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Friday night I was taking a shortcut through the mountains. Its in an Area called Forbes State Forest in the Chestnut
Mountain range in the South Western Corner of Pennsylvania near the West Virginia border.
As I was headed up the mountain
I was getting enough traction, the snow was waaay too deep.
So I began to back down and take another route. As I backed
down the old logging road. All the ruts from previous vehicles in the snow began to push me towards an embankment that had
a ditch cutting between the road and the wall of dirt.
As my SUV slammed into the ditch, there was no way for me to
get out.
I tried digging, 4 wheel drive low, rocking, tow straps, jacks and shoving timber underneath the tires. Nothing
was getting me out!
It was about 10pm and snowing very hard. The Temperature was 3°F and a Wind-chill of -8°F out.
So needless to say it was VERY cold. Im not sure if there was any moon, but even if there was it would not have given me any
light due to the heavy cloud cover providing all the heavy snowfall.
Well, my cell phoned worked, but every tow company
I called said that they dont drive on "Tram roads". Im not sure what a Tram road is, but there was no sense in arguing with
them. Im also new to this area and dont know anyone with a 4wd truck either.
So It was time to leave the vehicle and
walk 6 miles back to a small town to see if anyone would help me.
Now in my truck I have always kept a SHTF kit. Which
I have the following supplies:
Extra Blankets-socks gloves, water, MRE's, Hand/Pocket warmers/ Gas Mask, NBC suit, tow
strap, flares, parachute flares, flashlights, extra magazines for my Sig229-Glock 23-M16 and extra ammo for each weapon, Full
sized ax, small hatchet, fire starters, compass, topographic maps for 11 different states, Chemical Weapon detector, Morphine
tablets, Penicillin VK, First Aid kit, Hand crank powered AM/FM radio, and I know Im forgetting a few other things.
But
needless to say Im well equipped for various survival scenarios while Im on the road.
So before I set out to walk these
mountain roads back to the town, I took two flashlights, My SigSauer w/ two more 12 round mags, lighter, water, Handheld GMRS
radio (480MHz The local FD uses some of those channels) and one of those aerial parachute flares for signaling all in a backpack.
Now
in this area only 2 or 3 people live. Add they live in vary small and run down shacks. I figured it wasn't tooo late to knock
on a door and ask someone for help. So the only house that I could see was an old 5th wheel type of camping trailer someone
was living in. I made sure that as I walked up their long dirt driveway I would have my large flashlight on so I would not
surprise them and they would think of me as less of a threat.
I got about halfway up their road I began to hear gun
shots coming from the general area of their trailer. I stopped and got off the road and got cover behind a large fallen oak
tree. I also turned off my flashlight.
I also heard what some of you know the high pitched buzzing sound if a bullet
coming at you. It sounded like a small caliber rifle. Not as small as a .22, but it wasnt an AK either.
Now heres the
dilemma I faced. Should I shout out to tell them Im not there to harm them? Should I fire a warning shot?
If I did
shout out, that would give away my position. If I fired a warning shot also to let them know I was armed, that may give them
the feeling that Im shooting at them and we would both be forced to shoot at each other in self defense.
I sat there
for what felt like 20 minutes checking all directions and staying behind my cover. The person(s) fired about 6 shots total
within the first 10 minutes. I had my Sig229 out and the hammer back just in case anyone got the drop on me. I was wearing
an Olive Drab Snorkel Coat: and two pairs of dark blue jeans. So against the tree was well camouflaged, out in the open snow
I was easily seen.
After they were done shooting I looked around my area for the best possible route out of there that
wasn't out in the open.
I remembered a small stream that ran parallel with the only road that led to town. I knew that
if I walked a long the bank that would mask my foot prints and what little water that wasn't flowing and iced up would mask
some of my noise as well. so I ran towards it.
As I was running I decocked my Sig so that I still could fire in a split
second with the first trigger pull being double action. Which was a good thing because I tripped over something and as a natural
human reflex I put both hands out to catch my fall. Keep in mind I always have my trigger finger off the trigger anyhow. But
my Sig was covered in packed snow!
I took the magazine out and did a fast function check, and cleaned what snow I could
off. It was ready for action.
At this point Im freezing cold.
I was walking through the woods with no light, but
it was easy for me to follow my route thanks to the stream.
I made it to town and talked with a guy at a gas station
who said he would some by in the morning and pull me out with his winch for no charge. I got warmed up and he drove me back
to my vehicle.
That whole night I was nervous about those fools who were shooting were going to find me. I did notify
the State Police and told them all that happened and where I was. (Not that they cared at all)
But luckily nobody messed
with me and in the morning that guy did come out and pull me out.
But I was VERY VERY comforted that I was armed. And
as I said that I just moved here to PA I haven't gotten my CHL for PA yet. But this goes to show, that no matter what the
law is. If you feel your in any kind of danger, your safety is far more important than a stupid law. Now Im not saying we
should all go around breaking the law, but make sure you can defend yourself when the time comes!
I would like to hear
your comments as to how I handled it. Also, I welcome any questions.
Here are some pics:
This was how he pulled
me out. He attached a pulley to the tree on the hill and ran his winch from his truck down the hill:
And these are pics from how my truck was stuck:   Got this story off the net at a Survival Forum site
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