Inchworm's remains have been found in Maine.

[wnderer]

InchwormAT2.jpg

My guess is she did something I've done and that is hike down the feeder trail and doesn't realize this until she hits the road. This prevented her from making the shelter so she camps in the woods out of site of the trail on the 22nd. On the 23rd it rains hard but she needs to meet her husband on the 24th so she hikes anyway. In the rain she can't find her way back to the trail. She gets hypothermia and dies.

Again the Google map doesn't match the map in the news.

[kayak karl]

For the remote areas of the AT, I strongly suggest hikers have available Guthook's AT Hiker app. (If they carry a smartphone). There is no cell signal required and can show exactly your location in relation to the AT.
It has saved my bacon twice.

when things go bad they go bad quick and batteries die. compass and map.

My condolences to Inchworm's family. May yous find peace.

[joshuasdad]

For the remote areas of the AT, I strongly suggest hikers have available Guthook's AT Hiker app. (If they carry a smartphone). There is no cell signal required and can show exactly your location in relation to the AT.
It has saved my bacon twice.

I did not know that about working w/o cell signal -- thanks! I think you can buy trail sections separately, so in hindsight, the app would have been very nice to have in New Hampshire (to help with the trail junctions), Maine (because ramifications of losing trail can be severe), and Southwestern Virginia (because of isolation, and I tended to lose the trail a lot there, especially near rhody patches).

[FlyFishNut]

they do hold value....I sold a submariner for $1,000 more than I paid for it 10 years earlier!!!


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I have my dad's Submariner he bought when I was in the 10th grade (1985). My dad was not materialistic and was fairly cheap - but advised me to always have a good timepiece!

[rafe]

I have my dad's Submariner he bought when I was in the 10th grade (1985). My dad was not materialistic and was fairly cheap - but advised me to always have a good timepiece!

For that purpose, a cheap Timex or Casio will do as well as a Rolex.

[modiyooch]

IMO, whatever happened to her, happened early morning. I say this because she was only 2 miles from the last shelter; plus, no one remembers passing her that day. And if is was foul play, that would be the area that I would suspect foul play due to the road access. It's a very remote road!!!! It took us an hour to venture back in there by car. Hopefully, more details will be available soon such as whether or not she pitched a tent, or left a note.

[Malto]

For the remote areas of the AT, I strongly suggest hikers have available Guthook's AT Hiker app. (If they carry a smartphone). There is no cell signal required and can show exactly your location in relation to the AT.
It has saved my bacon twice.

I really disagree with this as a solution. I actually believe that technology such as this is dumbing down hikers and may make " lost hikers" a more common occurance. While apps such as guthooks work great when all is well, when multiple events occur that cause technology to falter then the reliance on a technology that has failed can lead to bigger problems.

Example; on a recent hike I was using an umbrella for the first time. It also blocked my vision and I walked right by a very clearly signed trail intersection. however, by knowing precisely where we were at on the map and knowing pace and time we knew quickly we were off. Tracked compass heading and purposely went to the next recognizable point on map then back tracked to the missed trail. Now, let's imaging the same scenario but without map, compass and disciplined time management. Phone is pulled out in the driving rain and something happens, it drops in a puddle etc. now you are hosed and since you haven't been tracking progress vs the map, no need as long as you are following the white marks on the trees, ie, blazes and technology make you navigationally stupid.

I have found that when go south it from a cascade of events. A lot of snow on the trail, more use of GPS, batteries are lost, climb through Avalanche area and map falls out of pocket. No single event causes much of an issue, the cascade of events do. no idea if there were a Cascade of events in this case but I suspect there likely were.

Just so folks don't think I'm being preachy, I usually hike with a map on the AT and rely on the same technologies that I caution against above. This incident really reinforces how approaches and skills that work in the good times fail when compounded with other factors. I will likely review what I carry even on the simple to follow trails such as the AT.

[saltysack]

For the remote areas of the AT, I strongly suggest hikers have available Guthook's AT Hiker app. (If they carry a smartphone). There is no cell signal required and can show exactly your location in relation to the AT.
It has saved my bacon twice.

Never used on AT but was great for JMT...rarely used guide book...


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[saltysack]

For that purpose, a cheap Timex or Casio will do as well as a Rolex.

True....hard to beat a Casio G Spot!!!. I've had several. I do love my Suunto core watch and have been eyeballing the Garmin Fenix 3......


