Lost Hikers on Monadnock

[MadRiver]

Be honest, if you saw a hiker decked out in an Indiana Jones outfit complete with pith helmet and bull whip heading up the trail, you would be just as amused if he were wearing Wimbledon tennis whites.

 

[amstony]

Be honest, if you saw a hiker decked out in an Indiana Jones outfit complete with pith helmet and bull whip heading up the trail, you would be just as amused if he were wearing Wimbledon tennis whites.

Stevehilker and I came REAL close to seeing this last June on Old Speck. This guy was heading up wearing loafers, white socks, brown docker shorts, a button down shirt, sunglasses, baseball hat, one 8 oz bottle of water and nothing else. He was actaully near the summit at the snow line as we were heading down....... We assume he made it down at some point since no one was reported missing.

Not to "pontificate", but as far as Monadnock, maps are usually available at the gate and also on line. You should always take a map, even if it is Monadnock or North Pack or any other I-93 style trail. I wouldn't go in the Whites or anywhere else without some sort of directional aid, compass etc.

 

[Tim Horn]

the second most-climbed mountain in the world after Mt Fuji, and the first if you discount the bus trips up Fuji. FYI there are no bus trips to the top of Fuji. It is possible to start at station 5 but that still leaves you with a good 6000 foot climb. To me that qualifies as a peak bag. Think of the bus stop as the parking lot at Monadnock. There are routes that start lower than the parking lot but that does not mean that your climb does not count if you start at the parking lot.
"Those who would rather enjoy Mount Fuji in a less strenuous manner can take the Fuji Skyline Road by car or bus to the 5th station, where the Fujinomiya Trail begins (2,000 metres above sea level). The entire road linking Gotemba and Fujinomiya is open from the end of April to mid-December. At the 8th and higher stations, climbers can greet the sunrise (goraiko) between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m."
For the record I have hiked it 3 different ways and the real fun begins around 2000 meters.

 

[MadRiver]

wearing loafers, white socks,

This look is just plain WRONG on so many levels.

 

[Roxi]

Be honest, if you saw a hiker decked out in an Indiana Jones outfit complete with pith helmet and bull whip heading up the trail, you would be just as amused if he were wearing Wimbledon tennis whites.

Hey, if some guy who looks like Harrison Ford wants to hike up Mount Monadnock, I'll happily volunteer to be his tour guide! Besides, he wore a much cooler hat than a pith helmet!

As far as map availability goes, a lot of folks would not think of getting one online, and as someone else has said, the couple may not have been able to get a map from the ranger on the day they went. Also, many of Monadnock's trails do not start at the park, though that may not have been the case for them. For those interested, a nice and inexpensive map of Monadnock is available for sale at Toadstool bookstore in Peterborough. Many of us who have hiked Monadnock have said that it is an easy summit to get turned around on. I'm glad the couple is ok and I'd be very surprised if they go hiking again without a map.

 

[dug]

Funny, but I once chatted with someone on Mt. Washington. He had completed many of the 14K peaks in the Rockies. Had summited Acogongua, Rainer, and made two solid attempts at Logan. He had done some bagging in the Alps, as well. Just some rich dude in his 50's with nothing better to do than to go to places that my wallet won't allow. Anyhoo, he was horribly dressed (by these boards standards). Shorts, running sneakers, and a light windbreaker. He had some time to kill, was up in New Hampshire for a wedding, so he figured he'd get a good workout in and went for a hike. Perceptions changed after talking to him. At first glance, he looked like a fish out of water. After talking to him, I realize you shouldn't judge what someone's knowledge and survival skills are based on the color of his socks.

I've gone for a walk in the woods many times with just a small water bottle and a light jacket. Sometimes, I happened to end up on top of a peak that some call a mountain. Sometimes, I end up at a pond or a waterfall. Sometimes, I just figure I've been out a couple of hours, and it's time to head back. But, I guess I'm an anarchist for doing so.

 

[grouseking]

Boy, you need to get pretty misdirected to lose your way on that trail, unless it was foggy. Did they get lost before they got back on that trail, like up on the Pumpelly, or was it on the White Dot, because I just don't understand how you can get off track. The trail seemed so obvious to me, both times. And I was nine the first time.

grouseking

Wow this thread has had its ups and downs.

So I am going to relate to these people who got lost. It wasn't Monadnock, but it was a somewhat remote trail in the Whites. Me and my hiking buddy Matt were several times misdirected on the Hancock Notch Trail one rainy and raw Saturday in September. It wasn't the highway part of the trail, it was up near the height of land. Rains was coming down in buckets and fog was present everywhere, and it even hampered visibility in the forest. Suddenly the woods got dark and erie, and we lost the trail on several occasions. Matt never lost his composure, but I automatically freaked out, because I had never been lost before. There is something very calming about following a path, but when you can't find it anymore, it was very unsettling. If I had been with someone else who had been as inexperienced as me and we both got lost and freaked out, who knows what could have happened. Chances are I would have walked back, but what if I decided to just wander in the general direction...without map or compass. It is amazing what someone will do when they freak out and they are not in control of the situation.

So, although I still find it hard to see how they went down the wrong side of the mountain, I completely understand that anything can happen.

grouseking

 

[SteveHiker]

Be honest, if you saw a hiker decked out in an Indiana Jones outfit complete with pith helmet and bull whip heading up the trail, you would be just as amused if he were wearing Wimbledon tennis whites.

other than the pith helmet and possibly the whip, didn't that guy on Webster Cliff last year look a little like this?

Early on in my hiking adventures, I actually left the summit of Mt. Garfield in the wrong direction.

I did that too. And I had a map.

people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

I thought it was: people in stone houses shouldn't throw glass?

 

[dug]

RE: Lost on Garfield...

