• Happy First Use of Insulin to Treat Diabetes (1922)! ⚕️💉

Death in the Wilderness: What do you do with the body?

I apologize in advance for not having read all the posts but to the question...

I just retired after 40+ years of working with college outdoor programs. As I got older, and realized some of my mounting limitations, I told my student leaders if anything happened to me, (i.e. death) it was their job to do the following: 1. Calm people down as best as they could. 2. Go through my pack and get whatever clothing and/or equipment they would need. 3. Pull my body off the side of the trail. 4. Get everyone back to the van, call the authorities and wait for further instructions from them. I've never felt it was the responsibility of my traveling partners (students or otherwise) to get my body out of the woods. Nothing worse can happen to "me" so get out, get help and let the folks in charge take charge.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper
 
Hmm. I have broached the subject of tragic emergencies with my tripping partner wife but she has never fancied verbally walking that trail. I think it's safe to say that when you're young you think you'll live forever. I know my younger self sure lived a little recklessly that way. Not so now. I am not afraid of the end, I'd just like to postpone it. k? But it doesn't hurt to plan.
In recent years we've tripped on Crown Land but not really far off the beaten path. 2 days in at most. A smokey fire would attract attention. I've also suggested she do what she can at the moment and then try to calmly prep herself for a solo paddle out. Take her time. No hurry. But staying put makes the most sense in our case.
We spend more time together on portages these days, wear our PFDs and mind our steps around camp. Reckless youth is behind us.
 
I question the premise that guilt of fowl play would be assumed. I think foul play would be considered but thought to be unlikely. Off course there could be red flags depending on the countless scenarios but Occam's Razor. How many old men with no history of murder are likely covering up a murder. Compared to old guy on strenuous trip has heart attack and dies. Although if it was a husband wife on the trip and only one returns suspected guilt would be much higher. Based on given scenario of three older men on long paddle. It would be unlikely foul play was involved. Excluding some obscure motive, significant discrepancies, or history of past paddles where these two had other paddle partners not return.
If I was paddling with someone and they died I would not assume I would be seriously suspected or thoroughly investigated of foul play. A viking funeral might raise suspicion.
 
...or claiming they left you all their gear.

Avoid the problem and paddle solo. And if going where you are more than 2 days emergency travel from civilization, take a satellite device, or two in a group.
 
You leave the body right where it is, you cover it the best you can, I would probably stay close to where the body is for at least the first week, you have his rations so 15 days of it so I should cover the needs for two guys for a week and make sure you make signs visible from the sky, keep a fire going with enough greens to make lots of smoke when if the time comes over that week period! But chances are, playing in the context, that if you don’t get found that after 2-3 weeks, when authorities get there there might not be much left if anything form the body, wolfs, bears, ravens, foxes, magpies, wolverines etc etc will find that body and get rid of it in no time!! As for all the criteria/constraints given by the op, even a 100years ago people would carry maps and compass(some with mirrors), now a day, 99.9% of the people I know carries at least a spot type device, bust most of them have inreach and sat phones! 30 years ago lots of serious trippers would have PLB. Even 30 plus years ago lots of aerial trafic in the arctic/subarctic, trappers, outfitters, private sports fishermen, surveyor, locals coming and going from communities, exploration companies flying around, there is and was a lot going on in those parts of the world in that time of year, July being the busiest of them all!! So I’m not sure it all make sense lol!
 
"stay close to the body for the first week"?????

To what end? "30 day wilderness trip in far northern Canada in July" If this incident happens during the first week of the trip nobody is even going to start looking for you for another 3 - 4 weeks. In "far northern Canada" you could easily be in a location where it could be several years before a small plane might be flying close enough to you to be attracted by a signal fire.

On my trips in Labrador / Ungava area the only planes (lots of them) are jets at 35,000 feet and during the Summer paddling season there are no "locals" at all travelling the area (locals only travel by snowmobile in the winter).
 
billconner said:
Are you sure PLBs 30 years ago? There were ELTs and EPIRBs, but this suggests PLBs - devices for individuals they could manually operate - are not that old. https://www.1af.acc.af.mil/Units/AFRCC/USNPLBP/

Seems like Spot was first device of that type and was introduced 2007.
Click to expand...
Well we use to rent them at the shop I worked for 24 years ago and they weren’t new then!
Spot was not the first one or at least it wasn’t the first beacon! It was the first one of its type but PLB’s were available before that, seem like they got first adopted in around 1982.... but I’m not sure of when they were available to the public. The one we were renting were an orange box with a long antenna wrapped around the body of the divorce that you would deploy when needed! It wasn’t a small device, maybe 4”x4”x8”-10” long!
i also remember the first time I saw a sat phone, spring of 1998 in Dawson city during the Yukon Quest dog mushing race!
Anyway, this is irrelevant to the scenario here!

