Lost hiker in the Pemi

[Raven]

Some people on FB were slamming his choice to ascend the Lincoln Slide. I think it was brilliant.

Agreed. He was not likely to get found down low and it must be a deep, rotten, snowy marsh in there. He saw dry rock leading to the ridge. A drier, more visible way out and maybe the easiest way out at that point. If done by design, yes, brilliant, especially considering the likely diminished mental state. It may be the one decision that ultimately got him found.

 

[iAmKrzys]

One thing I wonder about is the food situation. I wonder if he had enough extra to keep himself fed, or if he was starting to get pretty hungry? I see the survival shows on TV from time to time where guys (and gals) go days with little or no nutrition, and we all know it takes quite a long time to actually starve to death. Still, trying to stay warm when underfed - I just don't know how you do that. And what does that acute hunger REALLY feel like? What's it like to go to bed cold and hungry and then wake up REALLY cold and REALLY hungry? And know you're still not out of the woods, not by a long shot? I'd buy this guy dinner and a few beers if he'd actually talk us through the whole thing from his perspective. Mighty interesting, I expect.

In case you don't get a first-hand story, I highly recommend 'Lost in the Wild: Danger and Survival in the North Woods'. While it's pretty tough to survive that long in the cold without food, some people succeed. It's pretty impressive!

 

[miehoff]

I think I understood your point about meaningless speculation, and the associated consequences thereof and I agreed with it. To me, all the talk about charging people for rescues is disheartening and feels like victim blaming. Many people believe they'll act differently than someone in a similar situation and blame the victim for their own circumstances; however, when they themselves are in a situation, they tend to blame outside factors. This can come across as an argument for 'personal responsibility', but it's derived from faulty thinking. There are also people who do this in reverse (make excuses for everyone but are hard on themselves). Both extremes are unfair views of the world, however. It's very hard to be truly objective - one has to actively work at it.

Yes. That was my thinking. Glad to hear I wasn't just being a grump about things!

 

[jjo]

Wow interesting but scary...Good detail here..Thanks

 

[iAmKrzys]

Yesterday I forgot to mention an idea of using a drone with something like a portable cell phone tower for a SAR rescue mission like this one. Hence, today I decided to do a bit of googling and voila! It appears that this Scottish company PerceiveUAS is already working on autonomous drones for SAR missions that carry a femta cell and have satellite connectivity that could be used for text messaging with lost hikers. Take a look at http://perceptiveuas.com/lab/ and this pretty cool video that explains how it is supposed to work https://vimeo.com/142296665.

I came across an article today about an AT&T "Flying COW" drone that can provide cell signal covering 40 square miles, which I guess translates to a radius of about 3.5 miles from the drone itself: https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/06/att-flying-cow-drone-cell-service-puerto-rico/ No word on whether AT&T would make it available for SAR missions but that's not the main subject of the article. I am also curious as to how long can the drone stay in the air.

 

[dug]

Re: Drones as an S&R Tool

http://www.wfmynews2.com/news/local...-alive-in-cornfield-thanks-to-drone/489604961

Cornfield easier than the thick Dry River Wilderness, I know.