CA hiker rescued after 9 day search

[John B]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/29/us/hiker-found-alive/index.html

[Malto]

Loved the open line.

"A woman who was stranded in the rugged Sierra Nevada for nine days while suffering from some broken bones survived by using a water filter to drink from a creek, authorities said."

I would love to see the full details of the route she took etc. Nine days is a long time to stay missing. They had been searching for her for many days. There is likely something to be learned from this.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Loved the open line.

"A woman who was stranded in the rugged Sierra Nevada for nine days while suffering from some broken bones survived by using a water filter to drink from a creek, authorities said."

I would love to see the full details of the route she took etc. Nine days is a long time to stay missing. They had been searching for her for many days. There is likely something to be learned from this.

Yeah, always filter your water. :D

[Siestita]

It appears that having a whistle handy may have saved this hiker's life, along with having people who expected her back and promptly alerted authorities that she was missing.

For the press, the idea that people filter and then drink water from streams is novel, so they emphasize that part of the story. But, even had she not been able to purify water, drinking straight from the stream would probably have enabled Ms. Harwood to survive during her nine days there. Staying hydrated is sometimes more important than assuring water's purity.

My personal take-away from this: (1)Take a whistle along on day hikes as well as overnights; (2) Let someone back home know when I'll be back from a hike, and who to call if I don't return; (3) Along with my return time or date, leave others a bit of an itinerary or list of specific locations that I'll visit, if that's practical. Fortunately, Ms. Harwood did some critical things right.

[Five Tango]

Of course my wife commented that she should not have been out there alone.I explained that lots of people do go alone but she should have spent the money on a plb which certainly would have avoided quite a bit of misery.No?

[Another Kevin]

Of course my wife commented that she should not have been out there alone.I explained that lots of people do go alone but she should have spent the money on a plb which certainly would have avoided quite a bit of misery.No?

I do go alone from time to time.
There's a whistle built into my firesteel. My tinderbox and firesteel are among the things that go in my pockets, so that I'll have them even if I'm separated from my pack (for instance, if I have to ditch my pack in an accident at a ford).
I carry a PLB - at least when solo, or off trail, or in deep winter.
I leave a detailed safety plan behind - with all intended destinations and routes, and with possible bailout routes. I often fall short of my planned itinerary (and my wife and daughter know that) but never exceed it.
My safety plan includes a time at which to call The Authorities if I haven't checked in. That time always allows an ample cushion, because I've been a day late getting out in the past and likely will be again.
I suspect that the only ways I could stay missing for nine days are if I wanted to go missing, or if I was too incapacitated to light the PLB. The first one is really, really unlikely and the second one, well, I can't do much about it.

[Venchka]

The 10 Essentials. They are essential for good reason.

Wayne

Sent from my AT100 using Tapatalk

[Connie]

I like the Storm Whistle.

I wish PLB's were affordable, and, on a keychain or a zipper pull. Maybe on a keychain in a pocket.

If I had a PLB, I would still have the Storm Whistle.

I know a woman rescued that filtered water thru her sock: the sock was better than the muddy debris-ridden water.

I would like to hear, if this woman made a debris shelter around herself because of freezing temperatures reported. Did she use forest duff, pine needles, loose brush, all of the above.

I hope we hear more details about how she survived.

I am also wondering, if she had a cell phone and she was located by triangulating on the cell phone by pinging that cell phone.

I suggested that for the man lost in the coastal mountains of Oregon, too late, he was found dead. I hadn't heard about a man lost. I had to hear it on the news in California.