Another Falling Waters Loop Fatality

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NHClimber

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Overdue Hiker Located Deceased

Franconia, NH: Just after 9:00 PM on December 24th NH Fish and Game Conservation Officers were notified of an overdue hiker who had been hiking the 8.6 mile Bridle Path/Falling Waters Loop. The 28 year old lone male hiker had departed at around 11:00 AM. A family member in China had tracked the progress of the hiker throughout the day and at 6:15 PM the family member reported that the hiker’s phone was going dead and it appeared as though the hiker was off trail south of Mount Lincoln. The hiker was described by family as inexperienced and it was unknown what he was carrying for equipment. With temperatures near zero a search for the hiker commenced. By 2:00 AM on December 25th a team of Conservation Officers had reached Franconia Ridge. Shortly after the team located what they believed to be the tracks of the hiker. The tracks continued off trail and ended up in a drainage that flows from between Little Haystack Mountain and Mount Lincoln. At 6:45 AM Conservation Officers located the body of the missing hiker about a half a mile from the Falling Waters Trail in Franconia. Rescuers arrived back at the trailhead at 2:30 PM on the 25th. At this time the identity of the hiker is being withheld until all family can be notified.
 
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Condolences to the family and much appreciate the efforts of The SAR Community especially during a Holiday time.
 
This is starting to happen a little too often. Time to start thinking outside the box on possible solutions. Fearful there will be a lot more of these over the Winter given the amount of inexperienced people heading out to try it now.

NH F&G had a nice post on FB today by the wife of one of the SAR team members that left Christmas Eve dinner to suit up and head to the ridge - how selfless they are, how supportive of their family members they are taking on this task, etc. The SAR teams really are amazing and selfless. I'd be so pissed leaving my family and friends to go out and rescue someone with such disregard for their own safety and the safety of others. Hats off to those crews. (Before someone jumps down my throat I am talking in generalities here. I did not see the details of this search).
 
This is starting to happen a little too often.

Sadly, this is becoming a trend.

I hope we don't have to resort to posting people at our trail heads to "enforce" the use of proper equipment like I have heard about in the Daks.

Merry Christmas, Everyone. Be safe and warm tonight...


Z
 
Unfortunately, due the timing with the holiday and the major weather events means that this fatality just will not get the press it deserves to hopefully warn away other unprepared folks from trying the same hike. My guess is given the forecast later in the week, there will be plenty trying.

I guess hikers are going to need a mandatory geolocated ap on their phone that when they get near a trailhead, the ap pops up and asks weather and equipment specific questions. Maybe tie it to Hike Safe and charge a daily rescue fee?
 
Unfortunately, due the timing with the holiday and the major weather events means that this fatality just will not get the press it deserves to hopefully warn away other unprepared folks from trying the same hike. My guess is given the forecast later in the week, there will be plenty trying.

I guess hikers are going to need a mandatory geolocated ap on their phone that when they get near a trailhead, the ap pops up and asks weather and equipment specific questions. Maybe tie it to Hike Safe and charge a daily rescue fee?

Never going to stop it. No matter what is done. It is only going to get worse. I'm curious if he was trying to bag the peaks for the "list".

Best to keep the SAR folks well equipped and what ever else to keep them active.
 
Doesn't Baxter close trails and forbid access to Katahdin when conditions warrant? Maybe that is what needs to happen. When it's going to be bad (and what constitutes "bad" I guess will involve debate) F&G simply puts a big orange sawhorse saying "CLOSED" at the trailhead and blocks the parking. I'd hate to see something that extreme but if we're going to start plucking a dead body off the ridge every 2-3 weeks it may need to come to that. Experienced hikers are not going up there on days like that so it really isn't penalizing experienced hikers. It is blocking access to the newbie that doesn't know any better. As many of us have stated for many years, no amount of training, signage, new apps, etc is going to get the job done. Might just need to take the option to hike at all off the table.
 
Hiking (and hiking in New Hampshire specifically) is one of the few remaining activities in modern society where there is real personal responsibility. I am in favor of increasing SAR safety or offering more opportunities for the public to learn about safe hiking practices but rules and regulations on the trails is not the right reaction to consequences occurring in high consequence environments.
 
His family said he wasn't an experienced hiker and they were tracking his progress from China? How did he even find out about this hike? Instagram?

The Franconia Ridge gets mentioned quite often in "best of" articles in just about every outdoor related publication I follow online - Outside, Backpacker, The Trek, etc, etc, etc. I have relatives who aren't even hikers who know about it and have done it. Years ago when I was in my 20's - pre "web" - and decidedly NOT a hiker we used to camp in NH and I did the loop. I'm sure Instagram and Facebook have only amplified it's very popular reputation exponentially. I've even seen the Franconia Loop mentioned as one of the best hikes in the World, which seems totally ridiculous with everything else on the planet, but there it was in the article. But it checks a lot of boxes for amateurs - easy drive, easy access, very picturesque, and pretty easy mileage for many at only about 9 miles.
 
Hiking (and hiking in New Hampshire specifically) is one of the few remaining activities in modern society where there is real personal responsibility. I am in favor of increasing SAR safety or offering more opportunities for the public to learn about safe hiking practices but rules and regulations on the trails is not the right reaction to consequences occurring in high consequence environments.

I generally agree. But the issue is that a lot of people are wandering off into "high consequence areas" without realizing they are high consequences areas. They're not making a judgement based on the facts, bringing the right equipment, etc and accepting the consequences of this assessment and their actions. This is not personable responsibility. This is ignorance.
 
