Retracing the last steps of the Toronto man who walked into the woods near Huntsville and didn’t come out alive.

This person and event was previously discussed in this thread here (which was locked by the sheriff...and for good reasons)

This new article here today brings forth more information on Richard Code's final hours and makes for an interesting read.

Hopefully this thread's comments do not get carried away and have to be locked by the sheriff...

So many paople were quick to condemn/mock him (not this forum specifically), not so easy to do when you know the detail is it.

Thanks for posting this - very revealing.

Thanks Teslin.
I went back and read my comments in the previous thread again after reading the article.
My comments can stand.

Reading the article and the old thread (I won't feed anymore trolls... I promise!) it seems our collective initial estimates were pretty spot on.

No extra insulation (sleeping bag and so on) means you'll freeze to death unless you get that fire going. Which is not a task you should underestimate - the more you need it, the harder it is to make one.

A headlamp is not on the equipment list. Gathering firewood in the dark is close to impossible without a headlamp.

It was real grim to read the detailed description of how he struggled with no snow shoes. Skis would not be an option for him because those take much more practice. The article seems pretty much spot on about how hard it is to make progress in deep snow and what that will do to your clothes. The next opportunity I will test my favorite backup plan for snow shoes (a spruce bough about 3 feet long, lashed to your foot). I'm pretty confident that will work, but untested it is just vapor ware.

Which leads me to the subject of gaiters... the article does not go into that much detail of his clothing. Anyway, gaiters or the lack thereof is just a notch on the misery scale. (It could also be that his pants formed a good seal over his boots so he wouldn't need gaiters - we don't know).


This article was probably one of the best and detailed I've ever seen about such events. Thanks for posting it.

It's curious that this went so badly despite his having so much experience. The article mentions over 6 previous trips, with him studying and learning from each one.

Thanks Teslinhiker for posting this new information. The article is excellent and reveals some details about a mans survival skills, but much more about the human psyche.

Thanks for the post. It provides thoughtful information about this tragic situation.

He had a campsite in mind but his timing was off. He should have camped the first night at or near the point he turned off the snowmobile trail -- 20/20 hindsight on my part. RIP

Though the article does not delve into what Code's experiences were on those previous trips. I can tell you from personal experience that over the last 30 years, I have spent weeks and months in the outdoors learning bushcraft and I still haven't got it all figured out.

As with most cases of people dying out in the wildnerness, it is never one sole mistake that cost them their life, rather a series of events that lead up to it. This is what I always keep in mind when venturing out...

To me, what was most striking in the article was the last paragraph:

Whether a tent would have saved Mr. Code is a question no one would be asking had he only made it another 800 metres over open ground to the trailer park at the south end of Bear Lake. The resort, which was visible from where Mr. Code started his trip, was empty and cold, but the pay phone was working.


This serves to remind us that even when potential help is so close, you might as well be on the moon...