Why starting a fire in the rain wouldn't have saved me..

[fngTony]

@fngTony please feel free to lock the thread, I had hoped it could be a good learning lesson and maybe help someone out on day, don’t want it to turn into something else.

Appreciate the forum and opportunity to learn and hear all the different perspectives

I think it should be on track now. And I really appreciate you sharing your experience.

 

[TSAMP]

I just got back from a bird hunting trip in the west and had a similar scenario to share. Temps in the mid to high 70s. Loading up water for dogs you leave in a t shirt and dont think twice. I was hunting the last hour of light to try and get one last bird when I heard someone yell help. I was about 2 miles from my truck. I crested a few hills until I found an individual waving from a hilltop. This person had set out to do the same thing as me and had lost track of their vehicle in the sea of grasslands. Drenched in sweat and lost from your truck with a low of 50's may not of meant death, but they were in for a night of pure hell. I escorted them to my vehicle and then we drove until we found theirs.

 

[BoilerBowHunter]

@rcb2000 Thanks for sharing. The rewarming drill videos are super eye opening. This also makes me think of how I pack for an overnight vs a day hunt. I still wouldn’t haul around a sleeping bag for a planned day hunt, but it makes me think maybe a stove/JetBoil is mandatory if you’re in a location where this can happen. And a tarp. Lots of variables at play I suppose.

Do you think your dad could have warmed up by putting on his puffy underneath a rain coat and then hiking out if you were not as far back as you were?

 

[rcb2000]

@rcb2000 Thanks for sharing. The rewarming drill videos are super eye opening. This also makes me think of how I pack for an overnight vs a day hunt. I still wouldn’t haul around a sleeping bag for a planned day hunt, but it makes me think maybe a stove/JetBoil is mandatory if you’re in a location where this can happen. And a tarp. Lots of variables at play I suppose.

Do you think your dad could have warmed up by putting on his puffy underneath a rain coat and then hiking out if you were not as far back as you were?

That’s a great question, I think if he weren’t so sore and exhausted (can’t blame him at 76 years old) that absolutely would have helped warm him up.
The hike in was a dead fall choked nightmare, and would have hated to go back out in the dark, but certainly could have been an option under different circumstances.

 

[String Bean]

Thanks for sharing. Some good take always for me and will be making some changes to my day pack

 

[Pharmseller]

Comprehending?
I do, I witnessed a situation not much unlike yours back in the 90s.
It was winter, I was still asleep, completely unaware my kids were already up, and what they were doing.
Still in their pajamas, they just sat there like nothing was wrong, eating Froot loops, on the couch.
The temperature was probably 68 degrees, colder than your harrowing ordeal, yet like you, they kept their wits about them, and survived, all without starting a fire.

Even though lessons like ours, prove a fire is not always necessary, I don’t go around suggesting to not to be prepared for one, just in case.

And yes, I do carry a tarp. Kelty Noah tarp.

Dude

Don’t be a dick.

To the OP, thank you for sharing your experience and a valuable lesson.

 

[Lelder]

your experience really has me questioning how i would of handled this with my elderly father. i think i would of scrambled and got a fire started, and reading the reasons why you didn't make total sense to me and have me thinking i could of been in a bad situation fast if i immediately went for building a fire. i think i need to get a lightweight tarp and incorporate it into my system

 

[Scoot]

OP- I appreciate this thread and your info. Thank you. Interesting responses...

 

[CJohnson]

Thanks for sharing. I don't understand the trolling.

 

[EdP]

I think a lot of folks don't recognize just how much wood it takes to keep even a small fire burning all night, especially if its softwood. Collecting firewood could have ended up with both of them suffering from hypothermia. The rewarming process he used got his dad warmed way faster than a fire would have (by the time he got it going) and got the dad set to stay warm all night.

 

[Nwihunter]

Thanks for sharing your story, it should be very helpful to anyone that spends time in the backcountry, especially those like myself that don’t have the most experience. Your story has me shopping for a tarp now before my upcoming trip to Wyoming this November. Any recommendations of brands is welcome.

 

[rcb2000]

I think a lot of folks don't recognize just how much wood it takes to keep even a small fire burning all night, especially if its softwood. Collecting firewood could have ended up with both of them suffering from hypothermia. The rewarming process he used got his dad warmed way faster than a fire would have (by the time he got it going) and got the dad set to stay warm all night.

Thanks
It’s super important to note that the re-warming process not only got him warm fast, but bone dry in the morning.

I’m sure someone will mention it, so I’ll just address it now, if we were looking down the barrel of multiple days of this weather, eventually the down sleeping bags would have wetted out.
This is the reason people recommend synthetic bags for wet environments, like Alaska, where there is just no way everything is going to get dry.

As I mentioned earlier, luckily the next few days were nice and sunny so we were able to dry everything out.

Here’s a photo I took the next day to give an idea of what our shelter and camp situation looked like.
As you can see in the photo, we also had Katabatic bivies, which were an added layer of protection against moisture splashing up against the sides. It was a great system, and I would use it again, but as I mentioned, the original post a tent would have been faster and simpler to set up.

 

[dtrkyman]

I’ll add this, I decided to use one of the cheap Mylar survival blankets to keep the rain off my legs one day as I did not bring rain pants. DUH!

If it had been a dangerous situation like a cold weather storm I would have likely been soaked by the time I unfolded that thing!

It took forever,on a positive note it kept me dry for an hour plus and really retained heat well! But now that it has been unfolded it’s a much better safety measure, it’s about twice the size, I managed to get it stuffed into a snack size ziplock.

I’ll keep that thing but am looking for an upgrade for sure!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rcb2000]

Thanks for sharing your story, it should be very helpful to anyone that spends time in the backcountry, especially those like myself that don’t have the most experience. Your story has me shopping for a tarp now before my upcoming trip to Wyoming this November. Any recommendations of brands is welcome.

The one I have is from a company called Etowah gear, it’s a 10x10 silnylon that cost me $55 about 8 years ago, but now they are $105 I think.
It’s HEAVY, the whole thing with guy lines and stakes is 2#.

Right now I think the Seek Outside DST is a good balance of weight and cost.
There are a few other good options also,

 

[BoilerBowHunter]

There was a company called "Jimmy Tarps" that a lot of people used to really like. I believe they now sell tarps on Ebay, and they're more affordable than a lot of the big companies. They are on the smaller side, so you'd have to evaluate whether or not they could meet your needs.

Tarps on EBay

 

[Sacrvrrat72]

Decision making goes hand in hand with skill sets. Both are important.