#223364 - 05/11/11 01:06 AM
Re: Stranded for 49 days
[Re: dougwalkabout]
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Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3238
Loc: Alberta, Canada
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Everyone is entitled to their perspective. Personally, I shy away from categorizing people based on their particular mix of strengths vs. infirmities. As time goes by, I find I have an ample supply of each. (Also an ample supply of dumb luck, thank goodness.)
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#223444 - 05/12/11 03:58 AM
Re: Stranded for 49 days
[Re: dougwalkabout]
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Old Hand
Registered: 02/11/10
Posts: 778
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
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Another possibility is Mine shafts/vents,There are Literally 1000's of them in that particular area,The whole state of Nevada is Heavily mined,& Nevada has more Mountain ranges than any other state in the union,of which makes SAR Extremely difficult!
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#223448 - 05/12/11 05:42 AM
Re: Stranded for 49 days
[Re: dougwalkabout]
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Enthusiast
Registered: 11/12/10
Posts: 205
Loc: Australia
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Some interesting analysis going on here. I can speak from some personal experiences (embarrassingly), and the thing about this story (as with many other tragedies) is that from our arm chairs it is easy to spot where things have gone wrong, and easy to see what “should have” been done. I’m not criticising anyone, I think this is a very useful exercise
…. Just hang on a moment while I adjust my cushion …. now that’s better …
When you are actually in the situation, you often may not realize the first few mistake (eg inappropriate track, lack of food etc), and by the time the alarm bells start to ring you are already in a “situation”. At that point you need to be calm enough to make a decision about what to do, and depending on the information available, and your own experiences and personality you will either make, what turns out to be, a good or bad decision.
At the time (in this case probably cold and wet, tired and hungry, angry for getting to this point) you make the best decision available, and it will not be until later that you either laugh it off over dinner with friends, or make the headlines of the newspapers !
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#223460 - 05/12/11 11:49 AM
Re: Stranded for 49 days
[Re: Aussie]
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Old Hand
Registered: 01/28/10
Posts: 1174
Loc: MN, Land O' Lakes & Rivers ...
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Some interesting analysis going on here. I can speak from some personal experiences (embarrassingly), and the thing about this story (as with many other tragedies) is that from our arm chairs it is easy to spot where things have gone wrong, and easy to see what “should have” been done. I’m not criticising anyone, I think this is a very useful exercise
…. Just hang on a moment while I adjust my cushion …. now that’s better …
When you are actually in the situation, you often may not realize the first few mistake (eg inappropriate track, lack of food etc), and by the time the alarm bells start to ring you are already in a “situation”. At that point you need to be calm enough to make a decision about what to do, and depending on the information available, and your own experiences and personality you will either make, what turns out to be, a good or bad decision.
At the time (in this case probably cold and wet, tired and hungry, angry for getting to this point) you make the best decision available, and it will not be until later that you either laugh it off over dinner with friends, or make the headlines of the newspapers !
I think you hit the nail on the head. Depending on circumstances, almost any quick decision could turn out to be wrong. Even some considered decisions can turn sour...after all, there is a 50% divorce rate. This story calls into focus the need to always have a few survival essentials with you, especially knowledge. As Cody Lundin put it; "Knowledge is power and it's extremely lightweight".
_________________________
The man got the powr but the byrd got the wyng
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#223558 - 05/13/11 03:44 PM
Re: Stranded for 49 days
[Re: chaosmagnet]
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Enthusiast
Registered: 09/13/07
Posts: 378
Loc: SE PA
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The authorities in Nevada are getting concerned about travelers relying too much on GPS devices. From MSNBC. Had that happen to me once in NH in early spring when my GPS sent me on a back road with 12 inches of slush. Fortuneatly I was driving my AWD Subaru and got through with just white knuckles. The main road I turned off of was clear and dry.
_________________________
In a crisis one does not rise to one's level of expectations but rather falls to one's level of training.
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#223559 - 05/13/11 03:59 PM
Re: Stranded for 49 days
[Re: Andy]
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Enthusiast
Registered: 12/06/06
Posts: 390
Loc: CT
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The authorities in Nevada are getting concerned about travelers relying too much on GPS devices. From MSNBC. Had that happen to me once in NH in early spring when my GPS sent me on a back road with 12 inches of slush. Fortuneatly I was driving my AWD Subaru and got through with just white knuckles. The main road I turned off of was clear and dry. GPS: In 2007 we had two ESL drivers for a discount furniture warehouse drive a 28foot box truck--a mile and a half--down an abandoned road that was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. They got stuck (I know: you saw that coming), and it took six hours with a Kenworth wrecker to get them out. All us gringoes could think, was that must have looked like a good road, in the old country...
_________________________
Improvise,
Utilize,
Realize.
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#223621 - 05/14/11 06:36 PM
Re: Stranded for 49 days
[Re: dougwalkabout]
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Newbie
Registered: 12/15/06
Posts: 27
Loc: Oregon
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#223629 - 05/14/11 08:31 PM
Re: Stranded for 49 days
[Re: LazyJoe]
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Geezer
Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
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And Chretien did it at night, too... *rolly eyes* They still haven't found him. 911 tape highlights lost Canadian woman's plight You know, this would be the perfect way to murder someone without fear of retribution. People would just think you're really stupid. Murder by GPS. Oh, never mind that idea for a murder mystery, it's already been done: Murder by GPS Sue
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#223651 - 05/15/11 05:36 PM
Re: Stranded for 49 days
[Re: LazyJoe]
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Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3238
Loc: Alberta, Canada
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Thanks for the link. Some very interesting details in there. So he did this at night, while his wife was asleep? That hadn't been reported before. It begs some new questions about the string of bad/naive decisions. I wonder how much fatigue and get-there-itis played into this. I also wonder if a second pair of eyes may have influenced the decision-making process -- to say "I don't like this road" or notice that cell service had dropped out. Another thought: I wonder if driving this road in daylight might have provided more cues to set off "the little voice in the back of your head that tells you something isn't quite right." The condition and maintenance of the road, the increasingly rough terrain, the lack of other vehicle tracks, the fact that (IIRC) they were gaining a lot of elevation -- these things are much less obvious when you're in unfamiliar territory and all you see is what's in your headlights.
Edited by dougwalkabout (05/15/11 05:44 PM)
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#223661 - 05/15/11 09:58 PM
Re: Stranded for 49 days
[Re: dougwalkabout]
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Geezer
Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
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She didn't sleep through a rough road and getting stuck multiple times, I'll bet money on that. Either this guy is unbelievably stupid and incredibly stubborn, or something else is going on here. "Chretien's wife, Rita , 56, meticulously recorded his planned GPS route in her journal, including the turns he'd be forced to make negotiating the difficult terrain of the mountains and canyons, Prall said." From here Chretien and his GPS, working together, get themselves into a real mess. After thinking about it for three days, he decides to follow his ever-trusty GPS AGAIN. And his plan was to go cross-country, rather than just walking out the way they came in. If the road would accept a 2WD vehicle, a man could walk it. "'His intention was not to deviate' from the GPS course and to stay on U.S. Forest Service roads all the way to Mountain City, Nev." So why haven't they found him? Something is very strange here, veering into the Twilight Zone. I wonder if anyone has checked to see if he showed up in Las Vegas...? Sue
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