Re: Stuck in snow storm at Redfern - Need urgent help
Originally Posted by
champs
Plenty of wisdom to be garnered through this. First ensure that your wife does not use the words "urgent help needed" on this site when all you want to know is an answer to a simple question. That question was this: how far down redfern lake trail is the outfitter camp located and if it actually exists.
Now I am the husband (champs) who was stuck, cold and wet on the trail. But I can assure you all an SOS was not required.
Here's the story for any of you that care. Critique how you may like, I'm ok with learning.
We entered redfern knowing heavy precip was forecasted, along with 1-3 cm of snow. We experienced closer to 30cm of snow. We spent 36 hours in the tent waiting out the storm, a known potential problem for those of us in the back country. We decided to leave after the storm finished. For those unfamiliar with redfern it is basically a quad trail, many km through alders. We were in 20 km. As people have said already snowfall before leaves fall brings down many trees and basically make roads impassable. We had what I figured would be 8km of work before the road would be at a slightly lower elevation (thus less snow), and wider thus less impacted by alders laying down. The number of downed trees was much greater than I expected. After running out of gas, 5 hours into the job, I had covered almost 4km. I then switched to my axe and hand saw with which I was slower (shocker). At that point I wondered hmmm, where is that outfitter camp?
Of course I missed the fact that the camp would have to be further down the trail from where I was which was obviously as impassable as what I was dealing with (haha .... Fool). And that's when you all saw the "urgent need for help". Sorry for the drama. It was not an SOS scenario or an unprepared fool (well not totally I think). At all times I had food, tent, sleeping bag and clothes in waterproof bags available for use. At any time I could have built a fire and hunkered down and been dry. I just didn't want to after the 36 hour tent stay already.
As far as hiking out 15 km, it's not an unusual thing for my son and I to do. Last year we hiked into redfern... This year we chose the sxs. In the end another hunter was traveling up the trail clearing from below what I had given up on clearing from above. My son and I hiked 1.5 km down the trail, met them coming up and then of course returned to our sxs and continued down. In addition, there were other parties dealing with exiting redfern from much deeper than I was who passed my stationary sxs as I hiked. I knew other parties had to be around dealing with the same issues. It was a long day reaching the truck around 10 pm.
Anyhow that's the story.
As for seeing game, I did call in a black bear, only for it to show up once I had given up and decided to take care of the morning constitutional. 15 yards apart the bear was safe as I held the TP.
A lot of melodrama for sure. Wives can be that way.
A question if you will.
Would a machete have been any use to you? I carry one on my quad at all times, along with a medium size axe, folding saw and a hatchet. I have a large atv box that stores lots except the kitchen sink.
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