Mt. Washington hikers who called for help could face charges for rescue

[iagreewithjamie]

There's something here quite a few people are missing: they planned to take THE COG, which is in Bretton Woods. Their backup plan was to hike down Boott Spur, which is in Pinkham. It's not like you can easily hop over to the other side of the mountain. What were they thinking?

I've hiked up the trail next to the cog. If they'd just followed that down, they woulda been fine. Not only that, it's a helluva lot easier of a hike than Boott Spur.

 

[peakbagger]

It's not like you can easily hop over to the other side of the mountain. What were they thinking?

You would be surprised at the number of hikers I pick up who end up on RT 16 or at the Cog who need a ride around the mountain. I expect AMC pays a few bills when the shuttle is running late in the day to accommodate them. I wouldn't be surprised if the Cog has a few phone numbers of shuttle drivers willing to drive someone around the mountain for a hefty fee. I believe the auto road posts special rates for folks who end up on the mountain late in the day and need ride down, the price goes up substantially the later in the day it is. The Shuttle Connection will dispatch a driver anywhere in the whites but the cost is probably well over $200 bucks.

I have also seen folks hitching Jefferson Notch road, Valley road in Randolph and Pinkham B road in Gorham late in the day trying to get back to Pinkham. They look at the map and think its the shortest possible distance. They don't realize that traffic is real light on these roads especially in the evening. I even remember a VFTT post where someone was cursing everyone in general for not picking him up on a hitch when he did a Presi Traverse and didn't make arrangements for a ride back to his car. At best this may require 4 hitches unless they get lucky.

Fundamentally many folks on the trails these days were raised in the "Nanny state" where they were trained that there is no such thing as failure and there is a safety net waiting to catch them. Its not a recent occurrence but I expect the percentages are increasing. I have no doubt some of these folks would prefer to sit there and have a temper tantrum when they end up at the wrong place.

I must admit if I pick up folks and they seem like they can be educated I will usually go out of my way a bit to drop them off where they need to go, but someone would have to talk real nice for me to go 40 to 50 miles round trip out of my way to drop them off. If they see how fast I drive over Jefferson Notch road, they may wish they didn't

 

[iagreewithjamie]

It's not like you can easily hop over to the other side of the mountain. What were they thinking?
The Shuttle Connection will dispatch a driver anywhere in the whites but the cost is probably well over $200 bucks.

You just gave me a great idea for seasonal Uber work...

 

[peakbagger]

I am curious if there is enough demand for Uber in the area. Given the number of folks looking for shuttles to spot cars I would expect there would be but it definitely would be a morning and evening gigs with little demand during the day. Of course right now given the number of seasonal job openings in the area I expect someone could make more cash selling ice cream.

Here is a link to what a local charges (on a scheduled basis) http://trailangelshikerservices.com/. Looks to me like its $110 to Crawford Notch plus $50 to Pinkham for a total of $160.

 

[jniehof]

Given the vagaries of service, particularly data, I'm not sure Uber would be as useful as one might hope.

Since Shuttle Connection and Trail Angels have both been linked, I should mention the White Mountains Lodge and Hostel in Shelburne (not to be confused with the White Mountains Hostel in Conway) will do shuttles year-round. They helped us out of a bad spot and it was a fine ride. (Trail Angels returned our call about five minutes after we made the arrangements so just missed out on the basis of timing; I have no reason to doubt their excellence either.)

I suggest folks keep numbers for all the shuttles in their phones. Yes it sucks to be out a hundred bucks but if that's the price of a quicker bailout to the "wrong" side of the mountain when things go pear-shaped, it's worth paying.

 

[dug]

I'd be putting my card in any shelter/hut I could find...

I had a somewhat similar thing happen to me. I was at Kinsman Pond Shelter, coming down to the Franconia Notch Side. I met 3 guys, where were clearly gassed after coming up from Reel Brook Trail. They weren't going to make it back all the way. They followed me down and I took them over to their car.

My car wasn't big enough, and I had my dog with me (she had just completed her 4k on South Kinsman). So, they crowded in my back seat, and I mean crowded, as they weren't going to allow the dog to miss her moment.

To further add to the adventure...I found three lost kids in their teens on the wrong side of some crossing as we got within a mile of the trailhead. They were lost, and we got them back onto the right side and they fell in line. It was kinda' humorous to me.

 

[Grey J]

My first inclination was to laugh along with those mocking the plan to hike up one side of the mountain and come down the other. But dug's post above reminded me that I took a wrong turn in the rain on a hike of the Kinsmans many years ago and descended on the Mt Kinsman Trail instead of continuing along the Kinsman Ridge Trail and descending on the Lonesome Lake Trail to Lafayette Place where the car was parked. So yeah, been there and done that. Came down the wrong side of the mountain. We ended up on Rt 116. We realized the mistake part way down but figured it would be easier at that point to just hitch back to the car than turn around and hike back up the mountain. Which we did. But the guy who was following my lead never let me forget the mistake.

 

[peakbagger]

I remember running into a VFTT member once at Lincoln Woods who had hiked down from Skookumchuck trailhead and realized he had left the keys to the car at Lincoln woods parking lot in the car at Skookumchuck

Gene Daniels was somewhat infamous for occasionally coming out quite far away from where he started on bushwhacks.

 

[iAmKrzys]

I must admit if I pick up folks and they seem like they can be educated I will usually go out of my way a bit to drop them off where they need to go, but someone would have to talk real nice for me to go 40 to 50 miles round trip out of my way to drop them off. If they see how fast I drive over Jefferson Notch road, they may wish they didn't

Peakbagger, while I may need to take you up on your kindness one day, I am wondering if will be able to handle the inevitable adrenaline rush!!!

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I remember running into a VFTT member once at Lincoln Woods who had hiked down from Skookumchuck trailhead and realized he had left the keys to the car at Lincoln woods parking lot in the car at Skookumchuck

Thank you for the ride, Peakbagger

Tim

 

[Snowflea]

Gene Daniels was somewhat infamous for...

It's Gene DANIELL.

 

[ChrisB]

It's Gene DANIELL.

I've read historical accounts of early tampers who've completed a full Presi Traverse and then WALKED back to Ranlolph where they were staying!

Now that's a hike.

cb

 

[Raven]

I've read historical accounts of early tampers who've completed a full Presi Traverse and then WALKED back to Ranlolph where they were staying!

Now that's a hike.

cb

It's RANDOLPH.

C'mon people. Spelling counts.

I think many of those early Randolphian trampers wore dresses too. As if it's not hard enough.

 

[peakbagger]

I generally try to contribute content, not necessarily correct spelling

 

[Grey J]

I actually have a glossy AMC White Mt map that spells the 3K peak as Randolf even though it spells the town as Randolph.

 

[Tom Rankin]

And what's a TAMPER?

PB: Spelling can certainly make a difference! I once closed a business letter with "If you need any help, let me know, I'd be gald to help you" (gald -> glad, and yes, gald is still spelled wrong, but I think I might have been sending a subliminal message!)

 

[Raven]

I generally try to contribute content, not necessarily correct spelling

The content you generally bring on a slow day is encyclopedic. I'm often stunned at the North Country knowledge you have.

I'm occasionally a smartass.