It could have happened to me...Well prepared day hiker badly injured at Joshua Tree

[Siestita]

Most of my day hikers and multi-night backpacking trips made over the years have been done solo, thus far without ever needing to be rescued. Before each recent backpacking trip I've left my wife a note with my prospective itinerary and a date and time for initiating a search if I haven't yet returned home. Doing that takes a little time, but it gives me some peace of mind.

And, hiking solo I perhaps tread more slowly and carefully on rough patches of trail than is the case when I'm hiking with others. I accept the fact that hiking, like the rest of life, includes acceptance of some risk, but I frankly would prefer not to find myself dying alone, stranded in an out-of-the way place after accidentally becoming badly injured there.

I've never been to Joshua Tree, the National Park in California from which Claire Nelson was recently rescued, but I find her story, linked below, both riveting and cautionary. Apparently Claire survived thanks to a combination of good preparation (prudently carrying lots water and appropriate clothing into a desert environment), clear thinking even after being injured, luck, and timely high tech rescue efforts.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44310788

[Maineiac64]

I carry an inreach with me now on all hikes.

[Slo-go'en]

Yep, the other day I went for a hike on Mt Washington, up the Boot Spur trail. Figured I'd make a loop out of it by descending via the Boot Spur Link trail down to Hermit Lake. Turns out that was a mistake. The Boot Spur Link trail drops 1000 feet in 3000 and was near vertical in places. Not too bad if your going up, but hell going down. All alone, late in the afternoon, chilly with a stiff breeze and no cell phone, not that one works well in that area anyway. Kept thinking if I slip and fall here, I'm dead. Took me over an hour to cover the 0.6 miles to Hermit Lake, mostly sliding on my butt down that trail! There were only a few short distances I dared to cover standing up.

[ant]

Yep, the other day I went for a hike on Mt Washington, up the Boot Spur trail. Figured I'd make a loop out of it by descending via the Boot Spur Link trail down to Hermit Lake. Turns out that was a mistake. The Boot Spur Link trail drops 1000 feet in 3000 and was near vertical in places. Not too bad if your going up, but hell going down. All alone, late in the afternoon, chilly with a stiff breeze and no cell phone, not that one works well in that area anyway. Kept thinking if I slip and fall here, I'm dead. Took me over an hour to cover the 0.6 miles to Hermit Lake, mostly sliding on my butt down that trail! There were only a few short distances I dared to cover standing up.

Better safe than dead.

[DuneElliot]

I read this article earlier this week and it is stories like these that make me constantly approve of my choice to carry an InReach device. You can do everything right and **** still happens.

[KCNC]

In the WFA course a couple of weeks ago (apologies if I'm being redundant) the instructor outlined a day-hiker injury on a well-traveled trail in the Shenandoah. Busted her knee in a fall at 2pm on the way out and it took them 11 hours to carry her out the 3 or so miles to the parking area. No cell coverage, but the runners sent for help ran in to a ranger within 30 minutes of being dispatched, which shortened things by at least an hour.

You can't prepare for everything, but you can cover the basics, just in case.

[Cue]

Yep, the other day I went for a hike on Mt Washington, up the Boot Spur trail. Figured I'd make a loop out of it by descending via the Boot Spur Link trail down to Hermit Lake. Turns out that was a mistake. The Boot Spur Link trail drops 1000 feet in 3000 and was near vertical in places. Not too bad if your going up, but hell going down. All alone, late in the afternoon, chilly with a stiff breeze and no cell phone, not that one works well in that area anyway. Kept thinking if I slip and fall here, I'm dead. Took me over an hour to cover the 0.6 miles to Hermit Lake, mostly sliding on my butt down that trail! There were only a few short distances I dared to cover standing up.

I've carried a SPOT locator since 2013. I upgraded to the SPOT 3 recently from a SPOT II. I've never had to use it for a real emergency, but I'v tested it a number of places. I spent 6 years off and on as a contractor all over Afghanistan and it always showed where I was. I've flown across the North Atlantic ferrying airplanes and it even pinged the satellite at 25,000' and at 250mph. That was pretty cool. And now I'm based in West Africa and it still pinpoints my location. I'd like to have an inReach, but the monthly fee is cost prohibitive for me. I'm on the SPOT monthly plan.

[Berserker]

Wow. That's one of those situations that went bad, but had a good ending. It also highlights that proper preparation can save one's life, and how easily anyone can have a bad accident in the backcountry.

[Dogwood]

Title of article should be "When Cat Sitting Goes Wrong."


Well prepared? :-?


