[pct-l] when to help

[Tortoise73 at charter.net (Tortoise)]

In a case like this, ones makes the best decision and judgement one can 
with very limited information.

Old Sierra Club outings guideline (if my memory is correct) is to wait 
until mid-morning the next day before launching a search. But since she 
was so punctual, etc. I can understand you're being more concerned. Now 
we know why she is so single and alone. ;-) Also why wasn't she more 
explicit and instructive about exactly where to rendezvous?

When I backpacked alone or almost alone, I left my itinerary with my 
neighbor and instructed them that if they hadn't heard from me by one 
day after my planned return, to launch the search. I also carried a day 
or two of extra food in case I was delayed.

JoAnn M. Michael wrote:
> I hesitate to bring this to the attention of the List, but, what the heck.
> 
> My husband and I were hosting (second year in a row) a section hiker (only one section left to complete the entire trail) here in northern California. We dropped her off at Hat Creek Resort where she started her trip north to I-5 and Soda Creek Road. We helped her re-supply at Burney Falls State Park where I joined her with plans of being on the trail for four days. I had to leave the trail (damn) after only 2 days. Last I saw her was on Red Mountain above Lake Britton.
> 
> Her car is at our home; her re-supply box; and her car keys. She's single and no one else had her trail trip plans. She is proud she manages her food so well and allots a specific amount of food, exactly, for a specific number of days. When we met her at Burney Falls she was some what agitated that we were 30 minutes late, per her calculations. The weather was hot and continued to be in the very high 90's for many days.
> 
> We were to meet her at Grizzly Peak Road for her next re-supply. It took approximately 2.5 hours to go about 40 miles. We were grateful we had 4-wheel drive for the last section. We arrived at where the trail crosses the road and settled in for a wait. After four hours, she hadn't arrived. Very unlike her...she usually arrives at the appointed location exactly on time. She was due between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. We stayed till 8:30 p.m. I hiked about 2 miles down the trail and never came across her. We always bring an ice chest with drinks and treats for the hiker to refresh. In this case there was also a foot long Subway sandwich.
> 
> We left the ice chest in the middle of the trail with a note written right on it giving our phone numbers (she didn't have them) and that we were concerned about a particular hiker.
> 
> We got home close to 11:00 p.m. and called the Sheriff's Office in Shasta County to report a missing hiker? The question is, did we over react in making a report? The next day a helicopter spotted her and we were advised she was basically okay. There was a miscommunication and we each were waiting at two different locations. She felt strongly we over reacted and should have waited 2 to 3 days before reporting her missing.
> 
> Feed back please.
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