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The Need To Be Air Evacuated


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Well, it happened to me last Saturday [5/21/05]. Was in the St John's Water Management area near Titusville, Florida. I was out about a mile from the trailhead and decided to backtrack but *thought* I found a better way out. My topo showed the lake I needed to go around and it didn't seem too bad until I got into chest high sea grass, some call saw grass. I kept going but the muck got deeper and the saw grass much more thick.

 

I had plenty of water but after 2 hours it was pretty much gone as was my physical endurance. I knew exactly where I was and exactly where I needed to go but the muck and grass wasted me so after another hour I called the sheriff for an extraction.

 

As I reflect on the incident [and mind you I have done a lot of back woods packing] my thoughts come to the same point: Sometimes one must step backwards to go forward. This was my mistake, I should have backtracked again but chose not to.

 

Any others out there who would like to share their similar experiences?

 

ZS

;):blink:

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Thankfully I have not been stranded, but I was thinking hard about it about 2 weeks ago. The family went on a trip, and we stopped to cache. The kids were sleeping in the car, so I went into the woods alone. Typical of me, i never go the easy way, so i beat my way arond and around. I got to the right place, and searched for 15 or 20 minutes with no luck. I was thinking of my wife back at teh car, bored...

 

I did not want to bushwhack back the way i came, and there was a nice big path not too far off from the cache site..so i look at my GPS and the batts had given out. And my bag of booty, inlcuding spare batts, was in the car. And it was about 8 pm...nearing darkness.

 

I followed the big path and made it out OK, but the thought crossed my mind..i don't have a cell phone, am in a deserted park in another state, no GPS and it is getting dark.

 

I am learning...I think I will add a flashlight to the booty bag and NEVER cache without it. And try to go long before dark as this is not the first time I have been in the woods near dark.

Edited by Prof_Fate
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...so i look at my GPS and the batts had given out. And my bag of booty, inlcuding spare batts, was in the car. ...

..I am learning...I think I will add a flashlight to the booty bag and NEVER cache without it. ..

The ten essentials.

 

Don't leave home without them.

 

Having said that -- I confess that I too have wandered from my vehicle while my fanny pack containing the requisite items was quite comfortably resting in my truck. I regretted my oversight later. :P

 

Good judgement comes from experience, and experience usually comes from bad judgement.

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The only time I have had to call for a evec was when someone had a massive heart attack. I ended up doing CPR for an hour waiting for the helicopter to come.

But it is one of the sad thing this day is the decline of self reliance. In Bannif Park in the Canadian Rockies folks go in very ILL prepared and think if I get in trouble I'll just call for help. This last weekend we were in the mountians and in line of sight with a major town but there was NO cell service. If you go in the wood carry a MAGNETIC compass and map and know how to use them. Reliance on technology is a poor excuse for getting in trouble. Carry waterfilters/purifiers. spare food, emergancy shelter and know how to use the stuff you carry.

We are losing personal responsiblitly and think hey if I get in trouble some one else will come get me. This happens to often. I know this does not directly address the OP's question but it is a very SERIOUS issue taht geocachers need to think about. If I get in a situation can I get MYSELF out of it before leaving the car. It is to easy to get distracted by the goal of finding a cache to pay attention to the world around us.

cheers

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There was a local news story about a guy who got lost in a local wildlife management area (where there are a good number of caches BTW). Despite the fact he had a GPS, it was getting dark and he panicked and called the police. A rescue mission was launched and they found him after midnight.

 

The funny thing is that I was hiking in the same WMA and there is a hawk watch platform there manned by volunteers.

 

I stopped at the platform and the resident hawk watcher saw my GPS and we got into a short discussion. Of course I opened my trap and said, "Do you believe some idiot got lost up here last summer and had to be rescued even though he had a GPS !". The guy says, "That idiot was me". Me and my big mouth :P.

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My favorite thread about a rescue call has to be this classic.

 

The worst that's happened to me is getting locked inside the park two times because the cache took until after "dusk" to find. I discovered that my definition of "dusk" was different than the park's. In one case, one of my first ten finds, I was able to find a "back door" dirt road to exit the park after discovering that the main gate was locked. In the second case, my 1000th find, I had to call the County Sheriff because the only exit from the County Park was a locked gate. Knock on wood, that is the only time I've ever had to call for help while geocaching.

Edited by The Leprechauns
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Me and my big mouth  :P.

I remember that guy from the forum talk. You really should better control your big mouth, briansnat! :huh::huh::o

 

I have never got myself into any serious trouble geocaching, but don't think I haven't tried! There is the story (circa 1970) about my small craft being towed by a US Coast Guard helicopter in Alaska, but that's a story for the campfire. :P

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Take it from an old forest ranger/hiker/climber, UP the rock is always easier than DOWN the rock. I've never publicly embarrassed myself by needing to be rescued from a situation I got into, but I've sure scared myself spitless a few times. When you climb up, you can see where to put your hands. Where you put your feet follows logically. When you climb back down, your feet can't see where they're going, and looking down really isn't a good idea if you're already a little freaked.

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I usually cache alone and have taken many risks I shouldn't considering my age and the fact that I don't have a cell phone.

