[pct-l] PCT Thru hiker rescued....

[dsaufley]

I finally saw Mr. Burnett's revision down at the bottom of all the comments,
and saw where he stated the hiker was a PCT hiker, and thus where that bit
of information came from.  I couldn't verify the hiker's name in our
register, but then, many sign only with their trail name, and many jump on
at Kennedy Meadows.  It's curious all the same; the overwhelming majority of
intended thru-hikers passed through pretty early this year after which the
numbers dropped like a rock, and it appears that the Heitman's in Old
Station have seen most of "The Herd" already.  Added, I recall the trail to
Merced Lake as off the JMT, before you hit  Little Yosemite Valley and the
trail to Half Dome. and drop into Yosemite Valley.  Still, the hiker in
question may indeed have  been hiking a distance on the PCT, with or without
the goal of getting to Canada. 

 

I always like to think of the PCT thru-hikers as being better prepared and
more experienced than the average backpacker, but reality doesn't exactly
match my expectation/perception in every case, to put it nicely.  Perhaps
it's just that we have to know our limitations, and this gentleman found the
boundary where his abilities end the hard way.  I'm glad he and all of the
brave and selfless rescue workers came out of this incident okay.

 

L-Rod

 

From: jmy09 at aol.com [mailto:jmy09 at aol.com] 
Sent: Sunday, July 26, 2009 2:09 PM
To: dsaufley at sprynet.com; pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] PCT Thru hiker rescued....

 

Sorry, I may have mis-stated that he was a PCT Thru hiker but it was stated
in a follow up that he was on a long-distance hike on the Pacific Crest
Trail. I don't know for sure because I was not the one
that wrote the article for the National Parks Traveler, but Jim Burnett is
the writer/owner, the following is his comment to his article (he is a
retired NPS ranger of 30 years).
The incident took place on July 15. I wanted to share what I read and what
was being said about a "long distance PCT hiker". 




Jim Burnett <http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/users/jimb> 


Anonymous -

Thanks for your comment about climbing in Yosemite. You raised some
interesting questions, so I made a call to the park and got a few more
details on this specific situation. I'll amend the story slightly for
clarification, as described below.

The man is making a long-distance hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, so he's
in good condition and has some outdoor skills. He's done a little climbing
in the eastern U.S. - but apparently nothing of the caliber of Yosemite. I'd
note that the definition of a "climber" is a very subjective one!

This particular situation sounds like an "impulse" activity. The man left
his pack for his long-distance hike at the base of a nearly vertical wall
that is about 1,000 feet high, and was free climbing with no protection; he
was wearing hiking boots.

The good news? After he was rescued, the man was described as being very
subdued and grateful; the reality of his close call had apparently sunk it
by the time he was safely on the ground. 

Given the tricky winds described in the story, I'm very thankful this
situation ended safely for everyone, including the pilot and the rescuers.
Those flying conditions made this rescue even riskier than usual, and was
another testimony to the skills of those involved.

All of us learn by experience, so I trust this was a lesson learned by this
individual. Perhaps at least a few people who heard about this incident will
also think twice before attempting something similar. 

 

 


Janis-Garnet Turtle



-----Original Message-----
From: Donna "L-Rod" Saufley <dsaufley at sprynet.com>
To: jmy09 at aol.com; pct-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Sat, Jul 25, 2009 8:22 am
Subject: Re: [pct-l] PCT Thru hiker rescued....

I may have missed the original message, but why does the subject of this
message 






say "PCT Thru Hiker?"  All of the thrus are well north of Yosemite now
(close to 






or in Oregon).  The PCT/JMT does not go by Merced Lake.  The vast majority
of 






hikers out there in the news are NOT PCT thru hikers.  Was there a previous 






message confirming that this guy was on his way to Canada on the PCT?  Or,
is he 






just another Darwin Award nominee displaying his qualifications out on a
trail?













L-Rod



























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