http://www.pressherald.com/2016/05/25/re...in-maine-woods/

She stepped off the trail for a bathroom break and got royally turned around. It's a good example of how important water and environmental protection is to survival. It's also an argument for a decent signalling system.

I suspect this is somewhat allied to the recent GPS thread. If you are following either a GPS or a trail blindly, and not paying attention to your surroundings, you can easily become confused. This unfortunate lady apparently was not well oriented to the terrain through which she was hiking.

She did almost everything wrong. So many simple things could have made it end differently.

She stayed put, which was the right choice. But, not allowing for poor navigation skills really did her in. Ironically, a whistle and a GPS, even something as simple as a Bushnell Backtrack, could have saved her.

No, not everything. She had her cell phone and sent out messages rather than calling. She sought out higher ground for cell reception. She managed the power on her phone and managed to keep it going for nearly 2 weeks. She stayed put and didn't wander off getting herself into bigger trouble. She set up her tent and waited. She set up a mylar blanket as a signal even though the woods were pretty dense. She appeared to have crafted a flag out of a branch and shirt and attempted to start a large fire, according to the newly released file, presumably to reveal her location. Largay built a latrine area away from her tent and kept wrappers from her dwindling food supply — Cliff bars, tuna fish packs, and Gatorade powder — tucked in a large Ziploc bag. Her final camp was near water so she was able to survive the extra 26 days. She had her husband as backup who was able to see her every couple of days along the trail. The site, located near a stream, was thoughtful and orderly. Largay built a platform of logs and pine boughs on which to pitch her tent. While at the site, she also used a small black composition book as a daily journal.

Her story is a sad one. But I see no reason to take her to task after her passing. Could she have done things different to stay alive - you bet.
Given her penchant for losing the trail and having her friend re-find her several times, she should have left the trail when her friend did. Later, (her friend) Ms. Lee would tell an investigator “that Geraldine had a poor sense of direction,” the Warden Service’s investigative report said. “Ms. Lee said that Geraldine had taken a wrong turn on the trail, more than once,” and Ms. Largay “became flustered and combative when she made these kinds of mistakes.” But after he reported his wife missing, Mr. Largay told an investigator that “Gerry was probably in over her head.” Her doctor would tell investigators that once she ran out of the medication she took for anxiety, she could suffer panic attacks.

But she trudged on, even after her friend tried to convince her otherwise because she was out there for the adventure. When most women her age would be content to be caring for grandkids or gardening she was out there experiencing.

Very sad but I am glad her mortal remains were found. It will be a great comfort for her family; even though the news is sad at least now they will know.

From what I understand from the article she estimates she hiked 3-4 miles away from her original location. Also, it states there was thick canopy coverage where she camped and no sign of a successful signal fire? This is not an attempt to criticize but to understand what could have been done differently. IMO this is a tragic yet valuable learning opportunity and reminder to always be prepared in the backcountry. I'd be interested to know for example what fire making implements she carried. Bic lighter? Ferro? Matches?


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morn...alachian-trail/


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/27/us/mising-hiker-geraldine-largay-appalachian-trail-maine.html?_r=0

It is not taking anyone to task for anything. She did not stay put. She did not stay oriented and lost the trail. She was not visible to rescuers. She went beyond her capabilities.

Simple skills and supplies or equipment would have saved her life. It is sad that people go into such situations with little or no preparation. We feel for her and the family, but we must learn from such events by being realistic about their mistakes.

Looking for a missing hiker when there is only an indefinite, vague area in which they were last seen is extremely challenging, since you automatically must cover many more miles. Interestingly, none of the reports mention any use of aerial resources, although it is hard to believe that none would have been used.

Hiker on a high point, a deployed mylar blanket, possibly even a fire would have made her rescue rather routine by a plane or helo.

Weather is described as rainy, which makes disorientation easy. She had a compass, but was not a competent user. She had left her Spot device in her last motel room. There is no mention of a map in her possession - that alone should have been enough for her to find the trail.

Sad, sad story. Do not rely too much on your cellphone....

I suspect that that going off-trail to answer the call of nature is a classic way to get turned around. It's so disarmingly simple and routine that you'd never expect to get into trouble. A lot of backpackers even leave their main packs beside the trail because, you know, they'll be right back.

Sadly, for this lady, it seems to me that a cascade of small and very human errors led to an untimely end. This is not intended to show any disrespect. Someone who walked a thousand miles of trails is surely a kindred spirit. If nothing else, she at least faced her situation, in the end, with more grace than many.

As a solo backpacker, I was always mindful of the need to be able to hunker down or self-rescue. Since I'm a middling navigator at best, I made a concerted effort to have a mental map of hard boundaries (trail, road, river) and their general direction; and to try to check the compass as a rough indication of my general direction of travel. I have been turned around many times, which is especially easy in the "endless detour" that is dense bush mixed with wetlands, but if I had a rough compass bearing I knew that I was never hopelessly lost.

This is important: people who feel totally lost can tend to panic, clouding their thinking and increasing the danger of their situation. I suspect the attempt to find cell phone reception is an indication that she was overwhelmed. This seems to have led her farther from safety. It's doubly unfortunate, then, that her SPOT device was accidentally left behind.

