NHF&G News: Distressed Hikers Assisted to Safety

[kevinmac]

DISTRESSED HIKERS ASSISTED TO SAFETY

CONCORD, N.H. - Capping several incidents involving hiker rescues in New Hampshire over the weekend, rescuers helped an injured hiker to safety this morning (Monday, May 11, 2009), from a spot deep within the Pemigewasset Wilderness in Lincoln, N.H.*John Miramonti, of West Lebanon, N.H., age 49, set out with a companion on Saturday, May 9, planning on a multi-day hiking and camping trip from Zealand to Lincoln Woods on the Bondcliff Trail.*Miramonti injured his ankle during the hike on Saturday.*On Sunday, they realized that Miramonti might not be able to complete the hike, so his companion hiked on to Lincoln Woods to get help.*He reached there at midnight and notified authorities.*The hikers had a cell phone, but could not get a signal in their remote location nine miles into the Pemigewasset Wilderness.*

At daylight this morning, a rescue team went in, including New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Conservation Officers and members of Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue and Upper Valley Wilderness Response teams.*The rescuers were prepared to carry Miramonti out if needed, but the injured hiker was able to walk out under his own power with the team's assistance.*"That was a positive development, because it would have been an arduous carry," said Lt. Todd Bogardus, N.H. Fish and Game's Search and Rescue Team Leader.

In another incident involving hikers yesterday (May 10, 2009), 38-year-old Keith Owens of Cambridge, Mass., was rescued on the Gorge Trail on Mt. Moosilauke in the town of Benton, N.H.*Owens was hiking with three friends he had met on the website Craigslist.*He was wearing blue jeans, a fleece jacket and sneakers, and had a garbage bag as emergency rain gear.*On his way up the mountain, Owens suffered leg cramps, but the group forged ahead instead of turning back, and used a cell phone to call for help once reaching the summit of Mt. Moosilauke at about 1:30 p.m.*With a nasty combination of rain and sleet blowing in, the hikers separated and began moving down the mountain.*They were met by a crew from the Warren Fire Department, which helped Owens out of the woods at around 5:00 p.m.*"These hikers were not prepared with provisions or gear for that type of weather, and did not stay together as a group," said N.H. Fish and Game Department Conservation Officer Gregory Jellison,
who interviewed them after the incident.*"They were extremely fortunate to come out of there with just cold feet."*

For information on being safe while hiking, visit http://www.hikesafe.com.

 

[TDawg]

Garbage bags for rain gear, fantastic.

 

[NewHampshire]

Garbage bags for rain gear, fantastic.

I have a friend (an experienced hiker who is a member of this site) who used a cheap plastic "poncho" (not the vinyl kind but the stuff like bread bag thickness) for quite a while and it served him quite well. I have known others who have used plastic garbage bags with holes cut out for arms and head. I don't see why this, out of any other facts that could be picked out of the article, should be the thing most worth commenting on.....

Brian

 

[TDawg]

Ok, maybe I shoulda went with the fact that they waited until the hard part was over (the climb up) to call for help instead of just turning back. Or the blue jeans...or the sneakers...or, "I'm not touching another rescue thread."

So sorry good sir , got nothing against ponchos, I've been in that crowd. Although not in May on a 4800 foot mountain. Can't say I've gone the garbage bag route.

Stuff happens, glad they're alright.

 

[Seeker]

So sorry good sir , got nothing against ponchos, I've been in that crowd. Although not in May on a 4800 foot mountain. Can't say I've gone the garbage bag route.

Stuff happens, glad they're alright.

LOL! Well put. I suspect most of us were less than well equipped when we first started hiking. Let me tell you about the time I borrowed wind gear--thinking it was rain gear--for a hut-to-hut trip. And yes, it rained all day the first day. I couldn't stop for even 30 seconds until we hit Lakes.

