I have not seen a thread like this for quite some time, so I figured I would put one up, and "remind" everyone what the wilds can bring.

I have been constantly improving, reorganzing, experimenting, practicing, etc. for the last 12 years with different back packs, fire starters, saws, knives, etc, etc, etc to try and get the right combination of "stuff" to be able to "survive" if I needed to...

I am glad I had practiced all that, and it all came together Janurary 3, 2010.

I lion hunt with hounds, and spend most of the winter chasing them, mostly by myself. I have subscribed to "SPOT" but the subscription ran out, so I did not have it that day, but I have since renewed it.

On Jan 3, I decided to go on a "normal" hunt.

I went into a cayon I frequent and found what I thought was a pretty fresh track. I turned all 5 hounds loose, and they took to it like a drug dealer to dirty money. I thought for sure they would have the cat caught in no time. That was at 730 AM. I loaded up my pack, and started after them.

3 hours later, I was over looking a canyon, probably 3 miles from the truck through knee to waist deep snow. I could hear two dogs barking, but could not hear the other three. I decided to go down into the canyon and see why my lead dog was in one spot for so long.

When I was going down, I got my foot caught, tripped, and landed hard with my left knee on a rock. It was not broken, but I thought I was going to pass out.

I managed to get down to my two barking dogs. The pup was trailing deer, and the lead dog had regained the lion track. I followed him for about an hour with the pup in tow. I was still not able to put full weight on my left leg, but I managed to get to where I could see my dog, and took a good break.

Pretty soon, it was close to noon, and I still had not seen the other three dogs, and my lead dog was over a mile away cold trailing that lion.

I could still not put a lot of weight on my leg, so I started for the bottom of the canyon. I got near the flats, and started south towards the other canyon, going back to the truck. At a little before sunset, I was still about 3-4 miles from the truck. I stopped and made a fire under a burned out tree. I heated some water, and ate a couple packs of instant oatmeal. Before it got dark, I checked my bearings with a compass. After I rested for a while, I packed up and started out. I managed for about 1 1/2 hours before I had to start another fire. I got one going, dried out, and started out again.

This time, I only was able to go about 1/2 hour. I found a nice cedar tree with a few dead ones around it and made "camp."

It was 900 PM. At 1030, my lead dog showed up. He trailed me and the pup out a LONG way. I kept a fire going all night, and was able to get a few cat naps along the way.

The next morning, about sunrise, I got my bearings again, and headed out. I was only about 3/4 of a mile from a ranch, and made it there. The hand gave me a ride the last mile or so up to my truck.

At noon, I got two dogs back, not too far from where I turned loose. At 1230, I got my last dog back, and headed home.

I posted this story, because I hope people can learn from others. Fortunately for me, I have practiced with everything I had, and knew how it worked. I maintained a proper attitude, and survived the night. I probably made a couple mistakes, namely walking after dark, and not staying put the first time, but that is 6 one way, half a dozen the other I figure.

I want to also post my gear list so people know what I carry, and can have some ideas.

I figure if one person learns something from this post, and survives because of it, then I have succeeded.

Here is my gear. I had all of this with the exception of the tarp. On that night, I did not have the tarp, but only some throw away ponchos, which I think are junk.


Eberlestock X2 back pack (which will pack a good deal of weight also)
Two nalgene water bottles (bladders in the summer time)
Military canteen cup
Toilet paper
Oatmeal packets in canteen cup
Granola bars
Extra socks
Extra gloves
Extra hoodie
Rope, approximately 50 ft, various diameters
Flashlight, and headlamp, with extra batteries
Compass
Matches
Carbon fire starters with birds nest and flint and steel
Cotton balls soaked in vasoline
Small first aid kit
Medical and electrical tape rolls
Wyoming Saw, Wyomine knife, cutco knife, gerber tool, pocket knife
Emergency blanket, and disposable poncho
5x7 tarp
Water pur tabs (water filter in the summer)
Whistles
Medication

This is my daypack that I carry when hunting anything.

Depending on exactly what I am hunting, I may have a few animal specific items also.

I hope this helps, and maybe the mods can make this a sticky?

Later,

Marcial