Wow.
I have been fortunate enough to work and/or visit most of our States; including Alaska and Hawaii.
I will tell you every State has residents who wholeheartedly believe their State is "God's country"
Printable View
Which reminds me of this incident:
By: Vermont Fish and Wildlife
Posted on: 11/27/06 (Source.)
"Road hunters" who shoot at deer from Vermont roadways are violating the law and tarnishing the image of law-abiding hunters who play a vital role in managing Vermont's deer population. Consequently, State Game Wardens will use "decoy deer," which are taxidermy deer placed to represent a live deer in order to reduce illegal road hunting activity.
While working in Danville on the evening of November 17, State Game Warden Dennis Amsden and deputy State Game Wardens Aaron Mangan and Martin Montour observed a vehicle stop and shine a light on a decoy deer they had placed in a field. The vehicle then drove into the field and accelerated toward the deer and ran into it, sending it approximately 27 feet and destroying it in the process.
Joseph Clark, 31, of St. Johnsbury, Vermont was arrested and charged with felony unlawful mischief, taking deer by illegal means, possession of marijuana, and criminal driving with license suspended.
If I remember correctly, his significant other and infant child were also in the truck, they weren't wearing seatbelts, and there may or may not have been a proper babyseat. Good times.
Bringing the thread drift full circle back to enduring mysterious mountain deaths ...
http://www.benningtontriangle.com
Dunh, dunh, dunh!!!
Russians, crazies, Ufos, aliens, bigfoot, other cryptids: take your pick. Having had my share of the bizzare in the woods over 40 years, anything is possible.
LEMMiNO does a really good analysis of this. He concludes they left the tent due to their homemade stove malfunctioning. A combination of smoke inhalation, CO exposure and alcohol intoxication lead them to believe the tent was on fire / beyond salvaging. They died quickly, some looking for shelter in the nearby woods (killed by a small avalanche taking them over the edge of a ravine), some trying to stay warm around a small fire they'd managed to build, and some trying to return to the area of the tent to retrieve anything useful not consumed by the tent fire.
https://youtu.be/Y8RigxxiilI