Newspaper article on the lost hunter in the Bighorn Mtns.

Answers questions and raises more.

Would have had to been bowhunting this time of year.

Nonresidents are required to have a guide in wilderness areas.

I bet the wife takes a giant chunk out of his backside when he gets home.

Yup. I hope he enjoyed his last solo hunt.

He demonstrated 1 thing that many need to be aware of - electronics can fail. Carry and know how to use a compass and map.

Doesn't sound like he admitted being lost, just unable to communicate.

Kent

Dude knowingly breaking the law.
Set up his camp all weasel like cause he knew as a out of state resident he was required to have a guide.
Needs to be held responsible for his rescue cost.

I'm surprised when they purchase a out of state license and required to have a guide they are not required to list who the guide is they will be with.

That might be a simple solution to the problem, probably been being gamed for awhile in states that have that requirement.

Nine days without any contact with his wife- - - - -maybe he was cougar hunting!

I avoid this kind of problem by making sure there is no expectation of my being "in touch". I don't have a cell phone and, when I go hunting, it's usually by myself. I tell my wife to wait two days past my expected return and don't panic. It has worked so far. GD

Same as greydog above. I tell the boss when I will return, as I will be out of touch for the duration.

Maybe he was enjoying the peace and quiet....

WY requires a guide for non-res elk hunting?

Guess where I ain't going.

In wilderness areas.

If one is a local hairdresser though, he will be fine.

Interesting.

So, don't hunt on the fringes and wander into the wilderness area to shoot your elk.

I hunted Wyoming and was subject to the Wilderness area law. Guide required for non resident.
BUT if your an earth muffin with no weapon and wear sneakers it perfectly fine to go on your own. Pissed me off that the guides have that much power. Edk

Yeah,but he had a GPS and cell phone.I never call my wife when I am hunting out of state.I call her when I leave for home so she can hustle the boy friend out.

Guy sounds like a piece of work. Apparently had an agreement to check in with family, then found out he couldn't, but continued on anyway for NINE DAYS without doing so? What a selfish jackass to put family through that for nothing more than continuing a hunt.

I go out alone often. I have an agreement with family. I will check in daily once I get back to camp for the evening with the SPOT messenger or phone call if possible (often no signal where I go). If I miss a check in, wait 24 hours. If still nothing, send the brother to my camp. They all know I leave a notepad with the anticipated location I'll be in for the day on my cot. If something happens, finding me quickly shouldn't be hard.

She returns the favor for me when she's away.

Let's me know when to kick out the dancing girls.

You can hunt on the fringes all you want. Stay out of the wilderness areas unless you have a guide. If you cant read a map that shows you where the wilderness line is, maybe you try high-fence "hunting" on some ranch.

Why you pissed at me?

I know the rules and follow them.

I never said I can't read a map. Never said "I'd" wander into the wilderness area. I just pointed out that one should not cross the line to shoot an elk.

Are you a guide? Have a vested interest in that rule?

As ERK points out, unless one is hunting it's OK to wander around in the wilderness at will. So, any argument a guide is needed to cut down on the costs of rescuing lost hunters goes out the window. Hikers don't need a guide and they get lost frequently. Some even die before being located. Do berry pickers, birders, botanists, etc need a guide? Fishermen/women? Why only hunters????

Is the point of the guide in a wilderness area and attempt to limit non-resident hunters taking WY hunters' game? A bone thrown to the guide industry? Why is that rule in place? Logical explanation if you or anyone else knows?

The other thing people need to be aware of is, if they tell someone they'll be checking in frequently or on a given date and they don't check in, search and rescue will be activated and will be looking for them.

In other words, you don't fail to check in and just go on your merry way.

Because hikers and birdwatchers ain't gonna pay big bucks for a guide.

Yes, and also the influence the guide association has over the Game and Fish Dept and the State.

Yep, I thought that was a given.

Seems Wyoming has moved the Wilderness area lines further down the mountains than they were in the 80's. Bastards.

I don't think they can do that on their own, wilderness designation is at the federal level.

I am a strong proponent of PLBs or a subscription based satellite communication device. In the grand scheme of things they are not expensive. I imagine that there are many places our members hunt where a badly broken leg could spell big trouble. Those in bear country might find a need for them as well.

WYcoyote: The article does not relay that the non-resident Hunter was "IN" a "wilderness area" it says that the non-resident Hunter was "in the area of the Cloud Peak Wilderness".
I agree whole heartedly with complying with all "laws".
And I have also suffered at the hands of "gub'mint" officials who have designated more and more of our public lands as "wilderness" and or "wilderness study areas" along with guides and outfitters influencing fish and game departments decisions and regulations!
I have Hunted Varmints "in the area of" the Cloud Peak Wilderness - thankfully a guide is NOT required to do that as yet.
The non-resident Hunter could very well be guilty of a game violation but I did not glean that from the posted article - is there more information available somewhere else?
And I often wonder how "gub'mint" policy/law makers can distinguish between a resident Hunter and a non-resident Hunter needing or not needing a paid professional/licensed guide???
But again I always "abide"!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

SMH..

He changed locations. He never not lost.

He drove from his old camp in Big Horn County, to Sheridan County (they border each other), where a citizen located his vehicle, called it in and he was located afterwards.

His electronics went down and he didn't have a backup means of communication.

That has nothing to do with needing a map and compass.

Agreed. A lot of people don’t plan for contingencies or emergencies very well. A SPOT type PLB with rescue insurance at a minimum but I’d also rent a satellite phone for occasional check ins and emergency communications. Same as I do for saltwater and offshore fishing. I think the last satellite phone I rented for 2 weeks for a 10 day hunt and with the prepaid minutes, shipping, insurance, etc it was around $200. That’s extremely cheap insurance for all kinds of unforeseen issues. Having a wife and young children at home at the time I worried more about them than something happening to me and being able to put my mind at ease allowed me to enjoy the hunt more. Our flight service dropped us and a couple days later, while we were out in the bush, they crashed a Beaver across the inlet which seemed to scare the local flight services in the area. Two caribou hunters were waiting for their flight service to pick them up but after 4 days had passed since their pickup date and no plane they knew they were on their own. They were planning on having to hike out and said they figured 10 days to get back to civilization but when they saw us they spent a day hiking over to us. I loaned them my satellite phone and they got the confirmation that the flight service at Moose Pass fu.cked them over. They were told that the weather was too bad but in the past several days several planes came and went. The flight service got cold feet and were not very accommodating…very rude to them. I called my flight service and within a couple hours those guys got flown out. They were headed directly to Moose Pass to confront the ass holes that left them without concern even though they had paid for the round trip in full.

That simple lesson is enough for me to pony up another couple hundred for the piece of mind that a sat phone brings.

You are rephrasing the article, look again.

It does not say "in the area of the Cloud Peak Wilderness"

It says "in the Cloud Peak Wilderness area".

Guides are required in Wyoming for non-residents in wilderness areas.

I am just taking what the author chose to write literally.

You can twist it out of context if you want, I don't really care.

He coulda rented a SAT phone....

The beyotch could have let him hunt.