The SAR people were undoubtedly giving it their all, but in very dense brush you can lose a VW Beetle and not find it unless you practically trip over it. As others have noted, better signalling capabilities may have tipped the balance in her favour. There seem to be indications that she attempted fire (fire scars on trees, and candles and a lighter were found with her) but was not successful. This may have been a lack of skills, or she may have lacked adequate tools (saw or strong blade) to utilize the materials around her. A smoky fire would have helped SAR find her -- even the smell, if not visible smoke, provides a starting point.

I know that aborting a trip is the hardest thing to do, but (with every respect) that's what should have happened here. I feel badly for her family, who must have felt so helpless. This at least provides closure.

Re: Backpacker dies 27 days after getting lost.


Hmm,
I think I'm beginning to see a lesson here,
go to the bathroom on the trail like bears do
that way you dont get lost
and you leave a sign

Did I read this wrong? She left the trail to go to the bathroom ... and bushwhacked over 2 miles? She must have really cherished her privacy. I'm lucky if I make it ten feet before calling it good.

Come, gentlemen. Whatever the lady's failings, she has paid for them in full.

It is vulgar to speak ill of the dead. We are bigger than that.

I completely agree. It is also nekulturney to speak ill of the dead.

two thumbs up!

What a terrible combination of factors in this case. Sadly, it seems like something as simple as the "Hug a Tree" concept may have saved her: As soon as you know you are lost, stay put and blow on your whistle 3 times every few minutes until they find you, and find other ways to signal while you stay put. It seems like she'd been turned around many times before, and never stayed lost, so probably had an over-inflated confidence. Sometimes it's easy to confuse good luck with good judgement.

No judgement from me. I hope she found peace and hope her husband and hiking partner do to. I think we can find some take-aways though, to help ensure our own excursions have a happier ending:

Wear a whistle, secured to your person. All. The. Time. Even if you are the best land navigator in the world, there is always a chance of mechanical injury....

Stay on the trail, and if you are hiking with a partner, stay together. Our family rule is that we stay within sight, or at least shouting distance, even more so after reading the details of this story.

From what I understand, getting turned around on the AT is pretty easy, as it is on many trails. Dense brush, false trails, bad blazes. Combined with a poor sense of direction... it seems to me that she might have been wise to stack the deck more in her favour when it comes to navigation. You have to stay aware as you travel, but also self-aware and know your limits. Map, compass or basic orienteering skills are going to be brushed up on around here.

Likewise, it seems pretty common to put too much faith in GPS and other electronic devices. She forgot her SPOT in her hotel room. That might make me more inclined to stick to the trail, but I'd want some privacy for bathroom breaks too.

AT hikers, in particular, seem to embrace the camp stove, and hate the campfire, making it impossible for many of them to start a signal fire, Fire bans are very common, but knowing the basics could save your life.

Excellent points. Fire making, especially in adverse conditions, seems to be a neglected skill nowadays. I'm sure the ease of using micro gas stoves combined with environmental concerns adds to that. At least 3 methods of fire starting (and some form of tinder) should be the minimum.

In the 50s and 60s we routinely built campfires and became pretty good at the art Nowadays, canister stoves are vastly more convenient, as well as presently relatively fewer hazards. Now I rarely build a traditional wood fire, but I do try to keep in oractice

Just get a teenage boy scout to help you, they can set anything on fire!

I would light the camp stove, and that becomes my tinder (and kindling to some extent). You could ignite some pretty heavy and damp stuff by using a camp stove as your "match". Lighting tinder in a damp environment with a ferro rod is a skill that has to be learned and practiced. Lighting it with a roaring camp stove, not so much.

Reminds me of a show a few years back - I forgot the name, it was about some special forces guys - and in one episode they crashed their helicopter and were stranded in a survival situation. In the foreground of the scene, they were busily at work with a fire bow trying to make a friction fire. In the background of the scene was the flaming helicopter. I think I would have lit my stuff using the readily available fire coming from the burning helicopter instead of messing around with a fire bow.

Remins me of a SAR operation where we found our victim sitting cold and clueless in a damp chilly forest. We suggested that a roaring campfire would be nice - answer: "It's too wet to light a fire" We took a carbide headlamp (normal equipment on a night search in those days) stacked some small stuff around it, and enjoyed welcome warmth in no time at all. We didn't even have to use boy scout starter fluid...

You can make starter fluid out of boy scouts?

I am sure that would be possible, but not socially acceptable in most quarters. The BS starter fluid to which I refer is white gasoline, which is, after all, recycled dinosaurs and similar life forms.

Purell hand sanitizer is my current fave when one must cheat in order to produce flame - much less violent,, but still effective.

That makes a lot of sense. Once you have the core going well, you can usually get a decent fire rolling.

I vaguely recall Colin Fletcher (RIP) doing that with an MSR stove after his gear got soaked in a coastal rainstorm, which coincidentally soaked all the kindling at hand.

Up here, gasoline used to help with firemaking is sometimes referred to as "hamburger helper."