Another missing hiker FOUND in Franconia Notch

A hiker got lost in Franconia Notch, apparently set out to do an overnighht Franconia Ridge loop. He was able to TM his girlfriend to ask for help...

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/15321216/detail.html

He was FOUND according to a later tv news report.

Just saw that on WMUR....and I think they said he was found, though no details on the website yet.

I wonder if this person got caught in the snow squalls yesterday. Lebanon picked up over an inch of snow in less than an hour yesterday afternoon. It definitely came as a surprise to me.

grouseking

Your link appears to have passed into the infinitum. This one is still vital: http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO73395/

-Dr. Wu

Good to hear. About 9:30 or 10:00, while heading up Liberty Springs, we saw the first rescue chopper coming in low and slow and I knew this could not be good. We heard multiple choppers buzzing around all day, and at one point, while waiting for the others in my group to return, an Army tanker truck with JP8 (jet fuel for the helicopters) pulled in and out of the Basin lot. I stopped by the Mountain Wanderer afterwards and Steve said they had cleared out a spot on the northern end of the notch for the chpper to land. He also said he saw the rescue snowmobile trailers heading towards Linwood which he suspected the lost hiker might have wandered down into the Pemi.

But it is comforting to know this one had a happy ending. I don't know what 2 fatalities in a row on the same peak would do to this close knit community.

Brian

Glad the hiker was found...at was the bookstore when the rescue snowmobile went by, followed not too long after by an ambulance...we were thinking it could be another doozy.

We saw one ambulance and police officer posted at Trudeau Rd opposite Gale River Rd and another ambulance and police officer posted at the Skoocumchuck trailhead. This was in the late afternoon. We wondered what was up. Although maybe it had nothing to do with the hiker?

Union Leader reports "After camping overnight Friday on the mountain as planned, Davis had sent a text-message to his girlfriend late yesterday morning, telling her "he was lost and in need of rescue," according to Col. Jeffrey Gray of Fish and Game."

He did a solo overnight in February on the Franconia Range? Wow, I'll assume this guy was no rookie. Supposedly, he's in good shape. It'll be interesting to hear his story.


bob

Here's a link to the Union leader article confirming the rescue.

http://www.wmur.com/news/15327379/detail.html

Has been up there 8 times, second in winter, according to the video from this link. Glad he is safe and hope he is well.

Did you catch the end of the clip where it said that wen they found him he didn't have shoes or socks on.

You can't always believe everything you read in the news. A friend of mine who lost his barn in a fire was reported as having had 3 cows burned to death. He's never had cows on the property.

Granted, it might be true, but I wonder if they meant something like his snowshoes weren't on.

update in Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ne...e_stirs_a_warning_to_others_in_new_hampshire/

Jordan said Davis lacked snowshoes, waterproof boots, a global positioning system, a map and compass, and made the mistake of hiking alone. He also was unaware of the severe weather conditions above the tree line, Jordan said.

Click to expand...

Good Job! Way to be smart.

But Davis had some equipment and was "more prepared than other people," the officer said.

Click to expand...

Oh, well that more than makes up for it. He had his cell phone too! And he knew how to text message!!

-Dr. Wu

Sounds like he wasn't that prepared...in the very least, one should have a compass up there - if you're able to walk, go due west and you'll either be back on the ridge or in ear's shot of I-93.

Dugan said:

You can't always believe everything you read in the news.

Click to expand...

True statement, I know from experience!

On the other hand, it's said that people with advanced hypothermia sometimes start to feel very hot and strip off their clothes.

Except for the waterproof boots, I have been on that ridge in the winter without GPS (I don't own one) map (I know all the trails, so I don't often bring a map), compass (this is negligent, but if it's clipped to the wrong pack I might have forgotten it) and have hiked it alone. Often. And, I've even been caught in a whiteout and had to hunker down for 20-30 minutes until I could see a bit.

If it is true he has been up there 8 times, and this is the second in the winter, I would believe he knew what the conditions could be.

Now, no shoes or socks? Like a little clarity on that one.

dug said:

Except for the waterproof boots, I have been on that ridge in the winter without GPS (I don't own one) map (I know all the trails, so I don't often bring a map), compass (this is negligent, but if it's clipped to the wrong pack I might have forgotten it) and have hiked it alone. Often. And, I've even been caught in a whiteout and had to hunker down for 20-30 minutes until I could see a bit.

If it is true he has been up there 8 times, and this is the second in the winter, I would believe he knew what the conditions could be.

Now, no shoes or socks? Like a little clarity on that one.

Click to expand...

Map and Compass is the important one (and boots). F-Ride is bounded by trails to the East. The article only mentioned tangible things but nothing about common sense which he appears to have left at home. Whatever, he's alive and I assume he'll recover so good for him.

I get the feeling that he wasn't aware that the forecast called for high winds and low temps for Saturday. He could have previously (gotten lucky) gone on 8 nice days and this was the first lousy one.

Like I said, I'm glad he's alive -- had he died it would have been a tragedy.

-Dr. Wu

If he was at such an advanced stage of hypothermia that he took off his socks and his shoes, I don't know how he'd have the sense to make "signals" with his headlamp????

Condition

"If he was at such an advanced stage of hypothermia that he took off his socks and his shoes, I don't know how he'd have the sense to make "signals" with his headlamp????"

Or dial 911 during the search so they could triangulate his position? He was on an overnight, maybe his boots and socks blew away or froze and he couldn't get them back on? Can only speculate.

KDT

I'm going to speculate here: Many times barebooting vs. snowshoes is mentioned, and often barebooting is worded as barefooting. Perhaps somewhere in the reporting it when from bareboot to no shoes and socks???