View Full Version : Family Rescued After Getting Lost on Appalachian Trail - WHSV
WhiteBlaze
08-31-2010, 00:20
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="7" style="vertical-align:top;"><tr><td width="80" align="center" valign="top"><font style="font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif"></font></td><td valign="top" class="j"><font style="font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br /><div style="padding-top:0.8em;"><img alt="" height="1" width="1" /></div><div class="lh"><a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNF1xmVyzCzs0Qw_klGyebRGuGYtaw&url=http://www.whsv.com/virginiaap/headlines/101831188.html"><b>Family Rescued After Getting Lost on <b>Appalachian Trail</b></b></a><br /><font size="-1"><b><font color="#6f6f6f">WHSV</font></b></font><br /><font size="-1">Roanoke County firefighters rescued a mother and her three children after they got lost while hiking along the <b>Appalachian Trail</b>. <b>...</b></font><br /><font size="-1"><a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNF8D2hkLGKmm7fnvF1yhZU1O0uhlg&url=http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/258735">Mom, kids rescued from McAfee Knob</a><font size="-1" color="#6f6f6f"><nobr>Roanoke Times</nobr></font></font><br /><font size="-1" class="p"></font><br /><font class="p" size="-1"><a class="p" href="http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&ned=us&ncl=d4UP0j-2TcGyIsMqNGf59KfHEb5bM"><nobr><b>all 8 news articles »</b></nobr></a></font></div></font></td></tr></table>
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Rain Man
08-31-2010, 09:50
Query: When is a so-called "rescue" not a rescue? This is not what I'd call a rescue at all, more like a pre-rescue, but what do I know?
"Roanoke County firefighters rescued a mother and her three children after they got lost while hiking along the Appalachian Trail.
"The mother called 911 Sunday night when she lost sight of the trail around 8:30 p.m. while hiking in the McAfee Knob area with her 13-year-old, 12-year-old and six-week-old children.
"Roanoke County Fire and Rescue spokeswoman Jennifer Conley Sexton says firefighters found the family about a mile from the McAfee Knob parking lot. It took about 25 minutes to rescue the family."
Wise Old Owl
08-31-2010, 10:06
Ahh the Associated Drive by Press, Not emough story to go on.
ChinMusic
08-31-2010, 10:29
From the summary it looks like a success. Mom was "lost" with three kids and made it to the parking lot (with help) without much incident. It could have easily been worse.
Graywolf
08-31-2010, 10:31
Query: When is a so-called "rescue" not a rescue? This is not what I'd call a rescue at all, more like a pre-rescue, but what do I know?
"Roanoke County firefighters rescued a mother and her three children after they got lost while hiking along the Appalachian Trail.
"The mother called 911 Sunday night when she lost sight of the trail around 8:30 p.m. while hiking in the McAfee Knob area with her 13-year-old, 12-year-old and six-week-old children.
"Roanoke County Fire and Rescue spokeswoman Jennifer Conley Sexton says firefighters found the family about a mile from the McAfee Knob parking lot. It took about 25 minutes to rescue the family."
The way I see it, yes, it could be called a "pre-rescue", which that is good. Kida like preventive maintence.. Right. I wouldnt have siad anything, except the fact that she had a 6 month year old baby with her. Being lost could frighten them pretty much. The article didnt say if they had water or food with them, and I would suspect the baby would be bad off if they didnt. Plus, then, the mother paniked. But then, thats what mothers do.
boarstone
08-31-2010, 11:41
stupid is as stupid does...
So glad they are AOK.....however....is that area the best area to take children if you have your hands full with a six month old? ( Assuming they were little kids) Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, it just takes a turned back for one moment for a fall......
notBillyBob
08-31-2010, 12:16
Six-week old baby ! So just how recovered could she have been from childbirth, assuming childbirth as opposed to an adoption, perhaps. But good she made the call anyway, if she was that concerned. Get off the trail before dark ?
