Fellow backpackers,
I had a whale of a weekend! Saturday morning I woke up early and drove 100 miles to the remotest portion of Rabun County, Georgia to explore into a roadless, trailess mountain in North Carolina called "Little Bald" topping out at just over 5000ft. I had studied the route/maps/topos for weeks in anticipation. It was the next mountain over from "Dicks Knob", a mountain that has the distinction of being the third highest in GA, and one on which I've camped many times. I knew the brush was bad, but I wanted to explore, and so I planned the trip.
Saturday morning, I left the Chevy Avalanche at the end of the marginal trail at about 7AM/26F and headed up "Dick's Knob" (hey, I didn't name it), planning to make "Bear Gap" then on up "Little Bald" in North Carolina. I didn't know what to expect on this new-to-me destination, but the entire trip was almost solid rhododendron/mountain laurel.....a brush busting extravaganza (did tear up the Osprey and solidly bruised both shins, knee to ankle!), but finally made the top, and what do you know, there was a tiny bald/sandy spot about the size of an olympic pool. I collected firewood, set up the tent, and assessed the remaining water....I was good to go.

It began sleeting about two hours before dark (forcast hadn't called for precip until late Sunday), so I wrapped up the fire-thang (caveman TV) and hit the tent. As aside, my ortho doctor had injected steroids into my left shoulder, and man I've never slept so well on the ground with that thing not hurting me!
The next morning, about 4" of snow, heavy fog and wind greeted me after my in-tent breakfast....I couldn't see five feet at some times. I thought the trip off the top might take longer because of the weather, so I got started early, maybe 8am. I made two bad decisions at this time. First, I thought I'd try to skirt around some of the nastiest brush, and come down a little different way, second, to ease my constant referencing the Garmin 60Map, I decided to let it dangle from my wrist, around the gauntlet of my glove. Well, it wasn't long till my laurel avoiding strategy had me way off course, and in the process of correction, I slid off a rock face, snagged the Garmin on a rhododendron on my way down, snap went the strap, and off went the GPS down a deep snow-slope. I spent an hour holding my self onto the side of that slope by the brush searching for the Garmin, to no avail. I managed to find my cell phone and called my wife, and actived the "all's well" button on my new SPOT which would give her my coordinates on Google Maps and she could tell me which direction to go (remember I'm in fog/snow and totally the worst brush you can imagine, sprinkled in with a few sheer drop-offs). Then I lost connection with her and it's around noon, about 25 degrees, and I have about an hour of cell phone battery left, and I'm Lima-Bravo-Sierra (Lost Bigger than Shet). Assessing the situation, I figure I could comfortably make another night out here if I had to, so I'm not panicing. After thinking long and hard about it, I hit the 911 button on my SPOT, and started heading down hill. Soon I was at a stream, which though incredibly rough, was probably a reliable way out. Well, I followed that thing for hours until I spotted a hint of an old road-bed. Eureka! I followed that old road bed for a couple more hours until I dropped out on a maintained gravel road. A nice couple gave me a ride back to the road that my truck was up, although a couple of hours walk away, I was found. That's when I ran into the SAR people that my wife/SPOT/state police, etc had called in. They were glad to be able to stay in the truck, and they gave me a ride as far as they could into they woods, and got stuck themselves, and had to send me on foot at dark to my truck. We all made it down in one piece.
I'm resolved to learn something from all this, but right now, I'm trying to make nice with the wife to get back in her good graces. I'll try and post some pics when I get home.
Don

Sounds like a good time, doc! Glad you made it out safe.

I've known few nicer feelings that getting out of a potential tight spot. Here's hoping the wife smoothing goes well.

Thanks for sharing, I'm getting antsy from too much indoors time, and outside adventure tales help.

Carl

Glad you made it safely home. A few things I am curious about, is how well SAR were able to 'track' you? Did they know where you were at or only where you signaled for help? How much, if any, that will cost you?

Wow! Thanks for having the guts to post this straight report. We're all gonna learn a ton from this. You make a fine tester, Sir!

Glad you made it out. Those moments in time where you mind goes crazy is what keeps me young. I'm seriously considering on getting a spot. But have a couple questions. First, did they assess if you were in a real emergency and take any action (meaning warning/fines/just glad you were safe). Unless the rescue folks needed a training mission that period, I don't think I would be happy in their shoes on what you explained to us. You were able to walk out on your own feet, could have spent another 24 hours in the bush with no problems and had no life threatening issues.

