not good

[MuddyWaters]

Explosives dont just go off when grabbed either
Needs a means of arming

Do not sound like this was a hiker
More like someone with an agenda

[4eyedbuzzard]

I'm trying really hard to figure out what any REASONABLE person, who while engaged in the activity of hiking a long distance on the AT, would be carrying that could cause such an event. I don't think this guy should be thrust upon the general hiking community as one of its "members." He's NOT a "fellow hiker."

[MuddyWaters]

I has sneaky suspicion, he was up to no good.
Maybe its the phony story
Or just common sense

Domestic terrorism?
Scare away AT hikers?
Destroy a shelter?

[cmoulder]

It's going to end up being something that is either very sinister or very stupid. Maybe he had something he wanted to 'test' out in a very secluded area.

But the guy is minus a hand so probably not fabricated for kicks or clicks.

[Alligator]

I'm all for supporting my fellow hiker. Isn't there a point where we have to self police ourselves, and distance ourselves from the willfully reckless and dangerous among us?

I won't pretend to speak for anyone other than myself, but I don't believe this situation falls into the hike your own hike category where I should be supporting him.

I did not ask anyone to support him. I asked folks to refrain from the callous and mocking comments as the guy just blew his hand off. There was not enough information to really judge what happened initially.

Some people get on here and act like they never did anything stupid before to endanger themself or someone else. Like they never played with matches, never handled fireworks, never lit a fire in adverse conditions, always put it out 100%, never drove recklessly, etc. A bit hard to believe IMO. Slamming the guy through the keyboard too. Maybe say what you might say if you were in his hospital room. I can help with that part.

I've got a fambily member who did something foolish like this. As a young man, he was drinking and lit an M80 off. They're kind of the next size up from firecracker. He didn't throw it fast enough. We didn't know if he lost has hand immediately before we got to the hospital. I remember getting there and seeing the shame he felt. He only lost half of one finger, lucky really. He did have to learn to write again.

So whether you consider him a hiker or not, he is somebody's husband, father, brother, cousin, and/or friend who just accidentally blew his hand off. Read the beginning of the user agreement and you will perhaps understand what is being asked here regarding keeping the negative comments down. That part needs a bit more saying around here I think.

[Ktaadn]

I has sneaky suspicion, he was up to no good.
Maybe its the phony story
Or just common sense

Domestic terrorism?
Scare away AT hikers?
Destroy a shelter?

Terrorism? Alone? In the woods? At 10:30? In 18" of snow?

That's not how terrorism works.

[MuddyWaters]

Terrorism? Alone? In the woods? At 10:30? In 18" of snow?

That's not how terrorism works.

Blowing hand off was never part of any plan.

Regardless of when, where, how it occurred

What we know, is rescuer said there was no sign of trying to light fire per his story.

So .......what else could he be doing, and why, and why fib?

[Don H]

Makes you wonder what this guy was doing, or planned to do with the explosives in his pack.
And what type of explosive would detonate just by being grabbing it in his pack? That's not an M-80 or pipe bomb, that's something with an electronic or mechanically activated detonator.

[Teacher & Snacktime]

I did not ask anyone to support him. I asked folks to refrain from the callous and mocking comments as the guy just blew his hand off. There was not enough information to really judge what happened initially.

Some people get on here and act like they never did anything stupid before to endanger themself or someone else. Like they never played with matches, never handled fireworks, never lit a fire in adverse conditions, always put it out 100%, never drove recklessly, etc. A bit hard to believe IMO. Slamming the guy through the keyboard too. Maybe say what you might say if you were in his hospital room. I can help with that part.

I've got a fambily member who did something foolish like this. As a young man, he was drinking and lit an M80 off. They're kind of the next size up from firecracker. He didn't throw it fast enough. We didn't know if he lost has hand immediately before we got to the hospital. I remember getting there and seeing the shame he felt. He only lost half of one finger, lucky really. He did have to learn to write again.

So whether you consider him a hiker or not, he is somebody's husband, father, brother, cousin, and/or friend who just accidentally blew his hand off. Read the beginning of the user agreement and you will perhaps understand what is being asked here regarding keeping the negative comments down. That part needs a bit more saying around here I think.

I saw this article last night and immediately thought about how the Darwin Award would be nominated and how this guy would be torn apart by his "peers". I wasn't expecting compassion and defense (sad that). Thank you, Gator.

[Puddlefish]

Fair enough, your website, your rules.

[Zea]

Wow! Sad to see negativity directed toward someone whose entire life just got flipped upside down.

I can see if there was a complete story posted... but varied reports, some that mention the broad term "explosive", hardly mean the man was a radical trail terrorist. With a bomb just big enough to take out a hand...

People carry dumb things into the woods for innocent reasons all the time. Late at night after a full day of hiking, most likely being at a calorie deficit, throw in the cold element, it's very easy to do something thoughtless.

I can't speculate on what he was carrying, but I know I've run into more than a few people on trail packing some "boom". I've heard fireworks in the backcountry before, and oddly have seen more than one person carrying m80's or cherry bombs to "fend off bears." Sure, it's probably not smart(or necessary) to carry certain items, but people do. I've almost done serious damage when I grabbed my knife instead of fork to eat with by accident, that doesn't mean carrying knives is stupid it just means I had a lapse with a piece of equipment I typically handle safely.

