sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
Have you ever been in a survival situation? Tell us the story (it must be true, no embellishing)
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Tell us your best survival story
- Thread starter sixstringsteve
- Start date
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
The closest thing I can think of didn't involve me, but I was there. We were boy scouts, and we went on a cross country hiking trip (no trail, just a map and a desired destination) in the Sierra Nevadas. We had two leaders and about 6 boys. My father was the scoutmaster. We hiked in to a river and fished all night long. We probably caught 50 fish that evening.
The next day, we played in the water. There were little pools a few feet deep that collected water. It was a hot day and the icy cold water felt great. We were pretty cautious and the flow was pretty mellow. One of our leaders, McKay, had those old school voit water shoes, and he felt pretty invincible with them. He was running all over the rocks... until he slipped and hit his head, right above the eyebrow, on a granite rock. Since head wounds bleed a lot, and his body was wet, by the time he stood up, the blood had mixed with the water and his entire chest and legs were covered with bloody water (which looked like blood). All the boys freaked out and he hobbled back to shore.
After a quick prayer and a blessing, we realized we had to cut our trip short and get McKay out of there. He was loosing a fair amount of blood, and had a gash about an inch long above his eye. It was one of those meat puppet gashes. I'm pretty sure he had a concussion too, because he just wanted to sleep and he was pretty out of it. We had to do something, but none of us were medics. My dad took out his sewing kit and tackle box, and decided it'd be best to sew McKay's eyebrow shut with fishing line. I think we had a single advil for him to take. He was pretty tough. My dad sewed him up and one of the boys carried mckay's pack while someone else carried two packs. We had a boy on each side of McKay to steady him as we made the 8 mile trek back to the suburban.
Long story short, McKay made it. His dad was a surgeon, and he was impressed with how well the suture went. Three months later, you couldn't even see a scar. I know it's not the most life-threatening story, but it sure felt like it at the time.
The next day, we played in the water. There were little pools a few feet deep that collected water. It was a hot day and the icy cold water felt great. We were pretty cautious and the flow was pretty mellow. One of our leaders, McKay, had those old school voit water shoes, and he felt pretty invincible with them. He was running all over the rocks... until he slipped and hit his head, right above the eyebrow, on a granite rock. Since head wounds bleed a lot, and his body was wet, by the time he stood up, the blood had mixed with the water and his entire chest and legs were covered with bloody water (which looked like blood). All the boys freaked out and he hobbled back to shore.
After a quick prayer and a blessing, we realized we had to cut our trip short and get McKay out of there. He was loosing a fair amount of blood, and had a gash about an inch long above his eye. It was one of those meat puppet gashes. I'm pretty sure he had a concussion too, because he just wanted to sleep and he was pretty out of it. We had to do something, but none of us were medics. My dad took out his sewing kit and tackle box, and decided it'd be best to sew McKay's eyebrow shut with fishing line. I think we had a single advil for him to take. He was pretty tough. My dad sewed him up and one of the boys carried mckay's pack while someone else carried two packs. We had a boy on each side of McKay to steady him as we made the 8 mile trek back to the suburban.
Long story short, McKay made it. His dad was a surgeon, and he was impressed with how well the suture went. Three months later, you couldn't even see a scar. I know it's not the most life-threatening story, but it sure felt like it at the time.
when I was 8 my grandpa took me camping in the desert mountain kind of by Dugway. He pulled up to the campsite(by a spring) and told me to get out. He said, "I will see you in a few days". He left for 3 days and 2 nights. I was there all by myself. I had plenty to drink because I was by a spring, but I had nothing to eat and I froze my butt off for a few nights because of no fire or warm clothes. He came back and said, what do you wish you had with you? I told him a list similar to the ten essentials. He said," will you ever forget them again"? I said, "no". Then he made me drive the jeep honcho home. My first time out by myself, my first time driving a stick shift, and the first time I was taught how important it is to be prepared. This same experience occurred several times over the course of my life with him. I found out later that he climbed the other side of the mountain and watched me the whole time. I didn't know that at the time and it really left an impression.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
Is that a true story? If so, I'll bet that left quite the impression.
JL Rockies
Binders Fulla Expo
- Location
- Draper
I have 2 very true stories.
