AT Death Rate

[Rain Man]

... My question was... are all these deaths, recorded this season, is this normal, or are there alot this year or less this year?

Perhaps I should first ask what "all these deaths this season" refers to. Not sure if I am a good one to ask, as I don't dwell on that stuff, but no, this year does not seem to have "a lot" of deaths. In fact, no year does, though I confess that to the families involved, any year with a death is a lot.

Rain Man

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[rickb]

While this ist pertains not to the AT, but rather to one area through which it passes, you might find it interesting. http://www.mountwashington.org/about.../surviving.php

[MuddyWaters]

Blue Jay that too would be a very low number 6000 deaths in the USA per year are auto accident related. It would be less than 50.

Getting back to the original post about folks dying on the trail - accidents and heart attacks - I am going to ponder something that I picked up on a long time ago that more green footed people are reading a book or getting infomation on the internet and hiking the trail will little knowledge or little excersise... If I pulled a group of pictures of the crowd at the Pinnicle in the past all were skinny as a rail today I see some very heavy people including myself. So going forward this is going to happen a lot more why?... Look at one very healthy athlete - Jim Fixx You can build muscle and health but you cannot exercise and build heart muscle.

Here is the reference.


On July 20, 1984, Fixx died at age 52 of a fulminant heart attack, after his daily run on Vermont Route 15 in Hardwick. The autopsy revealed that atherosclerosis had blocked one coronary artery 95%, a second 85%, and a third 70%.^[3] Although there were opponents of Fixx's beliefs^[who?] who said this was evidence that running was harmful, medical opinion continued to uphold the link between exercise and longevity.^[4] In 1986 exercise physiologist, Kenneth Cooper, published an inventory of the risk factors that might have contributed to Fixx's death.^[5] Granted access to his medical records and autopsy, and after interviewing his friends and family, Cooper concluded that Fixx was genetically predisposed (his father died of a heart attack at age 43 and Fixx himself had a congenitally enlarged heart), and had several lifestyle issues. Fixx was a heavy smoker prior to beginning running at age 36, he had a stressful occupation, he had undergone a second divorce, and his weight before he took up running had ballooned to 220 pounds (100 kg).^[6]

To my knowledge, no one ever claimed excercise would reverse atheroslcerosis or overcome heredity and lifestyle risk factors.

[rickb]

Unless I'm mistaken (and please correct me if I am), none of these occurred on the AT.

RainMan

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Rebeca Wright and Claudia Brenner first met the murderer who would stalk and shoot them at the AT's Brich Run shelters. Not sure extactly where thier campsite was when they were shot.

[Wise Old Owl]

To my knowledge, no one ever claimed excercise would reverse atheroslcerosis or overcome heredity and lifestyle risk factors.

Back then folks were grasping at many straws... look at all we have learned!


RICK B GREAT FIND - good read! TNX

[bamboo bob]

Well, how close to the trail is not on the trail. Is being murdered on a blue blaze or 200 yds off trail important? 300 yds? .5 miles? Two of those say near the trail.

[Wise Old Owl]

Why do we need to quantify? As a group within WB I understand it's already under reported. We are just exchanging information at this point. BB- what would you like to do to get the information out to lets say someone new that has a few fears?

[coach lou]

While this ist pertains not to the AT, but rather to one area through which it passes, you might find it interesting. http://www.mountwashington.org/about.../surviving.php

Rick, Althought I haven't read anything yet that pertains to what the OP asked, I did find your link interesting....which led me to the '67' cog rail accident. I had never heard that story before, and even though I would like to put a red bow on this thread, that story is exactly the reason the OP asked the original question about this years circumstances. I had never heard that before. I found it thru WB. I only have this first year on WB to hear of, and log into my memory banks. If I was privy to info that this site shares, over a longer period of time than 1 hiking season, I myself would have a feeling for whether this year has had a degree of unfortunate circumstances. It is clear from a few responces with facts, that poopy happens, at what rate would take more computer skills than I care to waste my time finding out.
Lets go back to debateing eating with chop sticks and walkin' with trekking poles.