Second question - when you hit the 911 button, does the unit go into tracking mode so they could follow you around the mountain for a 1/2 day?

Did you find any good deer or turkey sign?...javascript:%20void(0);just kidding, glad all turned out well for you. Rhododendron can be unbelievably thick. I have seen some folks go crazy wanting out of it and they were in a lot better situation than you were in. take care.

I, too had reservations about wasting the time of rescue people, and my possible expenses incurred, and was aware after awhile that I was likely going to make it out by dark; afterall, Georgia is one of the original 13 colonies and is heavily populated, and even spots you think are remote, probably have logging roads and old farmhouses from generations past. Maybe I over-reacted, I still haven't decided. I do know that had I not gotten out by dark, the rescue folks would have been called by the Mrs!

I have not been informed about any costs to me, and the rescue guys didn't roll their eyes, or act in the least bit put out. The were very glad I think to not be on foot out on those mountains at dark in the cold and snow. The costs were: 1) two deputies time for about two hours; 2)gas/wear and tear on a Ford Ranger rescue vehicle.
I guess that if multiple helicopters did a grid search for several days, that would be a different story. I do have insurance for such (actually I think SPOT offers it).

nclonghunter, actually I saw a bear and saw lots of hog sign and some really cool waterfalls.

One other thing before these pictures upload. I did describe my condition, plans and resources to my wife to convey to the SAR folks so they could decide upon the appropriate action. And, the SPOT continuously sends out signals.
Don

The cell phone? The GPS? The SPOT? This seems like you are leaning too much on the electronics. You panicked and hit the "get my butt out of a jam" button. It turned out that you relied on yourself and got out. Glad it worked out for you and you got out. How did we ever survive ten years ago?

doc, glad to hear you made it out OK, all's well that ends well, so I can say this.....too bad there was no "Beaver Hollow" up there.....

Glad you made it out, Doc. As those who have lived/hiked in the Appalachians, mountain laurel thickets are hell to move through and quite easy to lose your bearings in.

I chuckled when I saw this sign and thought of how off course the poster was. According to my GPS/maps/terrain this sign was about a quarter mile inside North Carolina. Little did I know it was I who needed to worry about being lost.



Nearing my destination, I find that someone has been here before me.



The bald that got the mountain it's name.



Home sweet home



Sunday morning, brrrrrr



Getting started on the way down

[img]http://docdb.smugmug.com/photos/458134140_TRxTv-L.jpg[/img]

Really cool waterfall on Mill Creek (my waterway out of there)

[img]http://docdb.smugmug.com/photos/458141212_3yhAm-L.jpg[/img]

Hours spent in brush like this

[img]http://docdb.smugmug.com/photos/457977509_2d4TM-L.jpg[/img]

Surveying the damage to my shins

Yup...

Someone always takes this course when I post with all my techno-gizmo's. I'll just tell my next patient that I'll skip the CAT scan (I don't believe in and don't want to rely too much on technology after all)....we'll just open 'ya up! Seriously, though, how far back does one need to dial back technology? My feelings are that unless you go back to the Cherokee Way(a bow, a knife, buckskin and a flint) that ended in the 1830's, you are relying on modern technology, and every man just has to decide for himself how much is too much.

Thick brush like that can really test ones patience and it is very hard on gear.

One thing that looks fishy here ? there are no bullet holes in the hunting/boundary signs -very odd !

ole mike,
that was fishy.....it was waaay back there, maybe others hadn't gotten there yet?

docdb,

Thanks for sharing and great pics by the way. Thinking about a spot myself to keep my wife happy when I am hunting alone. Some of the places I go if you slip and break something it is a long way to crawl for help. Always vigilant, always careful but sometimes..... feces occurs! And where I usually hunt there is no cell service.

Technology isn't bad at all. Sure would hate to go back to the old ways of doing a lot of things!

You must have been really lost.......everybody knows it never snows in Georgia.

I'm with you doc....I like my gadgets too.......but can still do it the "old way" if need be.

I think now in retrospect, that I probably did not need to call out the calvary. Probably should have tried to get elevated to get cell coverage if possible, let the wife know the degree of SHTF, and start doing what I did (walk downstream till I meet someone helpful). Now, a fracture or wet/cold or no water/food, that's another story.

The last thing the grey-bearded tracker/local dude that's BTDT said to me was, "OK, friend, next time you're up here, give us a holler, and we'll show you around some". He said it like he meant it in a neighborly way.

