Random Thought of the Day

Latest Hawaii incident is another case of someone getting lost and their tale about it includes yelling and waving at the planes or helicopters flying right over them without them being spotted. If this is not included in the survivor's story, then nobody searched by air. Every time this happens.

Another repeating element to the story is attempting to backtrack and failing to recognize the path that was taken - though i won't say this is an element of *every* story.

Quote: odiousgambit

Latest Hawaii incident is another case of someone getting lost and their tale about it includes yelling and waving at the planes or helicopters flying right over.

Tough to die of exposure or thirst in
Hawaii. You could be lost for a long
time.

it is hard to spot a person from a helicopter particularly in mountainous terrain with dense foliage. Leaving rocks on the edge of a stream bank in a distinct pattern with an arrow indicating direction of travel can help but in a tropical rainforest its real hard to be seen and of course it is a waste of energy to yell at a helicopter but everyone does it.

I read one article about that person lost in Hawaii.
She did many things wrong.
This isn't victim blaming, but the things she did made her rescue a lot harder.

It doesn't look like she told anyone where she was going, and when she was expecting to be back
She went off the trail
She had no compass
She had a cellphone in her CAR but didn't take it with her. There may or may not be cell coverage.
She left her water bottle in her car.
Maybe she didn't have a whistle?
She didn't recognize that she was lost, and she KEPT GOING. On a 3 mile hike, she tried to find her car by hiking from 10:30am until MIDNIGHT. I don't know how far off the trail she hiked, but however far it was, she should have stopped after hiking for 2x that time, at most.

The searchers were looking in a 1.5 mile radius around her car. On a "whim" apparently the helicopter went out to 7 miles, the equivalent of 30 miles of hiking. That's where the found her.

So, what are the right things to do?
Tell someone where you are going, and when you are expecting to be back. Report back to them when you are back.
Always bring water.
Stay on the trails.
If you are lost, stop and stay put.
Have a whistle. If you are lost and/or injured, blow your whistle - three 3-second blasts. Those whistles are loud, the sound carries well, every hiker knows what it means (or is supposed to) and will get help or come to you. There are more guidelines but that is the most basic one.

If you are hiking off trail, you better have way more stuff than that.

(edit - I even forgot to mention to have a basic compass! That, and a trail guide if it isn't just a simple loop.)

Quote: Dalex64

(edit - I even forgot to mention to have a basic compass! That, and a trail guide if it isn't just a simple loop.)

All the pro hikers I watch use
Guthooks. It's an app you buy
that tells you where you are
in relation to the trail. There's
always service. They use it all
the time.

Quote: Dalex64

I read one article about that person lost in Hawaii.

Same. And she strikes me as one of those extra crunchy folk that likely have a few crystals of dubious import on their person.

She "followed signs". Stub toe? Turn around. Fallen branch? Turn around. Gut told her to.

It's bloody Maui. What's it, 50mi end to end? She's the exact dips@#$ what got all my childhood haunts shut down.

Quote: Evenbob

All the pro hikers I watch use
Guthooks. It's an app you buy
that tells you where you are
in relation to the trail. There's
always service. They use it all
the time.

Yep, that sort of thing is great for helping to keep you out of trouble in the first place.

Quote: Dalex64

Yep, that sort of thing is great for helping to keep you out of trouble in the first place.

In the mid 90's a woman hiker got
lost on the Appalachian Trial and
died of exposure. No cell phone,
no Guthhooks.

yoga instructor, folks. free spirit, whimsical type. Probably made many spur of the moment decisions that day before she ever got to the park.

water, whistle, map, compass... all fine and dandy but not everyone ventures forth in a prepared manner particularly when they have been there several times.

one pilot always flew his small plane with a survival kit aboard then he took it home to update and expand it, put it on the back seat of his car that he parked in the tie down area before taking off. Searchers found his survival kit well before they found his corpse.

I can tell you I never step into the woods without two compasses, in case one gets lost or doesn't seem to work right

I also always try to note the ultimate exit direction, in other words to get back to my vehicle I might know I want to go northwest, but if I really get disoriented the "can't fail " direction to get me back to the road generally may be east or something

I have to admit I sometimes get lazy about the latter, since I usually now have a handheld GPS with backup batteries. But never am I out without compasses. You do have to know how to use them too. Basically, you can't be this 'situationally unaware' as this person and have any business in the outdoors