How many of you guys and gals hunt alone in big tracts of land. I went yesterday, as I have for years, hunting in the Adirondacks by myself. I found myself "back in" a ways and started to think what if. What if I got hurt, what if I did get lucky and shoot something, I'm all alone and couldn't drag a deer or bear out by myself. I'm 59 years old in pretty good shape ,but my knees are not what they used to be. Just wondering on your thoughts of going it alone in rough country! By the way, in this area there is NO cell phone service, so calling for help is out of the question! Thanks for your input!! :notworthy: ron w
Hunt alone a good portion of the time in the Mountains.
My wife doesn't like it but I have done it for years. Don't usually worry about the "what ifs" but as I get older (58) I try to plan better. I have to give some consideration to where I take an animal and can I get it out by myself.
That is a good question.
For years I have been working and hunting alone in remote areas. I'm 51 and still do it, and hope to continue for some years. But each time I'm asked about it, I wonder more. I'm lucky that almost anywhere I go, I have cell phone service. I leave my location in writing, for my family when I'm hunting. I make sure people at work know where I am. There are also a number of things I do for safety's sake.
Carry a first aid kit. Carry a compass and a GPS. Carry a cell phone.
Beyond taking measures like those, it is s personal choice as to what level of risk you are willing to assume. I see myself in coming years as staying closer to home when I'm alone, and only going "back in" with a buddy.
I am, by nature, a loner in the woods. Here in PA I hunt the big woods alone all the time. When I lived in Montana I hunted alone 99% of the time. It's something you either do and feel comfortable or you don't. In this day and age there's the cell phone thing but I usually don't remember to take it.
At 69 I still hunt large tracks of land alone but I do have cell phone service. I am more into hunting than killing these days but still love the solitute and peacefulness of being deep in the woods.
Rare to have anyone else deep in the woods where I go. Been lost many times day & night. Fell out of a stand once & others fell under me. Always cautious but you never know. Never worried 2 shakes about it. Suits me.
I just returned from a hunting trip to the Upper Peninsula where there are hundreds of miles of wilderness. I prefer hunting alone as it relieves me from being a guide or following a partner's schedule. It means a little more work around camp but it is worth it. Only downside is retrieving killed deer. As I get older, dragging deer gets harder.
I hunt in Pa. and although I don't hunt "Big Woods" like out west I do hunt alone. I carry a cell phone these days and There is service jsut about anywhere I go. If I did have an accident I would have to call one of my buddies who would be familiar with our nicknames for different places we have hunted. I'm 56 and I may give up using the climbing tree stand. The deer population is not what it used to be around here so it's hard to judge if I am seeing as may deer from the ground as from a tree stand. I'm more comfortable on the ground these days and falling from a stand is probably the biggest risk when hunting alone.
I llove hunting alone in the big woods. I don't worry about what ifs much. If you are worried, get a personal emergency locator beacon. Just hit the button and help is on the way.
In these modern times with the portable communication systems that are available, I think that anyone that does not take advantage of it may sometime down the road wish that they had. Satellite phones can be carried where cell service is not available.
We had a discussion in deer camp just recently about the subject. There were 8 men in camp and they were hunting in 8 different directions. One morning one of the guys didn't come in when he was expected. Finely by 1:30 in the afternoon one of the guys went to look for him. He had decided to sit long that morning and had told the person that dropped him off of his intent. The person wasn't paying attention and didn't hear him say that so no one knew he had planned to stay out longer. He was hunting from a tree stand and when he didn't come in we were concerned he might have fallen from his stand.
I called his cell and it rang in the cabin. The guy who went out to check on him sent me a text message that he found him and he was OK.
We talked in camp later that day and I suggested that everyone should carry their cell phone so this wouldn't happen again. A couple of the guys didn't like the idea of having to carrying a phone. I told them it was as much for all of us for peace of mind as for themselves. Phones can be set on vibrate so loud rings wont alert game. Text messages can also be sent. It just makes sense to me when you have the ability to communicate, why not use it.
I still hunt alone in the elk mountains most of the time. Doesn't bother me too bad, but like Pat said, you do need to plan for certain things.
Not that you are not carful in general, but I try to be extra careful when alone. I like the solitude and the not having to worry about anything else but hunting.
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I do it all the time. Many miles into the wilderness. No cell service here either. The only thing I'm afraid of are the grizzly bears. But, if I die, I die doing something I love.
