View Full Version : Hiker found near Appalachian Trail rescued.
Bulldawg
06-11-2008, 13:00
http://accessnorthgeorgia.com/detail.php?n=210701
SUCHES - Lumpkin County authorites have found a missing hiker in the woods near Suches.
The man in his late 30's has been taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center and is undergoing treatment, Lumpkin County Fire Chief Ed Eggert said.
Authorties extricated the man from the woods near Suches with an Army Helicopter. He was unable to walk at the time and thought he had been bitten by a snake. Eggert said it turned out to be a chigger bite. The man was found dehydrated. His condition is unknown.
The victim was found in a small personal tent, blowing a whistle on the Appalachian trail.
The man left for his hike on Sunday and went missing around 7 p.m. The search centered around the Cooper's Gap area.
Little of that makes sense to me. Unable to walk because of a chigger bite? Confusing a chigger bite with a snake? Must've been one helluva chigger. And he was in a tent literally on the AT or close by? Hmmmmmmmm...
Bulldawg
06-11-2008, 13:06
I'm just reporting what was online. I can see with the heat we have had here how he may have though he was bitten by a snake but instead was dehydrated. The chigger/snake bite does seem silly to me.
Hikerhead
06-11-2008, 13:07
This proves that some people might just want to stay home or not go out alone.
doggiebag
06-11-2008, 13:13
Pretty pathetic. At least the Army got some good training in extraction.
berninbush
06-11-2008, 13:16
I'm guessing hyperthermia and dehydration caused extreme exhaustion and confusion. Laugh at him all you want, but it could happen to anyone (though obviously it's more likely to happen to noobs).
It's also possible he had some kind of allergic reaction to the chigger bite.
BobTheBuilder
06-11-2008, 13:32
Give the poor soul a little credit. He knew enough to get into his tent, stay near the trail, and blow his whistle - those are all good things in a crisis. At least, he thought it was a crisis. Noob or not, pretty good strategy.
berninbush
06-11-2008, 13:47
If he was unable to walk, whatever the reason, I would consider that a crisis. I agree, he could have handled it much worse.
Dances with Mice
06-11-2008, 14:00
Strange things happen at Cooper Gap (http://trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=206549). Or Cooper's Gap, Coopers Gap, whatever.
How does thinking you are bitten by a snake render you unable to walk?
Nearly Normal
06-11-2008, 14:37
I'm wondering if there are more than one type of chigger.
I've gotten them all my life and they draw a good welp, itch badly and take 2 or 3 weeks to get over.
On my last trip to the Chattooga River I got eight on my arms.
I never have welped up like that with any bite. Very irritating and swollen for about 4 inches around the bite for 3 or 4 days. That was 5 weeks ago and I'm still doctoring them. A couple of them may leave long lasting marks.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
06-11-2008, 16:08
Perhaps the bite got infected or the man was allergic to the bite. Dehydration and heat-related problems likely played a role.
MoodyBluer
06-11-2008, 17:40
Strange things happen at Cooper Gap (http://trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=206549). Or Cooper's Gap, Coopers Gap, whatever.
DWM, the link you gave to Gatorgump's journal provides a picture where he talks about a thru-hiker rescue but gives no details in his journal (that I can find)...what happened here?
Dances with Mice
06-11-2008, 18:11
DWM, the link you gave to Gatorgump's journal provides a picture where he talks about a thru-hiker rescue but gives no details in his journal (that I can find)...what happened here?It's in his 3/24 entry (http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=170838). A hiker had to be carried out. The rescue squad arrived with their new tracked back ountry rescue vehicle but it was too wide for the Trail and couldn't reach the hiker so they had to use a stretcher.
Cooper Gap is on a dry stretch of Trail (unless you know the off-trail water sources along the road.) Lots of hikers get a bit parched before they reached Justuss. Add in out of condition, over-loaded beginners on their second day out of Springer and throw in some hot weather, then it's not surprising some get into trouble there.
twentybelow
06-11-2008, 20:05
I'm wondering if there are more than one type of chigger.
