[pct-l] why close the burn areas?

[dsaufley]

Technically, Jane & Flicka did not die on the trail, they were sobo thrus
who died on Highway 138 while headed in for a resupply, hit by a driver that
drifted off the road. I know of several deaths on trail:  in 1999, Dr. John
Lowder, fell off New Army Pass, headed off the PCT into Lone Pine.  His legs
were broken in the fall, but it was the shock that killed him. Had he not
been hiking alone, or if he'd been on a more highly used pass, there may
have been hope for him.  In 2005 there was John Donovan, who got lost in the
San Jacintos and died from hypothermia. 

It gets difficult to distinguish when we hear of a "PCT" hiker in trouble in
the press. The vast majority of the time, that does NOT mean thru hikers.
Instead, they may be day, weekenders, or section hikers, or merely using the
PCT to get from one place to another.  

In 2006 an apparent section hiker (not a nobo thru) died of dehydration and
heat exhaustion in the desert region south of Kennedy Meadows. His body was
found with two empty litre bottles; it was mid-July.  A few years ago, there
was also another non-thru, a young lady out for a backpack, who was swept
away in one of the PNW fords. There was some reason to believe that the fact
she had not unbuckled her pack while fording was contributory to her
drowning. 

These are all sad facts to remember. 

L-Rod


-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com
Sent: Sunday, April 11, 2010 9:17 PM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] why close the burn areas?


On Apr 11, 2010, at 9:05 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> I can name off the top of my head two people who have died on the  
> trail, not from natural causes.

Did they die from falling chamise, manzanita, pine or oak trees as  
they walked through a burn zone?




Books I've written:
~ Piper's Flight
~ Adventure and Magic
~ Santa Barbara Hikes
http://stores.lulu.com/dianesoini

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