My beautiful wife n me were flying out to go moose hunting at our cabin. This was the first time we had flown out as I just got the windows n woodstove in the prior winter using snogos. I learned a lot on that shake down trip. I contacted a pilot that could get me in which during moose season in AK can get difficult. But he could fit me in just before dark. He had me send the coordinates so I Google mapped the numbers n a picture of the lake.
We head out on 6:30 flight, scattered squalls in the area. We get to the coordinates, they were wrong. The pilot Flys around a bit n lands on a lake he knows explaining he can't continue to fly in what is now rain n not known where were going. He takes off n not much after I recognized our lake. We get dropped off n he flys off. I start out on the 2 mile walk north to the cabin, my wife n her feet with recent feet surgery at the lake.
I get to the cabin fine. Fire up the 4 wheeler I freighted out earlier n go get my wife n a load of freight. We get back to the trailhead n it's getting dark. As we head in my beautiful wife who is usually much better at direction than me says go left. I say go straight. We go left. Should a gone straight.
2-1/2 hours later in pitch black dark, rain, low 40s,no light except her phone at 8%, she says she can't walk anymore because the pain is so severe. And she instructs us to climb under the spruce tree next to us. I remember thinking that I was as warm n comfortable as sleeping on my sofa in the sunshine. When I started to doze off she recognized the situation n got me going. We fortunately found our cabin just before midnight.
What really happened was I started out on a trip I had never done before, in the evening. Over confident in my skills. Was too busy to fill up on a good meal before we left got over exhausted soaking wet n made bad decisions. I had all the survival gear we needed on our wheeler I abandoned after it got too stuck.
And more dumb stuff.
But my partner noticed the hypothermia signs n took immediate correct action. My over confidence almost got me. And it's a bad habit. I still find myself doing it . So maybe take an extra minute to look at your outdoors habits.
Stay safe n take one make one
We head out on 6:30 flight, scattered squalls in the area. We get to the coordinates, they were wrong. The pilot Flys around a bit n lands on a lake he knows explaining he can't continue to fly in what is now rain n not known where were going. He takes off n not much after I recognized our lake. We get dropped off n he flys off. I start out on the 2 mile walk north to the cabin, my wife n her feet with recent feet surgery at the lake.
I get to the cabin fine. Fire up the 4 wheeler I freighted out earlier n go get my wife n a load of freight. We get back to the trailhead n it's getting dark. As we head in my beautiful wife who is usually much better at direction than me says go left. I say go straight. We go left. Should a gone straight.
2-1/2 hours later in pitch black dark, rain, low 40s,no light except her phone at 8%, she says she can't walk anymore because the pain is so severe. And she instructs us to climb under the spruce tree next to us. I remember thinking that I was as warm n comfortable as sleeping on my sofa in the sunshine. When I started to doze off she recognized the situation n got me going. We fortunately found our cabin just before midnight.
What really happened was I started out on a trip I had never done before, in the evening. Over confident in my skills. Was too busy to fill up on a good meal before we left got over exhausted soaking wet n made bad decisions. I had all the survival gear we needed on our wheeler I abandoned after it got too stuck.
And more dumb stuff.
But my partner noticed the hypothermia signs n took immediate correct action. My over confidence almost got me. And it's a bad habit. I still find myself doing it . So maybe take an extra minute to look at your outdoors habits.
Stay safe n take one make one