7/18 Missing Hiker Alert

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Messages 21 - 34 of total 34 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
Studly

Trad climber
WA
Jul 21, 2017 - 11:05am PT
Don't worry Dingus, when you get lost, we will still come find you because what would Supertopo be without your hikey climbey adventures
Ken M

Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
Jul 21, 2017 - 11:22am PT
I do not understand why people feel they have to separate themselves. Sure, everyone goes at a different pace, but you have to stay together. Losing someone sucks a lot more than going a little slower.


Not advocating, here, but in the interests of understanding:

While the saying is that the slowest person determines the pace, the fact is that the slowest person clearly knows that they are holding everyone back, and they hate that. It is not unusual, at the beginning of the day, that the slowest person will start out before their companions, to get a "head start" on the day. It is a major psychological downer to be the person holding everybody back, and it causes people to do a variety of things to compensate.

Of course, don't know that was the issue here. It could simple have been that she was ready, a few minutes ahead of her companions, so started off, and got caught up in the web of trails up there.

Clearly marking the trails is challenging in Cow country, where signs get knocked over easily.
phylp

Trad climber
Upland, CA
Jul 21, 2017 - 12:01pm PT
Thank you Batrock, for a post that actually contributes some knowledge to this thread.
10b4me

Mountain climber
Retired
Jul 21, 2017 - 12:07pm PT
It is not unusual, at the beginning of the day, that the slowest person will start out before their companions, to get a "head start" on the day.

We don't know that she was the slowest person.
LAhiker

Social climber
Los Angeles
Jul 21, 2017 - 12:23pm PT
10b4me -- It's true that we don't know that she was the slowest; Ken M. acknowledges that that might not have been the issue.

But it is a reason some hikers like to get an early start, and it could have been her reason. At 5 ft and 100 lbs, LInda Solomon probably has shorter legs than her hiking companions, and her gear may have felt heavier relative to her body weight. Even if one is very fit, when one is backpacking, these things can slow one down relative to larger companions. (I speak as someone who's even shorter than she is...)

Thanks to Batrock for explaining the confusing terrain in the area.
Mei

Trad climber
mxi2000.net
Jul 21, 2017 - 02:59pm PT
Glad that she was found.

Re: head start
I sometimes give myself a head start if I think others will catch up (hiking or riding). Occasionally, I get stung by that assumption, but I'll do it again when it makes sense.

who could have retraced her steps
Not sure if it's just me, but I find it hard most of the times to retrace steps -- steps cannot be seen on hard ground, steps visible can turn out to be confusing, and landscape looks completely different going one direction vs the other. I do need to train myself to do better with navigational skills.
Lynne Leichtfuss

Trad climber
Will know soon
Jul 21, 2017 - 04:02pm PT
Right on, king tut.

And Reilly you are definitely on a funny roll....even on the "funny" thread. Keep it coming. Need all the laughs we can get.
Winemaker

Sport climber
Yakima, WA
Jul 21, 2017 - 05:28pm PT
The slowest person is always pretty much at a disadvantage. If you're slow you arrive at a rest break last, possibly by the time the others are set to go, so you get a shorter rest when you might need the longest. Having said that, it hurts to be held back when you are feeling strong and in the zone. Best to have a group at the same level as that makes everyone happier.

I went on an outing up Mt. Adams and the 'leader' insisted on 10 minute rest breaks every hour and a slow pace. It was frustrating and boring, so 'see ya'; then it was fun. That's why I mostly do solo stuff; if I'm slow or fast it doesn't matter, I'm still enjoying myself. As for backtracking navigation, the ability to reverse the route image is important. Fortunately I seem to have the ability to do that and it makes navigation way easier. Oddly enough, if I've driven somewhere once, even years ago, I can recall the route and duplicate the drive, even to obscure places.

Anyway, glad she was okay.
Jon Beck

Trad climber
Oceanside
Jul 21, 2017 - 05:45pm PT
One aid for reverse navigation off trail is to look back frequently, or even take pictures at key points, not selfies DMT :)

Camera memory is cheap insurance
ruppell

climber
Jul 21, 2017 - 07:53pm PT
Camera memory is cheap insurance

Until your battery goes dead.

Buy a topo and a compass. Learn how to use them. Granted there are situations when even that becomes almost useless but Coyote Flat on a sunny day is not one of them.

It's easy to armchair it and say what you would of or would not have done. Had this women had that topo and compass she would have hit Bishop, Big Pine, or 395 before SAR even mobilized. At least that's how I see it from my chair.
Ken M

Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
Jul 21, 2017 - 09:28pm PT
The other Great Equalizer is age.

As I got older, I found that I hiked slower. This ended up being a challenge. As I often ended up leading a group, I had to develop the technique for myself of leading from the back of the pack, a 60 y/o leading a bunch of 20 y/o. It can be done, but it take some consideration, and I don't know that I'd want to do that on a trail I didn't know well.
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Jul 21, 2017 - 09:37pm PT
a 60 y/o leading a bunch of 20 y/o

Really? I thought there were laws against that?
Ken M

Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
Jul 22, 2017 - 09:25am PT
DMT, I suppose it goes without saying that the make-up of the "group" would make a big difference.

With "peers", having equivalent skills, keeping together on a hike on trails would be much less of an issue, and may have been the case here.

Leading a group of newbies, who have no skills, is a different tale, I think.

Once again, we don't really know the situation in this case.
Bad Climber

Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
Jul 22, 2017 - 08:39pm PT
Boy, I'm kinda with Jon Beck on group size. I find these giant back country groups really annoying--not to mention the impacts. An old friend just posted some pics of a trip she took recently into the Sierras...wait for it...with THIRTY people. What the hell? No. Thank you.

Glad the lady got found, although it was a bummer for the taxpayers to fund the chopper search.

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