signal directly north. Now we had to work our way around bogs, streams and potholes of water which slowed things down dramatically and on top of that the temp had dropped into the teens so it was getting cold. Finally after slogging  through and around that miserable swamp we could hear the dogs treeing. It takes another half hour to get to them and it is 1 AM and they are smack in the middle of a small pond on an island with an old bare snag of a tree with a big old coon sitting up in the top.

Things kept going downhill from there, I let my friend do the shooting while I spotted the coon with my light. At the shot the coon flew out of the tree into the water with my old female hound going in after it. In the water coons can be dangerous to dogs as they will get on their heads causing them to drown and from what I could see that was exactly what was going on in this pitched battle. Without hesitation I kicked off my boots and coat and in I went to my dog with my friend's son following. The water got to be about chest deep and man talk about cold! So I get to my dog and pull her and the coon back on to the island where her and her daughter took care of business, I put the finishing touches on with good heavy club. Turns out the coon was hit in the front leg so that is why it had a lot of fight left in it.

So now we wade back through the pond to dry land and things continue to go downhill, the kid's light goes dead from water intrusion, he is so cold hit teeth are chattering  and I now notice my light was getting dim which was brand new and being used for the first time. I told my buddy there is no way I am going back through that swamp on this black night with only one light working at 2 in the morning especially with me and the kid sopping wet and freezing our asses off. 

Made the decision to stay put, build a fire and make our way through the swamp out at first light when we could see. Got out the old Zippo windproof lighter and picked up some dry fire starter starter and had a good roaring bonfire going in short order. Through the years I have made a small fire many times in the middle of the woods coon hunting listening to my dogs and all the other creepy sounds so that was the easy part. Took off all my clothes and hung them over the fire to dry and put back on my Carhart  coon hunter's coat and got close to the fire to keep warm. We made the kid a bed of dry balsam branches and he fell asleep next to the fire while me and his dad told sat there and told tall tales until daylight.

As soon as we could see to walk got dressed into my smoky smelling dry clothes,  took a reading with my compass and headed out, in a couple of hours we came out of the woods right where the truck was parked.

Later found out my brand new Cajun Coon hunting light had a shorted wire on it's charger and never charged up the battery to full.

Below is my old girl "Specky" that was hunted in the above, one of the top two or three hunting dogs I have ever seen and had the pleasure to hunt behind.

The simple point of this tale is to make sure you have the skill to make a fire when hitting the timber.

Al

 

I love the story, thanks for sharing. I'm glad you guys made it out okay.

I never did coon hunt, really by the time I came along my dad had given up coon hounds for beagles, and so I covered a lot of ground "handling" a lot of dogs when I was a kid, which meant I got to chase the old men's dogs through the briars

My dad told me a story of going on an overnight coon hunt with his grandfather when he was a kid. He said they knocked out a coon, and set up camp, where his grandpa cooked a meal of boiled coon. He said it was the most disgusting thing he ever ate. 

[turkeyfeathers]

In high school @dinorocks and I were checking our muskrat trap line. It was single digits out with a couple feet of snow on the ground. Upon walking across a good sized ditch and part of a swamp I fell through the ice waist deep. Beavers had worn the ice thin through the center with all their activity unbeknownst to us. I pushed myself back up through the hole and utilized my trapping stick to get out. My gloves soaked. So we improvised and skinned 2 muskrats out and I wore the cased pelts fur side in as gloves which worked excellent. That Christmas I also received my first pair of Smartwool socks. Even though my feet were soaked they also were warm. Been a smartwool socks and longunderwear guy ever since. But Dino has done a lot of extreme camping so hopefully he'll chime in with some pics and stories.

[TreeGuy]

Inspired.   Very comfy.  Tacks promised McDonald’s Thursday.   

Always a one up guy !

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[Robhuntandfish]

So I've dialed 9-1-. At what hour do we use the last 1?  12 hours since last contact......

[The_Real_TCIII]

5 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

So I've dialed 9-1-. At what hour do we use the last 1?  12 hours since last contact......

We will give it four more hours, thats how long it will take me to get there and grab his rifle

[Otto]

7 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

So I've dialed 9-1-. At what hour do we use the last 1?  12 hours since last contact......

He's probably all packed up and sleeping off a cold night in front of a fire.  I hope so anyways! 

[Buckmaster7600]

I made it. On a shitty scale I would call it a 5. Fell asleep for a couple hours around 11, woke up to fire out. Restarted and got warmed layed back down around 330 and woke up at 5 to fire almost out. Got it going again to warm up and went for a walk.

