Posted on 01/03/2014 12:05:48 PM PST by don-o
GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) - Three Appalachian Trail hikers who were stranded in the snow without shelter have been flown to a hospital by helicopter.
(Excerpt) Read more at wjhl.com ...
Also being idiots.
CC
In other news; Governor Sanford missing again.
These hikers set out yesterday, in the rain that had been predicted to change to snow and the temp to drop to the low teens and winds to produce sub zero chill. Predicted for a week or more.
Of course, there’s a Dylan song...
Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your mouth
Blowing down the backroads headin’ south
Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth
You’re an idiot, babe
It’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe
At least they’re alive .... sounds like it was a close call. I had a friend who was backing, got caught in a snow storm, became lost, and died. I’m sure he would have gladly paid the cost of a rescue had he survived.
My brothers and I once woke up to heavy unexpected snow at the Mt. LeConte shelter (close to the AT, at about 6200 ft). We bailed at once, taking the Alum Cave trail down to the road. I hitchhiked back up to the parking lot at Newfound Gap to retrieve my car, in about 6 inches of new snow (still coming down heavily when I left the parking lot). Good thing the road was still open, or we’d have been in trouble. It was absolutely the right call.
"If you like your kid..."
We hit 4” of snow at Newfound Gap on May 12th one year.
I am not heartless and I’m glad they were rescued. I hope they learned a lesson. And I’m sorry for your loss. I have lost friends as well - one drowned in the Missouri River scouting a canoe trip for rehab patients.
But, the thoughtlessness of these specific three hikers should be punished. They not only endangered themselves, they endangered the ones who had to go after them.
BTDT. Our rides never showed up. I only day hike in the summer now.
I hiked 775 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail in 2012, starting at the southern border. In 2013, I reached Sonora Pass, at mile 1,018, having started once again at the southern border.
Several hikers were caught in a heavy snowstorm this year, in northern Washington, near the end of the hiking season, prompting rescue of one sort or another. Trust me- many of the seasoned hikers that populate hiker forums have some very strong opinions on hikers getting caught in the wild and then needing rescue. We hikers, and I include myself, even though politically I am deep undercover, expect all hikers to be responsible their actions or decisions. Yeah, it’s a bit of a conundrum how some of the radicals can isolate their behavior in one instance and be completely oblivious in another. Tis what it is. I hike none the less.
Counterespionage is quite exhilarating, I might add. Having said that, one can run down the list of injuries that are self inflicted by numbskulls of all pursuits that are guilty of pursuing (by default) the not so coveted Darwin award by their risky behavior. Example: The costs to treat a skydiver, motorcycle rider, hunter, snow-mobiler, boxer, gymnast, dog owner, ladder user, rock climber, race car driver, surfer, spelunker, airplane pilot, scuba diver, rodeo rider, etc.
However, there are egregious actions or decisions that drive the public’s interests and opinions.
Hikers are an easy target because it’s an activity that is docile and the decision to do it is a slow motion / long term event, unlike sports and recreational activities that occur over seconds or minutes. THAT really is what separates hikers from all of the other activities that can result in injury or death. PILE ON!
My friend made some fatal, if not reckless “mistakes” .... unfortunately, before he even left home, he set those dominoes in motion and never realized they were falling ... if he had, he could have perhaps stopped what was going on. He paid for his mistake(s) with his life.
I have led hikes for years and also am in a situation where I see a lot of really low info, many times just “stupid” people out on the trail. I have intervened and kept a lot of folks from bad situations. We refer to them as “tourons” ... tourist morons. I know you aren’t heartless ... it also makes me mad when SAR has to risk their lives to save the truly stupid. I’m guessing these folks thought they were well-prepared with their backpacking equipment, but most folks (and I’ve done it myself) underestimate the forces of Mother Nature, how quickly you can become hypothermic and lose your life. After my friend died, I changed my ways considerably ..... with most folks, it doesn’t register it can “happen to you” until it does ... or to someone very close.
“They look up and notice that they’re well on their way to the St Lawrence seaway.”
Now, that’s funny.
Well and good. The specifics of this situation are illustrative of industrial grade malfeasance, though. It’s one thing to get caught out in bad weather, especially being in way back country.
Quite another to leave civilization with impending severe weather expected in the next 24 hours.
Rescues involving helos. run about $25,000 a pop. Our military considers the rescue effort to be of a training nature. The actual rescuers long for the calls to come in, prompting the rescues. I was a volunteer firefighter, and in the military, so I know what I speaketh. I worked downrange in Iraq and Afghanistan, as a civilian contractor, and wished with all of my might, to go outside the wire. Yes, there is a cost, and yes, people need to use their heads. How about the idiot that puts his hand inside the body of a lawn mower while it is running? Why shouldn’t this yokel receive the bill in it’s entirety? Same with a dog bite. Yes! Charge them with the cost of the rescue in some way commiserate with other acts of poor judgment. Of course this strikes at the core of liberalism because it’s rare that the individual is responsible for their own actions.
CC
Not so generous in Europe. In the Alps, all experienced hikers carry rescue insurance. If they don't and need assistance, they pay.
I wonder whether they were global warming alarmists.
I work with one of these idiot’s mother. They got it honest.
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