"Also, Darren tell the story about getting turned around and spending the night out!! Sounds like a good learning experience!!"Well Ryan, it WAS a great learning experience. I was hunting with two other guys and we had decided on a plan of hunting two different drainages that ran parallel to one another. We set a time to meet back at our departure point and had scoured over our maps detailing what our rough plan was. Our meeting point was a very distinct looking area near the top of a main ridge and we marked a dead limb with flagging tape. After all plans were made and discussed, we set out.
I reached the furthest point of my drainage approximately at the halfway mark of time agreed upon, made a wide arc to return on other side of the drainage and headed back. About 45 mins before meetup time, the weather changed. The sun was covered up by thick clouds, it started to spit intermittent rain and the wind became strong enough to cause worry about trees falling. I still wasn't terribly concerned because we had a good plan, and our camp was about only about 2.75 miles away and our trail off the main ridge was relatively easy to navigate.
I made it back to our meeting point (I thought) with about 5 minutes to spare, but there was no flagging tape. No biggie. I assumed the wind had ripped it off the limb and it had blown away. So I waited. After about 15 minute I got a little concerned, so I started walking in the direction my buddies had gone. It was then I got high enough on the ridge that I could see to the West and what weather was headed my way. I was now getting very concerned. I pulled out my phone and hand 1 bar of signal. I first tried calling one of my friends who had also brought his phone, but it went straight to voicemail. I then called one of my sons in Pittsburgh so he could look at the weather radar. His news was not encouraging and he suggested I start back to camp alone. At this point, I didn't think that was a good option, so I began yelling out for my friends. But the wind was so violent that my voice wasn't going anywhere. I did think I heard someone yelling at one point, but could not tell from what direction.
I circled back to (what I thought was) our meeting point at least a half dozen times. It was almost dark and and I finally thought I must be in the wrong place, so I made a vain attempt to locate the correct one. Finally, about 30 minutes after it became too dark to see, I thought I would get on the main trail and head to camp. I marked the ground with a big arrow made of rocks and headed down the mountain. Thirty minutes later I found an arrow made of rocks - I had gone in a circle without hitting the main trail! I realized that I needed to slow down, check my compass every few yards and methodically make my way along the top of the main ridge. I figured I would have to hit the trail at some point because there were some features that really stood out and I could use them to guide me.
After another hour I had still not found the trail and realized the safest thing to do was hole up for the night. I began searching for a spot that had a good blowdown for a little protection, but was not in close proximity to other standing beetle-killed trees. It took me awhile. During my search I saw a rabbit in the light of my headlamp. I figured if I was going to spend the night on the ground, I'd make myself a warm meal of fresh meat. I nocked the arrow, got to full draw and settled in for the shot. Then I realized, 1) if I hit it and didn't kill it I'd be in for a tracking job; 2) if I killed it I'd have to clean it in the dark with limited water for cleanup; 3) I could cut myself in the dark while cold and wet creating other problems; and 4) the blood and guts may attract a hungry bear which wasn't my idea of fun in the middle of the night. So I let my bow down, letting discretion be the better part of valor for possibly the first time in my life.
I finally found a suitable spot to make a suitable pseudo-camp for the night. I always have emergency provisions on me when I hunt in the mountains so I started "making camp". First, I cleared a big enough area next to the downwind side of the log to lay down. I then placed a yard and leaf garbage bag on the ground for a moisture barrier and placed a few rocks on the edges to hold it in place. I gathered up enough tinder and firewood to provide me with some warmth and a little comfort. I took stock of my food (2 energy bars, a baggie with granola, some jerky) and water (about 1 quart). I then got the fire going and sat on the log, ate about half the food, had some water and reflected upon what had happened over the last few hours and my decision making processes.
I turned on my phone (no signal to call or text anyone) and it was around 9:30, so I thought I should try to get some sleep. I built the fire up, gathered more wood for when I knew I would wake up cold and surprisingly drifted off relatively soon. Through the night I woke up 5 or 6 times and stoked the fire. I did not get much rest.
Eventually, it got to be that time of morning when the sky begins lightening up. It was still dark, but I knew each passing minute would allow me to begin seeing things. I got up and spent several minutes trying to stretch away the aches caused by the cold, hard ground. I made sure that all embers were extinguished and the entire fire area was covered in duff-free dirt and rocks. Took a leak on it it and poured half the rest of my water on it to make sure it couldn't reignite. By then I could see well enough to move out, so I checked the compass and headed toward where I though I would intersect the trail. It took me about 30 minutes or so, but I found it fairly easily.
I made it back to camp mid-morning and found my very worried and pissed-off friends in a not-so-jolly mood. I explained what happened and eventually they forgave me, but I cost them a morning of hunting and MUCH worry. i felt horrible.
What I did wrong: Too eager to hunt and didn't make sure of meeting place location. Should of found main trail while I still had enough light to do so - spent too much time staying in wrong area. Didn't have a verbalized plan with group in case of even like this. Didn't have med kit with me. There were 3 of us hunting "together" so I thought I could lighten my load. While I didn't need anything in kit, I could have. Also, it contains a mylar blanket and that would have been nice to reflect my body heat back to me through the night. And last mistake was even contemplating shooting the rabbit. I wasn't going to starve.
What I did right: Prayed a lot - I don't try to "make deals" with God, I simply asked for His protection and if he could keep the rain from getting too bad, I'd surely appreciate it. I never panicked. Even though I got upset with myself at first, I forced all negative thoughts from my head. I didn't try to forge ahead too long after dark - the blowdowns are dangerous in the light of day and many times more so at night. With the exception of my med kit, I had a serviceable, emergency, survival kit with me. I spent time reviewing decisions and planning my next move. It forced me to treat this experience as a test and I planned to pass it with flying colors.
Other stuff: A GPS would have all but assured this not happening but lack of technology didn't cause this, hubris and lack of proper preparation did. I spent mid-day in camp and a couple other bowhunters came down off the ridge past us. After sharing hunting experiences, it turns out they had found my little "camping" spot in the morning. I was shocked and assumed I must've been just off the trail. But they told me I was a long way from it and complimented me on the spot I chose in the dark. Of course I asked them about the fire pit as that is always a worry. They said it was completely cold - major relief. A day or two later we headed to another areas a few miles away and as we were breaking camp an older guy rode into the area on a horse to meet up with some friends of his. We shared the elk intel we hd for the immediate area and the discussion finally got around to my impromptu night on the ground. He said that he figured he'd had about a half dozen of those nights over the years and not to be ashamed of it. That took a little bit of the ting out.
That's about it. Sorry for the novella, but you asked!
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