 

It wasn’t much fun. If i was actually lost I would probably not make much of a shelter and just sit by a fire waiting for daylight.

 

As far as gear,

 

a hatchet would have been awesome but not worth the weight.

 

A more substantial saw would have been nice for cutting firewood but again not worth the weight.

 

A couple more garbage bags would have been really nice and will go in the pack. They don’t weigh anything or take up any room.

 

Lacrosse burlys are awesome for walking but pretty much suck for trying to sleep when it’s 12degrees.

 

 

Other than that it wasn’t too bad, it will probably be a few years before I try it again.

 

 

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[Nomad]

29 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

a hatchet would have been awesome but not worth the weight.

I carry the next size up often , it weighs 1.4 lbs, this shorter one is 19oz . Hollow handle would allow for storage of other items I’d think , ill have to experiment.

https://www.fiskars.com/en-gb/gardening/products/axes-forestry-tools/chopping-axe-xxs-x5-1015617

[Farflung]

Regarding garbage bags, the big (55 gallon?) orange ones that D.O.T. uses for road p/u work well. 2 will make a bivy and the color makes them easier to see. 

If you can get around the 17" length, the smaller Sven saw is awsome. Some folks carry Wyoming saws that also work well for wood.

[DirtTime]

Not most people's cup of tea, but a good sturdy fixed blade knife will do a lot of wood processing. No such thing as one tool for all things, but give me a good fixed blade and I'll get wood processed.

 

A few years? Guess inviting you out in better temps is out of the question then.

 

 

Glad you didn't turn into a popsicle.

[Robhuntandfish]

You certainly did better than most!!  Made it thru the night challenge accomplished!  Most people wont even park in the outerlanes at Walmart talk about camp out all night. 

[Fletch]

Well done.

Someone brought up coffee. I may put a tea bag or two in may safe kit. I think just the warm hot tea/coffee gives a calming help too. Chocolate covered expresso beans sound like a good pocket item too!

You said you would bring more  garbage bags next time. You had 2, can I ask what the uses would be? To sleep on? As you say they take up no space.

I'm almost intrigued to try this, almost. Can I stash a 6'er of beer and claim I found it??

[johnplav]

Another simple, helpful item for a survival pack is a list of what's in it.  That way you can keep an inventory and replenish as needed, and in a real emergency situation it helps to have the list of items while you make a plan. 

Edited January 6, 2021 by johnplav

[Robhuntandfish]

17 hours ago, moog5050 said:

Inspired.   Very comfy.  Tacks promised McDonald’s Thursday.   

Since your out in the woods and off the grid. Might want to have Tacks bring you something stronger than McDonald's .  

Hell maybe we will all just join you after today!  

[TreeGuy]

Forget the hatchet. Save the weight and use your teeth. Beavers do it. I had a buddy with a nephew that would chew through 8' around poplar trees. Took some time but got it done. He actually built a fairly large log cabin with this method. All the logs were held together by spit. Beautiful place.




Regardless. Glad that you and Moog5050 survived !

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[Fletch]

Is Moog back yet? Did he get his Mc D?

[Nomad]

6 hours ago, Fletch said:

You said you would bring more  garbage bags next time. You had 2, can I ask what the uses would be? To sleep on? As you say they take up no space.

Stuff one with leaves and such ,for an insulated bed . Cold ground saps your body temps . Can make a poncho, or cut one open and use to block wind and rain . Contractor grade bags work the best .

Knife, matches and a contractor bag were always on me canoeing remote rivers across Canada, I often had other items but those three were the basis, cordage and a light would be number 4 and 5 . 
 

Staying warm and dry are number one , food other then for a mood boost is not much of a consideration for me . 

[moog5050]

5 minutes ago, Fletch said:

Is Moog back yet? Did he get his Mc D?

I am still hanging tight under my pine shelter.   Free McDonald’s tomorrow is well worth it!

[moog5050]

1 minute ago, Nomad said:

Stuff one with leaves and such ,for an insulated bed . Cold ground saps your body temps . Can make a poncho, or cut one open and use to block wind and rain . Contractor grade bags work the best .

Knife, matches and a contractor bag were always on me canoeing remote rivers across Canada, I often had other items but those three were the basis, cordage and a light would be number 4 and 5 . 
 

Staying warm and dry are number one , food other then for a mood boost is not much of a consideration for me . 

Forget the bags.  Buy Sitka!   Cozy!

[Nomad]

4 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

Forget the bags.  Buy Sitka!   Cozy!

Fancy mans clothes , ill skin a grizzly if I need a coat .