ME TOO!!!! I was maybe 8 or 9. We left the summit, and I was running to catch up to my brothers. I remembered "go left...go left". Well, I took a left...but the left I took was near the summit, not to head off the GRidge Trail. I'm booking along when I hear my uncle yelling my name. He finally catches up to me, and he is pissed! I'm down by the Pond by now...not a care in the world. Had a good mile to get back up.

Just think, if my uncle hadn't caught up to me and if Al Gore was a bit more snappy in inventing the Internet, you all could have spent your Mondays yapping about me!

 

[amstony]

RE: Lost on Garfield...

ME TOO!!!! I was maybe 8 or 9. We left the summit, and I was running to catch up to my brothers. I remembered "go left...go left". Well, I took a left...but the left I took was near the summit, not to head off the GRidge Trail. I'm booking along when I hear my uncle yelling my name. He finally catches up to me, and he is pissed! I'm down by the Pond by now...not a care in the world. Had a good mile to get back up.

Try third times the charm coming off Garfield a few years ago.

That is a nice pond........I was on my way to Mt.Lafeyette on the Garfield Ridge Trail........instead of my car at the trailhead for Garfield..... Then headed BACK a 4th time when I'd realized I'd dropped my company cell phone out of my pack when pulling out the map. Then got caught in the most god awful thunderstorm less than a mile from my car.

 

[Nessmuk]

... When I left, I never even considered the possibility I was going down the wrong path. 1/4 of a mile later I realized I was heading for Mt. Lafayette, oops.... So I guess I can understand how people can get turned around on a summit like Monadnock with multiple trails to/from the summit.

The first thing I do now when I get to a summit is turn around and fix in my mind where I just came from, or find my intended 'exit' from the summit. Then I can relax....

I once had an instructor navigator tell me something I never forgot... Old navigators and new navigators both make mistakes. The difference is how soon you recognize the error before it gets worse. That includes recognition before the act itself.

Camper58 in this case made a mistake. Experience taught him to beware of that same mistake potential on every future summit from now on. He won't likely make that mistake again, or if so it will be caught much sooner. Every time I think of a mistake I've made or come close to repeating, I clearly recall my old instructor's words.

Everybody has to make it over that "newbie" hump. There are smart ways and not so smart ways to do it.

 

[MadRiver]

other than the pith helmet and possibly the whip, didn't that guy on Webster Cliff last year look a little like this?

You are correct. I totally forgot about him. As much as I like some of Banana Republic’s fashion, I do not believe that I would be wearing them in the woods. Guys like that always remind me of the characters in the movie Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. They are a little too slick for my liking.

 

[brianW]

Trails look a lot different looking up them then looking down them. I have a tendency every few minutes to look over my shoulder to see how the trail looks. This comes in handy on in and out hikes or after you lose a trail and need to re-find it.

 

[smitty77]

I'm wondering if these folks were trying the route down that our group took last November. I want to say we took Smith summit, cliff walk, and lost farm. Percious mentioned how he got misdirected on the upper section of Smith Summit in winter (lack of cairns), and 4 or 5 of us went about 20 yards off trail by missing one blaze. The ledges up top are wide open, and one route usually looks as good as another until you drop far enough down to hit "treeline" and relaize you're way off target for a trail. If it happened to me, I'd be temped to follow a line of constant elevation in one direction until I hit a trail. The problem is it's real easy to walk right across some of the trails on the backside of the mountain.

 

[Mike P.]

I'm not sure the last time I took a map to Monadnock for a trip on the Dublin Path or Halfway House/White Arrow. 12/15 ascents. The guy who climbed it all those consecutive times, Larry Davis (is that right) I guess does not need a map either,

last Spring (early June) I did Waumbek in Sneakers white socks, running shorts. Have talked to Austrians descending Camel's Hump wearing Sandals, while clothing style generalities really has nothing to do with experience, the most experienced people could get away in sneakers if they wanted to.

Likewise, IMO people's climbing tick list doesn't mean a whole lot, how many of you remember the Dr. Dahl rescue? (to re-hash)

October hike, had knee surgery earlier in the year, partner did not go, 33 degree (or close to) rainy day at PNVC turned to snow & ice, he ascended in deteriorating weather that had terrain above the Ravine floor slick, on way up knee bothered him & he decided to go up to Alpine Garden trail & over to the road to descend gentler terrain. Ended up calling for rescue & was surpirsed they may not risk their lives to find him. He called again, they went up, almost gave up looking due to conditions but found him on last foray out before getting back to snow-cat 10-23 1999 was the date.

Some of the tale (as he tells it) can be found on his website mtwashingtonmisadventure.com which he uses to promote speaking engagements & financial planning. Was seen on Discovery Channel. He promoted himself as a mountaineer with 2/7 seven summits completed & major summits out west completed. Pictures show Elberus & Popo. I tried to get list of "Major" (all CO 54 or just Elbert & Rainier)

My take was that most of the big trips were guided when someone told him when to walk, the guide made the decisions. Getting lost & getting into situations occur mostly because of bad decisions. In Dr. Dahl.s case, in the outdoors, he had not made many decisions previously in poor weather & he under estimated the little peak.

If we continue going up, leaving gear at home you may need, biting off more than you can chew, those are bad decisions, most of the time you get away with a few of them. If you fall on ice now above 4,000 feet because you thought you did not need crampons, that was a bad decision to leave crampons home & continue on ice) Some random falls occur & either help from fellow hikers or relying on your gear is required. If your life is in danger, SAR should be called, SAR comes even if you made bad decisions but now they have to right to bill you for that.

Lost (when I'm in PA & I'm trying to get to the Jersey Shore from CT, if I'm in Trenton NJ, I'm learning the area. When my wife makes a left turn onto main street instead of a right, she is lost )