 

One day when I was with a friend and his children, I dislocated my kneecap. I don't know how I would have gotten myself home that day if I hadn't been with them.

 

That incident hasn't stopped me from caching alone. The pull of the arrow and the decreasing distance to a cache is just . . too . . strong . . . . :P

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While being introduced to geocaching my friend decided that we could do just one more cache before it got dark. We found the spot which headed up a fairly high rocky hill. We took the gps and the bag of goodies and away we went. Welp, I'm not a hiker and didn't get very far before I was kapoot....So I returned to the car to wait.... and wait.... and wait.... We are now well past dark and there I set beside the car in the wilderness because, of course, who has the keys to the locked car??? the guy wandering around in the wilderness... and where's the cell phone.. IN THE *%&@ CAR. After about 45 minutes I was getting ready to break the window and call for some help when I heard Chuck screaming in the distance. He finally made it back. I must say he taught me a good lesson.

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Without starting a new topic, I would like to pose the additional question (not to anyone specifically): When do you really need this type of radical help; what determines if you are going to place that call?

 

I have found myself in uncomfortable situations, and merely stuck it out, overnight. Exactly how much discomfort (or whatever else) would trigger you to call for help?

 

I think, in some cases, panic may be the deciding factor. Spending an unexpected night in the wilderness is not necessarily a life threatening experience (it can be educational and rewarding). Unless you're in real danger of elemental exposure, things usually are brighter in the morning. :P:huh:

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Thanks, The Boonie Man, you made my day. That was me. And, I might reiterate. I was not lost, I knew exactly where I was and needed to go but that $%^&* saw grass and swamp muck "broke my a**."

 

Also, I might add that I did get checked out by parametics but felt no need to go to the hospital.

 

ZS

Edited by Z_Statman
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Without starting a new topic, I would like to pose the additional question (not to anyone specifically): When do you really need this type of radical help; what determines if you are going to place that call?

 

I have found myself in uncomfortable situations, and merely stuck it out, overnight. Exactly how much discomfort (or whatever else) would trigger you to call for help?

 

I think, in some cases, panic may be the deciding factor. Spending an unexpected night in the wilderness is not necessarily a life threatening experience (it can be educational and rewarding). Unless you're in real danger of elemental exposure, things usually are brighter in the morning. :huh::P

A night in woods, sweet! I would probably be more pissed that I was hungry, than that I had to spend the night under the stars.

 

There was probably one time we should have called a chopper, but then I wouldn't be able to tell people that I walked 6 miles over rough country with a shattered face, broken wrist, and a concussion after falling 20ft and landing on my head.

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All too often people go ill-prepared and then freak out when they think they're completely stuck or lost. You can last quite awhile with a few basic (and easily transportable) supplies and a little common sense. A clear head will go a long way in keeping you safe, and won't lead you to do such stupid things as lighting a signal flare during brush fire season when you think you're hopelessly lost...

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All too often people go ill-prepared and then freak out when they think they're completely stuck or lost. You can last quite awhile with a few basic (and easily transportable) supplies and a little common sense.

Now if they will only find a way to de-hydrate beer. I could last for days out there! :(

 

Now back on topic. My wife once left a cache hunt via ambulance. She had an anxiety attack. For those that don't know, that can give the same symptoms as a heart attack.

 

The Deupty and I discussed going to look for the cache while we waited on the ambulance, but the look my wife gave me when she heard the discussion was one of....If you leave me and I survive, the rest you your life will be very very miserable! :blink:

 

I stayed.

 

El Diablo

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Sunday, hubby the 2 kids (5 & 7) and I went out. It was warm (mid 80's) and we had jeans on to protect the legs. Well it was our last cache and was less than a mile out. But we kinda got switched around as to what trail to take back out. We ran out of water, had walked about 6 miles that day and so tired! Plus I'm preggo with twins and we realized on the way out that noone had brought their cell phone. I left mine in the car cause hubby always has his. Well he had left his on the car visor. We were not in that serious of trouble as we only had about 1/2 mile or so to get out and it wasn't a hard trail. But we were dehydrating and exhausted and hot! Just made us rethink about double checking our supplies before we go out again!

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Well said A to Z. I spend my summers as a voulunteer for the USFS in some real wild back country, and you would be surprised on how many people are in some sort of danger and they don't even know it.

 

One of the first principles of Leave No Trace, is plan ahead and prepare. Once you have mastered this simple but profound statement then maybe you are ready to go and have some fun in the boonies.

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Moral of the story - always take a mobile phone with you. I confess I don't always. Did need to be "extracted" out of the forest after a roller-blading accident once. Not fun.

Depending on where you go, it's not hard to get out of cell phone range. Some of the newer GMRS radios have a 12 mile (ideal) range. Having one in the pack is probably a good idea too.

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Depending where you travel and how often; a PLB (Personal Locater Beacon) may be a good investment. When activated the signal is picked up by the COSPAS/SARSAT satellite system and relayed to Earth. In general the satellite can pinpoint your position to within a couple miles. All PLB's also broadcast on a lower frequency which can be used by the rescue group once in the area to pinpoint your exact location. Some PLB's even have a built in GPS so your coordinates can be transmitted.

 

The only downside is the initial investment of $500-$1200 for the unit.

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