Whatever the story ends up being, I hope he recovers well.

[ScareBear]

Well, it had snowed 18 inches...maybe he thought he needed it for avalanche control?

On a more serious note...he was a local. He was 1/2 mile from the road. He had an explosive device powerful enough to blow his hand off that went off when he grabbed it. There is a common IED that is that unstable...the black powder pipe bomb. Now, what was a local, 1/2 mile from a road, on the AT, at 1030 at night, in 18 inches of snow doing with a pipe bomb????

Nothing good. I've searched for an innocent, yet incredibly Darwin-worthy explanation and have failed. There is none I can see. Especially when the fire guys keep referring to it as an "explosive device". M-80's don't spontaneously go bang. Black powder pipe bombs do go bang spontaneously...

I am betting this "hiker" has been interviewed by ATF by now...possession of an explosive device on USFS land...it is no bueno...insult to injury, if you will...

[BuckeyeBill]

I am not saying what it exactly was, but what ever it was,had to be small enough to fit in the hand. It also had to be smaller yet to be contained to just damaging his hand. It had to be made of some type of material that would not blow shrapnel in all directions. To me that would eliminate any metal or hard plastic (PVC). Right now it is hard to search for such a device online with out bells and whistles going off at Homeland Security. So I guess to only thing left is to wait out the investigation and see what it reveals. I still wish the gentleman a speedy recovery.

[TTT]

Here's some irony. As a foreigner wishing to hike the AT, I need to depart through customs, and enter the USA through customs. I'm not permitted to carry a knife, seeds, plants, hiking poles or meat products as these are deemed detrimental to the welfare of passengers and the land of my destination, nor am I permitted to send perfume bottles by airmail as these too are considered dangerous. The penalty is either a fine, a deportation, a confiscation of property, a strip search, or a taser to the head. Having legally passed this test, and on arrival at the trail, I'm confronted by a fellow hiker wielding an explosive device powerful enough to send me back home as a newspaper headline.

[Trailweaver]

I'm just curious - if he was only a half mile from the road, could he not walk himself out? Too weak from shock? Blood loss? I wonder if he was able to apply a tourniquet before help arrived. Half mile doesn't seem too far, but under the snow circumstances & shock, maybe it was.

Also - was there a tent/shelter? If so, we all pretty much know the quickest way to get warm is to get in it, in your bag, & "hunker down." Why was he "trying to light a fire?"

Im sorry for his injury, but it does sound like a fishy story.

[ScareBear]

Here's some irony. As a foreigner wishing to hike the AT, I need to depart through customs, and enter the USA through customs. I'm not permitted to carry a knife, seeds, plants, hiking poles or meat products as these are deemed detrimental to the welfare of passengers and the land of my destination, nor am I permitted to send perfume bottles by airmail as these too are considered dangerous. The penalty is either a fine, a deportation, a confiscation of property, a strip search, or a taser to the head. Having legally passed this test, and on arrival at the trail, I'm confronted by a fellow hiker wielding an explosive device powerful enough to send me back home as a newspaper headline.

Meh. That's nothing. You'll be confronted with hikers armed with .44magnums and 10mm's...how's that grab ya?

[Don H]

Here's some irony. As a foreigner wishing to hike the AT, I need to depart through customs, and enter the USA through customs. I'm not permitted to carry a knife, seeds, plants, hiking poles or meat products as these are deemed detrimental to the welfare of passengers and the land of my destination, nor am I permitted to send perfume bottles by airmail as these too are considered dangerous. The penalty is either a fine, a deportation, a confiscation of property, a strip search, or a taser to the head. Having legally passed this test, and on arrival at the trail, I'm confronted by a fellow hiker wielding an explosive device powerful enough to send me back home as a newspaper headline.

Well that was dramatic.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Here's some irony. As a foreigner wishing to hike the AT, I need to depart through customs, and enter the USA through customs. I'm not permitted to carry a knife, seeds, plants, hiking poles or meat products as these are deemed detrimental to the welfare of passengers and the land of my destination, nor am I permitted to send perfume bottles by airmail as these too are considered dangerous. The penalty is either a fine, a deportation, a confiscation of property, a strip search, or a taser to the head. Having legally passed this test, and on arrival at the trail, I'm confronted by a fellow hiker wielding an explosive device powerful enough to send me back home as a newspaper headline.

The reality of course is that the most dangerous things you'll likely encounter here are automobiles and deer ticks.

[Sarcasm the elf]

The reality of course is that the most dangerous things you'll likely encounter here are automobiles and deer ticks.

Correct.

Now lets be thankful that deer ticks haven't learned to drive cars.

[rocketsocks]

Here's some irony. As a foreigner wishing to hike the AT, I need to depart through customs, and enter the USA through customs. I'm not permitted to carry a knife, seeds, plants, hiking poles or meat products as these are deemed detrimental to the welfare of passengers and the land of my destination, nor am I permitted to send perfume bottles by airmail as these too are considered dangerous. The penalty is either a fine, a deportation, a confiscation of property, a strip search, or a taser to the head. Having legally passed this test, and on arrival at the trail, I'm confronted by a fellow hiker wielding an explosive device powerful enough to send me back home as a newspaper headline.

well I'm kinda thinking the same would be true if I were headin' your way...no?