Oregon Hikers

Spent this weekend up at Goat Rocks, Mt Adams looked nasty and half covered in thick lenticular clouds. Didn't get much better looking as monday rolled around either. Hope he makes it out safely.

I agree.... Spent the weekend in Hood River and Parkdale... Looked up at Adams often thought about how bad the upper part of the mountain looked...

Hopefully he hunkered down somewhere and is safe!

-Jason

I was on Observation Peak Sunday and snapped some photos of Adams and the cloud formations. The peak was thoroughly socked in.

Here is a video/comments from the Eugene News:

http://www.kval.com/news/31075684.html

Good News, the hiker has been been found alive. He is dehydrated and with a broken ankle.

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/k ... 55a32.html

I'm so glad they found him.

The internet news articles don't have much information yet, but they're chock full of comments by the uninformed about the "idiocy" of some "unprepared" climber/hiker who goes alone and has to be rescued. It may turn out he was ill-equipped and reckless, but somehow I doubt it.

What the public doesn't know is that hiking and climbing alone is no safer or more dangerous than many other activities people take for granted. I can twist my ankle stepping off a curb or injure my back taking out the garbage. The only difference is the proximity of help. The fact that Derek Mamoyac survived an ankle injury for five days, in inclement weather at 6,000ft, tells me that he was mentally and physically prepared and capable of what he attempted to do. How many of us carry five days of gear on a one or two day trip? That he was alone is of no real significance in terms of preparedness or ability. Of course having a partner would have helped, but he seems to have done quite well on his own.

The average public person who does not hike or climb doesn't understand this. They don't understand the draw and the allure of the outdoors, and they don't understand that for every person rescued, there are thousands that make it back safe. Accidents happen, but people are quick to judge and assign blame.

Although it's frustrating to read the sometimes venomous comments people post to news articles about missing or injured climbers and hikers, I'd rather focus my attention on the positive - Mamoyac is home, safe - and educate people on why we spend time in the wilderness, how we do it safely, and why it's so damn important. I'm not going to stop hiking alone. It's the weekend, after all.

Here's hoping that Mamoyac heals quickly and gets back out on the trail as soon as possible.

The man who died at Triple Falls last week lived next door to one of my coworkers. My sympathy goes out to his friends and family. My coworkers have approached me, and other coworkers who are avid hikers, for information and to say, "Stay safe."

That goes for all of you on this site, too.

If I go solo, I tend to be a little more careful.

If I go with someone else, I will do more dangerous things, knowing there's someone to help bail me out.

Tends to balance out - solo isn't much if any riskier.

From a rationalizer of going solo

Some awesome and unexpected news. Some more details posted here:

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ss ... ve_on.html

simply incredible. I am so glad to hear he turned up safely. I was already expecting the worst. Excusionista said it very well. we are no safer going to winco than we are hiking in the woods. I am just as likely to have my ankle smashed by a wayward shopping cart than fall off a cliff. I do wish the general public would stop judging those who choose to spend their free time in the mountains and stop demanding people pay for their own rescues. Yes, there are going to be those who aren't prepared and take unnecessary risks, but there are people like that in every single facet of life. The vast majority of outdoor folks are responsible and don't deserve to be judged harshly just because something went wrong.