Nat. Geo Explorer-David Boomhower-RIP-1991

[Jay H]

Just a heads up (Sorry for the weird/cryptic title, couldn't think of better one) that last night I happen to catch an hour long episode of National Geographic Explorer on the Nat Geo channel on my dish. They were talking about 3 cases of survival, one a guy who broke a leg X-C Skiing near Steamboat Springs, another guy who was lost/dehydrated in Arizona's Sonora Desert and David Boomhower (sp?) who ran out of food on the NLP trail in 1991. (They didn't mention the NLP, but mentioned a "hundred mile trail" of which I can only think of the NLP).

Anyway, Nothing to run out and buy a VHS tape (what's that) and record but if you're curious, it might be rebroadcast...

Found this on another forum on the subject in mind for further reading..:

http://homepage.interaccess.com/~gonzales/Survwd.pdf

Jay

 

[beverly]

Rebroadcast

It's on again Saturday October 15th at 7pm on the National Geographic Channel (Ch. 76 in Albany)

 

[Rick]

Jay,
Much of this, including Boomhower and the "LOST" article have been discussed in these 3 other threads. But thanks for the heads up, I'd really like to see the NG Story. PS Email me if you'd like the Boomhower story as discussed inthese other threads
Rick

Northville Placid Trail
Death on the Northville Placid Trail - The David Boomhower Story
Lost!!!!!!

 

[mavs00]

Thanks for the info............. The Boomhower story still boggles my mind. Particulary so now that I've been through the area he was found in. The woods are real open and the brook is easy to follow, it should have been no more than 1-2 hour walk from there to the road.

It was sobering to realize just how disoriented one can become through hunger and fatigue. What seems easy and skills we take for granted under "normal" conditions becomes difficult and life-threatening is just a few hours or days. The story is a must read for any back-country traveler, even if just to serve as a reminder, to prevent slippage into the "could never happen to me" mindset.

Not to be a hijacker or anything, but I've also always been curious to learn more about the "Thomas Carleton" incident that occured around the same time. I only know the absolute basics. Anyone know more?

 

[Rick]

....Not to be a hijacker or anything, but I've also always been curious to learn more about the "Thomas Carleton" incident that occured around the same time. I only know the absolute basics. Anyone know more?

On the same "No Hijack Concept" I have been trying to get some additional info as well. I was in on the search back in October '93 and was afforded the awesome opportunity to fly in and out of Wallface Ponds courtesy of a 10th Mountain Division Huey helicopter, where we climbed Wallface and searched for him.
I know a few folks on the 46er list found an old backpack way back by the sawtooths and wondered if it could have been his. I do recall he had a jansport ext frame pack, sleeping bag (Purple perhaps) and no stove.

 

[Jay H]

Hey, thanks Rick... I only have a chance to peruse threads so most long threads I kind of stay out of, which means I've missed most of the ones you linked to. I never feel like replying or adding to threads unless I've followed the entire train of thought so the longer threads here on VFTT kind of make me miss them due to the time I have to read them (which is not much).

Jay

 

[tgoodwin]

The fact that David Boomhower simply sat there for 50 days and starved to death is certainly puzzling, and I don't know if the following additional information makes his fate any more understandable. As the chronicler of Adirondack searches and rescues for Adirondac, I spoke with the DEC several times before his body was finally found. Each time, they mentioned that a backgound check had not turned up any evidence that this was anything more than a lost and missing hiker. The way they said this, however, led me to believe that there was "something" strange about the case.
I later spoke with Chris Mele who at the time was the Lake Placid reporter for the Plattsburgh Press-Republican. He said (and fair warning, I have no confirmation of this) that Boomhower had been married and recently divorced. Furthermore, soon after the divorce, Boomhower served as the "best man" at the wedding of Boomhower's best friend to Boomhower's now ex-wife. Mele also said the trio lived in the same house for six months before the other two finally told him it was time to leave. That's when he started his hike.
So, we have a somewhat socially confused individual who had experienced recent failure and was "forced" onto the trail without necessarily much time to plan. There were statements in the media reports at the time that he may have wanted to either succeed at his goal or fail in some spectacular way. Either way, his state of mind at the time was certainly different from most who start on a long and challenging hike.
I debated whether I should post these "soap opera" details, but perhaps it answers some of the nagging questions posed in this and other forums.

 

[Rick]

Tony,
Thanks - Your bi-annual reports are the first thing I look for whenever I open Adirondac.
Thank you for printing this. I spent many hours over a period of months thinking about Boomhower (I was truly obsessed with it) after it happened. I could never get over the fact that he didn't just walk (or crawl out) as I read and re-read the article hundreds of times. In fact, backpacking the NLP certainly had a certain stigma for me because I hoped to understand what could have happened to him.

Having had a horrendous breakup with a girlfiend slightly before this in the early 90's, I tried to understand how badly one must hurt from his divorce (and his ex-wife's subsequent marriage, which were mentioned in the article) to make the leap in one's mind that there are "alternatives" to life.