Don

I use GPS and bring a cell phone for bragging purposes as most of the peaks in my area have service. I'm sure Spot has a time and a place. If I was up on a peak with a busted up ankle all by my lonesome, I'd push the button. But, I don't think the SAR dudes are standing by so a guy can make it home for dinner..

Don't want to sound like I'm judging this situation or that I'm busting anyone's chops because I wasn't there.

However, what Calvin has posted represents one of my two biggest fear about technologies such as SPOT, Personal Locator Beacons, or whatever. I worry that:

1. People will push way beyond the reasonable limits of their skills, preparedness, and abilities thinking that they always will have a safety net to get them out of trouble.

2. People will activate the "911" features and call out the cavalry for trivial matters, turning these useful tools into nothing more than the proverbial "boy who cried wolf." Response times will slow down or become non-existant and eventually people who really need help will not be able to get it.

Personally I try my best to rely on maps and a compass and dead(hmmm) reckoning. I carry a GPS and mark some spots along the way and sometimes use it to find back to an exact spot instead of wondering around. Especially if I only get there every few years...

But I carry GPS and I carry SPOT. And if the weather turned and I had issues, I'd not hesitate to use what I had to if I was fearful. Now if I thought I could be just fine with another overnight, then I'd lay off a bit. But when weather changes one never knows. And as mentioned it was much easier to punch it and not need it and let the folks go back home than have them looking all night etc.....
Its the owners call and sometimes that peace of mind is worth pushing the button I suspect, very much so an issue of walk a mile in their moccassins type of issue.

Glad you are back safe and sound.

Jeff

I was not knocking the technology or stating we needed to fall back ten years. I use GPS all the time. Cell phones don't work where I hunt. I was suggesting that you put all your eggs in the technology basket. A map and compass might have let you walk right on out. I do agree with others that Spot shouldnt be used in your situation. You had shelter, the ability to make fire, the ability to get water, the proper gear and the proper clothing. Yeah, I can see why you hit the easy button.

My question is why did you choose to become a SAR members worst nightmare, a mobile pinhead after you pressed the button? Why didnt you sit your butt down and wait for the calvary?

I'm not defending, but of course 911 is dialed for situations NO WHERE NEAR this situation on a daily basis.

I would probably have done it a bit differently but its all done. And no one the worse for wear due to it.

Jeff

Doc,

"He said it like he meant it in a neighborly way"

Did he have a banjo?

Lefty C

Hitting 911 on Spot is entirely different than somebody dialing 911 IMO..

Solo mountain hunting or backpacking isn't for the fearful or those who second guess themselves. When you set out on your own, you give Murphy and Mother Nature the bird and pit yourself against what it can toss at you. I think Spot should be a life or death deal, not a "I'm scared or unprepared" deal..

Doc,

Thank you for sharing this experience.

Know that regardless of the grief you've been given, you have also provided a learning opportunity for many.

Thanks.

I'd hit it before I had hypothermia though. But I'd have probably sent out I'm ok messages from inside the tent and left the weather to subside.
I dunno about it being exactly life or death, I'd hate to deal with a kidney stone in the wilderness, though I know it won't generally kill me. Though i'd feel better dead.

It would be interesting to hear the opinions of the SAR bunch on the use of it at that time and how well it worked. Thats not been answered yet.

Jeff

I bought a spot before our elk hunt this fall. The unit we hunt has no cell coverage, even very poor satelite coverage. It's not wilderness but is damn sure roadless in a big part of it. We both had a gps and marked camp before we left. We stayed a little to late glassing some great areas and made a small miscalculation when coming back down. To make a long story shorter we spent the night with our horses tied to a tree and us sleeping on our saddleblankets. Hard to start a fire with most things wet but we got it done. We didn't know how to set the tracks feature on our gps[since remedied]. it wasn't nearly as bad as i'd feared or as good as i'd hoped. It really was only minor discomfort but it was sure comforting to know if something went south i could push the button. In that area if your horse slipped a fell and broke your leg your pard might be 4 hours from the truck, then 2 hours to morenci [help] and another 6 back unless they sent a chopper. I think the spot is a great new piece of technology that has the potential to save a lot of lives.
Glad your situation came out ok!!!!!

Fred

That's exactly what some of us are talking about though. If you haven't figured out how to use your GPS, it shouldn't be in your pack, and you shouldn't be relying on it to get you home.

