Inchworms Journal during 26 days lost...newest report

[TexasBob]

In a couple of days I leave for the trail. I have learned a lot from this thread about how not to get lost, how people behave when they do get lost, how SAR searches for lost people and a host of other things that may keep me safe or help me get found if I do get lost. In a few months if all goes well, I will be passing the section of trail where Inchworm lost her way. I will think of her and say a prayer for her family.

[Don H]

In a couple of days I leave for the trail. I have learned a lot from this thread about how not to get lost, how people behave when they do get lost, how SAR searches for lost people and a host of other things that may keep me safe or help me get found if I do get lost

...and this is why this thread is important.

[rickb]

In a couple of days I leave for the trail. I have learned a lot from this thread about how not to get lost, how people behave when they do get lost, how SAR searches for lost people and a host of other things that may keep me safe or help me get found if I do get lost. In a few months if all goes well, I will be passing the section of trail where Inchworm lost her way. I will think of her and say a prayer for her family.

This was a very unique situation-- especially with regard to Inchworm's husband meeting her at such regular intervals.

Even with the close relationships one forms along the way, I cannot help but think had this happened to most thruhikers a search would never have been instituted in the first place.

[Traveler]

This was a very unique situation-- especially with regard to Inchworm's husband meeting her at such regular intervals.

Even with the close relationships one forms along the way, I cannot help but think had this happened to most thruhikers a search would never have been instituted in the first place.

So you suspect that only older women who are met regularly along a trail are the only ones people will come out and search for?

In my experience, any call about someone who is lost is responded to, perhaps they do that differently in other places though.

[rickb]

So you suspect that only older women who are met regularly along a trail are the only ones people will come out and search for?

In my experience, any call about someone who is lost is responded to, perhaps they do that differently in other places though.

Of course not.

I think the situation is unique because she had someone (her husband) to call the authorities. If many (most?) thru hikers got lost in a similar situation who be savy enough to understand they were likely lost in the woods and call the authorities?

[Don H]

Jessie Hoover was lost in the 100 Mile Wilderness in 1983 and never found. It was 6 weeks before anyone reported her missing and a search was started but Wardens had little to go on. As far as I know she is the only thru-hiker lost and never accounted for on the AT.

http://external.bangordailynews.com/...3#.Vvu7KceMDVo

[Traveler]

Of course not.

I think the situation is unique because she had someone (her husband) to call the authorities. If many (most?) thru hikers got lost in a similar situation who be savy enough to understand they were likely lost in the woods and call the authorities?

Gotcha! I agree with that. Add that to the body of knowledge. Check in with someone like a spouse, parent, friend, at specific intervals. That would help narrow a search area to a degree, as they would know where you were when last heard from, and how long its been since they heard from you.

[John B]

Jessie Hoover was lost in the 100 Mile Wilderness in 1983 and never found. It was 6 weeks before anyone reported her missing and a search was started but Wardens had little to go on. As far as I know she is the only thru-hiker lost and never accounted for on the AT.

http://external.bangordailynews.com/...3#.Vvu7KceMDVo

The article is all but a case study on exactly what not to do.

The only problem that I have with the article is that it says she carried an AT&T calling card. Phone cards weren't even introduced in the US until 1987. Minor quibble, but the author should know better.

[TexasBob]

Gotcha! I agree with that. Add that to the body of knowledge. Check in with someone like a spouse, parent, friend, at specific intervals. That would help narrow a search area to a degree, as they would know where you were when last heard from, and how long its been since they heard from you.

Also always write in the shelter logs so that will help narrow the search area.

[Another Kevin]

The article is all but a case study on exactly what not to do.

The only problem that I have with the article is that it says she carried an AT&T calling card. Phone cards weren't even introduced in the US until 1987. Minor quibble, but the author should know better.

Nonsense. I know that I had a company-issued phone card in 1977, before they broke up AT&T, and called from pay phones with it. Mid-1980's for automated ones with a mag strip that you could just stick in the phone sounds about right. Before then, you had to read the account number to the operator.

[John B]

Nonsense. I know that I had a company-issued phone card in 1977, before they broke up AT&T, and called from pay phones with it. Mid-1980's for automated ones with a mag strip that you could just stick in the phone sounds about right. Before then, you had to read the account number to the operator.