I've gotten them all my life and they draw a good welp, itch badly and take 2 or 3 weeks to get over.
On my last trip to the Chattooga River I got eight on my arms.
I never have welped up like that with any bite. Very irritating and swollen for about 4 inches around the bite for 3 or 4 days. That was 5 weeks ago and I'm still doctoring them. A couple of them may leave long lasting marks.
i'm sitting here reading this thread and scratching the chigger bites i got two weeks ago while mowing the lawn. the area where i live is TERRIBLE for chiggers and deer ticks, so bad that it is one of the reasons i am moving this year. i've had enough! you simply can't enjoy the woods around here between april and november. Nearly Normal's description is exactly what i go through several times a year. the bites take forever to clear up completely and itch like crazy for weeks. while i can sympathize with anyone suffering from chigger bites, i have to agree with doggiebag... this story is pathetic!
you hikers need to listen up on how to treat a chigger bite!
first thing try not to scratch it too much! it will only dig deeper
in your skin! locate its entrance and then appy clear finger nail
polish around its entrance. let it dry and not bother it for a
long tine! with time it will stop itching and it will die under your
skin because you have sealed off its ability to get air, that is
the finger nail polish will have suffacated it from getting any
oxygen!! wish up. try this method. it works.!!!
cutty in brevard, nc
This is a snake bite:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/2110071/Trouser-snake-man-I-thought-I-would-die.html?service=print
Skidsteer
06-11-2008, 22:06
This is a snake bite:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/2110071/Trouser-snake-man-I-thought-I-would-die.html?service=print
I have the perfect response to that link but this thread is in Straight Forward.
Bulldawg
06-11-2008, 22:17
We could move it to hear your response perhaps?
4eyedbuzzard
06-11-2008, 22:29
you hikers need to listen up on how to treat a chigger bite!
first thing try not to scratch it too much! it will only dig deeper
in your skin! locate its entrance and then appy clear finger nail
polish around its entrance. let it dry and not bother it for a
long tine! with time it will stop itching and it will die under your
skin because you have sealed off its ability to get air, that is
the finger nail polish will have suffacated it from getting any
oxygen!! wish up. try this method. it works.!!!
cutty in brevard, nc
"One of the biggest myths or misconceptions about chiggers is that they can burrow under your skin and drink your blood. This leads to the common treatment for chiggers of putting clear nail polish on chigger bites to suffocate the chiggers. Since chiggers don't actually burrow under your skin, this 'treatment' is unnecessary." - http://pediatrics.about.com/od/dermatologytopics/a/06_chiggers.htm
Wise Old Owl
06-11-2008, 22:32
Hey glad he got pulled off the trail and lived to tell about it ... Bill Bryson' next gripper "Chigger ATtack!"
envirodiver
06-12-2008, 11:52
you hikers need to listen up on how to treat a chigger bite!
first thing try not to scratch it too much! it will only dig deeper
in your skin! locate its entrance and then appy clear finger nail
polish around its entrance. let it dry and not bother it for a
long tine! with time it will stop itching and it will die under your
skin because you have sealed off its ability to get air, that is
the finger nail polish will have suffacated it from getting any
oxygen!! wish up. try this method. it works.!!!
cutty in brevard, nc
Chiggerid is good stuff. It's like clear fingernail polish but also has a local analgesic in it to stop the itching. I carry it with me in the summer. Saved my bacon once as a young scout when my sleeping bag became infested with chiggers the 2nd night of camp.
Incahiker
06-12-2008, 12:39
Sooo...... Have you guys ever read anything about chiggers rather then just listen to lore about them. They DON'T dig into your skin. The bite a hole into your skin and spit in it, the spit breaks down the cells in your skin and makes skin soup and they suck it out. They never burrow in your skin. People can have sever reactions to the spit, and also, after the spit has done its job of breaking down the cells, it then hardens the skin around the skin soup essentially forming a Hard Tube, and this is how the chigger feeds.
The longer the chigger feeds, the deeper its saliva will penetrate into the skin, and the longer it takes to recover. So wipe down every day on the trail or shower and it won't be that bad.