[pct-l] "WILD"...You "ain't" seen nothing yet

[Andrea Dinsmore]

Great post.......we are preparing for the "anyone can do it" reasoning.
Have gotten started the idea of making around 50 posters to hang at all the
normal hiker haunts from the Mexican border to Cascade Locks. Real pics
showing what's up here in the North Cascades and what the timing for
arriving up here should be to have the best chance of finishing the hike
before too much snow hits. Everett Mt. Rescue is helping me with that
project. Also working with the Snohomish Co. SAR on an idea to make a video
of rescues and examples of how treacherous it really is when a big storm
like this year hit early.

We spent a lot of time trying to educate the late hikers on what they were
walking into and the need for at least 10 days of food and snow gear. We
supplied the extra food. Had a few smart asses but the majority followed
our advice. Brought in a SAR officer that is the one in the copter who
rescues the hikers. Hoping that his advice on preparedness would impress
the serious nature of the weather.

They need to know before they hit here in mid Sept. what to expect.  I am
hoping a gentle reminder as they head up the trail how important timing is.
We dealt with the Taka rescue this year and the Ian Sarmento rescue last
year. It's hard on the heart when you know a hiker is in trouble and are so
far away to save them myself.

Our idea on fore warning the hikers on timeline is to hopefully make for
fewer in danger and less rescues for the SAR folks. Whether the hikers take
to heart what the posters are telling them.....we can only try.

Hugs,
Andrea


On Sun, Oct 20, 2013 at 10:01 AM, Reinhold Metzger
<reinholdmetzger at cox.net>wrote:

> [pct-l] Rescued PCT hikers
>
>
>   Well said Steve,...but you  "ain't"  seen nothing yet.
>
> Used to be that "thru-hiking " the PCT was best left to experienced hikers.
>
> For some time now statements on the list, like the ones below, have served
> to mislead inexperienced hikers about the true nature of the trail and draw
> and entice an ever increasing number of novice, inexperienced hikers to
> attempt to "thru-hike" the PCT without realizing what they are getting
> into.
> The result is an ever increasing need for SAR rescue missions.
>
> Ooohhh....the PCT is a piece of cake.
> Anybody can do it....grandma can do it.
> You don't need experience, you learn as you go.
> You don't need a map or compass...the trail is easy to follow.
> And, if you get lost you can always call 911.
> SAR will rescue you...for free.
>
> But,  you  "ain't"  seen nothing yet Steve.
>
> The book "WILD"  has taken that..."Ooohhh,...it's a piece of cake...grandma
> can do it" attitude nationwide...even world wide.
> And now the movie version will glorify that ...."ooohhh"....attitude and
> novice
> hikers from all over the world will be dying to "thru"  the PCT.
>
> After all, if grandma can do it everybody can do it and if we get lost
> or get a
> blister we can always call 911.
> Those nice folks at  SAR  will rescue us and we get a free helicopter ride.
>
> So....Steve,  Ned,  Ron,....get those SAR teams ready.
> Something tells me you guys will have some busy seasons ahead of you.
>
> Like I said......."YOU  AIN'T  SEEN  NOTHING  YET."
>
> JMT Reinhold
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>   [pct-l] Rescued PCT hikers
>
> *Steve Rolfe* steve.rolfe at comcast.net
> <mailto:pct-l%40backcountry.net
> ?Subject=%5Bpct-l%5D%20Rescued%20PCT%20hikers&In-Reply-To=CABAzAtGS%2BP-6bxMGybqD0JB0sPcfHn33pHGzPUbkHFgiN3kS8g%
> 40mail.gmail.com>
> /Thu Oct 3 22:54:10 CDT 2013/
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Steve wrote:
> For the past week I've been very worried about thru-hikers still
> on the trail.
> The conditions must have been/still are miserable, or worse --
> life threatening.
> It seems my concern was valid, I suspect we will hear in the next
> few days more are in trouble.
> I hope not.
>
> The quote copied from a post on this list serve yesterday disturbs
> me.
> "We finally made it to Trout Lake today and another huge storm is
> rolling in," Arnold wrote.
> "Everyone says we can't make it because of the weather situation,
> and to be honest it's quite terrifying, but I can't fathom coming
> this far and giving up."
>
> For many years here in Washington I was involved in search and rescue.
>
> Bringing back bodies in bags is disturbing, especially since I
> cannot remember a case where the cause was an "accident".
> Every time the people involved ignored risks that should have
> been obvious, and were obvious to the many others who avoided
> those risks.
>
> Long ago I learned success in a climb is not making it to the
> summit, but making it back down -- alive.
> The same applies to a thru-hike.
>
> For some there is a mindset that virtue is how much punishment
> one can take.
> Please don't misunderstand me; I don't mean to criticize the
> person who recently posted this story on the list serve.
> Stories about hiking 200 miles in sandals because of gigantic
> blisters are entertaining and educational, but the goal of a hike
> should not be how you persevered through hardship, but how you
> wisely avoided hardship (and danger) in the pursuit of joy.
> I'm glad this person was capable of dealing with their blisters.
> But, shouldn't they have known enough to deal with this problem
> before it became a calamity.
> Stopping at the earliest signs of a blister and taping one's
> feet is good practice -- it is not "giving in" to one's pain.
>
> Many thru-hikers prepare carefully and are safety conscious.
> Typically those are the ones who are successful and enjoy their
> experience.
> I'm concerned, however, by the attitude of a few I read about in
> this list serve that glorifies the achievement, but neglects to
> understand or acknowledge the true character of the challenges.
>
> Stopping one's thru-hike because the weather is life threatening is
> not "giving up".
> It is an honest recognition of the risk and challenge.
> It shows maturity, judgment and character.
>
> Steve
>
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