[pct-l] Rescue (was Re: Another missing hiker found)

Tue Oct 8 20:48:49 CDT 2013

Andrea,

As an experienced hiker (JMT three times, Tahoe Rim, PCT two times and 
countless other trails over the many years) AND as a person who is 
experienced with SAR (35 years with Riverside County Sheriff coordinating 
with Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit and other units) I will make the 
following observations:

    1.  There are more hikers than ever, hence more demand on rescue 
resources.
    2.  We DO NOT want to make decisions about whether or not to activate 
SAR based on financial concerns.  The only concerns should be the 
conditions, experience level of those needing rescue,                and 
many  other aspects such as medical conditions or injuries.
    3.  MANY PCT hikers start out unprepared, which in my humble opinion is 
inexcusable.  Hiking the PCT is not a decision one reaches in a moment of 
excitement.  It should be one reached after serious         research (What 
exactly is the PCT and what am I getting myself into?).  Then, there are 
literally dozens of sources of information - the guidebooks, Yogi's Guides - 
not to mention the literally thousands     of trail journals out there.  I 
read about a hundred of these and learned a heck of a lot from others, 
including mistakes they had made which I didn't need to make.  There is 
absolutely no excuse to start     the trek uneducated or unprepared.  I am 
not saying that you cannot modify or adjust your plan or gear, but if you 
start out with a lot of information you will be better prepared.
   4.  There appears to be a lot of self-imposed pressure to "finish."  That 
is understandable because after doing 2500 or 2600 it is only normal to want 
to "succeed."   But, the decision to proceed                     in 
questionable weather MUST be made dispassionately with the appropriate 
concern placed on SAFETY.
    5.  In reading journals, I also noted that some folks take a LOT of (in 
my opinion) unnecessary zero days, thus delaying their arrival in the 
pacific northwest.  Again, in my humble opinion, if a hiker the 
wants to lolly-gag along the way and reaches the cold country late, they 
should be willing to accept the fact that they caused their "failure" to 
complete the trail and complete it when it is safe to do so.

Hiking the trail in a single season is a great goal, but it is not worth 
dying for.

Ron "Burning Daylight" Dye
PCT 2009 and 2012
-----Original Message----- 
From: Andrea Dinsmore Sent: Tuesday, October 08, 2013 1:48 PM
To: Terry
Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Rescue (was Re: Another missing hiker found)

Too many for PCT hikers ?? 2 this season and 1 last season. Maybe 1-2% a
year up here. And it's usually me that calls for the hikers. Most years we
don't have the need to call on hikers. So 98% of SAR rescues are for non
PCT hikers.

Andrea
PCT MOM

On Tue, Oct 8, 2013 at 1:33 PM, Terry <tsparks56 at aol.com> wrote:

> Dan, I agree with you, there seems to be far to many SAR missions going on
> to take care of PCT hikers.  One of the reasons for this and, there is not
> much we as a community can do about it is, with so many more hikers using
> the trail every year (my first thru will be 2014) and belonging in this
> group myself, there will also be that many more inexperienced and under
> educated hikers on the trail too (doing every step possible to not be
> included in this group).
> The problem with trying to raise awareness about the problem on this list
> is that, for the most part, the hikers who visit this list on a regular
> basis, as well as other informative sites, ate not usually the hikers that
> find themselves in trouble and in over their heads before it's to late.
> As far as informing my wife as to my hike plan for a trip, one smart thing
> I do is, I add 1 day to my plan if I'm gone for over 5 days. This is so 
> she
> doesn't start to worry if I'm delayed for any reason and, If I'm not, I
> have a free day if I choose to use it.
>
> Helps keep our SAR teams at home when they are not really needed.
>
> Terry
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Oct 8, 2013, at 12:36 PM, Dan Jacobs <youroldpaldan at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Oct 8, 2013 12:08 PM, "shon mcganty" <smcganty at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >> I'm going to keep it short and put in my 2 cents:
> >>
> >> I think the PCT community needs to do a self evaluation in regards
> > to what responsibility they hold in making sure they do not need rescue.
> > There seams to be so many more rescue missions for PCT hikers than your
> > week-end hikers.
> >
> > Interesting line of thought, but lets look at some details. The one I am
> > curious about is how many rescues are initiated by the hiker themselves.
> > How many rescues are initiated by panicky friends or family when the
> hiker
> > actually doesn't require a rescue effort?
> >
> > Dan Jacobs
> > Vancouver  WA
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