Six weeks! Yes, she made the right call, but I'm questioning the initial idea to visit there with kids/infant anyway......I'm sure it seemed reasonable to her at the time. :)
Just so glad this did not turn into a SAR circus!
Hikerhead
08-31-2010, 12:25
It's 5 o'clock and it took us 3 hrs to get here. I wonder how long it will take to get back. Let's relax for about an hour first. Child endangerment. Throw her in jail. :)
The Solemates
08-31-2010, 13:16
we first took our first child day hiking at 6 weeks. we went backpacking at 10weeks.
I don't see how this would make the news. I mean, if one of the children slammed their hand in the door of the car, and had to go to the hospital, would that have made the news? If there was anything remotely interesting about this story, the reporter did an excellent job leaving it out. My guess is there was nothing interesting. Just a mother in a jam, doing the right thing under the circumstances, but not worthy of a news story, thank goodness.
Geeze fella's, listening to you all go off about "how dare she", you'd think women just started doing this birthing thing.. You do know that hospitals, pre-natal care and all that jazz is not the rule, but rather the exception in the world.
Thankfully it had a happy ending..
Wise Old Owl
08-31-2010, 20:54
Geeze fella's, listening to you all go off about "how dare she", you'd think women just started doing this birthing thing.. You do know that hospitals, pre-natal care and all that jazz is not the rule, but rather the exception in the world.
Thankfully it had a happy ending..
Yup happy Ending, now Daja, put this in your sphere of learning, imagine for a moment you have a relative (wife,sister) with a six month old.... think - no skills & can't follow white blazes - no business being there - yea - its stupid. Everyone above is on target, this was a bad move.
Elaboration - you don't drive a car without a licence, you study books and get educated with a teacher. You don't jump in a canoe and go down grade three white water unless your Bam and no sensibilities. You take a course... Ohh its just hiking in the backwoods.... Right?
Enough said.
Nice tone Wise Old Owl, but I’m detecting more arrogance than wisdom, just saying..<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
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Where does it say she had no skills and could not follow blazes? Perhaps you have more information than the rest of us, all I have is the lack of info provided in that non story. <o:p></o:p>
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I’m aware of several experienced hikers who have ended up lost, even on well marked trails.. Happens to the best of us, I’m sure even some on this board.<o:p></o:p>
Nice tone Wise Old Owl, but I知 detecting more arrogance than wisdom, just saying..ffice:office" /><o>:p></o>:p>
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Where does it say she had no skills and could not follow blazes? Perhaps you have more information than the rest of us, all I have is the lack of info provided in that non story. <o>:p></o>:p>
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I知 aware of several experienced hikers who have ended up lost, even on well marked trails.. Happens to the best of us, I知 sure even some on this board.<o>:p></o>:p>
Uhh, what's with all the emoticons?
IronGutsTommy
08-31-2010, 23:45
yeah lots of emoticons there. lots of people hike but most are smart enough not to be hiking at night without knowing the area well. if i was the fat]er of the 6 week old id be furious at her
Bob Ashe
09-01-2010, 11:08
Idiots on the trail. When will it ever end?
Wise Old Owl
09-01-2010, 22:26
Nice tone Wise Old Owl, but I知 detecting more arrogance than wisdom, just saying..ffice:office" /><o>:p></o>:p>
<o>:p></o>:p>
Where does it say she had no skills and could not follow blazes? Perhaps you have more information than the rest of us, all I have is the lack of info provided in that non story. <o>:p></o>:p>
<o>:p></o>:p>
I知 aware of several experienced hikers who have ended up lost, even on well marked trails.. Happens to the best of us, I知 sure even some on this board.<o>:p></o>:p>
No - we don't have enough details here and much of my typing might bring out my British upbring or arrogance - I'm not arrogant.
Far to many - including a relative or two just blaze their own trail until they get lost, they don't take time to read blazes - read tracks, take caution. We cannot compare brilliance of Hillary A experienced hiker, to a woman with a bunch of kids.