ALWAYS ALWAYS! Leave your plans (including a map) with a loved one or friend. Let them know when to expect you back. Don't deviate from your plan. If it's possible that you won't be where you said you would originally be, then you better include that info too. Consider getting some good two way radios and give them one of them. Take everything you need to help you be found, or don't go! All boy scouts know these rules. Take back-up. Extra water or a way to purify it, sharp knife, batteries, cordage, compass, a way to make fire, more than one way to signal for help (mirror, whistle, flares, large bright ground cloth, etc). Use your head. Be aware of everything around you. Listen to your inner voice if it says "This is a bad idea".
I've done it plenty of times and I'm sure I will again. But it is something that crosses my mind now and then. There have been times where I have avoided going into places because I didn't think I could get an animal out. And I've been extra cautious and think through things carefully. But stuff can still happen.
I've been thinking about looking into one of those "SPOT" locator beacon things. With as much time as I like to spend hunting alone it might just be a good investment for peace of mind if nothing else.
I understand the thought of "if I die at least I'll die happy", and have had that same thought myself. But then again, if carrying a piece of technology could prevent you from dieing, that isn't all bad.
QuoteOriginally posted by Ragnarok Forge:
I llove hunting alone in the big woods. I don't worry about what ifs much. If you are worried, get a personal emergency locator beacon. Just hit the button and help is on the way.
I second the above. :thumbsup: Where I bowhunt and if there is no cell phone service, I worry more about stepping on an unseen rattlesnake.
When I asked this question I wasn't concerned about dieing in the woods....lol. :biglaugh: I always leave a map and or a note of my location with my wife. I was more interested about getting yourself and or game out of the woods if you got hurt and if you shot something. Being retired it's hard to have someone to hunt with because they have to work or in my case a lot of them have quit hunting.....I'm not ready to quit just yet...lol! It's also hard to get guys to hunt where the deer populations are low, where I hunt very low. Hunting alone is a wonderful thing and I truly don't want to stop.
as Tom said.. i have laminated topo maps of my hunt area and will circle in dry erase marker where i will be. I will either leave it with my wife of in my vehicle. carry a whistle, good map, and compass.and a first aid kit. i almost always hunt alone and in very large tracks of woods, usually with no cell service, sometimes camping up to a week at a time to me its a big part of the over all adventure and using woodsmanship skills...the buck in my avatar was killed in a wilderness area, several miles from any kind of a road
I live in a relatively isolated area, so besides a few visits south years ago, I have always hunted big woods/wilderness areas.
The outdoors is my life and I would say that I am alone in the bush about 1/3 of the time for periods of up to a month at a time.
You learn to do things more carefully and deliberately when you're on your own.
I did it for years.... I just make sure to have emergency gear.... I tell ppl where Im going.... I never had a problem.... I also carry a cell with me if needed.
Not as big as I used to, but I can walk out of cell phone range easily still in the valleys. The woods behind my house are about five square miles without roads or structures. Big enough to get in some trouble. There are a few state or Federal forests nearby where it's pretty easy to disappear and I used to go there alone. Still, it's pretty much a given that if you walk straight for two hours you will hit a road of some type.
I hunt alone alot , we that my wife bought a gps and when I get to the trial head I text gps locator to her and to my dad and every 2 or 3 days I walk up to the top a text . I'm 42 and in ok shape , I just don't fine poeple who willing to pack in are to hunt as I do ? My boys go with me once in a blue moon . This is what I do
This is something I think about all the time and it is the topic of many sober discussions at 4 a.m. with my wife over coffee.
I have always bowhunted alone and since moving here from Illinois in 1981, I have hunted alone on remote tracks of public land, and I have always accepted that it is inherently dangerous. I have had several close calls over the years.
I'm 53 and I'm in the best shape I've been since high school. Still, you can die from a broken ankle out here and the way I hunt, lots of running and jumping and stuff, often under the influence of adrenalin, that can border on the plain nuts. But I am hyper careful when I do stuff like that. And most of the time I move like a banana slug.
I try to take reasonable precautions. I carry a cell phone and a good first aid kit, and I know how to plug leaks and splint things. But yeah, I know what a broadhead can do and I know if I take one in my femoral artery, I have just about enough time for a very frank conversation with the Man Upstairs.
