Maine winter AT hike that went bad

[peakbagger]

https://bangordailynews.com/2022/01/...O8nf8TZiNL7sac

Got to wonder what they were thinking? Granted the snow pack in Maine is not a record but still enough snow in the woods to make breaking trail slow. And subzero nights (Nearby Rangeley was close to 30 below last night. This is the same area that the women got lost and passed away in her tent a few years ago. These hikers were lucky that the area is somewhat accessible by snowmachine.

[4eyedbuzzard]

This makes no sense at all. None. Zero. According to the article they didn't have food, water, proper gear etc., - add the older hiker is 70 years old. Not being "ageist" here, but I'm closing in on that age and there's just no way this is a thought out decision given the mileage, terrain, snow, lack of daylight, etc. It's honestly one of the stupidest things I've ever heard of. Good chance they could have froze to death if they didn't get through on cell phone to the Wardens.

[One Half]

This makes no sense at all. None. Zero. According to the article they didn't have food, water, proper gear etc., - add the older hiker is 70 years old. Not being "ageist" here, but I'm closing in on that age and there's just no way this is a thought out decision given the mileage, terrain, snow, lack of daylight, etc. It's honestly one of the stupidest things I've ever heard of. Good chance they could have froze to death if they didn't get through on cell phone to the Wardens.

Right?! ***?!!!

They should get a nice big bill for the cost of the rescue. And add a "stupid tax" on top!

[cmoulder]

Certainly one of the most bizarre accounts I've ever read.

Sounds as if they're damm lucky to be alive.

[HankIV]

they're damm lucky to be alive.

But humanity isn’t….

What stupid couple of bags of chemicals.

[Toolshed]

Darwin Award Was Interrupted....

[JNI64]

Darwin Award Was Interrupted....

LOL, yep still in the gene pool :-

[peakbagger]

MATC did that as a day hike during the 75th anniversary event 15 or 20 years ago with support from a school bus. We met at Sugarloaf and took a long bus shuttle to Barnjum and then past a gate onto a private logging road that ended near the AT. We then walked a short distance and intersected the AT. We then hiked over to the last mile plaque and up Sugarloaf. Most of the us took the lift down to catch the beer and barbeque at the base of the mountain but without that motivation, the hike down the maintenance road would have gotten us down well before dark.

That said that was in the summer on sunny day with 3 hours more daylight. Maybe there is a rest of the story but from the press account there was some serious lack of planning on their part.

[cmoulder]

Did they have snowshoes?

Even with snowshoes it is frequently very difficult for two fit people to average much more — and sometimes it's much less! — than 1 mph when breaking trail.

[stephanD]

No food.....no water.......no proper equipment.....what in the world could go wrong?

[HooKooDooKu]

Since it sounds like they only planned a day hike, the "no food, no water" makes SOME sense...
But beyond that, they either definitely should have known better, or are just such beginner hikers they were foolish to start with a trip that long even if there wasn't snow.
I know in several Facebook groups people repeat the mantra of the "10 essentials", but I personally change that and simply state that you shouldn't leave the trailhead without having everything you need to survive a night in the woods. If these guys would have approached this trip with that mentality, the fact they only got half way and had to stop at a shelter would have been no big deal. Even without food and water, if they simply would have had enough layer to survive the night they would not have been making headlines.
Can't fix stupid

[rhjanes]

SMH...
and if it was a Day-Hike.....should have turned around at noon.....no matter what.

[BobTheBuilder]

Y'all are pretty harsh in your judgement. I mean, "Darwin Award was Interrupted..." and "LOL, yep still in the gene pool :-" are pretty cruel for a couple of people that made a mistake and had to call for help. If I read the story correctly, they walked back to their car and were uninjured. It may be a good object lesson, but I'm disappointed in the casual cruelty of the comments. As a community, we can be better.

[cmoulder]

Y'all are pretty harsh in your judgement. I mean, "Darwin Award was Interrupted..." and "LOL, yep still in the gene pool :-" are pretty cruel for a couple of people that made a mistake and had to call for help. If I read the story correctly, they walked back to their car and were uninjured. It may be a good object lesson, but I'm disappointed in the casual cruelty of the comments. As a community, we can be better.

