I now see why people die in the woods in Alaska (Kodiak: homes, elementary school)

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by megensmom

So 2 men from my husbands work went moose hunting Tuesday evening after work. They drove towards Central from Fairbanks on the Steese,So they spotted a moose in a valley and decided to park,get on the 4 wheeler and head off after it. They shot the moose and then relized just how far they were from their truck. They fog started coming in heavy on them and for fear of being lost in the mountains they decided to wait till morning to head back to their truck. Sounds pretty smart except for the fact that they had already gutted their moose and had all that smell in the air. But here is the dumb thing they did, they sat on this 4 wheeler all night long because they had no flash light,lighter,coat,water,food basically nothing. And they had only taken 1 gun and only had 3 bullets left. Am I wrong or is this about the most stupid thing you could do? It has been pretty cold up here at night this week and they didn't even carry a coat. I now see why people get killed here it isn't the fact that the place is harsh it is the fact that people do stupid,stupid things and don't plan. The guys did arrive back home the next evening after their wives were up all night worrying. I am just floored at how dumb these guys were and they have lived here for 2yrs so they weren't brand new to the area.

For what it is worth, they could have started a fire with their gun.

You take a bullet, stick it into the end of the barrel and work the slug out of the casing. You then build a small burnable fire starter pile of twigs, bark and other burnable material, pour the powder on it in a pile, take a piece of cloth like a tee shirt or so, stuff it into the breach of the barrel and put the empty shell into it and fire into the air. The primer will ignite the cloth as it goes though the barrel and will be glowing when it comes down from only going a few feet out of the barrel. Set it on the powder and it will light off the powder to start your fire. And touch of gas from the fourwheeler will even get the fire going quicker.

You also have a 12 Volt battery that can start a fire by shorting out a wire to where it gets red hot to start a fire too...

It is amazing that most people don't do the little things that could save their life. If they had gotten cold, they may have never been able to get a fire going or return to their truck, they wouldn't have been the first and I doubt they would have been the last.

About 14 years ago on about Sept. 14 or so, the leaves were green and hadn't even started to turn yet. Out of a clear day, we got almost two feet of snow that was not forecasted. Lots of people were out moose hunting and didn't have winter gear with them. Lots of search and rescues went on for a week or two. Weather can change in Alaska in a few hours before you know what hit you....

Glad they made it out OK... Like I had said earlier in a post about the "Into the Wild" kid. I and a bunch of other pilots had flown over him and there was no sign of distress, he could have torched off the tires on the bus and the black smoke coming up from the "Wilderness" would have gotten everyone's attention to come see what was burning "Black" where it normally means a crash of some kind.

[karibear]

Originally Posted by starlite9

About 14 years ago on about Sept. 14 or so, the leaves were green and hadn't even started to turn yet. Out of a clear day, we got almost two feet of snow that was not forecasted. Lots of people were out moose hunting and didn't have winter gear with them. Lots of search and rescues went on for a week or two. Weather can change in Alaska in a few hours before you know what hit you....

Very true. One year when my kids were little, we'd gone trick or treating, rowing across our lake to get to the car on a Saturday. The following Monday the ice was thick enough to walk on. And that was in AK's Banana Belt.

[Wrennie]

Originally Posted by Rance

They are still greenhorns in my book.

Exactly. Plus it's a bigtime f&g violation to leave your kill in the field. They HAD to stay with it or pack it out. You have to think about that before you shoot.

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by Wrennie

Exactly. Plus it's a bigtime f&g violation to leave your kill in the field. They HAD to stay with it or pack it out. You have to think about that before you shoot.

Yeah, besides if they started a fire, they could have a BBQ moose on the menu... food and heat, what else could you want... OK, a little water is nice, beer in a pinch....

[Wrennie]

Originally Posted by starlite9

Yeah, besides if they started a fire, they could have a BBQ moose on the menu... food and heat, what else could you want... OK, a little water is nice, beer in a pinch....

my fave hunting food is deer heart and onion...always carry an onion in my pack. Somehow it's sooo good when you're out in the cold.

[fairbanks101]

Originally Posted by DreamChasers8

Make sure that dumbo LT hears this , at least the headline anyways maybe not that they got back home...lol

please dont provoke him

[megensmom]

They said that they drove the 4 wheeler a few feet from the moose and periodically turned on the headlight and they said there was a bear not super close but close enough. They said they prayed they would be ok. They were very cold when they finally arrived back at their truck. They said it took them the drive to finally quit shaking.

On a side note: It's snowing on Eagle Summit on the Steese Hwy.

[Marty Van Diest]

Don't forget the gas in the four wheeler. Just a little bit on some tinder and a spark and off you go.

They could easily have had a fire all night.

I had a friend who shot a moose at -20 degrees. His friend headed back home for help and decided to wait till the next morning to come back.

The friend wrapped up in the moose skin for the night, bloody side in. He was warm but barely able to get out of the frozen hide in the morning.

[Rance]

Obviously they have never watched a McGuyver show!

[Barkingowl]

I remember one summer in Massachusetts it snowed briefly in June. As for moose hugging, I have friends out in the woods this weekend. I pray that the great spirit grants them a moose to fill their freezers & feed their families.