To me it is an acceptable risk based on the depth of my passion. It's the same reason I let my tomcat out at night. He's going to get caught by a coyote one night, but it's what he is. I can't deny him that. And that's why my wife puts up with it from me, I guess.
I have had those feelings also ron. I always leave a map with the general location circled with my wife. We dont have grizzlys but do have rattlesnakes, copperheads and water moccasins that are out in early fall. Cell phones dont get out anywhere in the big woods I hunt. I do it cause I love it and I bet you do too. I may invest in one of them beacon things. If I got snake bit it would be over. I never go so far as to not be able to get my game out.
Thanks for the thoughts and input. Just to clarify, I'm hunting in the Adirondacks and some of it is a Wilderness area. You can get 8-10 miles off the road if you got on a track in the snow and were not paying attention. I have not done that in a long time, at least not during bow season. But yesterday as I was eating my lunch on top of mountain I started to think about some of this stuff and I thought I would pick your minds.......Thanks
I hunt alone much more than I do with someone else. I don't go as far or hard as I used to (i'm 64), but I still hunt a lot of remote country. I do carry a Personal Locator Beacon nowadays if I am back in the weeds, because there is no cell service. When I am elk hunting (or stream fishing, for that matter), and see another person, it is getting too crowded for me.
Mr. ron w,
Majority of my hunting is done alone. I always mark on the map the area where I will be, which is left with my wife. Most of the time no cell service so I carry a SPOT which works well in the areas I hunt. Allows me to send an "OK" msg each day and provides my location.
Additionally, I use our Alaskan Mule to get to the area I will be camping/hunting and then roam about on foot until an animal is down. I especially take care to only shoot a spike/fork horn Moose as anything larger is too big to handle by myself. (Caribou are not a problem, so far.) Plus, will only bring one down in an area where the Mule can be brought right up alongside the animal to aid in the field dressing/loading/packing out. Am too old (combined with health issues) to be backpacking the meat any distance.
Yes, it does limit my options but at least I can still get out and that is a heck of a lot better than sitting at home.
Not ready to take up the rocking chair just yet, though that day is on the horizon.
Best Wishes
I like many also hunt alone, Mt. Goat, Grizzly, Moose, and 99% of the time no cell, radio and many times no sat service. My wife begs me to take a shotgun with me, and on the rare occasion I do but 95% of that time it stays in the truck. I do carry a spot which sometimes works and sometimes does not. Hunting with friends is special but hunting alone is something very different....it's my church. I try not to think about the what ifs and take some measures : Tell someone where I'm going, SPOT, bear spay or 2, first aid kid and a big knife.
Hey coyotes got to eat too ya know :wavey:
I have done it some when I could not get anyone to go with me but I always carried an aviation radio in my pack. Figured I could raise and airplane on the emergency frequency and get help in. I would either do that, rent a satellite phone or buy one of those SPOT devices that you can punch a button and it sends help.
The coyotes are doing just fine......... :goldtooth: They don't need my help!!
Well Ron, Back in the day.....
I hunted everything between Indian Lake, and Old Forge. I had a rifle, shells, a knife, a compass, and a fire kit. I never gave it a second thought back then...
(I still don't!!!)
i'm to stupid to think a head like that!!! if i was retired i would be right there with ya! even the small hike up the mountain makes me think, if i got a deer where i have been sitting i'm in for a LONG day and it pales in comparison to the depth and area you hunt in!
There is only so much you can do, when your number is up, your number is up. I hope mine comes up when in the deep woods or windsurfing Lake Michigan on a really big day. Dave
Woodchucker.....I used to go with a knife, rope, an apple and a sandwich stuffed in my shirt, compass and some matches.....that was a long time ago! I also wasn't 59, with knees that have been operated on 3 times! I guess "to old to quick,to smart to late" :biglaugh: !!!!
Where I hunt is the croatan which in the area I hunt is considerered one of two wilderness areas in NC - huge piece of land but not as lage as most of what is out west. I think though that considering the flat featureless, thicker than Cambodia woods it is amazing more folks do not disappear out there.
Never stressed and I a usually alone - I have hunted these pieves all my life and know them well - also know there are pieces not to go into! seriously I consider them the Bermuda traingles of woods - GPS does not seem to work in there, and compasses get throwed into fits.
Carry ways to makefire and a smallish piece of tarp, first aid to include a CAT, and quick clot (Bhunter play with sharo things) as well as we all parachute chord. Just in case
I think society in general will eventually demand that everyone wear a helmet and bubble wrap. For me the element of danger is part of the attraction to the outdoors.
