In my opinion it "raised the bar" for charges. The conditions the prior day and the day of the rescue were cold and windy, there may have been a wind chill advisory but realistically they were not excessive for a trail that runs in tree cover up to the last 100 yards. I have traditionally considered Jackson as a backup summit for marginal conditions as it does have limited exposure. I was on the same trail the day of the rescue and met the "victim"and F&G coming down.
The wind had blown over the trail down below the final ledges and it was obvious that the trail had been covered with fresh snow making for a couple of spots where the track disapeared even though it was well establshed down below. We got confused in a couple of spots in the upper hardwoods below the ledges where there was no trace of the trail despite prior hikers that day and the rescue effort. This was due to high winds and snow. When we summited, we used and needed full winter gear including goggles. When we had encountered the hiker and rescuers in question, she appeared to have all the essentials. I obviously didnt go over the list of "Hike Safe" essentials with her but given that she bivied overnight I expect she had the required gear.
IMO, unless there were circumstances that werent revealed in the press, the hiker was basically cited for hiking solo in winter and had the bad fortune to make a mistake . This is definitely raising the bar. Up into this point, citations were generally clear cut, an individual or groups of individuals were poorly equipped and lacking the gear in the "hike safe" criteria, or under the influence of some sort of substance. I expect the Eagle Scout rescue a few years back was the beginning of the slippery slope. This most recent example has added somewhat more undefinable criteria that applies to a majority of VFTT hikers, bascially it leaves it up to an arbitrary decision after the fact by an admistrator under fiscal pressure to decide if a hiker electing to did an "unsafe" act. Unfortunately it is a precedent unless contested.
On a somewhat related note, years ago I took a private pilots course, one of the things that was stressed by the instructor was that in communication with the FAA, that one had to be very careful on how to ask questions. If at any point you were a bit confused or had some potential mechanical issues, the controllers would immediately start asking if you wished to declare and "emergency", if you declined they would keep asking and give little assistance until you uttered the magic wood "yes". At that point, the emergency response plan was put in effect and it is a written document prepared in advance to cover all contingencies. When working in industry I have received HAZCON training and it is very similiar, when a incident meets HAZCON criteria (bascially if in doubt, its HAZCON, a written plan goes in effect and its hard to stop. I expect the receptionist at Highland Center is not trained to decide what is or is not an emergency and are instructed to call 911 if in doubt and once that happens F&G goes into "rescue mode" as I expect the receptionist is not going to take it upon themselves to decide if it is or isnt an emergency. Since 9/11many it not all emergency response plans have been formalized in matter that take out any chance of common sense.
Many years ago, the spouse of my hiking partner misunderstood some clear directions that we would be coming out very late from a long hike. She decided to call the state police, luckily it was some how shunted to a FS employee who decided to call AMC first who got on the radio and called Zealand Hut asking if we had come through. We had stopped in on our way out so the hut caretaker knew we were headed out. I expect if the call wasnt made, F&G would have responded and found us walking down Zealand Road with headlamps at 11 PM at night. With the new lowered bar, I have to wonder if I would be writing a check to F&G for that evening.
Do note F&G has to participate in the political process and one of the ways they have of keeping the debate in the public's mind is to get publicity on occasion and these fines and rescues is a convenient method of cranking up the focus on a poorly funded program. Given the lack of access to the room and meals tax which is a logical method of funding given the states tourist driven economy this will keep coming back again and again.
