Stay Calm and Think

Have you ever been in a situation where you have felt helpless, bewildered and just downright scared? What did you do? How did you get out of it? Have you ever thought about it and figured out what you could do differently the next time to prevent it? I ask these questions because I was in one of those situations many years ago and then made some corrections so as to not duplicate it again. Let me explain.

As I recall, I woke up to a nice cool, crisp morning in Northern Maine. The sun was out and snow had fallen during the night. My day consisted of spending time in the woods with my brother in law, Andre’ in back of St. Francis, Maine hunting for white tail deer. Now, Andre’ was a very accomplished hunter. He had learned the ropes from his father and from other experiences. I remember he picked me up early that morning and we headed for the big woods around 1^st Pelletier Pond. The air was crisp and calm. It was a perfect day for our hunt. We drove to St. Francis, got on the dirt woods road by Chamberlains Store and headed toward the pond. The road still had not been plowed as was the custom there and we were one of the first vehicles to drive over it. We finally arrived at the pond and got ready for the hunt. Andre’ had hunted this area many times and knew it well. I on the other hand had never hunted there and was more interested in getting my bearings right. But being the young know it all, I felt good about what I was about to do and had no qualms with how I was about to do it. I had taken every liberty to dress appropriately and felt warm and comfy as I left the truck. That morning, I had pinned my liquid filled bobber compass on my jacket and was using that as my directional guide. Remember, that was over 30 years ago and they had not yet made GPS’s. I took a bearing, and off into the thick spruce I went. I started with the pond on my left side and headed north. It was not long before I cut a track of what looked like a big buck. I took another look at my compass and that deer was headed northwest through the cedar swamp. Feeling no fear, I headed in the same direction after it. It took me up a mountain and down the other side, then it changed direction on me and circled back in a southerly direction. It’s as if he knew I was there and was going to take me for a nice walk. We did that for what felt like an eternity, with him not stopping and me not giving up on the prize. Eventually, we came to a pond and I noticed that I was on the right side of it. I looked down at my compass and it was stuck. Yes, stuck in one position. It was BROKEN! I had brought another compass, but when I checked my pockets, it was nowhere to be found.

I stopped my pursuit of the whitetail and now my thoughts turned to where I was. I had read a lot about being turned around in the woods, but I had never had the opportunity to be one of those people. They say that landmarks look the same when you feel disoriented and your mind begins to play tricks on you. To that I say, true and true. The pond on my left looked identical to 1^st Pelletier, so all I thought I had to do was walk around it and the truck would be parked on the southern end. So, off I went. I did that for about a half an hour and it finally dawned on me that it was not the same pond, and the truck was nowhere in sight. The snow had been pretty fluffy and deep that day and I began to feel the sweat running down my back, and my clothes were now all wet.  I recall thinking, ok what do I do next?

Part 2 to come!