I am going to add a small packable tarp to my pack though. Would make a tracking job that turns into an all nighter a bit more comfortable.
Rob
We hunt not only big woods, but seriously steep mountains. We have a base camp that everyone heads out in separate directions. Most of my hunting party prefers hunting alone, as i do.... we just let someone know what drainage we are hunting before heading out.... nobody worries until someone doesn't show up over night. you don't go out looking for someone at night in these mountains. they are either prepared to spend the night in the woods, or are prepared to meet their maker.
We loose a guy every couple years down in those mountains on the Oregon coast. Not in our hunting party, but guys that are not prepared....
i never go out on even a short hunt without a full day pack. it's so easy to get turned around and not make it out before it gets dark. i never go hunting without my pack that has a two day food supply, first aid kit, lantern, pack stove, water filter... the whole works. yup.... it weighs about 20-25 pounds too, and i get razzed about it constantly....
but I've spent a few nights out there stuck on the side of a cliff in the pouring rain before. and that stuff comes in handy.
I'm too old to pack in many miles any more. but i still hunt the big woods solo every year.
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With the price of a good Personal Locator Beacon nowadays it should not be a problem to carry one in the woods.
Not only could it save your life but lives of others that come looking for you.
Jim Elliot was a missionary in Equador who was killed by natives in the wilderness. A quote from him is one of my favorties and has changed the way I live my life: "When it comes time to die, make sure all you have to do is die."
For me, its not a big worry. Sure, I tell my wife generally where I am heading. I go placing my faith in the Lord and let the chips fall where they may.
Not trying to portray a toughness, just saying that I am comfortable with going to remote places alone because of my faith and my relationships with loved ones.
When I camp and hunt the "big woods" I always have in camp a kids plastic snow sled. You know, one of the long narrow ones. Cheap plastic, it slides on everything and makes a drag out of a rough place easier.
I glad to see there are a lot of folks that are out there not just hunting in the local woodlot, Although they are most likely seeing more deer....lol! :biglaugh: When you have such good access to large tracts of public land, it just seems like it's easy to hunt there. To bad it's not always productive.....but still kinda neat!
I couldn't have said it better myself, Ron!!!!! :bigsmyl:
Ron, your no daisy :bigsmyl:
Hi Woodchucker,
The Cedar River to the Moose River Plains have been a big part of my home turf for a long time too. Beautiful country that is more suited to black bear these days. Carrying a stick and a string in those parts sure makes a guy feel small :-)
I do it all the time. I'm 55.
I do it all the time. I'm 55.
I didn't read all the posts, but up here, as soon as we are in the bush, there is no cell phone coverage... That said I do carry a Spot(findmespot), and it is realy a great little device( sat phone are a little finiky up here!) It as all ways worked fo me and will never live with out it!
It is not a mather of age, but a mather of caring for the people around you that want you back hime safe!
Look into it, I realy think it is a great piece of gear!
Sometimes it is the lack of a safety net that makes me feel more alive. I don't take silly chances though when out there because I care about my family. I carry an emergency sleeping bag, lighter or two, extra food and light shelter. I don't carry a phone to the mountains.
In our camps we don't worry about someone till the next day because they may have just decided to spend the night on a nice ridge top.
Btw I am 52, a husband, father and Grandfather.
LOL wow I thought I was old :) You guys give me great hope. Being new to the hungting game, I thought I had little time to work out the kinks and have been hitting it very hard. Compass at all times, and I am VERY mindful of my surroundings. Leave a return time and hike plan with my wife and the times I have gone in deeper I have left a hike plan with my hunting mentor who is very familiar with the area I hunted. I still have not gotten my first public land trad kill, but I think of pretty much all these things that have been mentioned. I am not even 40 yet, and hope I have lots of years left of hunting. Lots of milestones to get to in the hunting world for me and I love my new found hobby.
Do it all the time.But now I stay close to the truck 1-2 miles from it.56 and bad knees.