So, how idiotic and irresponsible does someone have to be to earn your derision?

[BobTheBuilder]

So, how idiotic and irresponsible does someone have to be to earn your derision?

LOL - I honestly don't know. I try to save my derision for those that are gratuitously unpleasant.

[illabelle]

Y'all are pretty harsh in your judgement. I mean, "Darwin Award was Interrupted..." and "LOL, yep still in the gene pool :-" are pretty cruel for a couple of people that made a mistake and had to call for help. If I read the story correctly, they walked back to their car and were uninjured. It may be a good object lesson, but I'm disappointed in the casual cruelty of the comments. As a community, we can be better.

I have to agree. While the guys that were rescued made poor decisions, it's not a justification for us to be harsh or cruel. Reminds me of this quote I've seen a few times:
"Sometimes you need to be kind to others, not because they are nice, but because you are."

[HooKooDooKu]

I have to agree. While the guys that were rescued made poor decisions, it's not a justification for us to be harsh or cruel. Reminds me of this quote I've seen a few times:
"Sometimes you need to be kind to others, not because they are nice, but because you are."

I understand the sentiment, and it most definitely applies when people "make mistakes".

But I also understand the sentiment expressed by cmoulder:

So, how idiotic and irresponsible does someone have to be to earn your derision?

Take the case of the woman who got lost in Great Smokey Mountains a few years ago while on a day hike out to Andrews Bald.
I still don't understand how the story ended in tragedy given the number of mistakes required to get things to go the way they did.
But nobody acted foolish. It was a short day hike on a very popular trail in relatively mild conditions. So it took "A Series of Unfortunate Events" and decisions for that story to end in tragedy.

But these guys made foolish decisions from the start.
What they attempted was a task that, for the inexperienced, was doomed to end in failure. They were fortunate that just enough went right that they survived.

[gpburdelljr]

I understand the sentiment, and it most definitely applies when people "make mistakes".

But these guys made foolish decisions from the start.
What they attempted was a task that, for the inexperienced, was doomed to end in failure. They were fortunate that just enough went right that they survived.

Maybe they just made the mistakes they did simply because they were inexperienced. If they ever make the same mistake again, then it would be justifiable to label them as foolish, or irresponsible. We’ve all made mistakes, some of them pretty foolish in retrospect, and hopefully learned from them.

[Toolshed]

Y'all are pretty harsh in your judgement. I mean, "Darwin Award was Interrupted..." and "LOL, yep still in the gene pool :-" are pretty cruel for a couple of people that made a mistake and had to call for help. If I read the story correctly, they walked back to their car and were uninjured. It may be a good object lesson, but I'm disappointed in the casual cruelty of the comments. As a community, we can be better.

None of these comments are harsher than the luck of the draw of not finding a cell signal. These two were balls-on lucky. I'd like to know the mindset of those that go out with minimal food/water and no overnight equipment in deep snow in 4k' mountain ranges in true winter conditions with no turn-a-round time. What mindset continues to limp/trudge through the deep snowpack after realizing they will in no way make thier target. They were in quicksand before they started and never even realized it - only going deeper as time passed that day. I stand by my comment that Darwin was interrupted - The truth and the facts can sometimes be cruel, Bob. Deal with it.

[Raid]

Y'all are pretty harsh in your judgement. I mean, "Darwin Award was Interrupted..." and "LOL, yep still in the gene pool :-" are pretty cruel for a couple of people that made a mistake and had to call for help. If I read the story correctly, they walked back to their car and were uninjured. It may be a good object lesson, but I'm disappointed in the casual cruelty of the comments. As a community, we can be better.
I agree. There may be more to this story, the media doesn't always tell it correctly. Even if it is accurate, its this type of condemnation that makes people unwilling to try new things. Or to reach out to "experts" and ask for advice. I also understand that rescuers were put in danger and there may be a cost to the tax payers for this, but I don't think we need to continue to bash these people. I think its more helpful to also provide some advice, some of what was posted here. Such as, don't just carry what you think you need for a day hike, carry something for overnight also, just in case. That make sense, now take it one step further, it would be nice to see discussion on what a person might take for an emergency overnight.


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