Weekend Rescues

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20160424/NEWS07/160429582

Poorly equipped day hikers on Falling Waters - pretty standard this time of year. I will guess they did the loop clockwise and the stretch from Haystack to Shining Rock threw them for a loop.

PLB on Garfield ridge - I guess its the extent of the injuries

Rock - I remember a comment years about someone getting hit by rock that sometimes someone is in the wrong place at the wrong time

My GF and I met a party of hikers at Grafton Notch this weekend wearing shorts and t-shorts and tiny hydration packs. We assumed they were headed up to TableRock. Imagine our surprise when we saw them hiking up Bald Pate with small child in a carrier. They hiked around a lot of ice that should have turned them back. When we saw them again, they were wearing all their layers and couldn't get around any more ice and was struggling to get back down. I asked one of the women wearing shorts how she felt about them now. With a rueful grin "Yeah, we didn't think this thru, clearly"



The ice is pretty epic

peakbagger said:

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20160424/NEWS07/160429582

Poorly equipped day hikers on Falling Waters - pretty standard this time of year. I will guess they did the loop clockwise and the stretch from Haystack to Shining Rock threw them for a loop.

PLB on Garfield ridge - I guess its the extent of the injuries

Rock - I remember a comment years about someone getting hit by rock that sometimes someone is in the wrong place at the wrong time

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A woman died on the Falling Waters Trail a few years ago as a result of a falling rock. That risk is higher in Spring, but is hardly a reason to wear a helmet or avoid the area. Just a terrible coincidence.

egilbe said:

My GF and I met a party of hikers at Grafton Notch this weekend wearing shorts and t-shorts and tiny hydration packs. We assumed they were headed up to TableRock. Imagine our surprise when we saw them hiking up Bald Pate with small child in a carrier. They hiked around a lot of ice that should have turned them back. When we saw them again, they were wearing all their layers and couldn't get around any more ice and was struggling to get back down. I asked one of the women wearing shorts how she felt about them now. With a rueful grin "Yeah, we didn't think this thru, clearly"

View attachment 5524

The ice is pretty epic

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Similar groups two weekends ago on Liberty Spring Trail: shorts, tennis shoes, t-shirts, many with no backpacks or sharing a small back pack. It got to be laughable. Whenever I heard rustling and crashing in the trees I knew I was approaching another group of hikers. When I greeted them with "No spikes?" the usual story was they had no idea there was still ice in the woods. Yet they continued upward, oblivious to how much more difficult it was going to be to descend later. Offered my spikes to one guy (I wore crampons) who forgot his and was clinging for dear life to trees trying to descend but he refused, saying he got himself into this mess and was going to get himself out. I overheard one kid in a large group of people referring to my crampons as "mad crazy spikes".

I don't know why it surprises me anymore to see people going up full blown ice with no traction, having no back up clothes, etc. It is simply shocking to me that we don't hear about dozens of slip and fall rescues on these weekends. I guess we wildly exaggerate the dangers of the Whites when hundreds of hikers like this seem to do just fine every weekend.

peakbagger said:

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20160424/NEWS07/160429582
Poorly equipped day hikers on Falling Waters - pretty standard this time of year. I will guess they did the loop clockwise and the stretch from Haystack to Shining Rock threw them for a loop.

Click to expand...

PVSART reports they were planning to spend the night, planned on camping out, but because of the cold decided to come down and were flummoxed by the ice. I had inferred they went up FW and turned around, but if they did the loop CW that would help explain how they missed our group of 14, with stoves and sleeping bags and pads and hot drinks and rope and 14 spare pairs of crampons coming by twice in the night. That would suggest they didn't come off the ridge until 10pm. Winds were definitely consistent with the forecast, 30 gusting 50.

I passed a group of teenagers last week. They were in shorts, zero gear, some hand held water bottles and most were performing some kind of tree hugging maneuver as I spiked by with my dog. They asked me how the trail was, to which I replied "slippery" they said "have a good one" I replied "already am". This is a common spring ritual, it surprises me no more then the snow melting in the hot sun. If I'm asked for advice, I gladly give it, if not, I say nothing in regards to someone's level of preparedness.

Does anyone know whether Garfield Guy was one of the tennis shoe club or had Microspikes? Certainly a well prepared hiker can slip and slide and get hurt. The Shinning Rock people - had they extended down the spur or were they found in that vicinity?

Everyone in my group a couple weekends ago had spikes. We all slipped at some point, though the worst was when someone was actually wearing theirs! The loose rock covered with leaves turned out to be a bigger hazard, causing a minor knee and ankle issue.

TJsName said:

A woman died on the Falling Waters Trail a few years ago as a result of a falling rock. That risk is higher in Spring, but is hardly a reason to wear a helmet or avoid the area. Just a terrible coincidence.

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On the Great Gully Trail in King Ravine a few years ago, I was crossing the stream that flows down the headwall. There's a spot where you cross the water, climb up a bit and then come back toward the water. After crossing the water (not much more than a trickle a few feet wide at that time), I heard a crashing sound and looked up to see a boulder about a foot in diameter flying by 6-8 feet above the stream where the trail crossed and where I had been moments before. It reminded me of a road runner cartoon and I was happy the boulder and I were not in the same space at the same time. It was as close as I want to come with one of those.

Dangerous spring out there. I've been staying on relatively low elevation trails when I've gone out lately.