When I asked about this when I started this post I never thought I would get this much response....pretty cool. I have hunted the area I hunt since 1971, also other areas in the Adirondacks. The Siamese Ponds Wilderness area is a vast piece of woods something like 15 miles X 30 Miles. No roads just a few trails [foot or horseback only] and just a lot of rugged country. I don't go as far as I did but I still want to feel that feeling of being out there! Thanks for the good response! ron w
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No cell reception, no roads, no trails where we hunt. Most places we hunt, it's by boat. I haven't gone out by myself up here in AK. Part of the reason is my brother is my hunting buddy here.
Even if we're out for just a day trip, we pack to survive for a few days. Taking the boat out is tricky...weather turns bad out here quick and if the wind is howling, we have to hunker down until it passes. We found out a couple weekends ago that the 19' jet boat doesn't like 8' seas.
We also carry a ResQLink EPIRB whenever we go out. But the point is to not be a search and rescue case...that's why we hunt in pairs. One is always there for the other to prevent stupid mistakes. Out here, a single mistake could mean never coming home again to the family.
Mo Bow.....Just beautiful, there's Alaska and then there's everything else!
My Dad is my main hunting partner and we will usually always text each other where we are planning on hunting, or I'll let my wife know about where I'll be and about when I'll be back.
When me and a buddy went elk hunting in Colorado we had a "SPOT" device with us. It automatically sent an email each evening to our wives to let them know we were o.k. My buddy took care of all of that so I don't know exactly how all that works but it was nice to have the peace of mind that our family wouldn't be worried about us.
My thoughts:
Thank God we still have enough hunting land to call "Remote"
I've hunted alone for 50 years....but pretty hard to get "Remote" in Indiana...........I do remember a time in Wyoming...........
Man, some of the pictures you guys are posting the scenery is just breath taking!! Sure beats my swamps and flat terrain lol I might want to intentionally get lost in some of your lands as the beauty is very alluring!
Ron, I hunt so far back in the Adirondacks that the deer run right up to me their just happy to see someone! LOL, I"m 56 & think about it all the time however, I still do it because it's in my soul, & I'm sure you & everyone else who hunts this way can relate.
I almost always go alone. I am 57. My hunting partner got bad knees and quit on me a few years ago. (We still go fishing) It is hard to find another old fart to go with, but I keep looking. Meanwhile, it is hunting season right now!
Just like MO Bow said, usually cell phone reception is not there when you go out here in SE Alaska; too many mountains in the way of too few cell towers. I too carry an EPIRB, and try to be careful. I discuss where I will be and when I will come back, and what might change my plans, what I would do as an alternative.
On the other hand, it does bear consideration that staying at home where it is "safe" does not mean you live forever. I have attended too many funerals by now to have any illusions about how this all turns out. Carpe diem starts to have real meaning as you get older.
Those of you that hunt remote like Ron W how do you get your gear back in there with you? I've thought about getting one of those two handled, wheeled cart/deer carriers.
My health is such I can no longer carry much on my back nor drag a deer very far so was thinking about those deer carts. Recently purchased a second home in N. WI where there is lots of Public land that one can get far from the roads-way back in so to speak. Guess one would need a trail to use those carts or on two track roads behind locked gates.
Kelly,
Actualy, This is not really "camp" hunting...
It's more like choose your gear wisely, travel light, and let your feet do the walking.....
There's really not much "gear" that we take in. Bow, arrows, knife, compass, firekit, maybe some food. Choose your clothing wisely, probly wool and if you want something for extra cover in sudden bad weather, a military poncho is light and hard to beat. Practice making a fire,under the WORST conditions untill you KNOW you can build a fire if you need to!!! The rest is knowledge. Where to look for cover, how to get out of the wind, purify water, etc. The most important piece of "gear" is your mind!!! The more knowledgable and proffitiant you get with your woods skills, the more confident you will become way back, off the beaten track!!!!!
I have used one of the carts.....now days I just try to go light and use a day pack. I have tried this year to use just a back quiver with a pocket. Lunch, water, and just the basics. Mostly day trips and if I want I have the ability to stay at a camp that I have belonged to for a long time right on the edge of the wilderness area I hunt! The bad think about the carts is you need a decent trail to make it practical!
Was mainly talking about those carts for getting game out?
Are you allowed to bone out your deer to take out of the woods in NY? In WI you can't do anything, other than gutting, till after it is registered which has to be done at certain facilities which are a long ways from the back country.
You can bone out in New York, but you must keep proof of sex, and tag the animal. I have started to carry a light pack frame [Plastic Coleman Peak} To pack meat if I ever get lucky......LOL!