Nice tone Wise Old Owl, but I知 detecting more arrogance than wisdom, just saying..ffice:office" /><O:p></O:p>
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Where does it say she had no skills and could not follow blazes? Perhaps you have more information than the rest of us, all I have is the lack of info provided in that non story. <O:p></O:p>
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I知 aware of several experienced hikers who have ended up lost, even on well marked trails.. Happens to the best of us, I知 sure even some on this board.<O:p></O:p>
A friend of mine met this woman, babe and kids on her way back to her car. They were headed up the mountain late in the day, without flashlight, food or water. The woman thought she could make it up and back before dark, even though my friend warned her that it was too far to go.
Not a smart woman...all kinds are out there!
Happy trails
Without all the facts it is hard to make a judgrment, many facts may have been left out by the reporter or most likely chopped out by a copy editor for "space considerations". The bottom line is the mom felt she was lost and was smart enough to call for help and wait for it to come, rather than continue to wander and truely become lost, with three kids in tow and with the info provided I would say she probably made a good call. IMHO
OK. Here is what I think happened.
Woman is busy with her new baby and the 12 and 13 year olds have been feeling somewhat neglected all summer. They did make it to a summer camp or maybe through scouting they got some introduction to hiking and heard about this hike, or did it once with a group and have been itching to go. So now towards the end of the summer with her guilt level rising and defenses down she finally relents to their pleas for a day hike. The 12 and 13 year olds are in charge and leading the way with mom and 6 year old in tow. She is proud of her kids initiative and perhaps a bit overoptimistic about their knowledge and ability, or not knowing the trail herself she is unaware of what exactly the kids are getting them into. When things start to go south, and she realizes she and her kids are in over their heads, she pulls the plug and calls 911 before things start to get even more interesting. Had she seen another hiking group once lost, I'm sure she would have hiked out with them instead of calling 911, but she didn't.
p.s. She had a blue raincoat and here mother has an aunt named Sue.
If she was a dude in that situation, she still might be out there. Mom's rock.
IronGutsTommy
09-02-2010, 10:54
no food, no water, no flashlight, no common sense.
HMMmmm. Didn't see where they were out of food and water, no flashlight, true. Common sense? She showed me some by calling for help before a situation got out of hand. She may have mis-judged the amount time needed for the hike but except for a rare few, we all may have made or will make an error in the amount of time needed for a hike. Yes a flashlight would have been handy but it doesn't show a lack of common sense.
I am glad their Ok But once again it show you need to have a map and compass with you and know how to use them.
:eek:
IronGutsTommy
09-02-2010, 12:44
iif you had read the whole thread, ol moles friend ran into them, where they were found to have NO food, NO water, and NO flashlight. to even embark on any type of hike in those conditions is foolhearty. To do it with a 6 week old shows NO common sense
Llama Legs
09-02-2010, 12:48
...and nobody ever sent help for me!
How does one get lost on the AT? I thought most people didn't even carry maps since it was soo easy to follow. Was it just because it was dark and so they couldn't see?
IGT my appologies, I read right thru that and it didn't stick, if that is so, not a real wise series of decisions indeed and hard to believe that she wouldn't have had at least a bottle for a 6 week old infant who eat every couple hours, crazy, just crazy.
IronGutsTommy
09-02-2010, 20:58
4bears.. i prolly got a lil carried away too. musta been the fatherly instinct. I guess bottom line is they are all safe. thank god they brought a cell phone, the hero of this story
iif you had read the whole thread, ol moles friend ran into them, where they were found to have NO food, NO water, and NO flashlight. to even embark on any type of hike in those conditions is foolhearty. To do it with a 6 week old shows NO common senseHeresay.
My post is much more reliable.
HOW does one get lost in the vicinity of Mcaffe Knob? As I recall inn this area the trail is well laid out, well marked, and easy to follow. Plus it only took 25 minutes for these folks to be "rescued"?
i hope they never come to New Hampshire to hike. They'd really get lost!