Your additional piece certainly clears up some of the questions I've carried.
Thanks
Rick

 

[mavs00]

Great stuff, Thanks Tony....... Doing what I do for a living certainly inserts me into similar "how did A --> B --> C --> and so on" exercises al the time, so I find this stuff fascinating.

Obviously, we can't really know if the ancillary details provided actually contributed to events down the line for Boomhower, but it certainly could have in an indirect way.

It's my experience that often when your mind in not fully engaged in the "task" at hand, events can quickly overtake you and spiral out of control in a bad WAAAAAY, real fast.

It's true driving a car, flying a plane, operating a drill press...... so perhaps its true for undertaking a difficult winter hike or taking a midsummer stroll along the NPT as well. Interesting info thanks.

Any insight on Carleton????

 

[mavs00]

Two interesting developments................. A slow night at work

I seem to be the only at this party still, but I'll post it anyway.....

One, I just got around to re-reading the article that Rick discusses in the "Death on the Northville Placid Trail link (his 2nd above). For those that have not read it, request a copy from him........... It really is worth a read by any outdoors/hikerish type person.

The thing that makes it compelling is that during his 55 day** ordeal, he kept a pretty detailed journal of his decent from simply hiking along a trail to later dying alone, his body wracked with starvation an probably raging with Giardia.

ala Christopher McCandless in Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild

Fascinating stuff - I've already set my TEVO for NGE show on Saturday.

** - No one will ever know is it really was 55 days, as he was delusional and quite out of it towards the end.

----------------------------------

As for Thomas Carleton, I was fortunate, as a result of this thread, to have been provided with 14 in-depth news articles from the period around his disappearance. As a 15 y/o death investigator that deals with empirical (as well as physical) data ALL DAY/EVERY DAY, I was able to gleen what I think was some very telling thoughts and ideas (not conclusions............. there is not enough data) from those article. News articles are, of course, not REAL data, but if you read them right, you can find much of what you need

There are eerily similar aspects between these two cases and once again, its fascinating to anyone interested in behavioral issues as they pertain to "hiking into trouble"........

Much of it would be boring as hell to over 2000 members here, so I won't go into it further here, but PM me if your interested........

 

[Jay H]

mavs00, et. al., Very interesting information in this thread. The NatGeo special doesn't go into the background for reason that it is probably beyond the scope of their program on survival. They're more interested on survival dos and donts and don't get into detail.

I do recall seeing different days out, anywhere from 40 days to 55 days too.

Makes me wonder if Boomhower's normal modus operandi is to keep a journal, if this was a first time, wonder if he was out there longer on purpose, ala McCandliss. I don't keep a journal when I'm backpacking but I have kept a bike journal when bike touring.

I started to read the 2nd link that Rick posted, but didn't have time to finish it, maybe I'll print it out and save it for later...

Jay

 

[Dugan]

Found this on another forum on the subject in mind for further reading..:

http://homepage.interaccess.com/~gonzales/Survwd.pdf

Jay

I've an experience from this morning that I'd like to share in light of having read the pdf file last night.

Dugan four-legs and I walked one of our usual routes on a nearby tree farm this morning. It was dark and rainy, so I used a headlamp. We got to a spot where we often return by an alternate return route via a short bushwhack through the woods to a very large clearing. Dugan tugged at the leash to go that way, so off we went. After getting 30-40 feet into the woods I started thinking that it probably wasn’t a good idea since it was dark. Despite this, I kept going thinking I couldn’t get lost since I’ve been that way a lot. After a little longer, I looked around and started thinking, hmmm… this doesn’t look right. I turned off the lamp then looked through the tree tops to find the break that would indicate the clearing. I didn't see the break, but after turning in a circle I was able to see enough to sort out where we were, 'phew. It was just that everything looked so different by headlamp. Thus reassured, we kept going and came out as planned.

I knew several things about where I was:
it's a small area bounded by known difficult-to-miss landmarks (roads, swamp, brook, stone wall)
I know the area well
I knew roughly where I was
day light would begin in 15-20 minutes, so I could've stopped and waited for day break

Even knowing these things, I felt a moment of nervousness when I realized things didn’t look familiar. It was then that I stopped, turned off the lamp, and looked around. As I resumed our walk, I thought about the article and how I'd felt nervous in spite of being in a relatively safe situation. I realized how easily nervousness could become fear could become panic; that each has an increasingly negative impact on one's ability to reason; and how that might lead to a seemingly safe situation spiraling out of control.

Of course, I'd never last 55 days... I'd be dog kibble before then!

 

[Abster]

The article that Jay H provided a link to is very interesting and thought-provoking for anyone who might have the time to read it!

I am very drawn to this type of survival story for whatever reason. Before I met a VFTT member last New Year's at Zealand Hut and was introduced to this community, I hiked by myself all the time - in NE, Colorado, New Zealand and Scotland. (My dog got too old to join me in the US.) This discussion has gotten my attention and I really need to think about doing it in the future. Now I just have to post a trip and see if there are any takers!