Backpacker missing on AT @ Punchbowl Mountain

Visually impaired, tho experienced.

Anyone in the area is requested to keep an eye out for Ken.

He was last seen on the AT on Sunday at Punchbowl Mountain, Blue Ridge Parkway, mile 51.7, in the area of Buchanan and Bedford, Virginia.



link
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/...t=165712#165712

Nice pun!

There's been more than one occasion where I've lost the trail on the AT and I have pretty good vision. I can't imagine being visually impaired and trying to do it.

I hope this ends well.

Well, I think Ken is smart enough to stay put, once he realized he was lost. Its just a matter of time now...I just hope he isnt injured somehow. Or worse. I will keep an eye on this....

I'm waiting for a callback from SAR. I've hiked with Ken in the UP of Michigan, the Tetons and in Missouri. He's a cantankerous, stubborn guy who's hiked about 500 miles of the AT. He can see fuzzily to about 15', but can only see clearly (enough to read) out to about 1'.

He takes forever on the trail, swears a lot, thrashes through the brush, but keeps on chugging. I just hope he didn't fall off a cliff.

The fact that he missed his flight worries me a lot.

Was wondering something very interesting. Since most folks have a cell phone, and since text msgs take less to transmit, and can sometimes go thru when calls can't, has anyone experimented with sending a text msg to a site knowing someone is always on it...say someone's home email. I've sent photos from my phone to my email and downloaded them onto my computer, so I can't see why this wouldn't work. In fact, as soon as I'm done with this reply, I'll try it and see if I can post to this website, or at least send a text to my home email. If successful, all it would take, assuming you're familiar with texting to begin with, is to tell someone, preferably 2-3 people, to check their emails regularly while your out in the wilderness. Also, take a spare fully charged battery with you when you go also. I do that with my digital camera as well.

Took me a while to figure out how to do it. But sent an email to my home acct from my cell phone and it went thru in about 15 seconds. Now I'll try to log onto this site and see if I can send anything that way. Of course that is under ideal conditions.
Tried logging onto website but got a "document too large" error.
I'm using a standard Samsung camera phone, no iPhone or anything. I suppose the iPhone would be better equipped to handle logging onto this page, but at least I know how to email someone if need be. I also text all the time, so that is not the issue. Just have to keep in mind all the options when trying to communicate when voice is not an option.

A couple of things would give me hope:

1) thru-hikers are working their way north so if he's near the trail someone should be along.

2) the weather has warmed, nights are not cooling off as much in the mid-Atlantic. Based on our temps in DC and adjacent to Shenandoah National Park in the northern section of the Blue Ridge, I'd guess his overnight low temps have been in the 40s on the AT.

I hope he's okay. We've had considerable rain the past couple days, so it would be slippery on the rocks. Thanks for posting the information.

Statewide SAR callout for 7am, Friday, May 1.

Otter Creek campground, Blue Ridge Parkway mile post 60, near Glasgow, Virginia.

jaywalke - Probably a little late for this now, but suggest to SAR maybe they can try cell broadcasting in the area. From my understanding, all current U.S. cell systems are capable of this feature. Might even be able to do this with SMS with higher bandwidth.

If they are able to do it, let me know.

Ken's an old friend of mine from college. Appreciate everyone who's involved in the search for him. Keeping him in my prayers.

Search Continues for Mising Hiker, May 01, 2009

Found! Alive and well. Walked out with a search crew.

No further details yet.

Woot!

Great news indeed. Thank God.

Heartfelt thanks to all SAR crews and people involved.

Fantastic news.

So great to hear of a happy ending!

Thank heavens for quick response and dedicated professionals. Please give all those involved a great big pat on the back!

I've gotten some more rough information, but I'd like to wait until I talk to Ken to put it together. I think a semi-formal interview with him might be best.

_______________________________
Questions thus far:
When did you realize that you were fully lost?
First steps after that?
How did your state of mind change as the days (6) went by?
What actions did you consider?
Which did you decide to take?
What gear did you have on you? How much food? Water?
Did you ration your supplies?
How did you pass the time?
How did you attract attention to yourself?
What would you do differently, given the chance?
_______________________________


Any other suggested questions?

