"...use propane or alcohol fueled sources of heat and fire for their cooking on the trail."

So.... how are they igniting these sources of heat?

Sue

Did he run out of propane ?? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Some years ago, I picked up a very funny book called "The First 50" by Muriel Gray, the spiky-haired BBC producer of a 1990's series called "The Munro Show".

http://www.hillwalking.org.uk/pages/themunroshow.html

For those who don't know what a "Munro" is, they are the "mountains" in Scotland in excess of 3,000 feet high:

http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~fiski/themunro.html

"The Munros are those separate Scottish mountains over 3000 feet (914 metres) high. The first list of these was compiled and published by Sir Hugh Munro in 1891. In the previous (1984) list there were 277 mountains recorded - this changed to 284 in August 1997. A popular "hobby" is that of Munro-bagging - undertaking to climb all of the Munros.

All except one of these can be ascended without any mountaineering skills or equipment. The exception is Sgurr Dearg on Skye with its Inaccessible Pinnacle. The 'InPin' is a blade of rock about 20 metres high and 100 metres long embedded in the steepest side of Sgurr Dearg. The traditional route is to scramble up its east ridge - using ropes due to vertical drops on both sides and a lack of good hand-holds - and then to abseil down the short west side."

Shaw poked good-natured fun at everybody, from English tourists to hang-gliders, but also at herself. She described how she had once interviewed a representative from the mountain search and rescue association, and commiserated with him about the apalling number of tourists who went hill-climbing in Scotland without taking even basic precautions, ending with the usual call for people to be more careful and aware of their surroundings when climbing.

A few weeks later, she and another friend stopped at a roadside car park, and what started as a short stroll to stretch their legs culminated a few hours later with her standing on top of a 2900-foot peak wearing a leopard-print top, a mini-skirt, and ballet slippers. Suddenly realizing she had pushed the limits of sanity, she turned to head back down - and found herself standing almost face-to-face with the same mountain rescue specialist she had interviewed scant weeks before, out for a day-hike of his own. He, of course, was equipped for an Antarctic expedition (as she tells it) and could only shake his head in frustration as she, blushing furiously, tried to pretend she hadn't recogized him. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

It's funny, but the closest I ever came to being "Bit" in the woods was a similar situation - out for a day hike, with friends, in late may in the Catskills of NY - I was ready for rain/drizzle, but I was NOT ready for SNOW on the week before Memorial day in that part of NY

Started to show symptoms of hypothermia - I realized it, as did my companions - one loaned me his spare jacket, while we fired up the stove and cooked up some soup - while eating, the sun came out, and temps rose about 10 degs. I WAS ready to deal with 40 degs - it was that darned SNOW in late May

We finished the hike, simply because we were about 20 minutes from our turn around point anyway, and KNEW that even if it started to snow, I had enough gear WITH the stove and food to be fine - but it did teach me a lesson about how fast things can go bad

I heard they didn't have very good gear, but it seems they would have fire. I'm in Georgia and there's LOTS of rain in the last few months.

I've been in Derrick Knob several times, where those four guys were. about 11-12 miles from a car parking..., about 5-6 miles south of Silers shelter.

Derrick has water, and both Derrick and Silers shelters were rock walls with fireplaces, but there's almost no dead wood. And even if you found some wood, the "fireplace" aren't made well.

Wind goes right through the shelter, too.

I dunno about stoves, though. They were less than half way through Smokey Mountains..., they should have had "butane" for their stoves.

untill you have lit the stove and use that cooking flame to ignite it...

Oh. It sounds like technology is surpassing the operators.

Sue