Lost
 

Henry was enjoying the best day of Grouse hunting he could remember. Rudy his 11yr old German Shorthair was on his game pointing and retreiving more Grouse than Henry could remember to count. The game bag had a comfortable feel in the small of his back what with the three birds in it.

It was late afternoon and Henry thought,enough is enough, "we have three wonderfull birds and have enjoyed the splendors of the wilderness" Rudy "lets head for the truck".

In late October afternoon can quickly turn to night especially on a cold cloudy day such as this one. Henry took a GPS reading to his pickup which told him it was 6.8 miles away in a Southwest direction. This wasn't of a big concern as he had a direction and a compass so the duo pressed on. The afternoon was gobbled up by darkness faster than realized as the man and his dog pushed through a big popple stand. He thought that if he went through this cut it would take him to the logging road and to the truck...piece of cake. After an hour of pushing popple Henry came to realize he was lost. Not just on the back forty or a one mile section of land surrounded on four sides by roads no he was lost in a National Forrest with thousands of acers.

With each step and every branch that slapped him in the face or tripped him up the knot in his stomach grew, fear gave into panic and unrational decisions followed. Am I going in the wrong direction, I need to go back the other way, no one will find me and Rudy and we will die here were thoughts that raced through his mind. He sat on a log and collected himself and gained some composure and thought of how he got to where he was.

The main county road ran north and south, he turned west on the Meredith Grade Rd and drove for several miles then headed north on Wilson Truck Trail to the big Aspen cut on the west side down a logging road about two miles. He was north of the Yellow Dog River and South of Gold Mine Lake. The fact that he had narrowed down his location to a couple of hundred acres helped to calm his nerves and if worse came to worse he had the Grouse to cook and thanks to the lighter in his pocket the ability to make a fire for both warmth and food. He though "I'm glad I didn't give up smoking", these woods might kill me but ciggaretts won't.

Rudy walked at heel not from a command or training it was due to fatigue and hunger. It was a long time ago that he and Henry shared a cold sandwhich and an Apple. Rudy's last dog treat was several hours ago and was washed down with the last of the water. With the light from the GPS they headed southwest and with each step,stumble and trip were hopefully getting closer to their truck. After what seemed like an eternity they stumbled onto a logging trail, hope soared as now there was some easy walking. It was also time for a decision in which way to go. This gave Henry some cause for concern and he had to think about this for a while. He made a decision and moved forward and after a short distance came to a two track logging road and it was time for another decision. Was this the logging road he and Rudy walked down so many hours befor or was this just one of many that ran along and through the Aspen cut? His GPS still said southwest so they went in that general direction the best they could.

In the still of the night he heard things that were foreign to him, the night sounds of the woods it turned out wern't so peacefull afterall. The mournfull cry of a Wolf pierced the night air just to let him know he wasn't alone. There were familiar sounds as well, the tinkle of Rudy's bell, the rumble in both of their stomachs, the hoot of an Owl. It was during a rest stop to reassure Rudy and himself that they would be ok and the truck wasn't far away and there was a cool drink and food waiting for them that he heard what sounded like a motor. Was this possible? Who would be driving out here at 9pm? It's a trick of the mind he told himself and preceded down the road. Then he heard it again this time lights shined on the trees as a pick up rounded the corner and came towards them.

The truck pulled up alongside them and a bearded man asked "you lost eh?". Henry was so tired and thankfull to be actually talking to a living person in this wilderness that he could only mutter "yes sir". "Is that your truck with the dog box in it parked off the side of the road"? Once again the reply was a simple "yes sir". Well your truck is three miles away the Yooper said but you might as well hop in cause there is a Beaver dam between here and there.

The light of the cab revealed a worn 30-30 and a spot light. It didn't take a genius to know what the Yooper was doing out there but Henry didn't say anything, he was rescued and so was Rudy. "would you like a beer"? asked Henry's savior and once again the reply was a simple "yes sir" and a big "thank you".

Great story, wish there were more to the tale, found myself in Henrys shoes, for a minute, Gary

Chapter two...just because

After about 45 muinetes and two beers the taillights of Henry's Ford gleamened in the reflection of his saviors headlights. He offered his new friend a beer and they shared another on the tailgate of Henry's truck but not untill Rudy had a good drink and some food, afterwards he curled up on Henry's coat in the front seat and fell asleep to dream of points past and future.

Henry got the lay of the land from the Yooper. Seems he missed the trail on his way out and that was the begining of his troubles. The indiscriminate two track made a big circle around the cut which was several miles in diameter and Henry would have walked in circles had he followed that. The beaver dam also would have caused some trauma as well as it cuts off a part of the road as the beaver had flooded it out this spring. The yooper told him of the location of an older cut near where he had parked and drew him a crude map of the area. Seems there is some Multi Flora Rose and Autum olive growing there and the birds flock to the Autum Olive like a crack head to Cocaine.

It was crowding 11pm when the two bid farwell on a dark two track in the middle of nowhere, the seasoned woodsman and the rookie two unlikely companions but both hunters and both heading for the comfort of camp.
Henry took a couple of minetes and put some heat into his truck as the frost was taking hold of the country and he once again gave a silent thank you to both the Yooper and to God for sending him to Henry. It would have been a cold night in the woods or at the least a much longer walk.

Henry rid himself of the three beers befor climbing into his cab and Rudy just let out a moan of contentment. He was happy to have a full belly and warm place to curl up and sleep the sleep only a bird dog can. As he bounced ever so slowly along the two track his headlights caught a nice buck standing in the road not moving. It was a Deer in the headlights moment and the big buck was magnificent in the beam of light. As the buck bounded away Henry was glad he saw him and not the Yooper as the buck would make a worthy wilderness trophy should some lucky deer hunter venture this far back into the woods in a few weeks.

Yes, sometimes the trees get a little thick, but just step around them to see a road or a farmhouse.

Bruce; Thats not trees thats bushes. Gerald

Thanks Rich.
Great story. We have all been there.....and by the great description, I'll bet you have too!
Your friend, Steve Kleist Ely, MN

This is why I carry a compass. I can usually keep the windmill at right in sight, but if I get below the level of the hill, I may need the compass to keep on course. Or walk up the hill.

Heavy grouse cover:

we need a third chapter to this storey..the first two were great...charlie

A game warden and a D.U.I gotta come in chapter three...Great story Rich..