[Wise Old Owl]

Coach you OK?

[coach lou]

Coach you OK?

It's HOT, the lawn kicked my butt!

[Rain Man]

Well, how close to the trail is not on the trail. Is being murdered on a blue blaze or 200 yds off trail important? 300 yds? .5 miles? Two of those say near the trail.

I'd say the answer is based on how the question or claim is stated. "On" means on, not "near." "Along" the trail raises the very question you pose and is unanswerable. Personally, I think murders on or along the AT should only refer to folks actually hiking the AT, as that's the whole point of WhiteBlaze. So, hikers who happen to cross the AT and are murdered off it, or local fishermen who happen to be fishing nearby, or college kids partying in some field near the trail (and didn't even know they were near the AT), should not be included in any statistics about murder on or along the AT. That's just my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

In any event, the precise phrasing of the question or claim usually answers your question for me.

RainMan

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[rickb]

Rick, Althought I haven't read anything yet that pertains to what the OP asked, I did find your link interesting

You might like this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-Pe...hite+mountains

[Blue Jay]

Instead of cyberhikers researching and obsessing over death, how about climbing out from under your beds and hiking. There is still time for a SOBO or even a 1000 or two NOBO. What are you saving your money for, they're just going to take it for the smoke and mirror show called "health care" (neither health nor care). Sure we're all going to die but let's live now not someday which never comes. Put down your I-Crap and pick up some crutches and limp out of there.

[coach lou]

I'm not interested in death......I'll find out about it soon enough....let this thread die!!!

[hikerboy57]

on my grave stone it is going to read" I knew this was going to happen!"

[Snoring Sarge]

The biggest danger to A.T. hiker is thier own actions.

Wether 17 years old or 87 years old our inablity to see and mange risk is the largest weakness.

Murder, rape, assult, robbery all happen, but I believe the numbers pale compaired to poor self risk manage.

A simple mistake in judgement can kill you.

[rickb]

The biggest danger to A.T. hiker is thier own actions.

Wether 17 years old or 87 years old our inablity to see and mange risk is the largest weakness.

Murder, rape, assult, robbery all happen, but I believe the numbers pale compaired to poor self risk manage.

A simple mistake in judgement can kill you.

Murder, rape, assult, robbery all happen, but I believe the numbers pale compaired to poor self risk manage.

A simple mistake in judgement can kill you.

I understand what you are saying, but am not entirely convinced. At least as it pertains to thru hikers.

Since 5 AT thru hikers have been killed at the hands of another during thier thru hikes, there would need to have been a whole lot more thru hikers to perish in other ways for that number (5) to be insignificant in comparison.

I just don't think that is the case.

Not many thru hikers have died along the trail from other causes. And far fewer still in ways that might be construed as a resulting form a lack of judgement, I think.

[WingedMonkey]

Not many thru hikers have died along the trail from other causes. And far fewer still in ways that might be construed as a resulting form a lack of judgement, I think.

You know I love your research on this subject, but I'm curious as how the stats back that up. If we don't know how many or what they died from over the years?

[Rain Man]

I'm not interested in death......I'll find out about it soon enough....let this thread die!!!

AGREED. Should have never been started in the first place.

Rain Man

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[rickb]

You know I love your research on this subject, but I'm curious as how the stats back that up. If we don't know how many or what they died from over the years?

Thru hikers are still a relatively small community.

With the advent of the Internt the very few deaths that do occur -- whether it's a hiker getting hit by a train or one falling to a heart attack-- hardly go unnoticed. Even before the Internet the grapevine was in force.

To my way of thinking what doesn't happen is just as interesting as what does-- i.e. no AT thru hiker seems to ever have perished from lightening, bears, snakes, drunk drivers, exposure, heat stroke andperhaps even by a fall.

To discuss such things is not to suggest one need to be overly concerned about such things. Those who are uncomfortable with the topic should ignore this thread.