After 30 years of pack in trips had my first bad injury

elkslayer338 · Post by **elkslayer338** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:48 pm

Yep took a surgical hatchet to the knee. Let me unfold the event, to start
we pack in 7 miles to about 10,000 on horse and foot I have hunted the area for twenty years and have taken my share of Elk from there. This year was well kinda nasty you know lots of snow and no elk. We were forced to go low to the foot hills and hunt scrub oak on sneaks and drives.
well day nine after a long day of drives and stalks , I drew my last card
I decided to go to my Honey spot. A ridge of aspens that cliffs out to dense spruce Forest below. So I left the party on foot in knee deep snow
worked my way up. About 3:30 pm I came across a vary fresh track and right after that jumped three Elk cow,cow, rag-tag. Well being that it was the last day of hunting before pack out and we hunt for the meat I figured it would be good to get four more quarters. So made sure he was legal, in my area you must shot a 4x4 or the bull must have 6 inch or better brow tines, then took him. Well let me tell ya he was so easy to gut and work on I was making great time still lots of good light. Thats when it happened ,while using my hatchet to remove the head, it deflected into the side of my knee. Well it was about 2 inches deep and was bleeding pretty good. So I cleaned out the wound with snow and backed an insert with snow and used a strap from my pack to compress it. Then I tried to raise the party on radio but no go. so the hike to camp began it was about 2 miles to our tent. from there I had to go down to the ranch some 7 miles. From the ranch it was 30 miles to the near st hospital . well when I was in camp I boiled water,drank lots , put the first aid kit to use and with the help of my family made our way out. Its been one month and Iam getting around about normal, I feel lucky and thankfully no permanent damage.
Good hunting
note I will carry more then band aids in my pack, and use my wyoming buck saw from now on.

Elkslayer338

Post by **ABert** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:56 pm

Glad you made it out ok and you still have meat in the freezer! I carry a small first aid kit, but after reading your experience I may just take another look at and make sure I've got what I would need in a situation such as yours.

bigbuck92 · Post by **bigbuck92** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 12:24 am

oh sounds grim. your lucky ya didnt hit one of your main arteries

Post by **killerbee** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 10:26 am

think posative,, maybe it was a easy way to get out of a good pack out: i bet your buddy's had to get the bull. I'm just teasin' for sure- glad to hear you made it out ok. hopefully it will make some of us remember to slow down a bit in the field to avoid something like that.

elkslayer338 · Post by **elkslayer338** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 12:41 pm

LOL well the job of going to get my Elk fell to my cousin in law and a friend of my uncle's and they did not mind , but I felt bad . Whats funny about it all is that last year my cousin in law cut his hand when we were working on his elk . he shot it at dawn so we rushed to get it ready to pack see it was a black powder hunt and in September so we had to get it to the freezer at the trailer fast so it did not spoil . well he got his thumb good enough and we figured we better take him in to glenwood springs hospital
all and all we did not ride into camp until 230 am that night.LOL
So when it came time for me to go to emergency he was right there to
help .

ridgetop · Post by **ridgetop** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 9:09 pm

The sight of that hatchet sure gave me the chills. I'm glad every thing worked out ok.

elkslayer338 · Post by **elkslayer338** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 9:55 pm

Thanks could happen at any time to anybody be it knife or hatchet.
Check into QR POWDER it can stop major wounds from bleeding.