Wonder what shoes she was wearing. Sounds very much like Claire included light steep sided bouldering into a 6 hrs day hike. JT NP is well known for bouldering and climbing. Most often those that intend to engage in bouldering in JT NP bring a separate set of shoes. The right climbing shoes can make all the difference. If you don't own ones they can be rented at several outfitters just outside the park. She probably drove past these places on the way to the NP. Most rock is grippy in JTNP. Other areas, like in the article's pic, can have underfoot ball bearing like friction. Sometimes the "rock varnish" can be a little slick too.


Before arriving at the NP she may have anticipated adding bouldering experiences to a 6 hr day-hike in a NP she had visited before. Climbing into and atop JT NP formations, as in Arches NP, is very alluring when you're on a hike. Claire could have exercised better judgment to bring along bouldering shoes and not be alone or ratchet back the day's added activities associated risks to what was labeled as a DAY HIKE. A PLB is not a panacea for making better decisions.


She didn't give up hope.


I know I'm truly never alone. When I physically pass I know it's a transitioning to another phase, another place. I'd prefer passing if it occurred in the service of others worthy of the situation or in a remote outdoor place under some trees, mountain summit, looking up at the sky, etc in the midst of doing what brings joy. Better to pass in a cool rock formation outside looking at the sky and Joshua trees than behind the wheel taking a last gasp after a car crossed the line because someone was distracted on their "phone" or being run down by a large SUV erratic driving frazzled soccer mom late to pick up little Jimmy, or in a hospital bed after a long duration comatose on life support duration.

[4shot]

I read this article earlier this week and it is stories like these that make me constantly approve of my choice to carry an InReach device. You can do everything right and **** still happens.

agree 100%. Just got a PLB for my next hike. As you say, despite our best plans and efforts, things can and do go wrong.

[HooKooDooKu]

I read this article earlier this week and it is stories like these that make me constantly approve of my choice to carry an InReach device. You can do everything right and **** still happens.
But you still have to make sure you exercise extreme caution in the back country... ensure that you don't do something while in the back country that you otherwise wouldn't do if you didn't have an sort of PLB device with you.

After all, in the case of this hiker, even if she had had a PLB device with her, if she fell hard enough to break her hip, the fall could have also busted the PLB device.
There's also the distinct possibility that since this fall occurred getting up from a rest stop, if she had had a PLB, it likely would have been in a pack on the ground at the top of the boulder while she was lying immobile at the bottom of the boulder with the PLB well out of reach.
And that's all before you even start the discussion about the possibility that an electronic device can fail or human error result in a loss of power.

In other words, for all those that carry a PLB... you need to do all the things a hiker without a PLB would do (or wouldn't do). Just like someone using a GPS should still carry a paper map and compass as a backup, a hiker carrying a PLB should still back that up with the typical things a hiker is supposed to do like letting someone know where you're going and when you can be expected back.

DO NOT RELY ON A PLB

[DuneElliot]

I've carried a SPOT locator since 2013. I upgraded to the SPOT 3 recently from a SPOT II. I've never had to use it for a real emergency, but I'v tested it a number of places. I spent 6 years off and on as a contractor all over Afghanistan and it always showed where I was. I've flown across the North Atlantic ferrying airplanes and it even pinged the satellite at 25,000' and at 250mph. That was pretty cool. And now I'm based in West Africa and it still pinpoints my location. I'd like to have an inReach, but the monthly fee is cost prohibitive for me. I'm on the SPOT monthly plan.

They cost the same...about $15 a month, less if you are on the yearly plan. I pay $12/mo for my InReach on the basic yearly plan.


But you still have to make sure you exercise extreme caution in the back country... ensure that you don't do something while in the back country that you otherwise wouldn't do if you didn't have an sort of PLB device with you.

After all, in the case of this hiker, even if she had had a PLB device with her, if she fell hard enough to break her hip, the fall could have also busted the PLB device.
There's also the distinct possibility that since this fall occurred getting up from a rest stop, if she had had a PLB, it likely would have been in a pack on the ground at the top of the boulder while she was lying immobile at the bottom of the boulder with the PLB well out of reach.
And that's all before you even start the discussion about the possibility that an electronic device can fail or human error result in a loss of power.

In other words, for all those that carry a PLB... you need to do all the things a hiker without a PLB would do (or wouldn't do). Just like someone using a GPS should still carry a paper map and compass as a backup, a hiker carrying a PLB should still back that up with the typical things a hiker is supposed to do like letting someone know where you're going and when you can be expected back.

DO NOT RELY ON A PLB

No one's relying on it, at least not me, and the rest goes without saying. Don't be dumb, don't expect a PLB to save you IF YOU DO SOMETHING DUMB. One should always do their best to be safe.

[James GAME2009]

Odd that the article doesn't bother to mention the trail she was on. I've spent well over 100 days in Joshua Tree National Park. It's a unique and wonderful place, but not what I would really call wilderness. Glad the hiker had a good outcome.