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[Don H]

My recollection of the intersection of the AT/Oberton stream/Railroad Rd. intersection, I camped there in 2011:

Steep drop down to the stream and steep climb up the embankment to a level spot which is Railroad Rd.
The AT takes a short (20') turn east on Railroad and then up another steep embankment. The blaze on the tree at this point is high up on the bank above Railroad and not in the normal line of sight as one would expect a blaze to be, making it easy to miss.
There were some tree limbs across Railroad Rd in the usual way to warn hikers that this is not the trail.
The point is it would be easy to miss the blaze high on the embankment above Railroad Rd, think the trail goes (trail) west and follow Railroad Rd. towards Redington.

I walked a short distance down Railroad Rd but apparently not far enough to be on Navy property since I didn't see any signs.

The topo map posted shows a short trail going off Railroad. Seems to me it would be easy to follow Railroad Rd. and pick up this other trail.

[Hangfire]

I did not know that about working w/o cell signal -- thanks! I think you can buy trail sections separately, so in hindsight, the app would have been very nice to have in New Hampshire (to help with the trail junctions), Maine (because ramifications of losing trail can be severe), and Southwestern Virginia (because of isolation, and I tended to lose the trail a lot there, especially near rhody patches).

I believe cell phones can triangulate off of satellites when cell signal is unavailable...someone could probably expand on this for us.

[MuddyWaters]

Most cell phones today have a gps engine in them, for both US and Russian satellite systems. These arent the highest powered gps devices, but they work, although you need an app to display your location. GPS requires view of sky, and doenst work well inside buildings, under tree cover, etc.

Backcountry navigator is free, and the USGS topo maps can be downloaded for sections, and have many established trail tracks on them. Loading gps waypoint files from other sites will display on them too. All free, and good in an emergency if you get off trail.

But , the best solution, is to stay found. Know your whereabouts, know where the trail is going. If you are going down and the trail is supposed to go up, thats a red flag. If you go east and the trail goes west, thats a red flag. Guidebooks are pretty good at mentioning most trail intersections, and you should be watching for them.

What is a mystery here, if she did simply wander off trail on a defined side route, is why she didnt back track. The few times ive stepped over limbs and gone the wrong way, ive discovered it in a hundred yards or so and backtracked.

[Fredt4]

I believe cell phones can triangulate off of satellites when cell signal is unavailable...someone could probably expand on this for us.

Since 2011 on Android

[Kookork]

There is a saying in medicine that says: Uncommon manifestations of common diseases is more common than common manifestations of rare diseases.

If I want to expand this saying to Mrs Geraldine's case I would say her story looks like an uncommon case of a common occurrence which is a hiker is lost. Then she panics and makes mistakes that in normal situations she wouldn't make. Wonders in an unknown route and then begins to wonder more and circles around the forest to the extent of exhaustion and decides to make a camp.

Losing the sense of direction in a forest is no fun and takes a lot of nerve to keep the cool. When you don't really know where you are it is not that much help to know where the north or south is.

Nowadays hikers can finish a 2000 miler without acquiring the knowledge and experience to handle the situation when things go wrong. Add the older age and/or bad weather and/or difficult unfamiliar train and you have a case that does not make sense in so many levels.


The most important point is how we can learn a lesson to avoid this incident to happen again in the future.

RIP Geraldine.

[Chair-man]

To me, this is one of the better articles that was written 18 months after Geraldine went missing.

If the article is correct, she received a last text sometime Monday the 22nd in the afternoon which would have put her about half way to Spaulding Mt Lean-to.

So, my question is, if she could receive text in that location, why didn't she send a text when she became lost?

For those of you who are familiar with this area. Is there cell signal between popular Poplar Ridge and Spaulding? Is there cell signal near where she was found?

I'm assuming they found her cell phone. Does anyone know if she had a GPS app?

[Goonky]

What is a mystery here, if she did simply wander off trail on a defined side route, is why she didnt back track. The few times ive stepped over limbs and gone the wrong way, ive discovered it in a hundred yards or so and backtracked.

This is exactly my thought about the roadbed. Why not turn around? Obviously, we don't know what happened, so it's speculation to a large degree. But I really wonder if she got lost early after leaving the lean to and wandered in circles all day. I could imagine a scenario where she crossed Orberton Stream, but not at the designated crossing spot and dealt with higher water and possible got herself and her gear wet. If she had to camp with wet clothes and a wet sleeping bag, hypothermia does seem possible.

I also wondered why she went beyond the roadbed. If I'd been lost all day and finally found an old roadbed, I would have been thrilled and stayed right there. But maybe she didn't recognize it as a roadbed, that's happened to me a number of times. Sometimes those older roadbeds are really overgrown.

