Like you when I carry a water bottle I carry one that is steel, has a wide mouth with a completely removable top, and then wire up the bottle lip with two wire loops so that I can easily use it over a fire. Its a small improvisation but remarkably useful when I do not carry or cannot carry a pot.

Stainless 27 oz Klean Kanteen goes with me most everywhere.

I bought a FastFind PLB awhile ago. Of course I carry the normal stuff, but for its size and cost, I can't imagine not having it along.

I am in Maine at the moment. I hike the family woods (a VERY large lumber plantation) and am amazed at how often I am out of range of the many and various other communication systems.

Every time I hear another story like the one above, I think of that candy bar sized package on my belt.

Nomad.

It kind of surprised me that they had so little in firemaking materials, even after taking the survival class.

Not only do you need to make a spark, but you need to keep it going long enough to start the fire, as they discovered. Would they have died except for the dumb luck of having a tube of flammable glue with them? Maybe.

And one emergency blanket for two people? Pretty skimpy.

Extra socks! Extra socks!

A few extra things in their pockets would have made all the difference in the world.

How many times have we heard the same old thing: "We were only going out for a few hours"? How many more times will we hear it?

Sue

The article specifically states that fire making kit - type not specified - was usually part of their kit, but forgotten.



Many, many times... I think "short day hikes" into wilderness is a high risk category because that's when you leave most of the gear behind. It takes dedication to put together a "day hike emergency kit" which is small enough to fit into your favorite daypack and still functional enough when you need it for a night or two. I think too many people wear PSK's and space blankets like they are magical talismans. Better than nothing, but only slightly.


I wanted to let a a list of comments and questions simmer a bit in my mind before posting. There are lessons to be learned here - and those lessons DO NOT in any way lessen their splendid performance when stuck soaking wet in that blizzard of theirs:

• Failure to leave a game plan. Big no-no.
• PLB. I don't carry one, but this predicament is exactly the reason why they are recommended.
• A minor failure in preparation (lack of fire starting kit) can have fatal consequences. Kudos for improvising.
• Clothing. They were soaking wet after 4 hours of walking and sliding down the snow covered mountain in a blizzard. What kind of clothing did they wear? I won't label their clothing as "inappropriate" because I am in no position to say that they should have prepared for 4 hours of snow bashing.
• More clothing - or as Susan says: Dry socks. Having extra (wool) socks and possibly (wool) undergarments can be a life saver. Keep the extra's nice and dry until you stop moving.
• I know for a fact that the bivy bag I carry would have made their shelter building A LOT easier, both as a bivy bag and used as a lean-too windbreak / fire reflector. That being said, it seems they put their meager little space blanket to the very best use, making optimal use of every skill they've learned on that survival course and otherwise. Me, I hate space blankets and prefer quick and easy - but that comes with a weight and volume penalty.
• In their situation, they were right about getting off the naked mountain and into the forest (which is more sheltered, gives you firewood and materials for construction). But what if you can't find your way down? It is a scenario you should consider in your "what-if" thinking.
• (EDIT) A GPS. May or may not been helpful. Switching on your GPS in near total whiteout conditions (such as your average snow storm) may not be that productive. If you have logged the trip up you may or may not be able to retrace your steps - depending on exactly how much visibility you've got and how much margin for error you've got. My guess is that if they had a GPS switched on all the time they would have been able to backtrack their steps during periods of "not total whiteout" conditions (they were, after all, able to spot the patch of trees). Knowing you can do that gives you an incentive to stay put until you have just the bare minimum visibility to crawl back the way you came. But if the GPS is OFF until you need it you don't have the option of backtracking. Then it is all in the hands of how accurately you can use whatever map that's in the GPS or in your map case together with the GPS accuracy. In the mountains, there are lots of places where the margin for error is less than 5 feet. Forget about negotiating that based on recreational GPS systems alone.

EDIT: Added my small rant about GPS...

One of my instructors, a big Linux guy and old-school networker, is famous for saying, "First make it work, then make it pretty." Well, it wasn't pretty but they did make it work! They made some major mistakes (not leaving an itinerary, failure to wear proper clothing and carry a good fire kit, etc) but kudos for keeping their heads and using the training. They caught a bit of luck but if you keep your cool you can often make your own luck.

This definitely drives home the importance of giving your gear a thorough check before hitting the trail. How many times have you ever swiped some ibuprofen or bandages from your FAK because it was closer than the medicine cabinet or you were out, thinking to replace it later? Well, did you? I've occasionally raided my FAK and forgot to immediately replace it. So far I've never neglected replacing something and needing urgently, and hopefully I'll be diligent enough to avoid it in the future.

<snip>
In addition to the PLB I mentioned above, I ALWAYS carry a GPS. I get out of the vehicle, turn it on, wait till it becomes active and mark the vehicle location. Then, leaving it on, I replace it in its belt pouch. Works just fine there.

I have been hiking these Maine woods for over 40 years now. Everyplace still looks like everyplace else. Very easy to get a bit disoriented and walk the wrong way.

After years of doing this, I have a very good idea about where the GPS will work and where it won't.

It is not the only navigation aid I carry, but I always carry it. Like the PLB, it gives great comfort should I need it. And because I am sure Murphy lives in these woods, having the track back to the car is always appreciated. Especially if I have to give the GPS to someone else so they can get back to my vehicle (with its company radio, parked in a spot that will hit our repeater) to summon assistance.

Nomad

Day hikes are the perfect opportunity to play with a GPS and practice using PSK's. Some folks don't like GPS tho' so . . . one reason I'm not fond of PSK's that are packaged like Christmas presents -- Do not open until Christmas morning so you can be surprised. I prefer some of those survival tools/items to be EDC users with maybe a Christmas present for new spares. What's in your pockets? Knife, lighter, LED flashlight. . .

If they had had good luck I would not have ever heard about it.

Assuming you meant hadn't had good luck ... yes, they were lucky to be heard by anyone at all. They were lucky not to slide off a cliff. And so on.

But luck favors the prepared:



Being able to call out for help at all after a night out in the snow was not luck at all - that was training, attitude, skills and a lot of hard work.


The simplest thing that would have eliminated most of the need to depend on "luck" in their little misadventure is filing a game plan.


After a game plan, a PLB - but like them, I don't carry one (yet), so who am I to argue?

Bringing a GPS is debatable - a great tool, but expecting a successful GPS assisted return under the conditions they were in (snowy weather=poor visibility on a mountain ridge) is questionable - although probably doable if you wait for moments of "just enough" visibility to negotiate the tricky parts. And having the unit ON so you can backtrack makes a huge difference (but does not totally eliminate the need to SEE where you are going in steep terrain). I say you need skills and training - and a bit of luck - to do that.


Then, of course, there are ways to improve the odds of "luck" happening. Such as a whistle.


Increasing the comfort level (better clothing, bivy bag and so on) actually translates to increased odds of living yet another day. Which again increases the odds of "luck" happening.