Hiker missing in Franconia Notch area

The headline is the same but the story has changed to a missing man who went fishing near one of the trailheads. (Union Leader comments are typical -but oops!)

The fishermen should start paying their fair share of SAR costs! This is an outrage! How can Fish and...waitaminnit. There goes that rant

carole said:

(Union Leader comments are typical -but oops!)

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Although I hate to comment negatively I have to point out one Union Leader comment that might be just a bit off...

"Lost hikers is getting old! Pass a law that all hikers MUST carry a flare when hiking"

It would certainly be easier to find lost hikers once all those pesky trees have been cleared out by the fire.

Not sure if this is the appropriate place to ask this.

Beyond the price increase in the parking pass this year (not sure where those monies go), has it been suggested a hiking license fee through Fish and Game to cover SAR?
What do you folks think?

jniehof said:

The fishermen should start paying their fair share of SAR costs! This is an outrage! How can Fish and...waitaminnit. There goes that rant

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Maybe somone can answer this; Do fishing licence fees contribute towards Fish and Game's budget and is any of it earmarked for SAR?

skiguy said:

Maybe somone can answer this; Do fishing licence fees contribute towards Fish and Game's budget and is any of it earmarked for SAR?

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"It depends on what your definition of 'contribute' is."

SAR operations by NH Fish and Game are supposed to be funded from a SAR fund that receives $1 from each OHRV, snowmobile and boat license. However, the fund has been diminishing in relation to the need and is currently inadequate, even falling recently into a deficit. So, for the 2008-09 biennium, the legislature appropriated $127,235 annually from unrestricted F&G funds for SAR. Those "unrestricted funds" come primarily from hunting and fishing licenses.

So yes, anglers and hunters are paying for SAR operations in some measure. That's why some of us encouraged people to consider buying licenses, or moose lottery permit chances, even if they're not going to hunt or fish.

UL reader comments are far more vicious than anything I've seen in VFTT threads

mtnpa said:

UL reader comments are far more vicious than anything I've seen in VFTT threads

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Just shows that most (ok, maybe not most, but a lot) of the non-hiking public act like idiots when it comes to commenting on anything to do with hiking. Especially on getting lost hiking while solo. (Which is all they usually have to comment on in the news.)

Carrying flares? I mean sure it could work if a helicopter is in your area. But those same people that say, "carry a flare," will bash you for setting a forest fire with one!

And this guy coulda had a heart attack or slipped into diabetic coma and people are still running their mouths about hikers getting lost.

Let's hope this guy turns out alright.

Hopefully this story will have a happy ending but things aren't looking good. As for the comments in the UL they are what I would expect from people who don't hike. But chances are those idiots would comment the same way about any hobby where is a person gets into some danger. The only thing those morons understand is someone who sits on a couch and eats potato chips and donuts. Their intellect cannot go beyond that.

BlackBuffalo said:

Beyond the price increase in the parking pass this year (not sure where those monies go), has it been suggested a hiking license fee through Fish and Game to cover SAR?
What do you folks think?

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A license to hike?

One of the comments from the UL story suggested a license for hikers.
I think it's crazy too.

Fisherman found with broken leg

http://www.wmur.com/news/19372094/detail.html

Article states he tried to call 911 on his cell phone but couldn't connect. Glad he's OK!

Barkingcat said:

I figure that the commenter didn't necessarily mean that a hiker had to use the flare simply because they were carrying it.

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Just because they are carrying their brain doesn't mean they have to use it either!

Tim

I've never really understood the hostility of, shall we say, "indoor-oriented" New Hampshire residents to non-residents that get lost within their state (re: the comments after articles like that.) Granted, there are a lot of unprepared weekend warriors that get themselves into trouble, but NH would be in a lot of economic trouble without the clueless masses passing through. One would think they'd weigh that against the occasional SAR effort and show a bit of clemency.

There were three incidents in the last day or so, the missing fisherman, the woman who fell on the OBP, and the person with the leg fracture on Washington. Please keep your eye on the bigger picture: more New Hampshire SAR volunteers, not to mention paid professionals, turned out to help these people than complained in the UL. Upper Valley Wilderness Response Team, New England K-9, Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue Team, Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue Team, Mountain Rescue Service, SOLO, several hundred people, all volunteers, plus USFS, AMC, Fish and Game, and others, it's an extraordinary resource of talented and dedicated people in this little state of NH. If you break a leg tomorrow on a NH mountain or go missing, heaven forbid, they'll be there to help you too, willingly, graciously, compassionately, efficiently, skillfully, 24/7, no questions asked, doesn't matter what your politics are or your opinions about NH. That should be the real point here.

http://theunionleader.com/article.a...rticleId=3e4442b5-bf5e-4a34-b243-7eadafb7b39c

Waumbek said:

There were three incidents in the last day or so, the missing fisherman, the woman who fell on the OBP, and the person with the leg fracture on Washington. Please keep your eye on the bigger picture: more New Hampshire SAR volunteers, not to mention paid professionals, turned out to help these people than complained in the UL. Upper Valley Wilderness Response Team, New England K-9, Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue Team, Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue Team, Mountain Rescue Service, SOLO, several hundred people, all volunteers, plus USFS, AMC, Fish and Game, and others, it's an extraordinary resource of talented and dedicated people in this little state of NH. If you break a leg tomorrow on a NH mountain or go missing, heaven forbid, they'll be there to help you too, willingly, graciously, compassionately, efficiently, skillfully, 24/7, no questions asked, doesn't matter what your politics are or your opinions about NH. That should be the real point here.

http://theunionleader.com/article.a...rticleId=3e4442b5-bf5e-4a34-b243-7eadafb7b39c

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Well said. A big thumbs up to those people.

I'm glad this story had a happy ending.

The article about the rescue in the UL quotes Gerard Perron's grandson:

>>> "He said he fell into snow up to his neck and when he got out, he had lost his shoes," Jason Perron said. "He didn't know where he was." <<<

I think all of us can relate to that. Even though we may be much more experienced with April-May hiking than Mr. Perron is, we all know about postholing and falling into spruce traps. I've never lost my shoes, but I've nearly lost a snowshoe in a posthole. For someone who isn't familiar with the dangers of late-season rotting snow, falling into a spruce trap could be a terrifying experience. And also as we all know, this time of year you don't have to step very far off a trail sometimes to find yourself up to your neck. Mr. Perron has my sympathy and understanding.

Here's a link to the full UL article:

http://www.unionleader.com/article....rticleId=3e4442b5-bf5e-4a34-b243-7eadafb7b39c

Like all of you, I'm very happy this story's ending is a happy one. I can see Franconia Notch from my home, and over the past couple of days I'd look up there and just, well... worry.

Think of how scared he must have been. It makes me sad just thinking of this poor man out there for 3 days, wondering if he was going to live or die. The folks that make these commments have no compassion for there fellow man, I feel sorry for them.

Taconic said:

I've never really understood the hostility of, shall we say, "indoor-oriented" New Hampshire residents to non-residents that get lost within their state ... NH would be in a lot of economic trouble without the clueless masses passing through.

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Hunters and fishermen have reason to be unhappy because their license money pays for rescues while taxes paid by the "clueless" go to the general fund.

Idiots make things worse for the careful by getting needless rules passed: for instance, the park gate at Kearsarge used to be left open at night for those who want to go on sunset hikes but is now locked because of teenagers injured midnight drag racing.