Uh huh.

http://www.ldpost.com/telecom-articl...one-Cards.html

[Another Kevin]

Uh huh.

http://www.ldpost.com/telecom-articl...one-Cards.html

Ah. PREPAID phone cards. The one I had was a CREDIT card - automatic, preapproved third-party bill. Those had been around for decades. What was innovative about "calling cards" was that they could be prepaid, rather than requiring credit approval, and that they didn't need operator assistance to complete the call. That opened them up to individuals - previously, most telephone credit cards were company-issued to traveling workers.

Right after the Carterfone decision, people also started offering redialer services that a company could set up, so that you could dial an 800 number, enter a password, and have a machine connect you to an outside line, Believe it or not, even with the charges for 800 service and the fact that the company was double-billed (once for the incoming 800 call and once for the outgoing redial), it was still a money saving over the charges for operator-assisted third-party billing. Those redialers were very popular for a few years, which was really what opened the phone companies' eyes to the fact that automated supervision of third-party billing was a potential profit center.

Saying that there were no phone cards before 1987 is like saying that there were no mobile phones before 1983. There surely were. My boss had an MTS phone in his truck. The radio for it weighed about 80 pounds and cost about $3000 in 1970's dollars. The service was about $20 a month and local calls were about $0.40 a minute, again in 1970's dollars. There was also a years-long waiting list to get one, since you literally had to wait for someone else to cancel service (the system could handle only a limited number of phones), so you had to be an Important Person - or be able to come up with enough money to convince someone else to give up their phone. There was a limit, for instance, of 2000 phones in all of New York City. There were also competing systems, called Radio Common Carrier. They were slightly cheaper and more available, but were limited to working in a single city.

[Starfly]

One of the things that struck me while doing my thru was how the vast majority of thru-hikers watched out for each other. Need someone to keep an eye on your pack while you shop for food, ask a fellow thru-hiker. Running short on water, another thru-hiker will certainly offer you what they have. I can't tell you how many times hikers came to me for medical assistance and advice, including at least two life threatening emergency.
I hope that hasn't changed in the last 5 years.

Hopefully not much has changed Don. If I saw you or anyone else that needed mild to major help on the trail I'd do my best to help you. And please help me.....no rhetoric or debates needed! I think most people would too. Even though we don't all agree on here, I hope and pray that this forums not a true representation of how we all are when we're out there on the trail. Here, let me play The Youngbloods 'Get Together' for everyone.

I think you're right about Jessie H. too. I looked into her case and is such a totally different thing especially how terribly unprepared she was (right on John B.) In fact, given her tendency to hitchhike and the strange goings on that was the paper industry etc in Millinocket at that time, she may never had gotten to the AT or back from it after a quick bailout. Anyway, maybe thats another topic/thread/forum for another time I dunno.

Hey TexasBob good luck on your trek! Be safe and have tons of fun!

[Bluebearee]

One thing to note Don, t-man and others is that there are a few tote roads up there. There is a second north and northbound of the one we're talking about that might also go into the navy base. I believe its the one that Jeffery (the ranting sar fellow?) is talking about from Buzzards paste a couple pages ago. I think there are two others as well.

Buzzard, your lack of respect for Gerry and the family by trolling about football on here is just poor taste. You seem to have some moments of real insight lets keep it that way.

The SAR members involved in this whole search are by all accounts wonderful and did a valiant job searching for Inchworm. There deserved our utmost respect. Those ordering them where to search did not conduct a good search. Thats not debatable. You can ask cops, wardens, and even many members of the SAR involved, who picked up on the mistakes and did not want to search in some of the areas they were ordered to. Second guessing in a constructive criticism way is important to improve future searches and could even save lives.

So nobody would go and search for someone if they could where they live? Hmmmmm well, it was a decent tidal wave anyway.

Starfly, I don't know why you keep asking this question. You know MASAR was not accepting anyone who wasn't trained and considered qualified by them. My husband has been a b/c ranger in BSP (gasp) for 27 years, participated in many searches & is experienced in off trail work, etc and he was turned down. So please don't blame the rest of us Mainers who didn't go look for her. I took two others that August and went in Barjum Rd (as you know since you asked me for directions) on my own, but we went north as the word was still out she disappeared near Lone Mt. I kick myself for not turning south on the AT that day, not that we would have found her, but at least I would have been in the right area. I'm also a park ranger, in good hiking shape and know the AT and how a thru hiker thinks but I still wouldn't have qualified. It's not constructive to point the finger at the rest of us who would have helped but were told to stay away.

