Hiker Lost Near Isolation

[erugs]

From WMUR:


JACKSON, N.H. -- Crews on Thursday were searching for a missing hiker who called for help, despite poor cellphone reception.

The Fish and Game Department said a woman called for help from her phone Wednesday, saying she had gone off a trail on Mount Isolation and became lost.

Rescuers said she could be trapped several miles up the mountain in remote hiking grounds.



Read more: http://www.wmur.com/news/29266709/detail.html#ixzz1YhLy5TBm

 

[JustJoe]

Hopefully she had enough gear with her to survive the night. What were the temps/weather like in that area last night?

 

[TDawg]

Hiker found near Isolation

Quick end to this one.

Kinda dumb to not be able to get yourself out if uninjured, IMHO. Map? Compass? COMMON SENSE?

EDIT:

Without knowing details it's difficult to judge either way on any situation without becoming joining the UL crew.

If I was part of the UL crew, I'd be chastising her for hiking alone and being from out of state, saying to charge her, or *insert political statement here.*

I'm just sayin' keep your head on your shoulders, if you can't refind the trail, head downhill till you meet a trail, river, or road. If you're not used to bushwhacking, get used to it. All things she probably would have successfully done anyways had she not had a cell phone.

This is my humble opinion, if yours differs great, that is why VFTT is nice place to be.

 

[freighttrain48]

Quick end to this one.

Kinda dumb to not be able to get yourself out if uninjured, IMHO. Map? Compass? COMMON SENSE?

the comment section is working for me I was trying to see what the trolls have to say.

 

[erugs]

I'm glad she is on her way out. I would like to learn more of her story. I can imagine being frightened and calling for help if alone, unable to find the trail, perhaps having made promises to stay "safe" and with the rain forecast, along with colder temperatures having increase concern. I probably would have sent a text to my BF saying: "Am OK. Just Lost. Hope to find trail out tmoro..." for which I'd get into big trouble. I wouldn't want to never be heard from again.

 

[Stash]

Without knowing details it's difficult to judge either way on any situation without becoming joining the UL crew.

 

[DougPaul]

Without knowing details it's difficult to judge either way on any situation without becoming joining the UL crew.

Agreed.
Speculation at this point is meaningless noise.

Doug

 

[erugs]

Agreed.
Speculation at this point is meaningless noise.

Doug

Degrading a specific hiker(s) is meaningless without more information, of course.

But discussion about what we would do, how we would prepare, the steps we would take, are part of what VFTT is all about. There always people who are new to hiking that are reviewing these pages and our knowledge and experience are helpful to them as well as good for us who are longer-time members. Let's keep that in mind.

 

[David Metsky]

But discussion about what we would do, how we would prepare, the steps we would take, are part of what VFTT is all about. There always people who are new to hiking that are reviewing these pages and our knowledge and experience are helpful to them as well as good for us who are longer-time members. Let's keep that in mind.

But to do so with no accurate information about the incident in question is rarely helpful or productive. It also pays to keep in mind that all the names involved are real people with family and friends, who sometimes read this message board.

 

[erugs]

But to do so with no accurate information about the incident in question is rarely helpful or productive. It also pays to keep in mind that all the names involved are real people with family and friends, who sometimes read this message board.

Of course. That's an important point, and I agree, which is why my earlier post said I didn't agree with "degrading" people without information. Or even with better information.

 

[una_dogger]

Well IMHO that's a tricky area to be lost off trail in. Lots of terrain as well as many pointless ups and downs and not many opportunities to get a broader view from a highpoint.


Glad this story had a safe outcome and I'm sure this hiker has gained valuable experience from this!

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I for one am glad the hiker is safe. That area can be a tough one to find your way in, particularly south of Isolation.

There's enough mean spiritedness in the world - let's try to keep it off VFtT. If you really need that kind of a fix, watch a political debate!

