Woman, two children rescued from Mt. Cardigan

[kevinmac]

Note some of the interesting comments after the article:

http://www.unionleader.com/article....rticleId=0c1463f7-230b-4ad1-bba8-83b0c7e4cf34

 

[mookie]

“Although the group did have sleeping bags, maps and other winter hiking overnight gear, this incident should remind hikers of the importance in following the HikeSafe principles of staying together -- when hiking as a group, stay as a group,” he said. “Had they done so, this incident could have been avoided.”

i think it was interesting that they had a map and got lost, maybee no headlamps/flashlights?

glad they are okay! another great job by local search and rescue crews!

 

[kevinmac]

Interesting that they found an abandoned camper.......glad things worked out well for them.

 

[Tobit]

Note some of the interesting comments after the article:

You mean ones like "Those kids should be removed from their family" and "Yet another stupid group from Mass."

 

[TrishandAlex]

<insert your favorite curse words here> !!!

Those comments reallllly piss me off.

I hope this woman is not charged for the rescue. She made a mistake, yes, she took a wrong turn. She also had appropriate winter gear with her, she and her kids are fine. She shouldn't be crucified.

I can't say anything else regarding the comments or I'll be banned for profanity.

When I'm calmer perhaps I'll come back and write something more eloquent. Right now, I'm just seeing red.

 

[TrishandAlex]

You mean ones like "Those kids should be removed from their family" and "Yet another stupid group from Mass."

What about the kids who watch TV all day long and never get outside -- maybe THEY should be removed from their families.

Again, I'm seeing red. I'll calm down and perhaps come back to this thread later.

 

[Tobit]

I hope this woman is not charged for the rescue.

Well, it probably wasn't a very expensive rescue anyway. F&G were called out at 10pm and they were found at 1:45am. Aside from the conservation officers, probably only the two mentioned in the article, the rest were likely volunteers and there was no need for any heavy equipment such as helicopters. The only real issue should be the safety of rescue personnel hiking out there in the middle of the night.

 

[DougPaul]

Well, it probably wasn't a very expensive rescue anyway. F&G were called out at 10pm and they were found at 1:45am. Aside from the conservation officers, probably only the two mentioned in the article, the rest were likely volunteers and there was no need for any heavy equipment such as helicopters. The only real issue should be the safety of rescue personnel hiking out there in the middle of the night.

Perhaps not too expensive for the state, but one should note that the volunteers don't get reimbursed for their expenses.

Doug

 

[Tobit]

Perhaps not too expensive for the state, but one should note that the volunteers don't get reimbursed for their expenses.

True - that's the meaning of "volunteer" and should be a given.

 

[TrishandAlex]

Perhaps not too expensive for the state, but one should note that the volunteers don't get reimbursed for their expenses.

Volunteers don't mind not being reimbursed for their expenses, do they? Otherwise, they wouldn't be volunteers..? This is an honest question. I've been a volunteer in several organizations over the years (not SAR related), and I never expected to be reimbursed, nor did I resent giving my time and effort....because I was a volunteer.

 

[jniehof]

Volunteers don't mind not being reimbursed for their expenses, do they?

There is a difference between being reimbursed for your time (antithetical to volunteering) and being reimbursed for your expenses. Many organizations will reimburse volunteers for certain out-of-pocket expenses.

 

[Tom Rankin]

There is a difference between being reimbursed for your time (antithetical to volunteering) and being reimbursed for your expenses. Many organizations will reimburse volunteers for certain out-of-pocket expenses.

And volunteers will not be real thrilled if they perceive their efforts were not needed, or wasted, or spent on cases where they should not have been required in the first place...

 

[Tobit]

Many organizations will reimburse volunteers for certain out-of-pocket expenses.

None of the organizations I've ever volunteered with did and I certainly wouldn't expect it if I was a SAR member. The comments in the Union Leader were making it sound like it was a huge monetary expense and this was the reason this discussion started. In the case of this rescue, the more important discussion, if any at all actually, should have been about the safety of the SAR volunteers as the monetary expense seemed trivial in retrospect.

 

[wardsgirl]

The John Q. Public commenters on those news websites seem to always rant about the huge monetary expense and insist that the rescued party be charged for their rescue. Personally, if I ever needed to be rescued, I'd be writing out a check to whatever organization came to help me. I would like to think that most people view it the same way.

 

[TrishandAlex]

And volunteers will not be real thrilled if they perceive their efforts were not needed, or wasted, or spent on cases where they should not have been required in the first place...

And how would one determine that a case should not have required their efforts in the first place (not talking about the obvious cases where someone hikes without water or gear, etc.)?

If one reads through most of the VFTT threads that follow a SAR effort, one could get the impression that most of the unfortunates found/rescued by SARs did something wrong during their hike -- *the same kinds of things that I read about in "successful" summit TRs every single week, by the way*.

Using that logic, all volunteer effort on all said SAR missions was spent on cases where the effort should not have been required in the first place.

***************

I have to admit, this is a topic that is too close for me to be able to respond without much emotion. I've written, posted, and deleted several times within the past few minutes. So now I'll just bow out and leave it at this:

As for SAR volunteers, I'm grateful for them. God bless them. I hope that not one of them feels their time and effort is wasted on ANY mission, of course it isn't.

 

[Hikes4fun]

As a NJ resident and one who has never hiked (although I've skied them alot) the Whites (I'm an ADK guy)-it's amazing the amount of venom that is spewed forth towards people who get lost and need help. As an impartial observer I can certainly understand both sides of the "pay if you screw up" debate. But as someone w/ old and dear friends living in North Conway (He actually worked the Cog for many years), I kid them often that all this gives alot of people the wrong impression of NH natives.

 

[Barkingcat]

Interesting that they found an abandoned camper...

They found the abandoned camper? Wow -- they were quite a ways away from the High Cabin, which is due west of the AMC Cardigan Lodge.

To get to the old camper, which is overgrown with weeds and is on the edge of a clearing not too far from Clark Brook, they would have been heading south of the lodge, a couple of miles away. Also, to get to the camper from the lodge, the terrain is pretty gentle, with little elevation change -- unlike the climb up to the High Cabin.

That's quite a diversion from their intended path.

Glad they found the old camper and are okay.

 

[hikes-with-him]

It is really amazing to me some people..."do away with hiking in the winter"...and other such comments. I assume that these are the same people who want a nanny state...heck, maybe someone shoudl chew my food for me too...I might choke on it and THEN what would happen...I might need to go in an ambulance and to the ER...the ambulance cost comes from public money (probably)...so my chewing is costing tax payers!!!

Seriously!

 

[mookie]

It is really amazing to me some people..."do away with hiking in the winter"...and other such comments. I assume that these are the same people who want a nanny state...heck, maybe someone shoudl chew my food for me too...I might choke on it and THEN what would happen...I might need to go in an ambulance and to the ER...the ambulance cost comes from public money (probably)...so my chewing is costing tax payers!!!

Seriously!

actually,
your ambulance service for emergency transports is covered by your health insurance(provided you have insurance), maybee Search and Rescues Fees could be billed to insurance companies, that would be cool. would love to see the charges for a rescue from a remote wilderness area.

 

[griffin]

It is really amazing to me some people..."do away with hiking in the winter"...and other such comments. I assume that these are the same people who want a nanny state...

I wouldn't - they don't strike me as that rational. My bet is usually that they're people who'd scream bloody murder if someone suggested that THEIR favorite activity be curtailed for some reason.