woman hit by lightening, dies, on max patch [Archive]

Lion King

06-06-2010, 14:57

Sad indeed.

Am reminded of '09 SOBO Rock Plopper who was hit on Glastenbury in Vermont on August 21, 2009. She survived...but still suffering with side effects.

Met her right before it happened. I heard about it later and was shocked.

FritztheCat

06-06-2010, 17:25

Sad story. Condolences to the families.

06-06-2010, 17:27

Moving on.....

My sympathy goes to her family during their time of grief.

No one really knows what to say during times like this, and some people inadvertently say the wrong things, or strike people the wrong way.... Take a deep breath; let it go; life's too short.

The above is not intended to trivialize what people feel; rather, it is not the point of the thread.

May the young woman rest in peace, and may those who knew her find comfort in knowing, though her life was brief, that she lived it, instead of just breathing. K2

WILLIAM HAYES

06-06-2010, 18:24

my wife and I were in a lightening storm at nite camped just northbound of max patch at the first tent site -believe me it was some scary stuff the ground shook like crazy with every strike- you could read a book by the brillance of the lightening I know I would not want to have been in a bivy on top that nite
Hillbilly

JAK

06-06-2010, 19:40

Our weather here either comes up from the Appalachians, or down from Quebec. This afternoon and evening we have had heavy rain and thunder showers. The same system, I suppose, that has taken our fellow hiker and carried her spirit away. Night will soon fall. Within the next day or two this system will have runs it course and spun off into the North Atlantic, but one system will give rise to another in the ongoing turbulence and eddies of our mid-latitudes, just as one day follows another, and one season gives way to the next, and years follow. May your body rest in peace, and your lone spirit carry on.

TIDE-HSV

06-06-2010, 19:59

I've come so very close several times, it's hard really to read it. It reminds me of when I was into heavy water kayaking and so often I read of a death at a rapid I'd run many times. I have a good friend who'll never be the same after a lightning strike...

Egads

06-06-2010, 20:39

My condolences to her family & friends

TIDE-HSV

06-06-2010, 20:53

I neglected to add my condolences to the family and fiancee, which I do so now, with heartfelt sympathy...

johnnybgood

06-06-2010, 21:19

A friend that I work with administered CPR on her neighbor who was struck by lightning while cooking on his grill Memorial Day.
Saved his life , no doubt...
Lightening kills more people every year than any other weather related event.

Condolences to the womans family and friends.

Jonnycat

06-06-2010, 22:47

I've come so very close several times, it's hard really to read it.

It's a strange and helpless feeling, being in your tent, hearing the explosions all around you, and unable to run anywhere that is safer. Still, there is a certain calmness about it, a certain connectedness with the universe, an experience of one's own destiny.

I still go out there, year after year.

TIDE-HSV

06-07-2010, 00:42

It's a strange and helpless feeling, being in your tent, hearing the explosions all around you, and unable to run anywhere that is safer. Still, there is a certain calmness about it, a certain connectedness with the universe, an experience of one's own destiny.

I still go out there, year after year.

I've had it both ways - running from rock to rock and trying to hunker down and be small and crouching in my tent, trying to make sure all body parts are up on the pad, as if that could make a difference. Years ago, I'd taken my daughter and a friend up LeConte. We stayed in the lodge nights one and three. The middle night, the entire lodge complex had been booked by a little league team from NC, so we moved down to the shelter. That day, we saw one of the most violent storms I've ever seen. We were backed up the the back wall of the shelter to get out of the rain. Later, we found out that a man and a woman had been killed at Double Springs Shelter. She was half of a honeymooning couple. The guy was unrelated. They were sitting on the wire bunks, with their feet on the wet ground...

Jonnycat

06-07-2010, 08:54

I've had it both ways - running from rock to rock and trying to hunker down and be small and crouching in my tent, trying to make sure all body parts are up on the pad, as if that could make a difference.

Speaking of crouching, this is probably a good time to mention the best position to have a chance at surviving a lightning strike. It's not the most comfortable (especially right after you wake up), but it beats the alternative.

Feet together, up on the balls, with your hands over your ears. Technically, it attempts to provide a path for the current through the skeletal muscles instead of through internal organs - or the heart.

http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/4229/lightningcrouch.jpg

SamXp

06-07-2010, 09:05

Doubly sad if you read the comment below the news article.
Woah, this is awful!

[/URL] [URL="http://www.digtriad.com/life/community/persona.aspx?U=1b79453953c743b4bde25d873ad9c105&plckUserId=1b79453953c743b4bde25d873ad9c105"]ILOVEBETHANY (http://www.digtriad.com/life/community/persona.aspx?U=1b79453953c743b4bde25d873ad9c105&plckUserId=1b79453953c743b4bde25d873ad9c105) wrote:
I wanted to let the world know a few things. The woman in this story was about ten minutes from becoming my fiancee. Her name was Bethany Lott but she wanted to be Bethany Butler. She was the most vibrant, amazing person I've ever known. I have never imagined a kinder soul or a bigger heart. The lightning came on quick. A matter of a minute. But Max Patch was her favorite spot on earth. Her final words... she turned and looked at me and said "Baby, look... Isn't it so beautiful." In addition to the EMS and LE heroes who who despite hope worked so hard and saving her as well as comforting me, a nearby family... Dean I, Dean II, and Mary will forever stand out in my mind as the most shining points of my darkest day. God Bless them all. Reach me at [email protected] minutes from being married? Was there a wedding at Max Patch?

hellomolly

06-07-2010, 09:43

This is so terribly sad. :( Especially the comment after the article, if it's true, which I would imagine it is. What an awful thing to happen. :( :( :(

Mrs Baggins

06-07-2010, 09:49

How absolutely horrific and deeply sad. I always tell people that when hiking I fear bears and rattle snakes, but lightning I fear most of all. I was almost struck in north FL,just over the state line from GA, at a rest stop. HUGE t'storm happening, we had run in to use the restrooms and ran back out to the car. I was clutching my then-3 yr old son, got the passenger door to the car open to put him in his car seat, when a lightning bolt struck the medium on the highway - maybe 150 feet from me. I threw my son into the car, threw myself onto the seat, and went numb all the way up my left side. I never ever want to get that close to a strike again. The noise alone.......

