North Carolina Hiker Dies in Vermont

[4shot]

I wondered how many posts it would take before someone issued the 'He was doing what he loved....good way to go" bulls**t. Yeah, there are tons worse ways to go, but noone gets on the trail thinking, "Boy, hope I die on my hike cause it'd be a great way to go." Maybe if you have a terminal disease or something, yeah. Otherwise, this guy probably had a wife, kids, loved ones that he'll never get to talk to again. No last "I love you". Nothing. How is that a good thing?

not to be morbid or off topic, it has been my experience that people generally depart in either one of two ways. The sudden, unexpected departure which is terrible for the survivors. if you note, most have offered their prayers and condolences to those in this situation. Then there is the long, slow downhill slide which can be painful and often involves ongoing loss of mental and/or physical abilities. Allows for closure, getting one's affairs in orders, goodbye's, etc. but still involves suffering for all. For many of us, door #1 seems the preferrable of the options if given a choice, which we aren't.

[The Old Chief]

I wondered how many posts it would take before someone issued the 'He was doing what he loved....good way to go" bulls**t. Yeah, there are tons worse ways to go, but noone gets on the trail thinking, "Boy, hope I die on my hike cause it'd be a great way to go." Maybe if you have a terminal disease or something, yeah. Otherwise, this guy probably had a wife, kids, loved ones that he'll never get to talk to again. No last "I love you". Nothing. How is that a good thing?

If you've read his obit you would see that this man loved hiking the AT. His family appreciated this fact enough to mention it in the obit and to ask for memorials to be sent to the AT. Since he and I are about the same age and from the same area, I can just about guarantee you that one of the last things he did before leaving for the hike was to express his love to his wife and family. I do everytime I leave for one of my little hikes. And if I have cell reception I call home every day to let my wife know I'm okay, to make sure she's okay, and to say "I love you". There are a ton of quick ways to die, might as well be doing something you like when it happens.

[Ktaadn]

I wondered how many posts it would take before someone issued the 'He was doing what he loved....good way to go" bulls**t. Yeah, there are tons worse ways to go, but noone gets on the trail thinking, "Boy, hope I die on my hike cause it'd be a great way to go." Maybe if you have a terminal disease or something, yeah. Otherwise, this guy probably had a wife, kids, loved ones that he'll never get to talk to again. No last "I love you". Nothing. How is that a good thing?

This is why you have to get in all of the hugs and "I love you's" in whenever you can because you never know when you will get another chance.

[max patch]

I wondered how many posts it would take before someone issued the 'He was doing what he loved....good way to go" bulls**t. Yeah, there are tons worse ways to go, but noone gets on the trail thinking, "Boy, hope I die on my hike cause it'd be a great way to go." Maybe if you have a terminal disease or something, yeah. Otherwise, this guy probably had a wife, kids, loved ones that he'll never get to talk to again. No last "I love you". Nothing. How is that a good thing?

I agree with you.

If you had a choice would you rather...

1. Die alone, have to have strangers carry your body off the trail, and then have your family go thru the process of having your body transported back home, or

2. Die at home surrounded by family and loved ones and have the opportunity to say your goodbyes.

To me the choice is obvious. I don't understand the romanticism of dying alone that most here profess to prefer.

[Llama Legs]

From a good old Jimmy Buffet song: "I'd rather die while I'm living, than live while I'm dead."

If I'd known I was gonna live this long, I would've taken better care of myself...JB

[Tom Murphy]

This is why you have to get in all of the hugs and "I love you's" in whenever you can because you never know when you will get another chance.

SO true.

One of the few postives from losing my mom early in my life is that my family learned to say this to each other whenever possible.

I still end all my phone calls with my Dad, sister, or brothers with an "I love you".

[The Old Chief]

I agree with you.

If you had a choice would you rather...

1. Die alone, have to have strangers carry your body off the trail, and then have your family go thru the process of having your body transported back home, or

2. Die at home surrounded by family and loved ones and have the opportunity to say your goodbyes.

To me the choice is obvious. I don't understand the romanticism of dying alone that most here profess to prefer.

