The recent rescue of Fremont residents Ryan Barrett and Viola Liu from the Bear Creek Campground area in the Mendocino National Forest is a graphic example of how dangerous the backcountry can be during the winter.
The couple had ventured in the national forest to see the snow. The problem is they were riding in a two-wheel drive pickup truck and once they crossed the Rice Fork of the Eel River near the Bear Creek Campground and tried to return, they found the stream had risen and they couldn”t cross. They ended up spending seven days in an abandoned cabin near the campground before being rescued by a helicopter hired by their family.
Like many others before them, they weren”t familiar with the territory and could have easily died from exposure. I have hunted in that same area for more than 40 years and have spent countless days camping at the Bear Creek Campground. This is one area where a cell phone is useless and it”s rarely visited by anyone during the winter months, and that includes the U.S. Forest Service rangers. It”s not the first time people have been rescued from this area during the winter. A few years ago a couple”s car broke down on the Lower Nye Road and they were stranded for several days before help arrived.
When a person is lost in the national forest and no one knows what area they”re in, just locating them is a huge task. There are literally hundreds of back roads where a person could just disappear.
It”s important always let someone know where you”re going and when you plan to return. Give a complete description of your vehicle. Also carry plenty of warm clothes, blankets or sleeping bags, matches, a flashlight and some type of fire starter. Also carry enough emergency rations to last you for several days. Don”t travel on roads that you aren”t familiar with. It”s surprising the number of people who get stuck while attempting to turn around on a muddy or snowy road. You should always stay near your vehicle. Not only will it offer shelter, but search aircraft can also see it.
The same weekend the couple was rescued from the national forest, a pair of duck hunters had to be rescued from Humboldt Bay near Eureka. Their small duck boat was loaded with decoys, hunting gear and a Labrador retriever and capsized just before daylight, tossing the hunters into the freezing water. One hunter wasn”t wearing a life vest and was unconscious when the Coast Guard rescue team found them. Luckily they survived.
I found myself in a similar predicament more than 30 years ago when a party involving myself and two other duck hunters went down and had to be rescued after spending more than eight hours in the frigid water
The accident occurred in the flooded Yolo Bypass near Sacramento. The bypass had flooded because of heavy rains and was loaded with ducks and geese. We decided to take my friend”s 16-foot aluminum boat and go duck hunting. In addition to the three hunters we had several dozen decoys and a Labrador retriever. We launched the boat at daylight and were headed to an island two miles away. The water was calm with a fast current and the air temperature was just above freezing. Halfway to the island a strong north wind suddenly came up and there were white caps on the water. We knew that we could never reach the island and decided to change course and head for a row of trees. As we neared the trees, a massive wave washed over the boat tossing us all in the water. Foolishly we weren”t wearing life vests and in fact had on hip boots. In a matter of seconds the boat was gone and we were struggling in the water. Luckily we managed to swim to a pair of trees and climbed up high enough to be just out of the water.
By then the wind was roaring and not another boat was in sight. We clung to the trees and yelled for help. After more than six hours, a boat with another hunter appeared. The hunter attempted to rescue one of my hunting companions, but a wave also swamped his boat. He ended swimming nearly a mile to an island where he flagged down another boat, which eventually rescued us. That particular day two other hunters drowned in the flooded bypass. We were extremely lucky.
The lesson in all this is that our lakes and forests are beautiful places to visit and enjoy but they are also like a monster just waiting for us to make a mistake. When we finally do we can easily become just another statistic.