Captain Blue

06-07-2010, 21:36

The latest is here:

http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20100607/NEWS01/100607035

A woman killed by lightning while hiking at Max Patch Bald on Friday was minutes away from becoming engaged, her fiancé said.

Richard Butler, 30, took his girlfriend of a year, Bethany Lott, 25, to the popular hiking spot under the guise of a summer afternoon hike.

“The real purpose was that I had a ring in my pocket, and I was going to ask her to marry me,” Butler said.....

Panzer1

06-07-2010, 21:52

very sad..

my condolences to her fiancee and family.

panzer

Panzer1

06-07-2010, 21:54

“The real purpose was that I had a ring in my pocket, and I was going to ask her to marry me,” Butler said.....

its enough to make you cry...

Panzer

Tennessee Viking

06-08-2010, 09:03

http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9023703

Here is the continuation of the story. Sad to here that it was supposed to be a special moment.

Blissful

06-08-2010, 10:14

This is so sad. Deeply sorry for their loss. I have been there with a pending storm in '07 -it was scary and I ran to get off the bald.

prain4u

06-08-2010, 14:14

This is so sad and so tragic. My condolences go out to this woman's fiance, her family members and her friends.

If anything good can come out of this tragedy, perhaps this tragedy can serve as another sobering reminder to ALL of us regarding the dangers associated with hiking in the rain or hiking when storms may potentially be in the area. Perhaps, because of this tragedy, we will all try to be even MORE cautious--especially when "only" a SLIGHT potential for lightening exists.

I day hiked on Max Patch one day last year. It was sunny when I started out. Some slight clouds came up as I hiked--but it was nothing major. However, I decided not to linger on Max Patch Bald--even though all looked pretty safe. When I got back to my car at the Max Patch parking lot, I saw one small flash of lightening FAR in the distance. Obviously, this current story now has me thinking---"What if".

I have always been extremely cautious regarding hiking in such conditions-but I know that because of this story I will be even more careful in the future.

Again, my condolences go out to this family.

Sir-Packs-Alot

06-08-2010, 16:25

Condolences once again to the family of an AT hiker.

I do not recall a year when so many folks have met their end in unrelated circumstances while hiking the AT. Bad year.

I wasn't aware that this was such a bad year for folks meeting their end on the AT (besides this incident). What others?

Cookerhiker

06-08-2010, 17:45

I just read about this - it was on the front page of MSN.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37577101/ns/us_news-life/?gt1=43001). What an awful tragedy. The circumstances (with her fiancee, about to become engaged) make this even harder to bear.

Rain Man

06-08-2010, 20:15

They interviewed her boyfriend on TV here in Nashville last evening. He has 3rd-degree burns on the bottoms of his feet.

There have been two other deaths, both in shelters, on the AT this year. One in Icewater Springs Shelter about a month ago and one in Cornelius Gap Shelter within the past few days. Both of those deaths have threads here on WB too.

A somber spring on the AT.

Rain Man

.

The Scribe

06-08-2010, 20:45

There was a much more detailed piece in the Atlanta Constitution on Tuesday. He took her up there specifically to propose to her. Sad.

Luddite

06-08-2010, 20:53

Very sad.

I was just reading lightning strike statistics today too.

Lyle

06-08-2010, 22:05

I wasn't aware that this was such a bad year for folks meeting their end on the AT (besides this incident). What others?

Hiker died at Icewater Spring Shelter:

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=61873&highlight=Icewater+Spring

Man found dead at Cornelius Creek Shelter:

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=62663&highlight=Dead

earlyriser26

06-08-2010, 22:09

Such a sad story on one of my favorite places on the trail. I will pray for you.

solstice

06-08-2010, 22:15

It's such a sad, sad situation. My heart goes out to her family and her man. I can't begin to imagine the pain he must be feeling right now, and I sincerely hope he comes out of this strong.

Bear Cables

06-08-2010, 22:57

This is sad. We started at Max Patch Tuesday a week ago. So she died our 5th night on the trail southbound. I wonder if we may have met her along the way....

BigFoot2002

06-08-2010, 23:13

This tragedy now has been covered by some nationwide radio news channels. My prayers, along with so many others, go out to this woman, her fiancee , her family and their friends.

Wrangler88

06-09-2010, 01:39

its enough to make you cry...

Panzer

Agreed. This is extremely sad. Hearing about this bothers me a lot. I'm sorry for her family's loss. I hope for safety for all of the hikers on the AT this year.

Not Sunshine

06-09-2010, 07:01

Did anyone catch the article just below it?

http://www.digtriad.com/news/most_popular/article.aspx?storyid=143375&provider=top

Dobie Swift

06-11-2010, 19:00

Woah, this is awful!
Ten minutes from being married? Was there a wedding at Max Patch?
The article says "ten minutes from being my fiancee"... he was about to propose.

I just got back from a Hot Springs to Erwin section... lots of folks on the trail passed them that day and were devestated when we all heard the news from another hiker.