There was a time when I packed elk quarters on my back for several miles but those days are long gone. Doubt whether I could pack even 30-40# for very far, now due to physical and health issues. Guess I'll try one of those carts and stay close to backwoods trails and closed gate two tracts. Lots of closed off old logging roads to utilize, too. If I want to bowhunt the backwoods will have to find a way to get the deer out.
QuoteOriginally posted by ron w:
How many of you guys and gals hunt alone in big tracts of land...
...started to think what if. What if I got hurt, what if I did get lucky and shoot something, I'm all alone and couldn't drag a deer or bear out by myself.
...in this area there is NO cell phone service, so calling for help is out of the question! ron w
I ask myself these questions too. I hunt alone most of the time in wilderness areas, sometimes in very rugged terrain, so I understand the thought process.
I try to be very careful without being afraid. I am aware a fall is one of the biggest concerns- broken limb or punctured lung- but in being careful its also important not to be timid.
I now choose to sometimes go around something that could be an issue if I fell, rather than just going through or over it- especially if I am tired, its at night, or I am otherwise compromised.
But s--- happens, and its best to plan on it happening to you(us), at some point. Prepare for that accident so it won't morph into a tragedy.
Joshua
Hi I go it alone most of the time and have the past 20 years. (61 now) I hunt a huge piece of national forest at 10500 feet. I do wonder at the wisdom of it but really would have it no other way.
I've had to learn how to bone out animals and I got a game cart to get animals out that works great. This year I got an elk out by my self.
I'll continue as long as I can.
well my take. First i agree that we should take advantage of technology forthe piece of mind for our spouses and friends as well as ourselves. Second, we hunt because the vast majoity on here it is in there blood! we have that passion not oly for th pursuit of the animal, but for the land/wilderness which raises are pulse, at same time lifts our spirits and lightens our burdens for a moment. third, tell someone were u are to be and time out, and what t do if u dont come back (this is a subject in itself). fourth, be careful! all the cell phones/satcom cannt help u if you cannt reach them or cannt talk.
hunting alone is a great way the get some real peace of mind. I get a little concerned about safty. but the risk is sooo worth it. I have a wife an to kids an work hard. 1week alone is a good way to regroup my goals an to thank god for my life. I am a very lucky man.it is the only time I truly do what I want when I want.hunting is the greatest sport in the world.
There has been a lot of good thoughts on this post....I want to thank everyone for their input. It's good to know that I'm not alone in wanting to get away from crowds even though I can't go like I used to. My old knees just can't take it like they used too....lol! Thanks again.. :notworthy: ron w
I bought one of those game carts but have still been dragging my deer out. It seems liek I always forget to put it in the truck when I go. Of course you only see deer when you are un-prepared. I think it would work good for the type of country I'm hunting though, as long as the ground isn't real wet.
I am 53 and have had a hip replacement for 5 years. I still hunt solo at times and enjoy it. I take precautions and try to think more than I used to. I also plan ahead for game removal. I go slower. I use a GPS mostly so I can leave game out even in uniform looking woods and still find it. I have fire making gear and emergency shelter with no matter how far I go.
My only major mishap was when I was 17!-I fell 100 ft into the Clackamus River in Oregon-solo! I was found and rescued. fractured skull, dislocated thumbs, 56 stitches in my scalp(good thing I fell on my head!) So age is not necessarliy more dangerous than youth. I trust in the Lord's care in life or death.
Game removal here in Wyoming is tough at times, but there are ways to hire, beg, ask for help.
Do what you are comfortable with.
I hunt more with friends than I used to, but realize that I rarely make a kill unless I am alone. I also worry less about making a kill than I used to. I have thought about a SPOT but not convinced I need one yet.
Statistics indicate that few are lost for long.
Interesting Post Ron W.
I do a lo of fishing and hunting solo and check in with the wife via cell phone when I get back to the truck. Most of my hunting friends can't sit more than a few hours and need to go back to camp.
On days/nights when I'm in the woods overnight, I leave a map and location of where I'll be.
If on the water when it's under 50 degrees I always check-in with the wife if I have cell phone coverage.
The older I get the more I think about what ifs and try to be more careful. The thing I think about the most is if I have a heart attack packing something out.
If I blow a knee, or throw out my back I'll make it out eventually...
If I was going to very remote area I would get a spot or rent a satelite phone.
Hunting alone in the big woods -
What else is there?