I am not in favor of any closures whatsoever. I think certain trailheads definitely need better signage warning of the potential dangers. Outside of that, it's just not realistic to stop well prepared hikers from hiking, because strangers who are unprepared decide to go on a hike ignorantly. That may sound harsh, but I've spent my whole life preparing and training to do what I do, to tell me I have to stay home, because some guy flew in from China on a whim, is unacceptable. We all live, and we all will die, some of that is luck, some of that is how we choose to live. If I drove to the coast and decided to swim to Europe and drowned, I wouldn't expect the authorities to close the beaches. Social media is becoming the Bain of society and I plant most of these deaths and rescues squarely on that medium.
 
I generally agree. But the issue is that a lot of people are wandering off into "high consequence areas" without realizing they are high consequences areas. They're not making a judgement based on the facts, bringing the right equipment, etc and accepting the consequences of this assessment and their actions. This is not personable responsibility. This is ignorance.
It’s a National Forest. Freedom of access should not be restricted by Government or any other means. If you want that then there are plenty of other places where all kinds of permitting is required.
 
I am not in favor of any closures whatsoever. I think certain trailheads definitely need better signage warning of the potential dangers. Outside of that, it's just not realistic to stop well prepared hikers from hiking, because strangers who are unprepared decide to go on a hike ignorantly. That may sound harsh, but I've spent my whole life preparing and training to do what I do, to tell me I have to stay home, because some guy flew in from China on a whim, is unacceptable. We all live, and we all will die, some of that is luck, some of that is how we choose to live. If I drove to the coast and decided to swim to Europe and drowned, I wouldn't expect the authorities to close the beaches. Social media is becoming the Bain of society and I plant most of these deaths and rescues squarely on that medium.
Well put. Thanks for saying so.
 
I'm sure more details will come out in time. The hike has been in "Walking" Magazine. (Likely for a summer walk) Some I think believe that since Franconia Ridge is not Washington or on the same massif as Washington. so the weather will not be as bad, even though there is nothing above 4400 ft to the West or NW of it until ??

What was interesting also was that someone camped on a drift on the side of I believe Monroe Saturday Night and had a great sunrise. They are getting ready for rainier and then in 2025 Denali. They appear to have the knowledge and gear and they did a decent job explaining his gear was expedition quality and they were very experienced. The pictures make it look so easy though
 
I'm sure more details will come out in time. The hike has been in "Walking" Magazine. (Likely for a summer walk) Some I think believe that since Franconia Ridge is not Washington or on the same massif as Washington. so the weather will not be as bad, even though there is nothing above 4400 ft to the West or NW of it until ??

What was interesting also was that someone camped on a drift on the side of I believe Monroe Saturday Night and had a great sunrise. They are getting ready for rainier and then in 2025 Denali. They appear to have the knowledge and gear and they did a decent job explaining his gear was expedition quality and they were very experienced. The pictures make it look so easy though

It's very common for people to use the Whites as a training ground for higher places. That's what Kate M. was doing when she perished. Before I went west to climb the high peaks in CA and CO, I spent a winter on Mt. Washington, climbing it at least once, sometimes twice a week for the calendar winter. It prepared me very well for the weather out west and there were times, that other parties would turn around in questionable conditions and I could continue to the summits. The weather on these low elevation peaks is no joke and if you can climb here in bad weather, you can go anywhere in the world and find success. The only thing the Whites lacks is elevation for training purposes, that you learn when you go above 14k.
 
It’s a National Forest. Freedom of access should not be restricted by Government or any other means. If you want that then there are plenty of other places where all kinds of permitting is required.

What does being a National Forest have to do with it? Didn't they close Yellowstone this year after flooding caused road damage and it was unsafe to enter? Don't they close trails out West due to forest fires? They close sections of the AT for bear activity every year. I've skied at places like Wildcat and Cannon where they close trails due to conditions despite my paying for a lift ticket. Public roads get closed all the time for various safety reasons. I don't see what that distinction has to do with it.

I'd prefer not to see closures as well. I'm just posing the possibility as an option considering other places like Baxter have done so. Ultimately isn't that the big question - Is there ever a point where freedom of choice and personal accountability needs to be restrained in some manner for a greater good?

Franconia Ridge has grown beyond the random tragedy every few years. It has become a fairly repetitive problem, where a fairly consistent type of person makes the same basic mistake, in the same basic location, over and over again. All the "usual stuff" is not solving the problem.
 
The pictures make it look so easy though

Yes they do. My father was a plumber and way back in the day I used to work with him. I always laugh at home improvement shows when they show you how "quick and easy" it is to replace a faucet or a hot water heater or put in a new countertop. A lot of stuff that can happen gets skipped. A lot of things that often don't follow the script.

I'm sure Instagram and Facebook are creating that impression for hikers. That 20-30 minutes of awesome sunrise had hours of tedious and unexciting prep work, tasks, and discomfort related to it.
 
What does being a National Forest have to do with it? Didn't they close Yellowstone this year after flooding caused road damage and it was unsafe to enter? Don't they close trails out West due to forest fires? They close sections of the AT for bear activity every year. I've skied at places like Wildcat and Cannon where they close trails due to conditions despite my paying for a lift ticket. Public roads get closed all the time for various safety reasons. I don't see what that distinction has to do with it.

I'd prefer not to see closures as well. I'm just posing the possibility as an option considering other places like Baxter have done so. Ultimately isn't that the big question - Is there ever a point where freedom of choice and personal accountability needs to be restrained in some manner for a greater good?

Franconia Ridge has grown beyond the random tragedy every few years. It has become a fairly repetitive problem, where a fairly consistent type of person makes the same basic mistake, in the same basic location, over and over again. All the "usual stuff" is not solving the problem.

The answer to your question is no.
 
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