I'd like to see statistics of how many hunters are actually killed in the wilderness that SPOT could have saved each year. I don't think it will be many. There will be a lot more risk applied to the SAR guys because of the increased risk taking and stupidity of hunters/hikers because they have the magic button in the backpack..

Doc- I'm sure you've got a whole lotta 'I should have done this...' floating around in your head, but I'm going to add one more thing.

Pre-trip planning to get out when TSHTF witout any gadjets. It's pretty easy around here. Basically follow the water down. I'm not sure of the 'lay of the land' down there, but there should have been an easy, no brainer way out, no matter what happened.

No matter...you made it back, which is all that counts.

Did you get nervous? How close to stopping and holeing up where you?

I have a friend that purchased a SPOT for trekking alone. He has not needed it for an emergency however he has sent email messages with his, showing he is O.K. He has also found that not all his messages have been received when sent(area of Big South Fork, Tennesee). Would makes you wonder if it got sent in a real emergency. I was also told today about a fella in Colorado who relied on his GPS and at dark discovered it was not working. Made it to camp about midnight because he was lucky to see the camp lights. I guess the point is, like all technical devices they are not 100%. I use them and have confidence in them,but...........

A big +1

A great learning opportunity.

Calvin,

Your right on both accounts. Probably not many deaths but a lot of long miserable nights. I foolishly thought i didn't need tracks just the direction to camp in the country we hunt. That is pretty much true in the DAYLIGHT. I also put my horse on the tracks and followed her with a long lead rope. She followed them about half a mile then lost them and made a 90% turn we didn't even feel. We knew where we were, just got bluffed up and couldn't see a way around in the dark.

Fred

every piece of technology is a double edged sword, similar pro/con issues surrounded rifle scopes once upon a time.


I've cursed the the technology available and praised it at times.


someone mentioned map and compass always tools to be familiar with and have along. but in thick brush and fog not always going to be the grail. ime hard to find what you can't see, direction sure and a good detailed topo to keep you from cliffing out still valuable tools in those situations.

I can like docdb, he seems to me a pretty much cards on the table kind of guy, and it's amazing to me the progress he's made as an outdoorsman over the last few years.

tks for sharing your story and the pics doc, I always enjoy both.

threads that make us think and ponder are a real value imo

True, but most of us dont hunt and hike big country like Alaska. The majority of us are really only a few hours at most back to the safety of the vehicle. Even in remote areas of Wyoming, you are only two to three days from walking out of anywhere. With the right gear, not a major problem.

A simple reading on the compass after you leave the vehicle or some pre trip planning of which general direction you need to walk to hit a road if SHTF would solve lots of problems. Sure, you might walk several extra miles but you are walking with the knowledge that you are for fact heading to a road, not wandering around hoping you get out.

GPS wasnt around when I started hunting and that didnt keep us from bombing off into wilderness after critters. We looked at maps and had knowledge of the boundries in all four directions. If we became confused we knew there was a river to the west, a creek to the north, a paved highway to the south and a dirt road to the east. Any direction would lead us out, some just sucked a little more.

A simple ten dollar compass does wonders in even it's most basic mode. Pack another one for when you have a disagreement with the first one. Majority rules!

Of course this wouldnt work in Alaska where one could walk for months at a time but down here I think the most anyone can really get away from a road is thirty miles.

I presently use the hell out of my GPS now. It is a great tool and the little sucker will take the miles off in a hurry but I promise you I have two compasses in the pack and knowledge of which direction gets me out.

Laying it out for ya from my viewpoint. I retired my position on SAR in 1996 and haven't kept fully up to speed with the new high tech stuff. I'm a fellow backpacker/hunter and everytime I hear a Good story like the one above I'm Glad to see people with Good Sense.

Just because he called in the calvary doesn't mean anything other then he had help coming in the general direction of his location. Who knows howlong it would take them to get on scene anyway? He was alert and unhurt at the moment yet with fear for life and thats reason enough. Good Call in my opinion to get help started in your direction.

While on SAR we would rather find someone in his condition then to find someone who lost it and got hurt, or someone who waited to long to get help then lost it and got hurt even worse. In this case he had help coming, didn't lose it and simply made his way out slowly using his head. He didn't stay put like most teach yet the outcome was still Good, its all about the persons ability who made the call. Personally I'd have rather you would have stayed in tent city and wait but you chose not to and that is up to each person to decide for themselves how to best help themselves. He still wasn't 100% relying on SAR this time and thats what I call being self reliant. Nothing wrong with having it both ways at the same time.

