Bushwackers BEWARE: A charged rescue!

[Nessmuk]

Sometimes getting a little lost is a good teacher, if one can work their way out of it....

I've learned the most when I've lost the trail and had to find it again on my own.

That is how I found I best learned the craft many years ago. Now when I teach navigation, if I am with a group, after explaining and demonstrating a few of the basics I simply silently follow the group along on a difficult bushwhack to some obscure destination, letting them lead themselves (NO GPS allowed). Quite often we will get "lost". Eventually we will come out to someplace recognizable to at least one of them (or I have no problem spending the night in oblivion). Afterward we will go over in great detail where we were, and the many clues and techniques that were available to fix their position every step of the way. Otherwise, I advise self-learning by seeking to attempt to get "lost" in a "safe" area, say a terrain varied park surrounded by not very distant roads. Fast and effective learning, but it must be followed by detailed analysis.

 

[Maddy]

I am thinking of any number of reasons why he might have called for help, not the least of which might be that he realized he was out of his league and quite frightened. Perhaps he was in a weakened physical state, exhausted, some dehydration, very hungry, low blood sugar which can interfere with ones ability to think clearly and make good decisions..
I suspect it might have been a combination of a number of factors, including panic when he realized the mess he had gotten himself into, and had no clue how to get out.

Perhaps he did indeed make the right decision. It took the rescuers almost 6 hrs to find him. Had he continued to wander about, getting himself in deeper, they might still be out there looking. The recommendation is if you get lost, stay put, and wait. It's a good thing that he was able to walk out and not have to be carried out because he waited too long to ask for help. He was probably also at greater risk for injury the longer he waited to seek assistance and tried in vain to save himself.

He might have come out eventually but in his case it would not have been because of skill, but rather because lady luck was on his side. It's a big decision to trust your life to "lady luck" when you know you are hopelessly lost and clueless.

 

[erugs]

In this case i am not a proponent of innocent until proven guilty. It is great that the rescued hiker agrees. But the press report said he was experienced. How did they rezch that conclusion? More info please so we can read him the riot act for being experienced yet not proving to us. Right now, to me, he is a guy who went down a closed trail. Could he not read? How was he planning to get back to his lift home? Who was worried that he was out all night. The good news is that others may worry that if this kind of dangerous thing can happen to the type of person we have here, one F&G considers to be an experienced hiker, what trouble might they get into with their inexperience? I suppose he was courteous by not calling at midnight but waiting until dawn to request help.

PS i know someone who got into trouble for staying put as told so there is not always the right thing to do.

 

[Maddy]

I was impressed with him not calling at night but waiting until dawn.

The guy admits to doing it all wrong and he probably learned a lesson. Fortunately he emerged unscathed but possibly with a bruised ego.
That won't do him serious harm.

I agree there are certain times that staying put might not be the best plan. I think the only time I would keep moving if I was hopelessly lost was if no one on God's green earth knew where I was, and I had no cell signal, or PLB. Living alone no one is expecting me home but I do have an understanding with a good friend who keeps watch in the event I do not return to my home base. MY PLB is most definitely my new best friend. It's great to know that help is in your pack should a real need (God forbid) arise! This is one big reason why I will never leave my pack in the col!

It would be nice to hear all the details of his adventure from him so that we could possibly learn something from his experience.

 

[sardog1]

That is how I found I best learned the craft many years ago. Now when I teach navigation, if I am with a group, after explaining and demonstrating a few of the basics I simply silently follow the group along on a difficult bushwhack to some obscure destination, letting them lead themselves (NO GPS allowed). Quite often we will get "lost". Eventually we will come out to someplace recognizable to at least one of them (or I have no problem spending the night in oblivion). Afterward we will go over in great detail where we were, and the many clues and techniques that were available to fix their position every step of the way. Otherwise, I advise self-learning by seeking to attempt to get "lost" in a "safe" area, say a terrain varied park surrounded by not very distant roads. Fast and effective learning, but it must be followed by detailed analysis.

I used a variant of this when teaching. I'd send students out in groups of three or four on an orienteering course of my design, with these instructions:

1. Always know where you are on the map, where you're going and how you'll get there.
2. If you think someone is leading your group astray, you have the right to stop the group and insist on being shown where you are from references between the map and the terrain, where you're going and how you're getting there. When the putative leader(s) can't answer these questions to the satisfaction of everyone in the group, then you stop moving until that happens.

The typical location for these sessions was a 1500-acre triangle surrounded by two rivers and a blacktop road. I told them that if they didn't swim or cross the blacktop, I could find them fairly quickly if necessary. The group of school students that went farthest astray among many dozens of such groups of various ages? Taken over at the beginning by an accompanying high school teacher. She led them for nearly ninety minutes, the last 89 of which she had no idea where she was. No one else spoke up ..........

 

[Irishskier]

Aside from the lack of detail...my $0.02 is that the trail was closed for a reason and he should have probably known this. Were it to be a surprise, the executed backup plan seems odd. Of course, no judgement here, especially without all the facts. In my humble opinion these instances do provide valuable discussion for all, even "experienced" hikers.

 

[erugs]

So one of my take-away thoughts from this is that should I do something that gets me in the news, be sure to make the press print the whole story. Oh, wait...

 

[Maddy]

So one of my take-away thoughts from this is that should I do something that gets me in the news, be sure to make the press print the whole story. Oh, wait...

But don't get into any really serious trouble because you want to live to tell about it. Make it good though. Lots of drama!

My new hiking mantra is "Oh please don't let anything happen. I don't want to be a topic of discussion on VFTT."

 

[erugs]

But don't get into any really serious trouble because you want to live to tell about it. Make it good though. Lots of drama!

My new hiking mantra is "Oh please don't let anything happen. I don't want to be a topic of discussion on VFTT."

I'll try to take your advice, Maddy. What I intended to indicate in my comment was that the press doesn't always present all the information they have, only what will make a good story, fill just the amount of space they have, build at least temporary readership, etc.

 

[Maddy]

I'll try to take your advice, Maddy. What I intended to indicate in my comment was that the press doesn't always present all the information they have, only what will make a good story, fill just the amount of space they have, build at least temporary readership, etc.

Understand....it was my feeble attempt at interjecting a little humor. When I hike now, I sometimes think "Oh please, don't let anything go wrong. I don't want to be the topic of a news article and accident analysis on VFTT.