David
Lemni Skate
09-03-2010, 08:22
I've got a good deal of experience hiking, and I've lost the trail plenty of times. I'm usually alone and it isn't a big deal, but if I had a 6 week old with me I'd definitely call for help if it was getting dark. I'm glad this mother was getting her kids out on the trail. Far too many kids don't even know what it is.
I don't think I need to attack this woman.
IronGutsTommy
09-03-2010, 15:22
jax.. your post is purely hypothesis. i tend to believe the account of someones friend who was actually there than a guy who starts his post with ok heres what i THINK happened.. besides i thought u were sticking to the ultralight posts lmao
IGT: If she was equipped as posted this kinda would be an ultralite post. True?
It's 5 o'clock and it took us 3 hrs to get here. I wonder how long it will take to get back. Let's relax for about an hour first. Child endangerment. Throw her in jail. :)
Nailed it!
Ran out of time because she did not track it and handle the information (Gee, I wonder what time it is? :rolleyes:) properly.
Out of time, out of daylight, unprepared for night conditions.
Most folks do this with money (guilty as charged :o), but to do it with the conditions and the children involved was truly foolhardy.
Glad she got out, and didn't spend too much $$ on a SAR in the night.
Wonder if anyone knew where she was other than her? Note? It gets a little chilly right now up that way at night.
I think there are plenty of 'day hikers' or 'car wanderers' that roll out of the sedan that go venture into the woods without food or water. Saw two 'joggers' on Big Hump last weekend with just camera's, runner's tank tops, no water, etc. I figured there must be a trail 'in' that is not in the guidebook. :)
Old Hiker
09-03-2010, 17:08
...and nobody ever sent help for me!
Yes we did. You saw them coming and hid in the Coleman Outlet store until they got discouraged and went away. That way, you could keep shopping! ;)
Hikerhead
09-03-2010, 17:35
HOW does one get lost in the vicinity of Mcaffe Knob? As I recall inn this area the trail is well laid out, well marked, and easy to follow. Plus it only took 25 minutes for these folks to be "rescued"?
i hope they never come to New Hampshire to hike. They'd really get lost!
David
They get turned around all the time up there. The AT actually stays in the woods, the cliffs is a small side trail. They see a white blaze on a tree and just go, thinking it's going back to the parking lot. Then they get into Devils Kitchen with all the small herd paths going every which way and that just compounds the problem.
I was camping down by the old cabin foundations one time when they sent a helicopter up there to search for a man and his kid. Those search lights turned the whole mtn from dark to daylight. I was closer to the road than I thought when sirens and flashing lights and some dude hollering came walking up the road. I wasn't sure if it was legal to camp where I was so I hunkered down. He didn't see me but that helicopter sure did, he buzzed me two or three times.
jax.. your post is purely hypothesis. i tend to believe the account of someones friend who was actually there than a guy who starts his post with ok heres what i THINK happened.. besides i thought u were sticking to the ultralight posts lmao
Glad you caught the humour, and the spirit. :)
IronGutsTommy
09-04-2010, 10:27
i guess my twisted panties is over the six month old. like i said if i was the father id be oj simpson mad
Turtle Feet
09-04-2010, 12:24
i guess my twisted panties is over the six month old. like i said if i was the father id be oj simpson mad
Six months? No, 6 weeks!!!! Seriously folks, taking a 6 week old on an AT hike? Mom suffers from a serious case of bad judgment.
On the other hand, her protective maternal instincts kicked in, and she at the very least had the sense to keep the situation from becoming completely out of hand.
She'll never live this one down...
TF
You folks are bent and twisted.
IronGutsTommy
09-04-2010, 12:42
just my panties, Jak
onecamper
09-14-2010, 09:25
Six week old children generally breast feed.. I doubt the kids were in any real danger. Mom was probably very embarrassed and learned a valuable lesson. End of story.