[pct-l] Re: Hikers Rescued thanks to Cell Phone

[blisterfree at isp01.net (Brett)]

>>"Next time, maybe we'll be  more prepared, more ready for 
>>the
unexpected," Krier  said.<<

MAYBE?! Somebody oughta slap that guy silly.

New term for dummies in the woods: newspaper boys. Do 
something stupid, get your story delivered to everybody's 
front step.

- bf.

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----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Lonetrail@aol.com>
To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2005 1:02 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Re: Hikers Rescued thanks to Cell Phone


>
> In a message dated 1/9/2005 9:36:06 AM Pacific Standard 
> Time, Lonetrail
> writes:
>
>
> Hikers  recall near-death trek through snowy forest
>
> By Quintin Cushner -  Staff Writer
> 1/6/05 As they trudged through thigh-high snow in Los 
> Padres  National
> Forest, with too little clothing for the weather, Joel 
> Degner  and
> Nathan Krier knew they had to keep moving.
>
> The two Santa Maria  men, who were suffering from severe 
> cold and
> exhaustion, feared they  would die if they stopped.
>
> Their ordeal, which they recounted  Wednesday, began 
> Tuesday morning as
> a carefree hike into the forest to  spot some waterfalls. 
> It ended late
> that night with the pair being  rescued and taken to a 
> hospital by
> helicopter.
>
> "My biggest fear is  dying alone in the wilderness," 
> Degner said. "We
> knew we had to at least  make it to the road so we would 
> be found."
>
> Degner, 22, and Krier, 24  - buddies from their years at 
> Righetti High
> School - started out at the  Cachuma Saddle, about 10 
> miles east of
> Santa Ynez, and walked along  McKinley Road.
>
> After several hours, they decided to get off the road  and 
> hike down to
> the Manzana River. Using maps compiled by Degner, the  two 
> followed the
> river to the east before taking the unmaintained Big  Cone 
> Spruce trail
> up to McKinley Mountain.
>
> To the men's dismay,  the trail was covered with about 
> three feet of snow.
>
> "It felt like  the longest hike," Krier said. "I was just 
> trying to
> conserve and keep  warm."
>
> The men took three hours to travel about a mile through 
> the  snow at an
> elevation of about 5,000 feet.
>
> Degner was wearing  shorts, and because his bare legs were 
> numbed by
> the snow, he often lost  his balance. Both men said they 
> fell into
> sharp bushes and shrubs along  the rugged trail.
>
> The cell phone they carried didn't work in the  forest 
> canyons. Their
> only hope, they believed, was to find reception on  a road 
> near the
> mountain's ridge so they could call for help.
>
> When  they did reach the road connecting McKinley Mountain 
> back to
> Cachuma  Saddle, both were exhausted and very cold. Degner 
> was almost
> incoherent,  suffering from severe hypothermia - a 
> potentially fatal
> lowering of the  body's core temperature.
>
> Luckily, their cell phone worked. They  dialed 9-1-1 about 
> 8:30 p.m.,
> and walked slowly down the road to stay  warm while help 
> arrived.
>
> Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue team  members 
> responded, and
> were able to drive through mud and snow to find  the 
> hikers about 9:40
> p.m.
>
> Once they were located, the search and  rescue team 
> directed a
> helicopter from Ventura County to airlift Degner  and 
> Krier to Goleta
> Valley Cottage Hospital.
>
> Degner's temperature  at the hospital was measured at 90 
> degrees, while
> Krier's was 96. Both  were released early Wednesday. The 
> two said they
> were grateful to the  emergency personnel who saved their 
> lives.
>
> "They hiked a long way in  very cold conditions," said 
> Nelson Trichler,
> Search and Rescue incident  commander. "If (Degner) didn't 
> have his
> cell phone it wouldn't have been  a rescue. It would have 
> been a (body)
> recovery."
>
> Degner, a recent  UCSB graduate, and Krier, a student at 
> Chaminade
> University in Honolulu,  said they likely would hike again 
> soon.
>
> "Next time, maybe we'll be  more prepared, more ready for 
> the
> unexpected," Krier  said.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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