Swanzey Man, 85, Spends Night Stuck In Woods, Walks 30 Miles

He said the young nurses gave him a thrill !!


Story

That's a great story. Let's hope we're half as tough at 85.

I love that! Most importantly, he's fine. But there is so much in between the lines humor in that story. Good stuff.

Cell phone?

I like the part about his family buying him a cell phone to carry. I'm a little skeptical that in the woods around here he'd be getting reliable cell service. Maybe he can use the screen for a flashlight in the future! Swanzey is not too far from where I work in Brattleboro, but I hadn't heard this story.

Kevin Rooney said:

That's a great story. Let's hope we're half as tough at 85.

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Boy you got that right.

Keith

Toe Cozy said:

I like the part about his family buying him a cell phone to carry. I'm a little skeptical that in the woods around here he'd be getting reliable cell service...

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Maybe a flare gun?!

WOW! That is one tough dude!

Stories like this make getting older less scary. According to accuweather, it was 19F that night. I can imagine lots of people half his age that wouldn't get through a night like that.

I suspect he may have survived because he kept moving which is how, I was told by my grandpappy, you get to be 85 in the first place.

I wonder if he had a shot of tequila when he got home?

I saw this guy interviewed on the news last night. Tough old bird.

I wanna be like him when I'm 85,in the not so distant future!

Of course I'll carry a headlamp!

We had another one of these in VT a couple years back, on the AT near Bromley as I recall. Guy went out for a hike, apparently to check out a new shelter that had been built a couple miles from the road. Someone who met him on the trail and knew him noticed that he didn't make it back home that evening.

When he was found at the shelter sometime around midnight, by a team headed by a VSP lieutenant, one of his major concerns was whether the news media would be informed. He didn't want his son to know what happened.

As I recall, the thing that slowed us down the most on the way out was having to carry the empty litter on the occasionally icy path. He declined a ride down, at least until he got to the ATV trail, where they pretty much forced him to take an ATV ride out. Up to that point, he preferred to walk out on his own 91 year old legs, with a little help from his new friends.

Kevin Rooney said:

Maybe a flare gun?!

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But he wouldn't have used it because he wasn't lost

Same thing with the cell phone, unless he leaves it on and somebody calls him

Perhaps he would have looked at a GPS, as he could use it himself without help from others - wonder if my eyes could read a GPS screen at 85

My grandfather was still walking in his 90s although since he was legally blind the sheltered care people insisted that unless accompanied he couldn't go downtown but only walk circles around the outside of the building. Fortunately the neighbors found this inspiring instead of worrying about liability.

I walked a mile in the wrong direction on a woods road the other day until I came to a spot I recognized because I was too lazy to get a compass out of my pack, so no telling how stubborn I'll be by 85. Actually the extra 2 miles was probably healthier than eating junk food at home.

RoySwkr said:

But he wouldn't have used it because he wasn't lost

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Good point, Roy. Lost is a state of mind - not an absolute.

I agree he's a tough old bird and Im very glad he's ok, BUT, one question if I may. Why do lost people fall into water? I mean its already cold and being wet is about the worst thing that could happen to you when your out there with minimal gear. I think the idea of a cell for this dude is a good idea.

My cell doesn't work in most wooded areas, not even at the NO Brookfield reservoir which if fairly open. I would have to hike out a ways to get a signal.
It is amazing how people do seem to end up in the creek. I don't know if they go down to get a drink, slip and fall, try to follow stream out, fall in, skate in on icy rocks, or just plain don't see it in the dark until it's too late. Wet rocks, wet roots, I suppose are all accidents waiting to happen, especially after sunset. Sounds like he fell a whole lot but he can cancel his "bone scan for osteoporosis" now.
He sure is an incredibly tough dude as is the 91yo that Sardog described.
I also wonder if an "old timer" would even use a cell phone. My stubborn old mother, who died at 87 very suddenly, would have nothing to do with all the "new fangled inventions". She truly believed they were all just a waste of money. She was as stubborn as the day is long.
Over the years in the hospital, I did notice that a lot of the very elderly folks who did great (providing they did not have some fatal illness) were VERY independent, lean, and insisted on "doing it themselves". In fact they were fiercely independent and that seemed to serve them very well. They do not allow themselves to just "wither on the vine."
I want to be just like THEM!

I used to live very close to Swanzey and cell phone coverage is very spotty at best and that is along the rural highways in the area (rt.32, 12, 119 and 10) Get away from those and you can forget about the cellphone.

I also new a bunch like ths "old timer" and most of them have been hunting and walking those woods their whole life. I got a bunch of good info talking to men like him.

brianW said:

I used to live very close to Swanzey and cell phone coverage is very spotty at best and that is along the rural highways in the area (rt.32, 12, 119 and 10) Get away from those and you can forget about the cellphone.

I also new a bunch like ths "old timer" and most of them have been hunting and walking those woods their whole life. I got a bunch of good info talking to men like him.

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Yup, I live in Winchester and there is hardly any cell reception at my house.