Just some thoughts...

From what I've read, he went down one wrong trail and then turned onto another wrong trail. He seemed to realize by the end of Sunday that he was lost and stopped traveling. He had to ration food and did have a nearby water source of some sort. It sounds like he had a filter for water purification, maybe tablets too and of course fire. I hear rumors there may be been a group communication issue as well.

What he did right
1. realized he was lost and stopped
2. stayed calm
3. stayed warm (temps not bad)
4. stayed hydrated
5. rationed food
6. finally decided to use fire as signal

What he did wrong
1. took wrong turn (happens to most at some point)
2. walked too far without making sure he was following trail markers; did the side trails have the same markers?

What he could change
1. get a PLB since he travels alone and is visually challenged
2. get a gps and use it with a UTM gridded map; even if you walk off the edge of a paper map, with known coordinates you know about how many kilometers off you are and in what direction
3. do not solo backpack

I have some questions on group hiking dynamics as well, as lost hikers seem to happen often enough on group outings: who was leading this hike, meaning not who was in front of this group, but who was bringing up the rear? Were there other hikers behind him, was he the effective leader? If others were behind this lost hiker, were they so slow that he was able to take a wrong turn and not be missed by those behind him? Was there even an attempt to buddy up on this hike?

It would have been more difficult to get lost if the lost hiker - and all hikers in the group - had paired up before setting out. And if the group as a whole has a sweeper, whose job was to be the last person out and try to keep an eye for hikers venturing off the assigned trail. That means no matter how slow the slowest hiker, that sweeper (and his buddy) is still behind them.

Worst case: two lost hikers instead of one. Assuming one of them had better eyesight that the other, they might have route-finded their way home.

Works in Scouts while riding herd on 11-15 year olds, I wonder why folks don't apply it to their grown up hikes more often.

jshannon, I am going to have to disagree with the GPS, and I am iffy with the PLB. The GPS, in his situation with limited vision, may not have given him any advantage at all. True, for those of us without a handicap like that, it would have been a great tool (provided one knows how to use it). But, specific to this, is wouldnt have been an asset to him.
The PLB I am on the fence about. Although one can get lost virtually anywhere, the parts of the AT I have trampled are fairly busy, it only being a matter of time before someone finds you (provided you are in close proximinty to the trail). In HIS case, a PLB may have made a difference; in most cases of able bodied hikers on the AT, a PLB is extra weight-and likely wouldnt be carried.
I think a simpler, FAR more effective tool wouldve been the buddy system-you dont necessarily have to walk with the person, but, at certain points, such as side trails, it would be wise to wait & make sure he didnt get lost. The AT is regularly blazed, and quite effectively so; side trails may or may not be. And, the side trail blazings can be literally anything-white triangles, blue squares...or nothing at all. Its up to whoever blazed it. So, its is quite possible he followed, what appeared to him, to be the AT, when in fact it couldve been a side trail.
He is savvy enough to sit & wait it out-he had the gear, and got the patience. My chief concern was him being injured-that couldve had dire consequences. But, it turned out for the best. His years in the woods were to his advantage. Besides, cranky people live longer-we refuse to give in

As a side note, there was a solo hiker a few years back who was completely blind, and he did the whole AT. He hiked alone, but had a dog. There were quite a few people who waited at huts for him nightly, and, by his own admission, he got lost a few times. He made it though. I THINK his name was Bill, but am not 100% sure.

I don't know the man and it's nice to read that he likes to hike. That said, I would recommend he find a hiking partner.

For a person like that, more valuable than a GPS might be one of those 120 db personal alarms, esp if they knew to operate it in three short blasts at a time. Some extra batteries, too.

If I read the paper correctly, he set a field on fire and waited for the response.

I know how hard it is at times to navigate and I am sighted and pretty well trained in map/compass/land nav. Must have been a freaking nightmare for this guy.

I read the newspaper account differently, he started a signal fire but it got out of control - no brushfire intended. I could easily be mistaken though.

There but for the grace of yaweh go I - I lose my glasses I have enough sight to get down a known trail, but I could lose my way on an unknown one. Part of the reason I always keep and carry a spare pair of glasses in my pack.