[Starfly]

Howdy Bluebearee believe me I'm kicking myself too. We've corresponded, and you're smart enough to know that I'm smart enough to not be encouraging people to go charging into a restricted search and rescue area to make a scene and get themselves arrested. When I ask, and its only occasionally and not to recently, about volunteer efforts I've been clear its for the vast majority of other states (and there are many posters here from these other states) where SAR ask and encourage the public for volunteer help and to some success. Average to decently equipped volunteers have found a great many people. And, to stay on point, Inchworm teaches us a valuable lesson that someone can be found, alive or dead, by amateurs. Keep in mind two surveyors found her which kinda throws the 'qualified' thing right out the window. I/we had originally thought Inchworm might inspire a small movement or at least awareness towards encouraging people to help and get involved in assisting in scenarios like her, even if it just means bringing someone who didn't make it back to their family. I haven't done a very good job with that. Even you missed the point a little bit. I guess I'm just not very good at it, the cause is too pointless/gorey, or people worry about being qualified. If anything, I've observed very little but resistance to the idea of getting involved when possible, so I'm basically over it. But for you and a few others from the public that did thanks a bunch for getting involved. I think there is something remarkable and respectful about at least trying. And nobody including me should look down our noses at those who don't, and I don't. I'm allowed to think it merely peculiar.

Hope that clears that up. Allow me to bow out and stop encouraging in my own weird little way.

[MuddyWaters]

Nonsense. I know that I had a company-issued phone card in 1977, before they broke up AT&T, and called from pay phones with it. Mid-1980's for automated ones with a mag strip that you could just stick in the phone sounds about right. Before then, you had to read the account number to the operator.

Yup.
Calling cards were just like ~10 digit or so #s you gave operator, or entered, and long distance call was billed to the corresponding home phone. All you needed to know was the number. Without that, the operator could call a billable number and ask if it was OK to bill charges for a long distance call to it. Someone was supposed to answer the call and say yes, however I had fraudulent calls charged to my home phone once somehow by a girl that was a friend of a girl i had gone out with.

My college roommate used a calling card # given to him by a rich girl he met in a bar ( to call her with) for 2 years. Until the girls dads accountant called him up and said to stop or they would file charges. My roommate had given this # to a few others as well.

[Starfly]

RIP Gerry

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20....html#comments

[WhiteBlaze]

<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"><a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNFyqTnIDN39Z2tPfDS5_ GglkUokAA&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&ei =y-VFV7CuFebw8QGihaCYDw&url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/05/25/hiker-who-died-after-disappearing-from-appalachian-trail-survived-for-weeks/KAcHuKSdYVHNTNu0qQobvK/story.html"><img src="//t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcStXHglo1PXrZ3i_K-VyaVY2oBU0z-u9kcS4i9R78plxE5PEo_wc9G7F8yfLSBMA9VB-dK7lJvi" alt="" border="1" width="80" height="80"><br><font size="-2">The Boston Globe</font></a></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&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNFyqTnIDN39Z2tPfDS5_ GglkUokAA&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&ei =y-VFV7CuFebw8QGihaCYDw&url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/05/25/hiker-who-died-after-disappearing-from-appalachian-trail-survived-for-weeks/KAcHuKSdYVHNTNu0qQobvK/story.html"><b>Hiker who died after disappearing from <b>trail</b> survived for weeks</b></a><br><font size="-1"><b><font color="#6f6f6f">The Boston Globe</font></b></font><br><font size="-1">A hiker who died after going off the <b>Appalachian Trail</b> in 2013 in western Maine survived for weeks and kept a journal, the Maine Game Warden Service believes. Geraldine Largay, 66, went off the trail on July 23, 2013. The game warden service on&nbsp;...</font><br><font size="-1" class="p"></font><br><font class="p" size="-1"><a class="p" href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dJXBhbnWEJ10WRM&authuser=0&ned=us"><nobr> <b></b></nobr></a></font></div></font></td></tr></table>

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[QHShowoman]

RIP Gerry

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20....html#comments

Wow. She was alive for almost a month, less than a mile from the AT, and she never saw anyone and they never saw her? Wow.

[SteelCut]

That's incredibly sad that she survived for 26 days after losing her way.