I'm not quite as cynical as Sue but after reading that story, wow. Calling them stumps is an insult to stumps.

I'm sure that some of you have heard about how experience is counted, to some people having a years experience and simply repeating it allows them to claim "20 years of experience in X,Y, or Z..." in this case it sounds more like about one days worth of "experience" repeated over the course of 20 years.

How does an "experienced" hiker go to a hike without a light? Without a compass? Without apparently any freakin common sense?

The saddest part is that if these two brainiacs had died, I have no doubt that their obits would read something like this, " Mountain claims the lives of 2 experienced hikers..."

Unfreakinbelievable...the only bright side, it keeps the local SAR teams up on their training and provides job security for EMT's like me.

John E.