And just what is your guarantee that your 2nd choice is going to happen if death happens unexpectedly?

[jwalton]

From a good old Jimmy Buffet song: "I'd rather die while I'm living, than live while I'm dead."

Yeah, but I'm not in any hurry. I love this planet.

[jwalton]

not to be morbid or off topic, it has been my experience that people generally depart in either one of two ways. The sudden, unexpected departure which is terrible for the survivors. if you note, most have offered their prayers and condolences to those in this situation. Then there is the long, slow downhill slide which can be painful and often involves ongoing loss of mental and/or physical abilities. Allows for closure, getting one's affairs in orders, goodbye's, etc. but still involves suffering for all. For many of us, door #1 seems the preferrable of the options if given a choice, which we aren't.

There's actually a third way: (Typically something like pancreatic cancer) Short, but vicious. You have time to speak to those important to you but you go soon without the years of a downhill slide. This one seems best to me.

[ChinMusic]

I wondered how many posts it would take before someone issued the 'He was doing what he loved....good way to go" bulls**t. Yeah, there are tons worse ways to go, but noone gets on the trail thinking, "Boy, hope I die on my hike cause it'd be a great way to go." Maybe if you have a terminal disease or something, yeah. Otherwise, this guy probably had a wife, kids, loved ones that he'll never get to talk to again. No last "I love you". Nothing. How is that a good thing?

While I find this harsh, I do agree with the concept.

You didn't hear anyone say, "He died doing what he loved best, watching a Bat Man movie", after the tragedy last week.

[Lyle]

I agree with you.

If you had a choice would you rather...

1. Die alone, have to have strangers carry your body off the trail, and then have your family go thru the process of having your body transported back home, or

2. Die at home surrounded by family and loved ones and have the opportunity to say your goodbyes.

To me the choice is obvious. I don't understand the romanticism of dying alone that most here profess to prefer.

As a Medic, I can assure you, if you die of a sudden heart attack, it will be very unlikely that you will be surrounded by family and loved ones and have the opportunity to say goodbye. More likely that you will be found lying on the floor, in a puddle of vomit and urine, or jammed between the toilet and tub with your pants down. That's why it's called sudden death, you do not have a chance to gather family and say goodbye.

I would prefer this happen while I was doing something I liked, and in a place I liked. It will be a very painful shock to family no matter where it happens.

[mad4scrapping]

I would much rather die on the trail, even if alone, rather than die in a nursing home wearing a diaper and surrounded by my family. And I do think about the possibility of dying on each hike. I make sure I say I love you to my family members whenever I leave, whether it is for a hike, to go to work, or to go to the store.

A good friend of mine died a couple of months ago while coaching his daughter's softball game. He was surrounded by his family. He never got the chance to say goodbye even though they were there. He collapsed, became unconscious, and then died. Was it better to have his daughter watch him die like this? The point is there is no good way to die. So, if given the option, I would rather die in the mountains, doing what I love, even if it means dying alone. In a sense, we all die alone anyway.

[HikerMom58]

We think we have so much control over our own lives but really we don't have much at all, in the end. I'm glad to hear he chose to put his faith in God, his Father. Really he's- "Our Father"... I pray for his family, they must miss him so much!!

[Drybones]

I gotta agree with 4shot. We ALL have to go. Give it to me hiking the AT rather than slowly, suffering, in some hospital bed, bankrupting my family in the process.

Rain Man

.

Couldn't agree more...let me go with my boots on.

[Drybones]

I agree with you.

If you had a choice would you rather...

1. Die alone, have to have strangers carry your body off the trail, and then have your family go thru the process of having your body transported back home, or

2. Die at home surrounded by family and loved ones and have the opportunity to say your goodbyes.

To me the choice is obvious. I don't understand the romanticism of dying alone that most here profess to prefer.

To each his own preference, but in the end the Man upstairs makes the decision for you. Everyone believes death is bad... but is it? The baby in the womb probably thinks birth is bad, and, in fact, it is a tramatic experience it would rather forgo. So it is with death, I believe, a birth into a new life. Plan your hike accordingly.