1 - I was part of a BSA troop that got lost in the mntns with little gear and temps that dropped to -20 F
2 - I was locked in hand to hand combat with a masked man who entered my lean to at night while I slept (also a BSA story).
Which do you want to hear? They will be truthful but modified for security reasons.
1 - I was part of a BSA troop that got lost in the mntns with little gear and temps that dropped to -20 F
2 - I was locked in hand to hand combat with a masked man who entered my lean to at night while I slept (also a BSA story).
Which do you want to hear? They will be truthful but modified for security reasons.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
Medsker
2024 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 392
- Location
- Herriman, UT
That's a great story!
- Location
- The Land Northward (Bountiful), Utah
One night I listened to Tacoma tell me a story about how he punched a puppy, watched Darwin punch fire, watched a man with very curly hair wrestle an angry little person and I escaped a fresh honey and I lived to tell about it.
Absolutely true. My grandpa did not mess around, the toughest man I have ever met. He wasn't one of those never let you know he cares kinda guys either. He was very loving.
muleskinner
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Enoch, UT
Tobyxj
Active Member
- Location
- Price utah
I spent 2 years in avenal state prison. Long two years long
kellerexpress
Active Member
- Location
- Spanish Fork
I almost got trampled by an elephant once on an African safari. True story.
- Location
- Bountiful, land of rocks
Does 17 beers in an under an hour count?
kellerexpress
Active Member
- Location
- Spanish Fork
Lol I think so
Ogre and I were stupid enough to try and catch up to our friends on Cane Creek. We stuck the rig and were even stupider to think we could catch them of foot. A 18 deg F over night stay on the trail, 10 mile hike out, and a ride from a complete stranger back to town and we are alive to tell the tale.
Space blankets suck!
Space blankets suck!
When I was 13 my parents dropped myself and 2 friends off in the Uintahs to do a 3 day backpacking trip. The very first night we found out that we had bought the wrong style fuel bottles, then promptly broke the valve off the one good one. We figured we would cook over fire, but then it started raining....HARD. It rained for the next two days and nights harder than I've ever seen rain like that. Our entire camp ended up under 6-12 inches of water (we tried as hard as we could to direct the water away from the tent, but the tent ended up being a water bed) and the lake we were camped about 100 feet from ended up about 10 feet from us. We only ate the food that we didn't need to cook (ramen, granola bars...hungry but not starving). On the last day we just packed up our completely soaked camp and hiked out. Literally within minutes of us reaching the road, it stopped raining. We sat on the roadside for 8 hours until my parents picked us up.
The only other survival tail has to do with spending 4 hours with Stephen Nielsen in public. Man-alive!
The only other survival tail has to do with spending 4 hours with Stephen Nielsen in public. Man-alive!
Fixed it for you
KWight
Active Member
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
When I was 20 years old I went on a motorcycle ride with a friend in the mountains NE of Phoenix. There was a 4 wheel drive road that lead to a lake. When we got to the lake, I put my feet down and discovered they had dropped the level of the lake by about ten feet. I decided we needed to get out there before our bikes were sucked into the muddy mess. I ended up blowing up my engine due to the high rpm's associated with getting out. It was past dark and my friend's bike did not have a headlight. I parked my bike next to some trees and hopped on the back of his. He fought valiantly through the sandy washes and we missed our turn a few times and got lost. We stopped and prayed for a while then saw a fence next to a dirt road. There was a road that ran along a fence line that lead to our camp so we decided to take it. My friend continued to fight valiantly on the rocky uphill sections until he laid his bike down in a cholla cactus patch. I got three of them in my leg and we decided we were both too tired to continue on. We slept on the road with the clothes we had on and I had dreams of a full sized blazer that was out 4 wheeling on the road. I woke up and sprung to my feet but nothing was there. The next morning we found our way back to camp just as our friends were coming to look for us in my truck. A bolt fell out of the transfer case when I went to retrieve the bike and we had to winch our self out when we got stuck. I was happy to make it home from that trip and learned the importance of carrying a small survival kit when out in the back country areas. I hate to thing of what my state of mind would have been like if I had not received wilderness survival training as a boy scout.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Any survival story that starts out with "Ogre and I were stupid enough..." has to be a winner! He's a good dude!
