Very good and detailed article on a hiking trip gone wrong and the subsequent rescue.

These 2 people made many mistakes and had they not been fortunate to encounter some other hikers, the final outcome may of been much worse.

Robert Okey and his brother John Okey, who was visiting from England, had been looking forward to climbing up through Ape Cave — and they weren’t worried about a little bit of snow.

Before the day was over, however, the brothers found themselves soaked, exhausted and chilled to the core. It took the efforts of a well-prepared group of fellow hikers and the skills and equipment of an experienced mountain rescue team to get them safely home again.

A much shorter discussion would be a summary of what they did right. They were darn lucky.

Lucky is right.

It's almost like they were trying to die or something.

I don't buy into the idea of carrying 60 pounds of crap on my back on a day hike, but going out in the cold and snow in shorts? No water at all?

And a 400 pound guy is going to walk on snow where he is able to sink up to his shoulders and he is too stubborn to just go back to the cave?

When ia first read the artical I was shocked that they started this endevor, there was no account for there equipment, but shorts with gators. They were very lucky to have happened upon the 4 helpful people that called 911.

There cotton clothing was doing them no favors..


Cave rescue is a very technical thing if the person being rescued is not able to help them selves. The fact that they could re-heat the boththers was a stroke of luck, and great planning on the rescuers part.

Being a prepaired hiker sometimes make you the "first responder" and that group of friends did a great job.

The diabetic brother should have been better prepaired. being 400 pounds and type 2 diabetic shoujld have caused him to re-think things and consider what he would need more carefuly.

As far as Prepared is Concerned,Robert & John are Definitely NOT "Okay"!

Not to knock the 4 hikers, for they knew what to do and did save these mens' lives, but they appear not to have been very well prepared for the weather and location either (although this could be a function of the filter of the press). One pair of dry socks for 4 of them? One t-shirt, an overshirt and a sweater as extra clothing for 4 (and some of this may have been clothes they were wearing)! No hot drinks, stove or snacks (not to include a meal) at 4pm with at least a 2 hour walk in the cold back to transportation.

Again, I applaud them for their knowledge, well applied, but they were set up for needing rescue themselves if a problem had occurred for them and this was their level of preparation.

May this help us all to be better prepared!

Respectfully,

Jerry

I usually dispense with chemical hand warmers. Maybe I should reconsider that. They sure came in handy in this case.

I do notice that the rescuers used a stove. A bit interesting inasmuch as they were in a cave. I guess it must be well ventilated. I'd be worried about carbon monoxide. Of course some stoves have very low emission rates.

HJ

i was thinking the same thing. the blind leading the blinder. i'm glad it worked out well.

They did not seem prepared to do a rescue. But when I go out on a day hike I am not carrying an extra 10 or 20 pounds of crap with me on the off chance I run across someone who needs help.

I don't even bring a stove or food with me most of the time. If I bring food it is something I can snack on like peanuts or jerky. I have been considering some kind of heating appliance though. It would be nice to be able to heat up some water for hot coffee or tea out on the trail sometimes.

I may throw some chemical hand warmers in the pack though. That sounds like a good idea.

I did not get the waterproof footwear issue the article mentioned. Walking in snow that is several feet deep is going to result in snow getting in your footwear when the top of your foot sinks below the top of the snow. In any case walking in deep snow is a lot of work and whatever water was in their shoes might have come from sweat.

I would caution people not to read too much into the preparation of the 4 other hikers. The article in no way said that their supplies were limited to "one pair of dry socks", etc. It just says that’s what they gave him - the 400 lb man. I don't know about you but even in my wildest dreams could my spare clothing fit a guy that size. Again with hot drinks/sacks, etc. - the article left out identifying and detailing the number of items that the 4 other hikers were carrying except to generalize. "Tanaka and his three friends, who carried extra clothing, heat packs and food, were well-prepared and equipped, not only for their own plans but also for what happened, Schutts said." This story's focus is about the 2 brothers NOT the 4 hikers.

Ape Cave (I've hiked it 4yrs ago, btw) is a lava tube not a classic cave, about 2.4 miles long with the main entrance in the middle and at the head of the upper end of the tube (which is where the drama was). The lower end of the tube is basically a flat floor and is a piece of cake to walk. The upper end of the tube consists of fallen lava blocks. It's a fair bit of up and down scrambling and hard on your limbs which is why they were leery of backtracking through the tube. The tube is a pretty constant temperature in the mid-40's with high humidity. The trail from the upper entrance to the main entrance is less than 1.5 miles and is clearly marked in the milder months. But considering the heavy snow pack in the area it would be almost obscured. To hike the tube takes about 45 min for the lower end and about 2 hrs for the upper end. The entrance to the cave is expressly signed that the hikers ARE NOT to bring food stuffs OR hiking staffs OR leave any debris that may be left behind and damage the ecology of the cave OR bring pets OR have open flames. You are also not to defecate or urinate in the cave so facilities are provided above ground. You are NOT to touch the walls lest you damage the ecology of the cave slime.

When I hiked it (in the summer at the height of tourist season) my supplies consisted of my 10# day pack, spare clothing including long johns, gloves and head wear, jacket, snack and water, survival kit and FAK. I wore my boots, long light pants, 2 shirts, Tilley and carried a camera and 3 light sources with extra batteries. You can also rent lanterns as a light source (not sure about winter months). I carried stuff for me, not to rescue other people in the cave.