Nowadays hikers can finish a 2000 miler without acquiring the knowledge and experience to handle the situation when things go wrong. Add the older age and/or bad weather and/or difficult unfamiliar train and you have a case that does not make sense in so many levels.

The most important point is how we can learn a lesson to avoid this incident to happen again in the future.

RIP Geraldine.

THIS. I've been trying to get something out of this. What can I learn from this? This has been my biggest takeaway: I feel like an experienced hiker and I think Inchworm was too from everything I've read. But I'm not a woodsman - and as soon as you're off the trail - it's a whole different ballgame. In the past week since she was found, I've asked myself - if I was lost, truly lost - would I know what to do? Pitch a tent overnight safely? Sure. Get myself found again? unaided? Probably not. So today I ordered a compass and will set myself to master that skill.

Also, as any FYI for anyone interested, I have this little book which I believe is free from the Maine Dept of Inland Wildfire and Fisheries, and it's worth the read. Free PDF here: http://www.state.me.us/ifw/education...mainewoods.pdf

Sending good thoughts and support to her family and friends. She really seemed like a neat lady.

[Deacon]

when things go bad they go bad quick and batteries die. compass and map.

Understood. For that reason I seldom use the app. , only when I need reassurance of my location. Again, my suggestion was only for the AT, not for bushes King and such.

[Don H]

[/COLOR]I could imagine a scenario where she crossed Orberton Stream, but not at the designated crossing spot and dealt with higher water and possible got herself and her gear wet. If she had to camp with wet clothes and a wet sleeping bag, hypothermia does seem possible.

I also wondered why she went beyond the roadbed. If I'd been lost all day and finally found an old roadbed, I would have been thrilled and stayed right there. But maybe she didn't recognize it as a roadbed, that's happened to me a number of times. Sometimes those older roadbeds are really overgrown.

I can't image getting off trail in the 2.7 miles between Poplar and Oberton stream. If I recall it was rather thick through there and the trail was well marked.

The crossing of Oberton stream would have been a rock hop across Monday morning with the stream at normal levels. The heavy rain didn't start until early Tuesday morning.

My 2013 AT Guide says:
"1976.2 Poplar Ridge Lean-to
1978.9 Orbeton Stream (ford)
1979.0 Woods road, NoBo: turn east on road" (emphasis mine, this is Railroad Rd.)

If the only source of information Gerry had was the AT. Guide could it be that she got to the crossing and thought she was suppose to follow the road?

As I stated in my earlier post the next blaze past the road was high up the embankment across the road and not in the normal line of sight where one would expect a blaze. I camped on Railroad Rd at the stream crossing in 2011 and actually thought the trail went east (compass south, opposite of the way Gerry apparently went). It wasn't until I went to get water from a small stream that crosses the road and goes down a water fall, then into Oberton stream did I notice the blaze and realize the trail crosses there.

[JohnHuth]

After so much time has passed, it will be near-impossible to reconstruct what happened between her last known contact and where she was found - one can only speculate. It must be of some comfort to her family to have her remains found, may she rest in peace.

As far as map+compass work - I highly recommend developing some skill and develop the habit of keeping track of location, identifying distant landmarks etc.

I accompanied my son on portions of his thru-hike. Somewhat to my horror, he shunned topographic maps to save weight and just used AWOL's guide. Hiking with him out of Gorham, I noticed from the shadows that we were hiking west. I thought "this is impossible - this is the AT and we should be hiking northeast", I got out my compass and confirmed that we were hiking west. Finally, when I got back home, I found a map and saw that the trail indeed took a turn west to hit the nearest peak. I only feel comfortable if I can update my location regularly. I mention this to encourage hikers to develop their map and compass skills.

[TexasBob]

[/COLOR]
Also, as any FYI for anyone interested, I have this little book which I believe is free from the Maine Dept of Inland Wildfire and Fisheries, and it's worth the read. Free PDF here: http://www.state.me.us/ifw/education...mainewoods.pdf

On Google Maps satellite view there is an area that looks like an old logging area with a maze of old logging roads about 500 to 1,000 feet northeast of the area where Inchworm was found. The trail passes near this area. One possibility is that she lost the trail on Monday 7/22 and ended up wandering around that old logging area on Monday and as a result she got thoroughly confused as to her location (maybe injured as well). Then she did what we all been told to do and what the pamphlet mentioned above tells you to do which find shelter, stay put and await rescue. She set her her tent and waited.