Former Haines resident Tommy Jimmie Jr. said he’s learned some lessons from a deer-hunting trip that went awry on Lincoln Island Saturday: Always keep dry socks, firestarter and a survival blanket on your person.
Jimmie, who has family in Haines and led an Indian Studies program in the school, now resides in Juneau. On Saturday, he and two friends boated to Lincoln Island, about 15 miles northwest of Juneau, where they split up, agreeing to meet at a shoreline spot at 2 p.m.
Jimmie missed the meet-up, came out of the woods on a rugged shoreline, then fell into a bog, becoming soaked. He became hypothermic, then disoriented as he tried to navigate the rocky beach to a bag that contained dry clothes and hot coffee, he said Monday.
“It started getting pretty hairy. I had on thermal underwear and fleece, but my socks and everything else was rotten cotton. It robs the heat out of you,” Jimmie said.
“I was hypothermic. I had uncontrollable shakes. The confusion was that my party isn’t where it should be,” Jimmie said.
Jimmie’s two friends had gone to the other side of the island to look for him. They signaled a Coast Guard boat that was passing by on patrol just before 5 p.m. A Coast Guard helicopter from Sitka was dispatched at 6:30 p.m. A few hours later, a rescue swimmer lowered from the helicopter located Jimmie, who had covered himself with branches, and crawled into a ball, trying to warm up.
“I knew I wasn’t able to lay there very long. I had to keep moving,” Jimmie said. Besides a head lamp he shined as signal light, infra-red technology helped the Coast Guardsmen locate him, he said. “I’m glad I had enough heat coming out of me for them to pick up on.”
When rescued, Jimmie was just 500 yards from the bag with dry clothes and coffee. But because of the rugged shore, making that distance would have taken hours, he said.
“I’ve had close calls before, but I could always find my way out. But this time I got wet and I didn’t have matches on me,” he said.
Jimmie was hoisted into the chopper and treated by emergency medical personnel at the Juneau International Airport. He was fed moose-burger enchiladas, hot coffee and cookies and given a dry pair of socks to wear home. The Coast Guard towed the hunters’ vessel to Juneau Saturday.