[pct-l] Lost Hiker Found

[Carl Siechert]

> I have a dumb question...what is the "lost person's" $ liability in the
> event of search and rescue?

Many years ago, a couple of buddies and I got caught in a winter storm and
waited it out secure in a tent. When our scheduled return date passed, the
folks at home were a little more concerned, a couple days later the good
guys at Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit <http://www.rmru.org> came looking
for us.

While we waited--and while we eventually hiked out--we had three concerns:

   - That the folks at home were worrying needlessly
   - That the media would be waiting for us upon our exit from the
   wilderness
   - That we'd be stuck with a huge bill for SAR operations

Turns out we didn't need to worry about the last one. RMRU, like many
SAR teams, is an all-volunteer operation. Like other nonprofits, they rely
on donations to meet their financial needs. (And even though we didn't need
their services that time, we're grateful that they're available. Our
families and each of us individually donated for many years after that
incident.)