Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Missing hunter survives 5 days in snowy wilderness

53-year-old Eagle man hikes out of White Clouds on his own


By STEVE BENSON
Express Staff Writer

Bill Helfferich, a hunter reported missing in the White Cloud Mountains Oct. 16, shares a hug with his wife, Marie, in Stanley last Friday shortly after hiking his way to safety. Marie informed the Custer County Sheriff?s Office that Bill was missing after he did not phone her following his one-day hunting trip. Photo by Willy Cook

A hunter reported missing in the White Cloud Mountains on Oct. 16 reappeared Friday after spending five days in the rugged, snowy backcountry near Stanley.

William U. Helfferich, 53, of Eagle, Idaho, said he simply "got turned around" during a one-day elk-hunting trip. After spending three nights waiting for searchers in freezing temperatures and up to 15 inches of snow in a remote alpine basin, Helfferich decided to hike out on his own.

The search, which included 13 agencies, 74 people, nine dogs, eight horses, one helicopter and one plane, began Oct. 16 after Helfferich failed to phone his wife.

Helferrich's adventure began Oct. 15 in the Fourth of July Creek drainage, between Ketchum and Stanley, where he parked his car. It veered from a casual hunting trip to survival epic later that afternoon when he decided to hike north toward Strawberry Basin.

"I walked too far on one side of the hill and came down looking for a stream coming out of Strawberry Basin," Helferrich said Friday from the Mountain Village Lodge in Stanley, where search efforts were being directed and his family had gathered. "What I actually found was Warm Springs Creek."

Unaware of his mistake, Helferrich continued hiking and eventually became disoriented. Determined to reach Strawberry Basin, he trekked through the night.

"I realize my biggest mistake was not stopping," he said. "But I was confident I could get out. My biggest driver was my wife. I didn't want her to worry."

By morning, Helferrich had reached what he thought was Strawberry Basin.

"But when I saw the lake, I knew I was in trouble," he said.

There are no lakes in Strawberry Basin.

Using a topographical map, Helferrich realized he was on the shore of Ocalkens Lake, which is located in Bighorn Basin about three miles northeast of Strawberry Basin.

"Fortunately I was able to identify where I was," he said. "And I knew I should stay put a couple days and let them find me."

Surrounded by desolate, high alpine peaks and under a sky spitting heavy snow, Helfferich ignored his exhaustion, quickly ate a snack, drank some water and began preparing a shelter. He did not have a tent or sleeping bag. He left his space blanket in the car. The only food he packed was a granola bar and some jerky. Both were consumed by Tuesday night.

But he did have matches, lighters, a knife and the knowledge of how to survive in a snowy wilderness.

"I just used pine boughs and built a fire and improvised," he said. "I wrapped myself in my elk quarter bags. It was pretty cold. I'd stoke the fire and get an hour's worth of sleep. The fire would die out and I'd wake up, stoke it again and go back to sleep."

In a nearby clearing he also built 40-foot-long letters out of pine branches spelling out the word "HELP."

"I had to brush the snow off them every morning," he said.

It snowed every day but Tuesday. Helfferich knew his tracks were long gone. Cloudy skies virtually eliminated the chance of being spotted from above.

Plus, he was certain searchers were looking for him farther south.

"I heard two planes on the other side of the mountain from me—one on Monday and one on Wednesday," he said. "It was hard to hear a lot of stuff, but I could hear helicopters and planes.

"In my mind, I heard planes all the time."

He also heard elk bugling and wolves howling.

"That was pretty neat," he said.

After spending three nights in Bighorn Basin, Helfferich decided to hike out Thursday morning. That was about the same time searchers began to lose hope.

"Day three was hopeful, but we had to start thinking of the inevitable here," Levi Maydole, a Custer County deputy sheriff, said in a story from the Associated Press. "On day four, hopes begin to drain off. On day five, we don't expect to find people in those conditions at that time of year in that wilderness."

Helfferich spent Thursday night in Mountain Home Canyon and crossed into the Fourth of July Creek drainage Friday morning. He hiked to where he had left his car only to discover it was gone.

"I guess it was towed," he said.

Shortly thereafter he bumped into forest researchers at the Champion Creek Trailhead and was given a ride to the Stanley Ranger Station. By 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, Helfferich was back among his family and friends.

According to the Custer County Sheriff's Office, he was inspected by an emergency medical technician and determined to be suffering only from slight dehydration.

"I survived," he said. "I was confident and never concerned for my own safety. I just hate that I put all these (searchers) out. I didn't want people searching for me to get hurt."

Helfferich acknowledged that he shouldn't have been traveling alone, but he blamed it on "kind of a midlife crisis thing."

"Some people get attached to a sports bar or find a mistress," he said. "I just go hunt by myself. But I don't think my wife will let me hunt alone anymore. She's right. Nature is an amazing thing. One wrong turn and you're done."




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