Re: Rescued hiker on Mt. Defiance
Posted: February 9th, 2019, 1:18 pm
i'm friends with one of the people who was on the rescue team. next time i see him at the hogsback (we often cross paths there) I'll ask for a short version if possible..
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https://www.oregonhikers.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=28022
Agreed. I hate it when hikers in distress decline to share their experience. BTW, it's entirely possible the hiker in question is reading this, so I will directly say "thank you for sharing your experience".Kudos to the hiker for being willing to share her story in such detail.
Well, that is [and has been] a discussion of its own. I pack gear based on a number of considerations, which varies from hike to hike. I would never discard my own judgement in deference to some "authoritative" list of what I need to carry. The only absolutely mandatory item that must be carried on all hikes: Beer.for someone hiking alone in winter, ALL of the ten essentials are truly essential.
she should have brought a paper map and compass. Relying on only your phone is risky, especially in winter where batteries die quickly in the cold.
Same here. It didn't quite add up. I've become very familiar with the area, and I was scratching my head at the narrative.I really do not understand some of the description of what happened to her initially up by Warren Lake.
Let's hope this is not actually an example of the fake Warren>Starvation trail claiming a victim.
I love being part of that prestigious club. I kinda want to flag the route with GPS, but that would involve learning how to use GPS .Various people have gone looking for it in summer conditions and haven't found a trace. I personally crossed straight through where it would be while coming up from Cabin Creek Ridge and there is zero trail bench in that area.
I can beat that. I've been in situations where I pulled my compass out, just for fun, to see how close I could come to predicting North, and found myself 180 degrees off! How is that even possible? That's literally as far off as you can possibly be!I've gotten myself turned around a couple of times, and the sense of dis-orientation, especially when cloudy, clings to you like crazy ("I SWEAR that way is north, but my compass says it's east!").
I'm LOL at that.i'm friends with one of the people who was on the rescue team. next time i see him at the hogsback (we often cross paths there) I'll ask for a short version if possible..
Yep. Nothing shows up in that area. Though the area is subject to erosion, so a disused trail could easily fade (vs a roadbed, which is a deeper cut). However, I've checked USGS maps for the Defiance quad, and the fake trail does not appear until the 1994 revision, so the trail would be both fairly new and fairly recently abandoned, which is an odd combination. My hypothesis is still planned spur that was never built.adamschneider wrote: ↑February 11th, 2019, 11:22 amIs there high-resolution LIDAR data available for that area? Sometimes that turns up ghosts of old trails.
Agreed! That was an unexpected twist-- that she found the trail but then left it again.retired jerry wrote: ↑February 14th, 2019, 7:10 ama lesson - when she was on a trail, she should have stayed on it. Do not cut down along some stream because you know it leads down to civilization. Especially in the gorge because of cliffs.
when I'm by myself I'm more careful. With other person(s) we will more likely to attempt something riskier. That cancels out the benefit of one person going out to get help or assist. (rationalization of someone that goes by themselves?)
I thought the trail was completely covered in snow. She didn't leave it to take a shortcut, she was unable to follow it. While it would not be visible, it would tend to stick to relatively benign terrain and avoid the steeps. That's how I interpreted the article.retired jerry wrote: ↑February 14th, 2019, 7:10 ama lesson - when she was on a trail, she should have stayed on it. Do not cut down along some stream because you know it leads down to civilization. Especially in the gorge because of cliffs.