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Outdoor Life republished “An Odd Way to Die,” a first-person account originally published in May 1985. The former shooting editor describes becoming seriously ill and stranded during the pack-out from a Dall sheep hunt in Alaska’s Wrangell Mountains; the supplied excerpt does not establish the full outcome or explain the illness.
Outdoor Life republished a 1985 first-person account of a sheep hunt in Alaska’s Wrangell Mountains that became a dangerous backcountry ordeal, in which the magazine’s former shooting editor describes being sick and stranded during the pack-out of a Dall ram. The account, titled “An Odd Way to Die,” was first published in the May 1985 issue and appeared online Oct. 13, 2026.
The article recounts a hunt with guide Butch Houteanen after an earlier trip with Houteanen and outfitter Keith Johnson ended without a ram for the narrator. On that first expedition, the hunter says his feet became so damaged that his socks came off crusted with blood and strips of skin, forcing him to abandon the hunt. He later returned to the area, determined to pursue a ram Houteanen had previously identified.
The return trip brought steady rain and difficult climbing. The narrator says the rain soaked clothing and equipment, while water swelling the wooden stock of his much-used rifle pressed the barrel out of its channel. The account then describes a clear morning hunt above dense brush. The supplied excerpt ends before narrating the shot, the pack-out in detail, or how the hunter reached safety.
In its online introduction, Outdoor Life characterizes the ram as a good one and says the pack-out turned into an “unexpectedly absurd survival situation.” The first-person passage opens with the narrator lying on a mountain ridge at night, considering whether he might die while suffering from what he calls “twisted guts” and exposure to the cold. That is his description; the excerpt does not identify a medical diagnosis or provide an independent account of the incident.
A Hunt Turns Into a Survival Test
The account offers a direct illustration of how weather, illness and physical strain can compound in remote terrain. The hunter describes arriving at the second trip already carrying the memory of a previous failure, then facing rain, wet gear and a demanding climb. The later emergency, as framed by the magazine, arose during the effort to pack out a harvested animal rather than during the pursuit alone.
For readers who hunt or travel in remote areas, the reported ordeal underscores the practical stakes of limited supplies and exposure. The excerpt says the hunter and guide carried relatively little on the climb, though it does not provide enough information to judge their preparations or the choices made during the emergency. The article is a historical first-person account, not a current safety advisory or a verified medical case report.
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From an Earlier Hunt to a Return
The story begins with a failed sheep hunt several years before the main expedition. The narrator says he and his companion, Arlen Chaney, went with Johnson in hopes of taking Dall rams. Chaney succeeded, but the narrator’s attempt was disrupted after an airplane repeatedly circled the sheep’s range; the narrator says the reason for the flight was never known. He also reports returning to camp with badly injured feet after a hard climb.
Nearly two years later, the narrator encountered Johnson and Houteanen at a convention and arranged to return to the area. The republished piece describes the next August’s trip through dense vegetation and persistent rain. Outdoor Life identifies the article as “An Odd Way to Die” and credits its original publication to the magazine’s May 1985 issue. The supplied source does not give the author’s name or reproduce the complete story.
““Is this how it feels to die?””
— The hunter, in the republished first-person account
The Excerpt Leaves Key Details Open
The supplied material does not include the complete article, so the precise sequence of the emergency and its outcome cannot be established from it. It does not say what caused the narrator’s gastrointestinal distress, how long he was stranded, what rescue or assistance was available, or what treatment he received. Nor does it give a full account of the ram’s recovery from the mountain.
The narrator’s opening passage presents his fear and physical condition as remembered experience. The source provides no medical records or separate testimony from Houteanen or other people on the hunt. The article’s online introduction says the pack-out became a survival situation, but further details remain unavailable in the supplied text.
The Republished Story Provides More
The immediate next step for readers seeking the full account is to consult the complete Outdoor Life article, which was republished online on Oct. 13, 2026. The supplied source identifies the original as a May 1985 magazine story but includes only part of its text. No new expedition, official investigation or further reporting is announced in the material provided.
Key Questions
What happened in the Outdoor Life story?
Outdoor Life republished a first-person account of a Dall sheep hunt in Alaska’s Wrangell Mountains. The hunter describes becoming dangerously ill and stranded during the pack-out, though the supplied excerpt does not give the full sequence or outcome.
When was the account published?
The story, titled “An Odd Way to Die,” originally appeared in Outdoor Life’s May 1985 issue. The magazine’s online version is dated Oct. 13, 2026.
Where did the hunt take place?
The account is set in Alaska’s Wrangell Mountains, in sheep-hunting country served by outfitter Keith Johnson and guide Butch Houteanen.
What illness did the hunter have?
The supplied excerpt does not identify a diagnosis. The narrator refers to “twisted guts” and exposure to the cold, but the source offers no medical confirmation or further clinical details.
Does the supplied story say whether he survived?
The excerpt provided for this report does not describe the ending. Outdoor Life’s introduction frames the experience as a survival situation, but the details of how it concluded are not included in the supplied text.
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