Recently there have been a number of rescues on the AT and other trails, and the responses by the hiking community have ranged from, "so happy no one got hurt" to "well, I hope they learned their lesson" to "they BURNED THEIR CLOTHING to stay warm?!? What the #@&%?!?"
But I think it's important to remember that while getting lost or needing rescue can happen to anyone, the chances of it becoming necessary go up exponentially if you're stupid. And Search and Rescue will tell you that there are a lot of really stupid people out there.
So by way of cautionary tale, here's a news story from a couple of years ago about a rescue that took place on the Appalachian Trail in New England. Fortunately, although the hikers involved did sustain severe injuries, there was no loss of life. So have fun out on the trails, but be careful!
From the AP Newswire: August 28 -- A local SAR unit, 50 search volunteers, and a New Hampshire National Guard Helicopter crew were involved in responding to an emergency beacon, known as a SPOT device, in downtown Hanover, New Hampshire on Thursday.
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| One of the lost hikers, taken shortly before the incident. (identity hidden to prevent even more embarrassment) |
The hikers were on a section of the Appalachian Trail, which passes through Hanover. The hikers were initially confused as to where the trail went through town. "We were on Wheelock Street coming into town, but then the trail seemed to disappear," said one of the hikers, who wished to remain anonymous, "and then we were on this big grassy area. We hit the SPOT device immediately and decided to set up camp and await rescue. A few minutes later Steve looked across the street and saw the blazes, so we hit the 'OK' button and kept hiking."
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| When interviewed in the hospital, the lost hikers said some confusion stemmed from the blazes being, "totally on the wrong side of the street." |
The hikers made it part of the way down Main Street before getting in trouble again. "Neil needed some smokes, and we got completely off trail after a local gave us directions to Stinson's," said one of the hikers, who wished to remain anonymous, "and then we bought some beer and drank it in the parking lot behind the Nugget and by that time it was clear we were completely lost, and possibly idiots." With daylight fading and the hikers exhausted, disoriented, and pleasantly buzzed, they again activated the SPOT device.
By this time local authorities had already formed search teams based on the first activation of the device, which had never really been cleared. But the searchers were looking for the lost hikers on the College Green. "We had fifty or so searchers wandering around up there, because, honestly, doing a grid search on the Green looks kind of silly," said one of the searchers, who wished to remain anonymous. Said another searcher: "It was pretty clear from the outset that we weren't going to find them, but I did get two girls' phone numbers."
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| The search area for the lost hikers looked absolutely nothing like this. |
The hikers were eventually spotted by a National Guard helicopter in the parking lot behind the Dartmouth Bookstore. One of the hikers had suffered a slight ankle injury on the Bagel Basement steps, but they were otherwise unharmed. "We got really turned around and confused there for a while," said the third hiker in the group, who wished to remain anonymous. "Ed thought that if we could just figure out where 5 Olde was, then we could have another beer and calm down and try to find Main Street. But in the state we were in and with no trail to follow, that was pretty much wishful thinking."
The three hikers were air lifted out of the parking lot and taken to the Dartmouth Green, where they were beaten senseless by search volunteers.
