Posted on 12/25/2022 3:17:18 PM PST by Jim Noble
A month after a 19-year-old woman was found dead on Mount Lafayette, another hiker has died at the popular hiking spot in Franconia Notch, Fish and Game said.
The 28-year-old man departed on the the 8.6-mile Bridle Path/Falling Waters Loop alone around 11 a.m. Saturday, according to a news release.
Rescuers were alerted of the overdue hiker just after 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve. A family member in China had been tracking the hiker’s progress when at 6:15 p.m. the phone was dead and the hiker was lost off a trail south of Mount Lincoln.
“The hiker was described by family as inexperienced and it was unknown what he was carrying for equipment,” the news release said. “With temperatures near zero a search for the hiker commenced.”
By 2 a.m. Sunday, the team reached Franconia Ridge and located what they believed to be tracks left by the hiker. The tracks continued off trail to drainage that flows between Little Haystack Mountain and Mount Lincoln.
The man’s body was found around 6:45 a.m. about a half-mile from the Falling Waters Trail in Franconia, according to the news release.
The team arrived back at the trailhead at 2:30 p.m. Christmas Day. The identity of the hiker is being withheld until family can be notified.
The popular Bridle Path/Falling Waters Loop summits Little Haystack, Mount Lincoln and Lafayette.
Emily Sotelo, of Westford, Mass., hiked in the opposite direction of the man and had also hoped to summit several other 4,000-foot mountains. Sotelo’s body was found Nov. 23 after a four-day search. A search team found tracks and items belonging to Sotelo were at the headwaters of Lafayette Brook.
Sotelo was found on what would have been her 20th birthday. Her body was flown by a National Guard helicopter to Cannon Mountain Ski Area.
Fish and Game reminds outdoor enthusiasts that “winter conditions have arrived in New Hampshire and that they should prepare accordingly for these conditions.” Go to hikesafe.com for more information.
But the article directs people wanting more information about safety to go to "hikesafe.com", and this is what I found there:
NH FISH & GAME AND THE WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST REQUEST THAT YOU FOLLOW RECREATE RESPONSIBLY GUIDELINES.
Know Before You Go: Check the status of the place you want to visit. If it is closed, don't go. If it's crowded, have a backup plan.
Practice Physical Distancing: Keep your group size small. Be prepared to cover your nose and mouth and give others space. If you are sick, stay home.
Plan Ahead: Prepare for facilities to be closed, pack lunch, and bring essentials like hand sanitizer and a face covering.
Play It Safe: Slow down and choose lower-risk activities to reduce your risk of injury. Search and rescue operations and health care resources are both strained.
Explore Locally: Limit long-distance travel and make use of local parks, trails, and public spaces. Be mindful of your impact on the communities you visit.
Leave No Trace: Respect public lands and waters, as well as Native and local communities. Take all your garbage with you. Pack it in, pack it out and pack it home.
Build an Inclusive Outdoors: Be an active part of making the outdoors safe and welcoming for all identities and abilities.
So, if this poor kid had followed this advice, he would have brought hand sanitizer and a mask, stayed away from others, didn't need a backup plan because it wasn't crowded, was (I'm sure) ready to cover his nose and mouth, and to make sure his trail was "safe for all identities", and despite that he got lost and froze to death.
Maybe "hikesafe.com" should have given some advice about clothing, shelter, equipment, and backup, and forget the hand sanitizer, masks, and "other identities".
“Plan Ahead: Prepare for facilities to be closed, pack lunch, and bring essentials like hand sanitizer and a face covering.”
Oh please, masks are debatable, at best, Omicron is no worse than the flu, and nothing spreads outdoors.
How unfortunate for these young uns.
Were they vaxed & boosted?
Hiking up a mountain in winter in a day trip....
You being everything you need to survive for a night.
I bet they got a federal grant for that.................
People are very creative figuring out ways to kill themselves.
My point wasn’t that outdoor masks are “debatable” (actually, they are useless except in very rare circumstances not found on Falling Waters Trail in late December) but rather that they are #100 on any proper list of considerations for winter hiking in the White Mountains.
Cannon Mtn faces north and well known to be dangerously freezing into Spring. I wonder why anyone would attempt to hike it on the coldest of days rather than waiting until summertime.
I think they mean something to keep the face warm….not Covid related.
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“You bring everything you need to survive for a night”.
Well, yes, obviously. My reason for posting was to ask why that is not #1 on any list of winter mountain hiking safety, as opposed to hand sanitizer and face coverings.
“I think they mean something to keep the face warm….not Covid related”
You are too kind. The “face covering” is linked by “and” to “hand sanitizer”.
If you were right, the “and” linkage is “warm gloves”, not “hand sanitizer”.
“If it is closed, don’t go.”
Democrats may proceed.
“but rather that they are #100 on any proper list of considerations for winter hiking in the White Mountains.”
Not if you need to look ‘woke’.
You are correct…I erred.
.
What was the cause of death?
First and foremost is he prepared for an unexpected night out in any weather. Even on short hikes we have enough provisions to spend the night in the wilderness
The second is never hike alone
Always have your satellite located/transponder. The price on these have come way down and there is no excuse not to have one
Stupidity.
Oh and you can put the face mask in your bag. Maybe they work as kindling? and ya d sanitizer with alcohol will likely burn. That’s the only wilderness use I can come up with. So sad that people die from trusting the government for advice
Editing
Man hiking solo and trying to summit Mt.Lincoln was found dead.
us`n mountain folk never go into them woodsn mountains without”:
2 other people
couple big dogs
3-4 guns
couple drones’
satellite phone
plus we never go in wintertime unless you wanna die like an ice cube......
do these poepl leaves their brains in the frig? just sayin
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