Hiker asked for a rescue...via Facebook

[sierra]

I commented on that thread fairly early and took some heat for suggesting he called for help too soon. I still stand by that statement and the fact that he righted himself and needed no rescue after all, proved I was right. Funny, nobody came forward to admit that later. My two biggest complaints with most modern hikers are they lack the desire and ability to self rescue and they call for help too soon. I mean the guy was lost for about 15 minutes when he panicked and posted on Facebook. For the love of God, at least suffer for a few hours before you throw the towel in. The situation he was in wasn't that bad, what was wrong is that he was inexperienced and never been lost before, even for a few minutes. To those with years of experience, that scenario is something that has occurred more then once over the years to some degree ( at least for those who push it a bit). One of the problems with leaving plans and times of return with people, is that you are under the gun to self rescue before the Calvary is set loose.

 

[Mike P.]

I commented on that thread fairly early and took some heat for suggesting he called for help too soon. I still stand by that statement and the fact that he righted himself and needed no rescue after all, proved I was right. Funny, nobody came forward to admit that later. My two biggest complaints with most modern hikers are they lack the desire and ability to self rescue and they call for help too soon. I mean the guy was lost for about 15 minutes when he panicked and posted on Facebook. For the love of God, at least suffer for a few hours before you throw the towel in. The situation he was in wasn't that bad, what was wrong is that he was inexperienced and never been lost before, even for a few minutes. To those with years of experience, that scenario is something that has occurred more then once over the years to some degree ( at least for those who push it a bit). One of the problems with leaving plans and times of return with people, is that you are under the gun to self rescue before the Calvary is set loose.

I would agree and see there is nothing yet on NH F&G so he self-rescued before they even got to the trailhead. It does bring up the question though, how many hours of suffering is required before you aren't panicking? That would be personal as some people might be more prone to hyperthermia or are overestimating the gear they have. If panicking because they are lost, in many cases, they will go the wrong way which is why sitting and calmly trying to figure things out is one of the first things you do. If fleeing the weather, often they go with the wind so it's not in their face. (It's been quiet on the Southern Presidentials, recently but it wasn't uncommon for people escaping the wind to end up in the Dry River drainage. If the wind came with rain and their was no cover, river crossings were dangerous too. From what I hear, SAR would rather come too early then too late.)

 

[sierra]

I would agree and see there is nothing yet on NH F&G so he self-rescued before they even got to the trailhead. It does bring up the question though, how many hours of suffering is required before you aren't panicking? That would be personal as some people might be more prone to hyperthermia or are overestimating the gear they have. If panicking because they are lost, in many cases, they will go the wrong way which is why sitting and calmly trying to figure things out is one of the first things you do. If fleeing the weather, often they go with the wind so it's not in their face. (It's been quiet on the Southern Presidentials, recently but it wasn't uncommon for people escaping the wind to end up in the Dry River drainage. If the wind came with rain and their was no cover, river crossings were dangerous too. From what I hear, SAR would rather come too early then too late.)

You make some good points and yes, I have heard that SAR would rather an early call than a late one. Still, all those reasonable points aside, speaking to this specific rescue, I think he called to early. Granted fear is one of the first things inexperienced hikers feel, fear based on the lack of understanding of their situation. A more experienced climber can govern his fear with facts and knowledge. It would be interesting to see the data of rescue call-outs for the last 10 years verses say the decade of the 80's. MY point, back then more experienced users in the backcountry equals, less calls to SAR. I might be wrong, but I doubt it.

 

[JoshandBaron]

It would be interesting to see the data of rescue call-outs for the last 10 years verses say the decade of the 80's. MY point, back then more experienced users in the backcountry equals, less calls to SAR. I might be wrong, but I doubt it.

I think the inability to communicate with rescue services on demand would be more of a factor than the idea that somehow people didn't make poor decisions until the current generation of hikers.

 

[iAmKrzys]

[... ] I was worried about trying to call 9-1-1 with my battery level and didn't think I would be able to connect to a call and share my info before my phone died. [...]

I think low battery with no backup plan for recharging is a plausible argument for reaching out earlier rather than later.

 

[NHClimber]

I think the inability to communicate with rescue services on demand would be more of a factor than the idea that somehow people didn't make poor decisions until the current generation of hikers.

And presumably more hikers out there today. Gotta be. Simple math re: population growth and resource utilization I would think.

 

[Nessmuk]

I think the inability to communicate with rescue services on demand would be more of a factor than the idea that somehow people didn't make poor decisions until the current generation of hikers.

When my father began taking me hunting with him, he at first let me til along on his favored pathways. Decades before anyone could even spell GPS or iphone. Not on any trails at all, much more of a bushwhack all the way all day long. He knew where he was going and frequently pointed out to me what the creek and certain trees looked lilke at the place where we crossed a wet marsh. Find the bend in the stream and head away up the hill. The rock at the end of the ridge is where you cross over. And on and on to include how to read the map. A small lapel compass was all we ever needed.