 

[Dave Bear]

It sounds like she was using the Rocky Branch Trail because she had left her sleeping bag at Rocky Branch 2 shelter and kept going to the summit with a bivy and tarp on board up Isolation Trial. This section to Davis Path has plenty of vague portions and herd paths that could run someone around enough to loose confidence and start to question their judgement. If you miss a crossing you could follow a herd path or if you miss the high corner where you cross to the west bank you could get out in uncharted territory. That area looked like trail but was flagged for revegetation the first week of August when I was there last. Also an area before you climb the mossy knoll is a bit vague and the knoll itself requires a left up the bank that could be missed. At that point you are trending west but if someone unfamiliar was in there and followed the drainage up they could stray east some. This is not even considering changes made by Irene! Even the trail through the tentsites is ambiguous the way it's marked. If she was coming down Davis to the Isolation Spur she could literally go right by because there is not a sign for Isolation any more unless one has been installed since my last two trips out in mid April and early August. I am a bit disappointed in the trend toward "wilderness" that would require someone that is a newbie to an area to either bring someone that is familiar or have to carry a GPS! A new sign was installed to indicate Davis Path south and its placement caused the removal of the Isolation Spur Trail sign and only leaving the four spikes that held it! When I was new to these summits a GPS pointing me to the direction I must travel certainly would have taken away part of my "wilderness" experience! Had I gave a damn about people arm-chairing on WMUR or on any forum about how I arrived there I wonder if my first trip to Isolation would have been at night! I truly hope she finds herself on the path and enjoying solitude on the trail free from the judgment zone but with lessons learned from her experience!

 

[Becca M]

heck, I could get lost in a parking lot, and, i think i have been lost in parking lots just trying to find trails *OUT* of the parking lots .... getting lost can happen *anywhere*

(that's why I carry a gps at all times, personally, but, I know that's not part of the wilderness experience....)

 

[RoySwkr]

If I permanently lost the trail in this situation, I would look at my compass and if E was generally downhill I would walk downhill (get that TR) to Rocky Branch, then follow that downstream to the shelter probably refinding the trail. Those slopes are mostly birch as I know from many bushwhacks in the area. If my compass showed W was downhill, I'd choose an easy route E over the ridge before going downhill.

Note that I said that's what I would do, not what any other particular person should have done.

 

[DougPaul]

heck, I could get lost in a parking lot, and, i think i have been lost in parking lots just trying to find trails *OUT* of the parking lots .... getting lost can happen *anywhere*

Now you tell me!

Doug

 

[MadRiver]

I’m thankful she is ok. However, I just learned that friend in a similar situation last year is now being fined $7,000 for being helped by F&G. So I guess if you are well prepared gear wise and you make a minor error that is now considered negligence.

 

[Maddy]

I am a bit disappointed in the trend toward "wilderness" that would require someone that is a newbie to an area to either bring someone that is familiar or have to carry a GPS! )

I am certainly not a newbie but from your description I would most certainly not be comfortable on this trail. My solution to this problem when I have encountered it is very simple. I return immediately from whence I came. I do not hike any trail that I consider not properly blazed. The 2x I got lost were on unblazed trails that supposedly were "well traveled".

I recall writing about my concern that there would be an increase in lost hikers when they started "deblazing" the wilderness. Just as they post above treeline warnings, perhaps they should post signs in these areas, warning people with no GPS and compass skills that they should seek a different trail. I think it's a difficult call to make when a newbie ventures onto what appears to be a trail, perhaps even sparsely blazed, and encounters some or many herd paths which only serve to add to the confusion.

 

[nartreb]

It can be fun to take a newbie into the woods and then hang back and let him lead for a while. Betcha the first time he steps off the trail (into a waterbar drainage, typically), there's a a blaze ten feet in front of him. Point this out and continue observing... next section where the blazes are farther than line-of-sight, he gets confused, even when the treadway is totally obvious (footprints, puncheons, etc) and though he had no trouble following similar trail sections a few minutes ago, before he started relying on blazes.

It's fun to realize that there are people who don't even notice things like the scratches that trekking poles leave on rocks, or that the rock on the trail seems to be a different color thanks to the lichen getting scraped off.

 

[erugs]

It's fun to realize that there are people who don't even notice things like the scratches that trekking poles leave on rocks, or that the rock on the trail seems to be a different color thanks to the lichen getting scraped off.

I think we see more when we've seen enough, when we've got an educated perspective. I have a pretty well-honed skill at picking up my hiking pole as it drops. The skill has extended to grabbing up other people's belongings as they drop them. (i.e. the pole my son was going to attach the paint roller to, my dad's walking cane, etc.)

Have some of you noticed that you recognize a tiny rock because you've seen it there before? Or a tree with an odd shape? I noticed a small brown button on the Osceola Trail lost on the treadway. And I saw it again on the way down without looking for it -- "Oh, there's that button again. I should pick it up this time."

Then again, we can altogether not notice something because our attention is elsewhere. Like, why didn't I see my rake where I had propped it up to retrieve along the East Pond Trail last week? Was I *THAT* eager to return to my car? (Maybe it was the beer I was eager for? )