I am confused and have a question. According to the link below the body was found about 1/2 mile from the car BUT the father walked about 8 miles. How is this possible? Was he walking in circles or am I missing something

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/06/missing.family/index.html

Great post Ducttapeguy! (No relation)

I too watched the winter survial shows a couple of weeks ago. The Kim's even did what Les Stroud talked about...lighting the tires on fire.

Sort of, that is from the link ==>

"Using a map, authorities showed that Kim had headed south and west for about three miles before entering the drainage area and following it eastward -- in the direction he came from -- for about five miles."

A couple of random things I wanted to throw out.

1) They were using thermal imaging in the search. It seems to me that more effective use of fire could have helped greatly in his rescue.

2) It sounds like the family funded significaint parts of the search including the employment of search helicopters. I'm not quite sure what this means (I certainly don't begrudge them for applying their resources to the problem), except that rescue may have been slower for those w/o the ability to charter such services and perhaps that needs consideration in preparing for such an event.

3) While obviously I don't know what really happened, it keeps troubling me that he didn't seem to make effective use of fire to regulate his heat. Growing up in southeast Alaska, you consider the primary thing you need to do to stay alive is to keep warm. Thus a lot of thought about fire. There was wood in the area and the reports indicate he had some lighters. Even if I was going to try to walk out, I would have stopped, built a fire to warm up periodically.

4) And why burn the tires when there is wood? It sounds like it has been reported to stay warm, but I suspect it was more likely that he was hoping for smoke which might be spotted. Perhaps he didn't tell his wife this for fear of alarming her.

-john

I'm grieving for the loss of this brave man. It is a testimony to their resourcefulness that, with very little kit, they managed to survive (in good condition apparently) for seven days. Still, the meaning behind this is not second guessing, but learning. I've asked my self over and over - why not more fire? We might not never know what they tried to do about that - and perhaps failed. But for me, after seven days I would have tried to burn down the d**n woods! A tire piled against all the brush I could gather under some small trees . . . What does this forum think about a major conflagration try in such a situation? There should be some "safety zone" since it was on a road.

I have to agree with the sentiment that after 7 days of waiting, of setting singal fires, of watching your kids freeze and running out of supplies, what would you expect? The only thing - and I mean the only thing - I think that I would have had as an advantage in that situation is that I usually have a set of turnout gear in my vehicles, which include heavy boots and makes incredibly effective winter wear. But it's HEAVY and not suited for long hikes. I doubt that I would have been able to sustain a long hike in turnout gear. Doug mentioned a 406 Mhz PLB, and I have to admit, I've always thought of those as something for aviation and marine applications, but perhaps a reconsideration is in order if I were to decide to travel way in the back woods like that. But all in all, we have to look at the outcome as a lesson learned for all of us - the fantasy scenarios we all cook up are exactly what happened here, and the outcome was tragic. My kids are about the same range as his, I just can't help but think of what the 4 year old is asking mommy tonight.

Not being familiar with that area (can anyone provide a UTM waypoint for the car?), did Mr. Kim even have a chance to survive? How far would he have had to walk to get to the nearest civilization?

This event/thread is really making me think about purchasing a PBL. My family is going to visit Glacier National Park next year. We're going by train so we'll have to pack relatively light (minimum kit). I can't help but think how easy it might be to take a wrong turn, drive a few miles, and then for one reason or another get stuck. Sigh.

My wife would think I'm nuts for spending $600 on a little box that I hope not to ever use.

Ken K.

I wouldn't have lasted a week before I'd've walked out too. The advantage I have is a kit that I dig into occassionally when I travel to WA State. I hike logging roads there and have gear for it that I carry with me (along with other equipment).

Another advantage is that I travel alone so I wouldn't have a wife and children weighing on my mind and in Kim's situation that was serious weight. I don't think any of us can judge James Kim's decision making with our 20-20 knowledge of the events.

Even the staunchest voices saying to always stay with the car would have eventually walked out if they'd been sitting in the seat of that Saab. I'll critique the decisions that led to becoming stranded, but I won't judge any decisions he made once stuck in the snow.

<<My wife would think I'm nuts for spending $600 on a little box that I hope not to ever use>>

Such is the inherent nature of pure survival equipment. I'd like to get a better read on what could be done with cell phone pinging and aGPS such as Verizon has in their phones.

Ken ask her if you could spend $400 on a ham radio, $15-25 on an antenna and see if she feels better about that or would she have you spend it on a PLB?
Mike <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />