[pct-l] Lost hiker found

[PNW Hiker]

On Thu, Apr 5, 2012 at 1:11 AM, shon mcganty <smcganty at yahoo.com> wrote:

> ... I know little of the details, but am I correct that this hiker was not
> "lost" as the media reports?  And he wasn't "found," but turned around due
> to snow, making the safe and rational decision not to hike beyond his
> abilities...
>

No, he wasn't lost, just turned back by the snow, and his cell phone
battery was dead, (there wasn't much cell coverage in the area anyway).

I saw the rescue searchers on foot stop at the county line going up the
mountain. They need to recruit some PCT hiker volunteers who aren't stopped
by county lines and give them a radio.

I saw the S&R helecopter miss the hiker while it was flying up Mission
Creek - I had to point and signal and wave, eventually scrawling a message
in the sand - they 'found' him a half hour later. Again, in this case, a
hiker on the ground would have been better, faster and less expensive.

Thank you rescue workers for your good work - please don't take my
criticism as negative or malicious.