Scary thing happened while rabbit hunting tonight!

[AZ8]

Crazy story! Could have easily broke your ankle too apart from being stuck. Happens quick out there.

Reminds me of when I was snowboarding in the late 90s. I ended up falling into a legitimate “chasm” at the base of a huge pine tree. I was at least 12 feet underground and stuck in my boots and bindings attached to the board. Luckily I was able to get loose from my bindings and had really good ski gloves on. I ended up digging my board free and was able to use it as a shovel and build “steps” out of compacted snow to climb out. Boy were my friends relieved when they found me at the lodge a couple hours later. Ski patrol was up on the run looking for me. Could have been bad.

Those tree wells are scary!

 

[JohnB]

"Its easier to not get stuck,than it is to get unstuck". Just read that quote last week and it has been bouncing around in my head for days. Glad to hear you made it out,i go solo a lot and im always thinking about those exact scenarios ( must come with age). This year archery season came across some crevices that ran along a ridge line,big enough to swallow you whole,and some seemed bottomless after tossing a few rocks down

Those are crazy looking. Any chance there are some geologic faults in that area. You should do some internet search to find a geologic map of your hunting area to see if that is the case!

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Those tree wells are scary!

Yes exactly like this only deeper. If I had gone in head first like that guy I wouldn’t be here today. That’s scary!!

 

[Yarak]

Not much snow here in the Deep South but a leaf covered stump hole can mess you up quick like
Glad you’re ok and congrats on the kills

 

[4rcgoat]

Those are crazy looking. Any chance there are some geologic faults in that area. You should do some internet search to find a geologic map of your hunting area to see if that is the case!

Good idea,most of these ran parallel with a ridge line that cliffed out,some were within 20 yards of the cliffs and others were 100 yards away.

 

[Kevin Dill]

I believe most of the very serious predicaments we encounter can begin with "Everything was fine and normal until suddenly......" It pays to prepare mentally for dealing with the unexpected. The very typical things we do can become the very things that get us.

I recall a stream crossing I used in Alaska. For 2 years I waded a section of fairly shallow (mid-calf) but extremely fast whitewater about 10 yards wide. It was never easy due to the force of the water. The third year I noticed the crossing was just a bit rougher looking....bigger waves and maybe a hair deeper. The water was was liquid crystal and icy cold. I got mid-stream and the water was almost to my knees. It took 100% focus and effort to stay upright and make progress. I almost lost it once but finally made the shallows. Once across the stream, I knew it was useless to go on hunting as there was NO way I'd ever try to pack moose meat back across. I rested and then started back.

I made it 1/3 of the way when a boot slipped and the water shoved me a couple precarious steps downstream. I jammed my longbow tip into the stream bed to brace and arrest my movement. I glanced downstream and what I saw filled me with dread. The stream had changed its nature in one year. The channel had deepened dramatically and there was nothing but deep dark churning water. It was smoking-fast and both banks were choked with young alders. I knew if I went down I was going to run that gauntlet which was over 150 yards long and probably not survivable. Scraping-step by scraping-step I found a way through and avoided a fall. I never crossed there again, as a year later that once-wadeable crossing was nothing but a raging torrent of kayak-quality whitewater.

 

[eddielasvegas]

Very glad to hear you are okay and your post is an excellent reminder to always be prepared.

I had a similar experience in Nov. 2020 while elk hunting about 45 mins before dark and a couple hundred yards behind camp. That lesson taught me to always be prepared (ATGATT for you motorcycle riders out there) no matter how "close" or "easy" it may look.


Eddie