hypothermia

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A bit of puzzlement... I don't want to be judgmental but I question the actions of his experienced hiking partner not pushing for a retreat.

Why did his hiking partner head off on this adventure with him when he was so totally unprepared? And continue from Madison Hut with wet short pants and shivering from the cold?

The writer was inexperienced and unprepared. But the photographer? :confused:
 
By the same token, I respect the writer for such a self-critical, no-BS appraisal of his own situation, even if only in hindsight. I like to think that at least a few readers of the Eagle-Tribune sports page will read it and walk away with a valuable lesson.

Mr. Dyer's no-nonsense article is a nice antidote to the Bear Grylls kind of bravado. He didn't plunge into a raging mountain stream, or eat any disgusting bugs... he went for a hike, got in over his head, got back out of trouble, and learned from his experience. That's good enough for me.
 
I completely agree with DrewKnight.

The writer's honest, humble account of his own mistakes were a good read and contained extremely valuable information for novice hikers.
 
When did everyone on this forum get so critical of other's actions? im sure we all have, or will, get into some situations of our own-hopefully make it out and have learned something. I think people in general will always be critics of others and how they handle themselves, but seriously, people need to stop being so damn judgemental.
It is entertaining reading and nothing more.
Lately a majority of the threads have been about weather, clothing, peoples decision making abilities out in the woods, prespiration etc......
Do people just go out and hike anymore and not worry about such factors?
All seem to have nothing to do with my hiking plans, not sure about others. Sure i dont like being out in the rain for a 12 hour hike, but will that stop me from getting out? probably not, change plans? possibly......
i guess i just needed to vent, i need to get out in the woods! (raine or shine) :D
 
When did everyone on this forum get so critical of other's actions?

As I noted in my original post I have no intention of being overly critical of anyone, and I hope a review of my past statements would show that.

In this case, however, my immediate thought upon reading the article was "Why would an experienced hiker bring someone unprepared on a hike of this significance and continue to push on as stated?". While I agree that the writer did an excellent job of identifying where he went wrong and fessing up to it, I see no similar actions by photographer.

I read something that said something to me. If it was overly critical I apologize.
 
As I noted in my original post I have no intention of being overly critical of anyone, and I hope a review of my past statements would show that.

In this case, however, my immediate thought upon reading the article was "Why would an experienced hiker bring someone unprepared on a hike of this significance and continue to push on as stated?". While I agree that the writer did an excellent job of identifying where he went wrong and fessing up to it, I see no similar actions by photographer.

I read something that said something to me. If it was overly critical I apologize.

Heck,
no need to apologize!
i wasnt referring to anyone in specific, more in general. people can definately agree to disagree! :D
In all honesty, i didnt even read the article! :eek:

i for one happen to be all about "pushing" on though. Sometimes that can be a bad thing! other times good.
 
When did everyone on this forum get so critical of other's actions?

Where have you been ? ;)

but seriously, people need to stop being so damn judgemental.
It is entertaining reading and nothing more.
:D

Results of a recent poll indicate the majority of members here would disagree with you on this. Posted articles like this one are considered relevant to our sport and fair game for critique as a learning tool. I don't agree 100% but that's how the majority here view it.
 
Where have you been ? ;)



Results of a recent poll indicate the majority of members here would disagree with you on this. Posted articles like this one are considered relevant to our sport and fair game for critique as a learning tool. I don't agree 100% but that's how the majority here view it.

i disagree. i am not learning anything from all the critiquing of such articles. not a very positive learning experience......i learn much more just by reading the article, not from the people on here judging them in said situations, situations in which none of us were present. But i usually dont agree 100% with anybody! :D
rock on.
 
i am not learning anything from all the critiquing of such articles. not a very positive learning experience......rock on.

Not trying to be a Major Dack here, Mookie, but arguing about if the critiques are warranted or useful is a bigger waste of time and energy than many of the critiques themself. Sometimes we just need to feel the pain and move on.

FWIW: I think this article today is relevant, useful and worthy of critique. What's up with hiking the elevated portion of the tracks ???
 
Not trying to be a Major Dack here, Mookie, but arguing about if the critiques are warranted or useful is a bigger waste of time and energy than many of the critiques themself. Sometimes we just need to feel the pain and move on.

FWIW: I think this article today is relevant, useful and worthy of critique. What's up with hiking the elevated portion of the tracks ???

im just in a bad mood today, hope that nobody takes it personal :D
what is a dack? hehe
i cant even open the article (im at work) so still havent read it! my rant is not so much this post more about how critical we all are of others in situations in which we dont know all of what is going on. im guilty myself.....

hypothermia is no joke though and i cant wait to get home and read the article!
 
Just as an anecdote to this story, another writer for the same newspaper got benighted on Baxter last year, for the same reason that got Dave in trouble, pushing ahead in bad weather. He also wrote an article about his bad choice of continuing his hike when he knew he should have turned around. In this particular instance, prior knowledge of a friend's mistake was ignored.
 
That was a terrific story. Usually, I stay away from pieces that are punctuated with "I" and "me" but this writer was extremely humble and wrote what is clearly a teaching story based on personal experience. I'm glad his trip turned out as well as it did and that he was able to share what he learned so graciously.
 
When I hike with others, it's usually with self-realized adults who aren't appropriate for my parenting. To switch roles and tell another adult "We can't go on; you're becoming hypothermic" may not be as simple as it seems. I can see it being a psych experiment when to switch from self-determined adults to our brothers' keepers (see "Kitty Genovese").

I suppose, in this instance, the play would be to question advancing from Madison Hut onward, without being satisfied as to his partner's status. Maybe he should have said "Let's have another cup of tea and button up before going back out." Speculation at best, but if there's a lesson, maybe that's it.
 
I suppose, in this instance, the play would be to question advancing from Madison Hut onward, without being satisfied as to his partner's status. Maybe he should have said "Let's have another cup of tea and button up before going back out." Speculation at best, but if there's a lesson, maybe that's it.

Right. That might be when the "Adult/Parent" in the group swallows their Uber-Hiker pride for the greater good and says something like "Hey, I don't know about you but I'm really not feeling this today. How about we warm up, dry off and head down for a beer ?"
 
Mw

I pass no judgement here. I just want to chime in and say that he couldn't have fallen into better hands than Diane Holmes. She and her husband Mike Pelchat are two quality people who know there business. They also know MW like the back of their hands. If I were in trouble in the Presis I know I could rely on them to help me out.

They have done this in a humble, non-condescending way for many years and have helped the unlucky as well as advised those wise enough to ask questions. I would trust them with my life and I am thankful that there are folks like this up there or there would be many more tragedies.

Kudos to Mike and Diane and the rest of the State Park Crew!

KDT
 
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