Great story and pics, Thanks for sharing so others might learn...

Oh one other thing about SAR once called they will ALWAYS get there ASAP.. Its not about crying wolf, its about helping people and to this day 12 years since I left SAR I still go out of my way to help others. For SAR helping others is what they do same with all LEO's, Fire and Medical Pro's,. Once called they ARE COMING one way or another..... When needed don't hesitate to call them...

valid points indeed wyoelk, we all have to adapt how we do things to our unique environments.



and great post wabo, I'm sure we could find dissenting opinions from other SAR folks, it's what makes the world go round. heck there's even fools that think the .270 is a superior caliber to the '06! and at least and equal number of dumb SOB's that think the '06 is preferable to the .270 (grin) all that means is opinions and experiences vary

but always good to hear from one that has been to see the elephant, appreciate you adding your insight and experience to this discussion.


bottom line is you spend enough time outdoors chit do happen!

when it does, are you prepared to deal with it? what's your plan?

Calvin raised some good points and some I agree with but I'd also like to add each persons family situation has some merit upon how they deal with stuff. to my knowledge Calvin is single and childless (I could be wrong) but I'm certain docdb has a wife and at least 1 or two daughters.

who's waiting for you at home and how much they depend upon you has some bearing whether to call in the calvary too. imo

I think somewhere deep inside most of us that like the wild and wooly places would be okay with our end coming up as bear scat or a heap of broken bones rotting on the tundra or forest floor somewhere. Not that we'd do it willingly. but the folks that depend upon us would have heartache and sorrow in spades. so a guy makes compromises.

sometimes that compromise might be pushing the SPOT before another man would.

"heck there's even fools that think the .270 is a superior caliber to the '06! and at least and equal number of dumb SOB's that think the '06 is preferable to the .270 (grin) all that means is opinions and experiences vary"

Everybody KNOWS the .270 is superior to the .30-06.
(Sorry, couldn't resist.)
Bear in Fairbanks

Oh by the way, Common now admit it guys having a GPS at the right time would be handy and Very Helpful. Admit it you've been Lost atleast once.. There is a 40K acre cropland riverbottom named after my Great Great Grandfather. On the outside of the leve is forest about 300 yards wide and 40 miles in length running next to the river.

I've Grownup in that bottom hunting and fishing since I could walk and worked there harvesting and planting crops. In daylight I know every mound or molehill it is my backyard.. Now more then once I've shot a deer with bow and while tracking it after nightfall, I couldn't find the river or the leve for HOURs while getting turned around in the thickstuff. Took me 6 hours one night to find my way out! Got turned around in the thick stuff even with town lights visible only 3 miles away start for the leve and get turned around again. Walk and walk around trees and brush for an hour or more to find the river again and looking for townlights trying to find north once more.

ANYTHING can happen without GPS, a map would have done me NO Good and I had dropped my compass in the brush lost it too. Stuff happens, Sure I could have waited till morning, but what if the neg45 windchill and snow finally sank in enough to cause hypothermia. I hadn't brought a tent, sleeping bag,stove or food. Just the bow a knife, flashlight that the batteries had died on 2 seperate lights. So now what I had to get out or risk dying this was also before cellphones or GPS, how time has changed.....

The point is do what you think is right to stay ALIVE don't worry what you think your buddies will give you a hard time for doing. Staying ALIVE means asking for help and my Bro In Law who owns and hunts Thousands of these acres was with me one of those nights. He farms the ground, were we embarrassed at first YES but would we have been happy to have had a cell phone, and GPS:? YES..... Oh I'm still a Man for saying all that right? Ummmmm YES...

I very much appreciate all the comments, guys. I was only really worried for a couple of hours, and then several things went right. First, I found the water; it wasn't the water I thought it was, but when I could see the sun, and it jibed with my watch compass, I realized where I must be headed. I knew there must be civilization downstream (a long way off), and I was right. When I found that tiny roadbed I was overjoyed. The work I had on Monday, the mortgage/car payments/colleges tuitions and weddings that I need to pay for do cross my mind when I take risk. 1AK's right, the folks at home would suffer the most!

Wabo, the SAR guys expressed no negativity at having to leave their warms dens to haul me in, and I think I was about an hour more of looking for signs of civilization before I started looking for a tent site and firewood.
Don