As for recped comments, the scenario ain’t taking place in the first week, and even if it is, you have the food needed, you have time, you lost a friend, it will take some times to figures things out, to make a plan, to decide what next! So a week goes by real quick in those circumstances!! If you were gone for a month w/o resupply then you won’t be able to take much more in your canoe than you have now! And during that week you never know who can fly by, boat by.... you never know, I’ve been in what I thought was the middle of no where and all the sudden you got a small bush plane flying over, or a motor boat with some locals moving fish camps....
anyway, awesome game, I guess I lost with my stupid ideas...
 
Last edited:
Interesting. "On 1 July, 2003 the FCC with the support of the USAF, USCG, NOAA, NASA, and FAA legalized the sale and use of 406 MHz Personal Locator Beacons (PLBS) in the United States. "
 
Sticking around wise I (we) would likely stay a few days to attend to various tasks.

Wrap, bundle, secure, cover the body. Mark the location, leaving a note of explanation and ID. Sort through the gear and provisions and decide what we are taking with us. Discuss and hopefully agree on a plan; are we continuing on or heading back the way we came in, taking one canoe or both?

There would be enough to consider and discuss and do that I doubt we would be pulling up stakes the next day, and I would need time to get my head straight in any case.
 
billconner said:
Interesting. "On 1 July, 2003 the FCC with the support of the USAF, USCG, NOAA, NASA, and FAA legalized the sale and use of 406 MHz Personal Locator Beacons (PLBS) in the United States. "
Click to expand...

Well I must be wrong, 97-98 must not have been the time we use to rent them, must have been after 2003!
 
billconner said:
Interesting. "On 1 July, 2003 the FCC with the support of the USAF, USCG, NOAA, NASA, and FAA legalized the sale and use of 406 MHz Personal Locator Beacons (PLBS) in the United States. "
Click to expand...

I'm guessing there were earlier ones that used a different frequency? Even today I don't know if they use the same frequency or not.

Alan
 
I think you are right Alan, I read somewhere there was some with 100 and someMhz
 
My sense says that some writing is precise on distinguishing between ELT (air?), EPIRB (water/ocean?), and the handheld PLBs. No doubt those earlier devices were carried on other treks. And there was an earlier frequency, still supported iirc. Surprisingly scant history info on line. Suspect the military origin may account for that.
 
It looks like the consensus is to leave the body there, cover it with rocks or possibly submerge it in the water, which might be a good idea especially in cold water. The next question is what to do with their gear. Taking it with you may not be practical as you will want to move as fast as possible. My advice would be to take the opportunity to upgrade any gear belonging to the deceased that is better than yours. To avoid conflict among the surviving members it may be a good idea to call "dibs" on particularly nice items before any tragedy occurs. For instance, "if Joe dies, I get his carbon fiber paddle"

I say this in jest, but in reality it doesn't make sense to leave finest equipment behind. I don't think I'm a bad person but a few weeks ago I was back country skiing with a best friend who had a medical emergency. While he was laying in the snow hoping to recover enough to get out I kinda felt bad about thinking I may be getting his new skis. Luckily a snowmobile came by and gave him a lift to a trail head.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Glenn MacGrady
Kevin Callan: Death of the Campfire
4 5 6
Replies
113
Views
4K
Steve in Idaho
Steve in Idaho
Glenn MacGrady
What's your morning routine on canoe trips?
2
Replies
27
Views
1K
stripperguy
stripperguy
Robin
An interview with Garrett Conover, woodsman, author, wilderness canoeist guide.
2
Replies
23
Views
2K
Benson Gray
Benson Gray
Glenn MacGrady
What height boots do you prefer?
2
Replies
32
Views
526
Seeker
Seeker
duNord
Multi-day Paddling Trips in Florida
Replies
4
Views
290
Alan Gage
A
Back
Top