barefoot hypothermic hiker rescued from Munra Point

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adamschneider
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Re: barefoot hypothermic hiker rescued from Munra Point

Post by adamschneider » May 5th, 2022, 8:00 pm

wildcat wrote:
May 5th, 2022, 6:20 pm
I can't imagine hiking in any sandals that don't have heel straps.

Hell, I can't even imagine walking around town in sandals that don't have heel straps!
I feel the same. I keep the heel straps so loose that they're barely touching my heels, but I still want them there.

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retired jerry
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Re: barefoot hypothermic hiker rescued from Munra Point

Post by retired jerry » May 9th, 2022, 12:13 pm

I've always pronounced it "moon-ra"

I kind of preferred the story of the guy on Herman Creek that drank his own pee

It's easy to be critical of someone that gets lost. Say mean things about him. (Not that women aren't capable of doing things that afterwards seem stupid).

I like to learn any lessons so I don't make the same mistake myself. Or someone else won't.

wnshall
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Joined: July 17th, 2009, 10:31 am

Re: barefoot hypothermic hiker rescued from Munra Point

Post by wnshall » June 10th, 2022, 10:04 am

Charley wrote:
May 5th, 2022, 3:56 pm
rb76 wrote:
May 4th, 2022, 10:16 am
I would absolutely love input on this decision though! Making these calls is a lot harder in the moment if icky situations do occur, and all factors must be considered.
First off, massive props to you for joining the forum and commenting on the thread. I think that would take a lot of courage, given how we often criticize SAR callers (based on whatever ends up in news articles, of course); you've shown that courage.
Thanks for this well-reasoned and well-written, level-headed response.

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BigBear
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Re: barefoot hypothermic hiker rescued from Munra Point

Post by BigBear » June 10th, 2022, 6:03 pm

Re. the comment about being critical when someone gets lost

It's interesting to analyze the actions a person takes when they make a wrong turn. The issue isn't whether someone makes a wrong turn, the issue is whether the next decision improves their situation or makes it worse.

For example, I read a story a few years back of a hike in the Gorge where a pair of hikers lost the trail and found themselves hiking up a dry creek bed instead. They reasoned that they would follow the dry creek bed until it met up with another trail. Then they lost the dry creek bed and continued into the forest and were rewarded with an overnight stay without adequate supplies. The issue in this case was why neither of them made the decision to turn around when they lost the trail and especially why didn't they turn around when they ran out of creek bed.

Over my 35,000 or so miles hiked, I have taken wrong turns or relied on maps with errors (surprising how many errors are on maps) but always chose to go back to the location where I last knew I was on course. In other cases, I've gone cross country, but knew ahead of time the landmarks (creek, ridge, trail, road) that would contain my adventure to a manageable experience.

The important aspect of judging or being critical of another's error is to learn from it and not repeat it ourselves with more dire consequences.

In the Munra Point case, it seems like the decision to ignore the adequacy of proper footwear for a rugged, and closed, trail is the question. It's impressive the hiker actually made it as far as he did. I would, in fact, turned back far earlier in the hike myself some years ago when I had adequate attire. I just try to avoid game trails with poison oak belays. Perhaps in the decades since I turned my back on a Munra Point sols, the path had become an actual trail and someone was thoughtful enough to put in steps... but I suspect the path merely got wider and slicker over the years. I think I would trust my bare foot over shoes that slid right and left and off the foot.

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