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This is an interesting story that has several good points on both the failures and success of this unscheduled adventure and tale of survival. I will focus on the positive as the negatives are far outweighed and were minor as any outdoorsman knows this can happen.
Missing hunter survives 18 days in Mendocino National Forest
By TIFFANY REVELLE
Updated: 10/13/2013 12:00:11 AM PDT
Ukiah Daily Journal
A 72-year-old San Francisco man who went missing during a hunting trip in the Mendocino National Forest was found alive and well after surviving 18 days alone in the woods.
Gene Penaflor's family gathered Saturday afternoon at Ukiah Valley Medical Center after learning that a group of hunters had found him earlier that day and carried him out of the woods on a makeshift stretcher to safety.
"He's good," said his youngest son, Jeremy, with a smile. "He's just like he was when I saw him last, except his beard grew."
Since learning last month that Penaflor was missing, his family has been staying in Covelo, the nearest town to the area where Penaflor had been at a hunting camp. The four-day search for Penaflor swelled to include searchers, scent-tracking dogs and equipment from 15 neighboring agencies, according to Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman.
"There were no clues, we had thoroughly searched the area and there was a weather front coming in," said Mendocino County Sheriff's Office detective Andrew Porter of the reasons the search was called off. The weather advisory included snow flurries in the area, which sits at an elevation of 7,000 feet.
Jeremy said he'd seen his dad long enough to hug him Saturday afternoon. The medical staff at UVMC reported Penaflor's vital signs were good, according to Jeremy, but hadn't decided whether to release him yet.
Porter said (#1)Penaflor was "laughing and joking around" and described him as "very upbeat" despite the ordeal, which began Sept. 24 when Penaflor and a hunting partner set off at about 8:30 a.m. from a hunting camp a few miles north of Monkey Rock in the Mendocino National Forest.
They walked into the Yuki Wilderness down two separate ridges, he said -- a technique Penaflor's son Jeremy said his father and hunting partner use to hunt deer.
(#2)The two men had planned to hunt for a couple of hours, meet for lunch and resume the hunt on the west side of Road M1, according to Porter. They normally didn't venture from base more than a quarter-mile to half-mile, but for unknown reasons, Penaflor had walked two and a half miles from camp that day, he said.
The terrain in the area is so difficult to navigate that it's classified as "types one and two," according to Porter. He described it as "very steep, rocky and treacherous," and as being prone to runoffs.
(#3)Penaflor fell and lost consciousness. He woke to find fog surrounding him and a cut on his chin, and, afraid of infection, he opted to stay where he was near a water source for the night, according to Porter.
(#4)That night he built a fire and set up a makeshift shelter of leaves underneath and above him for warmth. He woke to more fog and zero visibility again the next morning, and on Wednesday afternoon, Penaflor saw a helicopter.
(#5)He put damp leaves on his fire to send a smoke signal, but the helicopter's crew didn't see him. Penaflor saw a helicopter the next day, and he tried again to flag it down with the same result, according to Porter.
"I asked him (#6)why he didn't just walk back up the hill, and he said he didn't have enough energy to hike back up," Porter said.
Mendocino County Search and Rescue responded Sept. 25 after an initial misunderstanding about whether Penaflor had gone missing in Lake County or Mendocino County, and the search was called off Sept. 28, according to Porter.
In the days that followed, Penaflor (#7)ate squirrels, lizards, a snake, berries and algae he knew to be safe. He saw deer but didn't shoot them because he lacked the energy to do so, according to Porter.
"(#8)He knew at some point he was going to die, but he figured he'd last as long as he could," Porter said.
And survive (#9) Penaflor did, conserving what food he could kill and cook, keeping his nighttime fire's embers hot under leaves during the day, conserving bullets and staying hydrated until he saw what he described as "an army of hunters" Saturday and flagged them down with smoke from his fire. They made a stretcher from tree branches and their coats, according to Porter, and carried him to safety.
"He told me he learned a lot about himself through this," Porter said.
Allman thanked the many agencies and the people in them who responded to Mendocino County to help in the search.
"It was hard on the family," Jeremy said. "I knew my dad would do what he needed to do to survive, even if it meant eating squirrels or the occasional bug."
"I had faith that my dad was still alive," Jeremy said. "With the knowledge that he had, and what he knew how to do, 14 days was nothing to him. I think after 14 days, I would have freaked out."
#1 he stayed upbeat during and after which has a direct impact on your physical and mental health
#2 someone knew when and where he was supposed to be
#3 he awoke injured but didn't panic and made good choices like staying near the water source instead of stumbling around in the dark
#4 he had outdoor survival skills and used them to build fire and make camp while remaining calm
#5 he knew how to signal and stayed in the game even after repeated failures
#6 he knew his physical limitations and ego didn't kill him
#7 again he had the skill set and knew what he could eat and was willing to eat it and knew his limitations
#8 acceptance of the situation without panic but a realistic attitude and true grit
#9 always improve your position
There are many positive lessons here to include those who found him that knew what to do for extraction. I can only hope that when I'm 72 God has granted me the strength and will to still get out there and should I die out there in the wild doing what I love chalk it up to a good day that God granted me that favor and don't grieve on that point.
