Daryl's mention of Ak reminds me of "one of those stories." I wasn't hunting uplands, but instead moose with a couple of friends on the Aniak river.
A small sandbar had some fresh moose tracks, so I decided to see where they led. Unfortunately, they led into a fairly heavy birch and white spruce thicket. By the time I gave up or lost the moose tracks, I was thoroughly turned around! I'd hear the river in one direction and head that way, only to hear it, or so I thought, off in another direction. This went on for way too long. It was getting dark, and I was seeing a fair amount of bear tracks back in the woods, hence I was getting a bit worried. Finely, I heard the faint sound of an outboard motor and took off in the direction of the sound. I finally stumbled out to the bank of the Aniak a short while before darkness set in.
My friends were running the river looking for me and were also a bit worried, and relieved when they spotted me.
Of course, they didn't want to fire off any shots, in hope that I would hear them and possibly spook any moose that might be in the near vacinity!