Later when I went hiking on my own, exploring and learning with self taught a more precision version of map and compass, I remembered other things he also taught me back when we went hunting together in the Adirondack woods.
"So if you get 'mixed up', just sit still, eat your sandwich and I'll come find you". Later I expanded that thought to sit down on a log, take out the map and a snack, have a bite and a drink, take a look around at the landscape and calmly figure out what I did to get to this place I am now in, and then where I should go next to best reach my next preplanned map studied destination goal.

How many people think like that and approach wildland hikes in that manner today?

 

[sierra]

When my father began taking me hunting with him, he at first let me til along on his favored pathways. Not on any trails at all, much more of a bushwhack all the way all day long. He knew where he was going and frequently pointed out to me what the creek and certain trees looked lilke at the place where we crossed a wet marsh. Find the bend in the stream and head away up the hill. The rock at the end of the ridge is where you cross over. And on and on to include how to read the map. A small lapel compass was all he ever needed.

Later when I went hiking on my own, exploring and learning with self taught precision map and compass, I remembered other things he also taught me back when we went hunting together in the Adirondack woods.
"So if you get 'mixed up', just sit still, eat your sandwich and I'll come find you". Later I expanded that thought to sit down on a log, take out the map and a snack, have a bite and a drink, take a look around at the landscape and calmly figure out what I did to get to this place I am now in, and then where I should go next to best reach my next preplanned map studied destination goal.

How many people think like that and approach wildland hikes in that manner today?

Not nearly as many.. The generation out there right now, has very little interest in learning a craft, they want to run out there, hike the ridge and get home asap to post their pictures. That was my point, lost on some.

 

[B the Hiker]

Not nearly as many.. The generation out there right now, has very little interest in learning a craft, they want to run out there, hike the ridge and get home asap to post their pictures. That was my point, lost on some.

There is something quite different about the new folks hiking today. "Gridding" is now a competitive sport; it's literally a race. I started hiking the grid (as opposed to just "hiking") maybe fifteen years ago, give or take, and I saw it as a lifetime goal. I took it from the perspective that I would go out into the mountains for the love of it, and eventually I might hike them all in each month. If someone asked me to hike something I had already "done" in a month, yeah, sure! But today, wow, people are dedicating their vacations to getting out on the nice days, and it seems like every one I meet can tell me precisely when they're finishing, exactly how many mountains they have to go, and they are racing to do so.

Along the way, some folks are putting themselves in tremendous risk. They haven't gone through an AMC program, they don't seem to have mentors, none seem to have taken a WFA course, and wow their packs are small given the conditions and places I have seen them hiking, and given the tight deadlines they seem to be setting for themselves, they're going out when it might not be so safe to do so in order to stay on schedule.

 

[skiguy]

Not nearly as many.. The generation out there right now, has very little interest in learning a craft, they want to run out there, hike the ridge and get home asap to post their pictures. That was my point, lost on some.

I agree but IMO it is also easy to over generalize. There are folks that are truly learning the craft and have talent going forward. Living in the MWV I am exposed to a wide array of outdoor users on a daily basis. It is at times not easy to stay objective when you read about the BS out there all the time. But I am also friendly with folks young and old that have it together. I really try to keep it neutral and humble as there is always someone whom thinks they can spray bigger and wider than the next guy.

 

[sierra]

I agree but IMO it is also easy to over generalize. There are folks that are truly learning the craft and have talent going forward. Living in the MWV I am exposed to a wide array of outdoor users on a daily basis. It is at times not easy to stay objective when you read about the BS out there all the time. But I am also friendly with folks young and old that have it together. I really try to keep it neutral and humble as there is always someone whom thinks they can spray bigger and wider than the next guy.

I'm in the valley a lot with my dog, you ever want to join us on a hike, let me know. even it's just a local hike. I can talk mountain stuff all day.

 

[Mike P.]

There is something quite different about the new folks hiking today. "Gridding" is now a competitive sport; it's literally a race. I started hiking the grid (as opposed to just "hiking") maybe fifteen years ago, give or take, and I saw it as a lifetime goal. I took it from the perspective that I would go out into the mountains for the love of it, and eventually I might hike them all in each month. If someone asked me to hike something I had already "done" in a month, yeah, sure! But today, wow, people are dedicating their vacations to getting out on the nice days, and it seems like every one I meet can tell me precisely when they're finishing, exactly how many mountains they have to go, and they are racing to do so.

Well, I guess I failed Gridding as sport. Did Monadnock for my 25th time yesterday. Remembering this conversation, I went to check if I had done it in all twelve months. Several July trips as I used to go after work for sunset when it was setting near its latest time. For twenty-five times, I managed to still miss one month, August.