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Christopher Staff (the Pemi loop trail hiker, missing since Monday) has been found by two hikers around 7:30 this evening. He was sitting on a log, dehydrated but otherwise OK. Source: 11pm TV news report. Doug

A correction: * Didn't have a sat phone, did have a cellphone. * Had a signal and successfully called 911. However, by this time there was someone (without a phone) with me who could have skied out and gotten help. It just would have taken a bit longer... FWIW, this was a low probability...

At those altitudes, one is at the edge of survival. Even with full acclimatization (which takes ~6 weeks*) only a few can function or survive without supplemental oxygen. Many can barely take care of themselves while their bottled oxygen holds out and few have the extra margin to be able to...

Also far fewer people to get in the way... Many of the routes have sections that are single-lane with no passing (such as the region near the Hillary Step). Yes the more experienced often help those in trouble, sometimes giving up there own chance at the summit in the process. Doug

From what I have read about raingear, the truly waterproof gear has a rating of 10000mm (IIRC). However, it is possible that raingear needs a higher rating than tents--for instance, water compressed under a pack strap could be at a pretty high pressure. Doug

The Dead from the put-in just below Grand Falls (below Flagstaff Lake) to the Forks (junction with the Kennebec) is one of my favorite paddles in the north country. (Class 2-3 whitewater depending on the water level.) Doug

This is a possiblity--some streams exhibit "headward erosion". In other words the head of a stream can "move" uphill by erosion. If this headward erosion hits another streambed, the second stream can be "captured". The 24K USGS topo shows additional detail...

A GPX file does not contain the information required to perform the correction. You need the pseudo-ranges. DGPS corrects errors in the pseudo-ranges before using them to compute the location, velocity, and time. There are also techniques (eg dual frequency) not used in typical hiking GPSes...

DGPS corrections can also be applied in post-processing. Some of the trail locations might not have been allowed reception of the DGPS signal preventing real-time corrections. If one records the pseudo-ranges received at both the reference location and the rover, the corrections can be applied...

There is a good reason--the Gunks are the same rock formation as Seneca Rocks. I hiked in Monongahela many years ago. A very nice area. Doug

Pemi Lollipop ski trip with Becca M: 28.5 hrs. https://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?39621-Pemi-Ski-Loop-in-Less-than-30-Hours-) Doug

I was at the Marlboro, MA store about 6 weeks ago and asked about the heath of the chain. They said it is doing well and they are even opening a few new stores. Keeping the rents low seems to be a key concern... Doug

One has to set up and break camp down quickly during polar travel. Otherwise one can get dangerously chilled during the interval between the protection of the tent and the heat generation of motion. In nasty conditions a slow transition can be fatal. Doug

I was given opioids after my surgery for a broken femur and hip. I rapidly discovered that I only had pain when moving and could sleep without the pills. So I skipped my night dose and effectively went off them every night. Never had even a hint of habituation. At one point I tried switching...

The key difference is the lower air pressure at altitude. It allows a canister to have a positive pressure at lower temps than at lower altitudes. Doug

Technically, the sun only rises (and sets) once per year on the North and South Poles. I will leave it as an exercise for the reader to figure out how early or late this is... Doug

Reaction times slow down, muscles lose strength, and bones get weaker with age. One does not bounce as well as one used to... Doug

Yep. I was enjoying myself skiing along on an easy gentle downhill and a moment later was lying in the snow with no chance of extricating myself... FWIW, (11 years later) I am able to hike and ski, but the leg is slightly shorter and twisted inward ~20 degrees causing somewhat diminished...

Not necessarily... All such radios are under federal frequency, power, and antenna limitations. BTW, the OP did not specify a type of radio. I'm assuming he is referring to FRS radios. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Radio_Service If you are lucky, you might get the advertised range...

Check out the source data for the maps of interest--many of the free ones were generated from USGS 100K scale DEM data or SRTM (30 or 90 meter resolution). One can interpolate such data to produce close-spaced contours, but if they are based on coarser data they don't add any additional...