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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum Listening Point - General Discussion Missing hunter found in the BWCA |
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09/01/2020 12:57PM
LindenTree: " Missing hunter found in the BWCA "
Guess a hunting or fishing license should include a compass and instructions on how to use one. The alternative is to stay out of the big woods... that would solve a lot of issues.
Preserve the integrity and beauty of our natural world. Leave no trace...
09/01/2020 01:39PM
I assume he was doing some sort of prep work before the season started (setting stands, tending a bait site, checking trail cams, etc).
Pretty easy to get turned around in the big woods. Even on land I know super well I always keep a compass and some sort of paper map in my pack and I never go into the woods without my pack.
I've had to pull the compass out on 2 occasions, both times I was on a property I knew fairly well but it lacked any sort of established trails. Despite bushwhacking I was absolutely sure I knew where I was going until things slowly started to look less familiar and I realized I had been walking longer than I should have. A quick check of my compass and my bone headed move was remedied and only harm was losing a bit of time and burning a few extra calories.
Not sure what actions this guy took but he was rescued quickly so he must have done a few things right. He obviously had the things needed to start a fire so he was at least marginally prepared which means he may have had a compass. If he had a bad knee by the time he realized he was lost he might not have had the time or energy to hike out safely. He may have thought his best chance was to hike toward an area like a lake shore and make himself visible versus trying to hike out in the dark on a bad knee.
Pretty easy to get turned around in the big woods. Even on land I know super well I always keep a compass and some sort of paper map in my pack and I never go into the woods without my pack.
I've had to pull the compass out on 2 occasions, both times I was on a property I knew fairly well but it lacked any sort of established trails. Despite bushwhacking I was absolutely sure I knew where I was going until things slowly started to look less familiar and I realized I had been walking longer than I should have. A quick check of my compass and my bone headed move was remedied and only harm was losing a bit of time and burning a few extra calories.
Not sure what actions this guy took but he was rescued quickly so he must have done a few things right. He obviously had the things needed to start a fire so he was at least marginally prepared which means he may have had a compass. If he had a bad knee by the time he realized he was lost he might not have had the time or energy to hike out safely. He may have thought his best chance was to hike toward an area like a lake shore and make himself visible versus trying to hike out in the dark on a bad knee.
09/01/2020 01:57PM
Glad the dude is safe, and only had to spend a night around a fire.
It always amazes me with the technology we have available to us today, people are still getting lost. I agree it’s pretty easy to get turned around in the woods, so prepare for it.
It always amazes me with the technology we have available to us today, people are still getting lost. I agree it’s pretty easy to get turned around in the woods, so prepare for it.
"So many lakes, so little time." WWJD
09/01/2020 09:41PM
A lost bear hunter in the BWCA, riverunner are you ghosting us.
If ever there was a time when we need your insight, it is now :-)
If ever there was a time when we need your insight, it is now :-)
May the rivers be crooked and winding, and your portages lonesome, leading to the most amazing view.
09/03/2020 06:37AM
nofish: "
Pretty easy to get turned around in the big woods. Even on land I know super well I always keep a compass and some sort of paper map in my pack and I never go into the woods without my pack.
I've had to pull the compass out on 2 occasions, both times I was on a property I knew fairly well but it lacked any sort of established trails. Despite bushwhacking I was absolutely sure I knew where I was going until things slowly started to look less familiar and I realized I had been walking longer than I should have. A quick check of my compass and my bone headed move was remedied and only harm was losing a bit of time and burning a few extra calories.
"
Great post.
Everyone should read this.
Never criticize someone until you walk a mile in their shoes....by then you'll be a mile away and they will be shoeless!
09/04/2020 12:58AM
drnatus: "nofish: "
Pretty easy to get turned around in the big woods. Even on land I know super well I always keep a compass and some sort of paper map in my pack and I never go into the woods without my pack.
I've had to pull the compass out on 2 occasions, both times I was on a property I knew fairly well but it lacked any sort of established trails. Despite bushwhacking I was absolutely sure I knew where I was going until things slowly started to look less familiar and I realized I had been walking longer than I should have. A quick check of my compass and my bone headed move was remedied and only harm was losing a bit of time and burning a few extra calories.
"
Great post.
Everyone should read this."
So true on both accounts.
So many fish,so little time
01/18/2021 10:53AM
Semi - Old thread, but relavant to me. I'm mid 40's at this point and of the belief that a compass should be carried anytime going into the woods.
I wasn't always there. I've been running around in the woods nearly my entire life, growing up in Central MN farm county, we'd cover miles pheasant hunting and squirel hunting my teen years, never carried a compass, never got turned around.
I moved to the North Shore at 18 and have spent alot of time in the woods, bushwhaking to remote rivers chasing brookies, looking for agates, exploring remote lakes, and chasing grouse.
I used to say, I don't always know where i'm at, but I know where I came from. Meaning I could generally walk straight back through the woods to my starting point, at one point 2 miles of bushwhacking from pancake falls to hit the road 50 yards south of where we parked the truck. I just felt like I had a great internal compass. I look back now and realize how reckless this was. I never had issues until around 40...and then I started to get turned around, to the point where one fall I got lost and it was in a remote area. The was a bit scary and a real eye opener, my internal compass told me to go in one direction to get back to the road, and I walked for quite a ways until I determined, I should have hit the road by now. I had to stop, look at the sun and tell myself...I need to go north, I need to put the sun on my left. Doing that...everything internal told me I was just walking further into the woods. I just needed to trust, that sun is setting and needs to be on my left. It worked and I hit the road about a mile south from where I parked the 4 wheeler.
I've carried a compass ever since...my internal compass broke and I should have never been relying on it to begin with. Reckless.
I wasn't always there. I've been running around in the woods nearly my entire life, growing up in Central MN farm county, we'd cover miles pheasant hunting and squirel hunting my teen years, never carried a compass, never got turned around.
I moved to the North Shore at 18 and have spent alot of time in the woods, bushwhaking to remote rivers chasing brookies, looking for agates, exploring remote lakes, and chasing grouse.
I used to say, I don't always know where i'm at, but I know where I came from. Meaning I could generally walk straight back through the woods to my starting point, at one point 2 miles of bushwhacking from pancake falls to hit the road 50 yards south of where we parked the truck. I just felt like I had a great internal compass. I look back now and realize how reckless this was. I never had issues until around 40...and then I started to get turned around, to the point where one fall I got lost and it was in a remote area. The was a bit scary and a real eye opener, my internal compass told me to go in one direction to get back to the road, and I walked for quite a ways until I determined, I should have hit the road by now. I had to stop, look at the sun and tell myself...I need to go north, I need to put the sun on my left. Doing that...everything internal told me I was just walking further into the woods. I just needed to trust, that sun is setting and needs to be on my left. It worked and I hit the road about a mile south from where I parked the 4 wheeler.
I've carried a compass ever since...my internal compass broke and I should have never been relying on it to begin with. Reckless.
"Fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me, can't get fooled again" - W
01/18/2021 12:42PM
The most turned around in the woods I’ve ever been was in a small triangle of woods between a field and two arms of a large lake while deer hunting. Right at dusk, my truck was on the other side of the field and I decided to walk back through the woods because there were some deer in the field on the other side I wanted to get a look at.
To this day I don’t know how I got as turned around as I did, it can happen to all of us, no matter your experience.
To this day I don’t know how I got as turned around as I did, it can happen to all of us, no matter your experience.
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