For all of the grousing about AMC trips one sometimes hears, at LEAST you get trained leaders who know the importance of keeping groups together! LAME. That was what stuck out to me.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I feel compelled to remind everyone (and enlighten newer readers) that in the following poll

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=17770

I inquired about the predicted 24-hour survival rate of respondents in similar (actually less harsh) and 12 of 119 respondents (~10%) submitted they would not. This audience is pretty hardcore, and for most, had to be referred by someone else who is hardcore,

It's so easy to sit back and criticize others, but think about how you (I) got into this. My first 4K was on a whim, in late May (Moosilauke) with no jacket, no warm hat (baseball cap), and only 2 small water bottles and a sandwich. For the occasional hiker or someone wondering what it is like, it is very, very easy to make a mistake. Most of the time, nothing bad will happen, but occasionally it does. I am at a point where I believe I could survive one night in winter, but it wouldn't be comfortable, and I don't know about 2 or 3 - I haven't got a stove or sleeping bag, and I don't carry 3 days worth of food either.

The same thing happens for fishing, skiing, and bicycling (and other activities too I am sure.) As you start out, you buy a few entry-level items, and as you figure out what works, you upgrade. In my case, I can overlap usage of things like wind pants for all three activities, along with certain base layers, and my camelbak.

I remember clearly when my first kid was born that no instructions came out when she did. I turned her over several times to see if I missed them

Tim

 

[Bob Kittredge]

Poncho

It was the experience of having a cheap poncho torn to tatters by the wind on Crawford Path that pushed me over the edge. I stopped at REI on my way home and bought my first Gortex top shell. I still wear a (not so cheap) poncho from time to time, but never above treeline.

 

[dr_wu002]

Went up Bondcliff on Sunday. Incidentally, encountered the ankle guy (mentioned in the first part of the article) and his friend on the way up.

Anyway, similar conditions weather-wise to Moosilauke.... I had zip-off pants, t-shirt, trail runners and a light, semi-useless rain jacket thing. When we hit treeline, I zipped on my pant legs and put on a thin wool sweater. We had enough beer to go around so we felt safe enough. We hung around above treeline for about a 1/2 hour, eating, drinking and stumbling around in the wind before descending. Felt good. Felt great actually!! Ran into ankle guy again and he was struggling. Offered help (?) but he refused. Seemed ok and in very good spirits, just moving slow but well equipped to spend the night out (had full camping gear).

The first thing I thought when I read about the garbage bag dude on Moosilauke was, "moron" but beyond that, who knows? To me, the dumbest thing that I got from the article is that they kept going and then called on their cell phones from the summit. Seem like clueless, maybe newbies to me.

The point is, I was out in similar conditions and was probably about as well equipped as the garbage bag man but I felt safe and in control at all times. Probably comes down to experience and level of comfort mixed with common sense and knowing when to turn around. I told Rebecca that I was going to turn back if I felt lousy on the hike considering how raw it was and raining (then snowing) out that day. But it turned out, despite the conditions, to be quite enjoyable. Also, if I got injured, Rebecca probably had enough gear to save us both.

-Dr. Wu

 

[NorthShore]

A "contractor-weight" black plastic garbage bag is one of the most versatile extras in my pack. Might be the best piece of gear that he brought.

 

[Woody]

Craigslist?

The thing I found the strangest about the story is finding hiking partners on "Craigslist"! I bet that's a great place to find experienced partners. They probably just aren't experienced at hiking!

 

[Trainwreck]

I won't touch the Craigslist part of this, but I started off hiking a long time ago, in college, with a few friends, and went up Mt. Mansfield. We hiked Memorial Day, and I didn't even carry the garbage bag. Stupid and lucky.
I also carry a garbage bag which can double as a bivy sac in a pinch.
This guy was lucky, and I'll bet he learned some lessons on this trip.
Experience is often learned the hard way, after needing it!
Sandy

 

[J.Dub]

The thing I found the strangest about the story is finding hiking partners on "Craigslist"! I bet that's a great place to find experienced partners. They probably just aren't experienced at hiking!

Oh, snap!