Missing hunter survives 18 days in Mendocino National Forest
By TIFFANY REVELLE
Updated: 10/13/2013 12:00:11 AM PDT
Ukiah Daily Journal
A 72-year-old San Francisco man who went missing during a hunting trip in the Mendocino National Forest was found alive and well after surviving 18 days alone in the woods.
Gene Penaflor's family gathered Saturday afternoon at Ukiah Valley Medical Center after learning that a group of hunters had found him earlier that day and carried him out of the woods on a makeshift stretcher to safety.
"He's good," said his youngest son, Jeremy, with a smile. "He's just like he was when I saw him last, except his beard grew."
Since learning last month that Penaflor was missing, his family has been staying in Covelo, the nearest town to the area where Penaflor had been at a hunting camp. The four-day search for Penaflor swelled to include searchers, scent-tracking dogs and equipment from 15 neighboring agencies, according to Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman.
"There were no clues, we had thoroughly searched the area and there was a weather front coming in," said Mendocino County Sheriff's Office detective Andrew Porter of the reasons the search was called off. The weather advisory included snow flurries in the area, which sits at an elevation of 7,000 feet.
Jeremy said he'd seen his dad long enough to hug him Saturday afternoon. The medical staff at UVMC reported Penaflor's vital signs were good, according to Jeremy, but hadn't decided whether to release him yet.
Porter said (#1)Penaflor was "laughing and joking around" and described him as "very upbeat" despite the ordeal, which began Sept. 24 when Penaflor and a hunting partner set off at about 8:30 a.m. from a hunting camp a few miles north of Monkey Rock in the Mendocino National Forest.
They walked into the Yuki Wilderness down two separate ridges, he said -- a technique Penaflor's son Jeremy said his father and hunting partner use to hunt deer.
(#2)The two men had planned to hunt for a couple of hours, meet for lunch and resume the hunt on the west side of Road M1, according to Porter. They normally didn't venture from base more than a quarter-mile to half-mile, but for unknown reasons, Penaflor had walked two and a half miles from camp that day, he said.
The terrain in the area is so difficult to navigate that it's classified as "types one and two," according to Porter. He described it as "very steep, rocky and treacherous," and as being prone to runoffs.
(#3)Penaflor fell and lost consciousness. He woke to find fog surrounding him and a cut on his chin, and, afraid of infection, he opted to stay where he was near a water source for the night, according to Porter.
(#4)That night he built a fire and set up a makeshift shelter of leaves underneath and above him for warmth. He woke to more fog and zero visibility again the next morning, and on Wednesday afternoon, Penaflor saw a helicopter.
(#5)He put damp leaves on his fire to send a smoke signal, but the helicopter's crew didn't see him. Penaflor saw a helicopter the next day, and he tried again to flag it down with the same result, according to Porter.
"I asked him (#6)why he didn't just walk back up the hill, and he said he didn't have enough energy to hike back up," Porter said.
Mendocino County Search and Rescue responded Sept. 25 after an initial misunderstanding about whether Penaflor had gone missing in Lake County or Mendocino County, and the search was called off Sept. 28, according to Porter.
In the days that followed, Penaflor (#7)ate squirrels, lizards, a snake, berries and algae he knew to be safe. He saw deer but didn't shoot them because he lacked the energy to do so, according to Porter.
"(#8)He knew at some point he was going to die, but he figured he'd last as long as he could," Porter said.
And survive (#9) Penaflor did, conserving what food he could kill and cook, keeping his nighttime fire's embers hot under leaves during the day, conserving bullets and staying hydrated until he saw what he described as "an army of hunters" Saturday and flagged them down with smoke from his fire. They made a stretcher from tree branches and their coats, according to Porter, and carried him to safety.
"He told me he learned a lot about himself through this," Porter said.
Allman thanked the many agencies and the people in them who responded to Mendocino County to help in the search.
"It was hard on the family," Jeremy said. "I knew my dad would do what he needed to do to survive, even if it meant eating squirrels or the occasional bug."
"I had faith that my dad was still alive," Jeremy said. "With the knowledge that he had, and what he knew how to do, 14 days was nothing to him. I think after 14 days, I would have freaked out."
#1 he stayed upbeat during and after which has a direct impact on your physical and mental health
#2 someone knew when and where he was supposed to be
#3 he awoke injured but didn't panic and made good choices like staying near the water source instead of stumbling around in the dark
#4 he had outdoor survival skills and used them to build fire and make camp while remaining calm
#5 he knew how to signal and stayed in the game even after repeated failures
#6 he knew his physical limitations and ego didn't kill him
#7 again he had the skill set and knew what he could eat and was willing to eat it and knew his limitations
#8 acceptance of the situation without panic but a realistic attitude and true grit
#9 always improve your position
There are many positive lessons here to include those who found him that knew what to do for extraction. I can only hope that when I'm 72 God has granted me the strength and will to still get out there and should I die out there in the wild doing what I love chalk it up to a good day that God granted me that favor and don't grieve on that point.
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