This lost hiker and SAR give a summary of what transpired after the hiker got lost and attempted to find his way out. Many mistakes made here by the hiker, luckily though he is alive to talk about it.

DesOrmeaux had been dropped off by a friend and planned on hiking from Echo Summit to Emerald Bay. A day over his projected time in Desolation Wilderness, he was off his course by miles.

“I've navigated through that area a couple times in the winter, so I figured I'd be good, but I've never done it this late in the spring when everything is melting,” he said. “I didn't even realize I was lost or off my path until a day after I was (supposed to return).”

Good link Teslin, thanks.

"“Things that you planned on aren't always going to happen, but definitely be prepared for anything,” DesOrmeaux said Wednesday during a midnight hike near Twin Peaks. For which, he didn't bring a flashlight."

Aw jeez, not this again...

Dolt.

He stopped on a granite knoll and made camp. He had the means to start a fire. He was out in the open where the fire could be seen from the air.

STOP MOVING, STUPID! Just park yourself there and wait.

But no, he had to keep moving to dig himself in deeper.

Not exactly a hiker's role model.

Sue

Pretty major navigation fail. I'm a big bug about nav for exactly this reason: a lot of problems can be stopped before they start if you can stay on course.

Weird idea though to abandon one's gear. Doesn't sound smart at all in that respect. Glad he had enough smarts to get himself out alive.

HJ

gps. Cheap, small, useful. Get one today.

classic dumb/smart. smart enough to live, dumb enought to get into a self-created life threatening scenario

I listened to this once in a conversation about navigation. no S.

HIM:"I got lost and just just started dead reckoning east towards town, so I just followed the sun all day long."

ME:"How long were you lost before (arbitrarily) following the sun?"

HIM: "About an hour. We hiked to a lake, got there late, the next morning at sunrise we walked to the other side to fish and I fell asleep. When I woke up they were gone so waited around an hour. When they didn't show up, I started following the sun east. Walked about 6 hours and right before dark I ran into a hiker who pointed me to the road. Got there, saw a ranger and took me back to the camp we had."

ME: Why didn't you just walk back around the lake to your camp?"

HIM: (long pause. Swig of beer)"In hindsite, that would have made more sense. But I still had my fishing pole, I could have caught some fish to eat?"

ME: "And cook it with what?"

HIM: "Raw man. Eat like sushi. C'mon, thats easy"

The problem today is that youngsters today haven't been given the skills to to find out where they are using a map and compass. They simply become discombobulated dudes. In my day you were shown how to perform a 3 point resection, blindfolded and put in the back of a covered flat bed truck, transported to a desolate location then told to make your way back home. This was in the days before such navigational luxuries such as GPS. We only had 3 TV channels way back then.

The link isn't working for me. Did he seriously go on a multi-day hike with no flashlight, leave his gear behind and NOT start a signal fire when he could have?

Come on now. You're pulling my leg. Right, Duuuudes?

He had a map and compass. Apparently he didn't use them or doesn't know how to use them.

Did he ever explain WHY he was on that tiny island in the first place? And if he skied onto the island, why couldn't he ski off of it but had to strip down and SWIM in ice cold water to get off the island. "In truth, he was dangerously confused." No kidding! I've heard some people loose their orientation and get a bit delirious while out in the woods but this must have happened very early in his excursion.

"Yet, having a plan, sufficient supplies, a map, compass and the will to survive were things that he did correctly, (Incident Commander) Almos added."
-- Unhuh... OK... sure.... That's why he abandoned most of his supplies? I can't agree with his assessment of the situation. That was surprisingly generous of him to say that.

Well in my day we were flown TO THE MOON and had to find our way back barefoot! It was uphill both ways!

...and we were grateful.

Some people are only still alive due to luck and the good graces of others.

Sounds like the guy has good bushcraft skills but isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer overall.

HJ

Sounds more to me like the guy had his "ten Essentials" without the operating manual. He is fortunate to have survived. He did one major thing correctly, he had friends that knew his plan and they notified the SAR folks. Probably the most effective survival thing anyone going out can do in advance. Especially if they have limited knowledge of nav and/or survival techniques.

Lesson was apparently not completely learned though if he was out again without a flashlight. If you are an ounce counter, the LED headlights of today are really light! Makes map reading much easier at night. Well, I guess his map reading skills were the same day or night (without a light), he still couldn't figure out where he was. Glad he is ok though, hope he learns from all this.

Seriously, Jackie, one of my chickens would have done better than this guy!

He decides to go on a two-day hike. Despite carrying a map and compass (which he apparently doesn't know how to use), he gets lost. And not just a little lost.

He comes to a lake and decides to cross it to get to the other side, but it's the wrong lake. He abandons his "skis, skins, backpack and the rest of his supplies" on a tiny island (why or how he got to the island isn't mentioned).

So he takes off all his clothes, puts a few of them and some food in a dry-bag (with his compass and map, which seems fairly pointless), and crosses the lake pushing a log amid the chunks of ice!

By that time, he was off course by miles, and was on his fourth day of a two-day trip.

He climbed a peak to get his bearings, which was just as effective as using his map and compass, but he did stumble upon the Rubicon Off-Road Trail. Did he stay in the campground and signal for help? Of course not!

He kept going (hopefully toward his destination of Emerald Bay), but the trail turned into a river.

That night, he camped on the granite knoll and made a fire, heated rocks to stay warm. Here he was, out in the open, on a raised area, he could have stayed there, make a signal fire, and the let the people looking for him find him. There were multiple ground crews and two helicopters looking for him. Did he stay there? Nope!

"Meanwhile, DesOrmeaux had found his way back to the lake where he left his stuff." Translation: he had been walking in a circle. He also ran across a sign naming some lakes on his map, and realized how lost he was.

He found a cabin and rested there. Did he stay there and signal? What do you think?

At least by now, he sort of knew where he was, and was eventually picked up by the sheriff's dept. and taken home.

The last paragraph explains the flashlight:


I hope this guy doesn't rent out as a tour guide!

Sue

Wow. Talk about piling on. The guy got lost. Remind me not to sit around the campfire with this crowd.

Sounds like he was swimming in Lake Aloha.

Here is someone's photo of it.

http://www.markjs.com/page38/page45/files/page45-1012-full.html

I, and most people I know that have backpacked there, have tried to cross it by wading or swimming to save the 4 mile hike around. You can just see where
you want to go just a few dozen yards away if you follow all the
little peninsulas and islands!

As far as a compass goes, unless it is dark or foggy, you don't
need one as it is so open and so obvious where all the landmarks
are. A map and the ability to read it on the other hand---.

Ended well at least.

All the story needed was a little more humor and he could have sold it as National Lampoon's Vacation 8.

Sue

WOW! Dare I assume that he never once thought of "Hug a Tree"? Even my Beaver Scouts would know better! Sounds like a nasty combo of stubborn machismo and stupidity. If the flashlight part is serious, then he really should be nominated for a Darwin Award because he's one luck SOB!