Panniqtuuq (Apr 26/04) - Danny O'Dell, 32, and Justin Arnott, 19, are happy to be alive and at home with their families after spending a night lost on the land in a snow storm.

April 17 started out as a beautiful sunny day when the friends, both originally from Newfoundland and Labrador, set off hunting ptarmigan and arctic hare.

O'Dell has lived in Panniqtuuq for five years, and loves hunting so much he often goes out alone.

Arnott, son of Attagoyuk school principal Ed Arnott, doesn't have as much hunting experience as O'Dell, but was eager to get out and learn while the weather was nice.

Because the day was so perfect, O'Dell said he didn't take his bag of survival equipment, which included extra clothing and a stove.

"I thought it was going to be another great day," he said.

A few hours into their journey, however, the wind picked up and soon blowing snow obscured their path.

"It's our own stupid fault that we weren't more prepared," Arnott said. "You go out a hundred times prepared and nothing happens, but the one time you are not prepared you pay for it."

Walked in circles

The two were stranded about 35 kilometres from the community when they decided to ride back to the community at 2:30 p.m.

"I could still see our tracks and I knew the area that we were in so we kept going," he said.

"It wasn't until I lost our tracks that we stopped. It was white-out conditions."

The two found shelter behind a rock and dug a snow cave.

"It was really small and cramped. There was just enough room for the two of us to lie down," O'Dell said.

Arnott said they spent very little time in the shelter because it was too cold and wet.

The two began walking in a circle to stay warm.

Keep moving

"We had to keep moving," he said.

Despite the circumstances, O'Dell said he wasn't too worried about spending the night out on the land. The weather wasn't extremely cold, and he knew search and rescue would be out looking for them.

When daylight came about 6 a.m., O'Dell and Arnott decided to start travelling in the direction they believed was home.

"At one point, I saw a big rock and that's when I knew exactly where we were," said O'Dell.

A search party found them at 8 a.m.

"I had travelled the last 18 kilometres on empty," said Arnott. "I didn't know how much longer my machine would go.

"Seeing the four skidoos coming towards us was a great feeling. I almost warmed up on the spot."

The search party was prepared with warm clothing and tea, as well as fuel for the snowmachines.

Greg Morash, senior administrative officer for the hamlet, said they are happy that everything worked out and nobody was hurt.

"It's always good when the search parties bring the people back home," he said.