Lost camper found, 5 weeks into ordeal

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20070115/D8MLGAAO0.html

interesting news, glad she came out ok

The good news was that she was apparently well equipped - tent, sleeping bag, food & water for two weeks. Her problems started 5 days into her trip.

Question: How much does two weeks of water weigh? Can someone really carry two weeks of water?

The bad news was that she broke the first rule - she was a "free spirit" and didn't leave any kind of plan with friends. People didn't even start looking for her until 2 1/2 weeks after her trip started - when they found her car.

After that amount of time I'm wondering what her primary limiting resource was. She apparently was warm enough with the tent, sleeping bag, and fire. They said she was dehydrated. They also said that by the time she could leave the area she was weak from lack of food.

I've generally been a "don't worry about food" person. This has me rethinking that.

Of course had she invested in a PLB the story would have had a much different ending.

Ken K.

It sounds like she was fine taking water from the river until the food ran out. After a couple of weeks with no food she became weak (and was deliberately conserving energy) and I think she reached the point where she couldn't collect water any more, and then dehydration became a factor.

I wonder if she ran out of water purification and, fearful of getting sick, just stopped drinking? And you are right, even "free spirits" need to leave a plan of some sort. A lot of unanswered questions. But she was equipped and got out alive despite an unforseen occurence (the river rising). All in all I think she did pretty well.

"...didn't leave any kind of plan with friends.."

Yup. And thanks to that error, the searchers stopped short of searching where she actually way. "..."but we never considered that she traveled so far"..."

It would be interesting to know just how far she was from her vehicle, and how far the searchers searched from the car. But, other than that error, it looks like she did most things pretty well. Don't know what the weather forecast was for that area before she departed, or if she checked the weather anyway, but in that part of the country storms a long way from your location can send a lot of water your way hours later. Glad she survived to tell about it...

Fox News link

I seriously doubt she humped in 2 weeks of water. I think that's just a catch-all phrase used by the media regarding something they really aren't experts about. As a climber, I remember the talking heads at Fox News making several ridiculous statements during the Mt. Hood rescue/recovery situation. They just make up phrases on the fly regarding things they don't understand.

Great lesson on the "don't worry about food" survival advice. What so many people fail to explain is this: while you may survive the time without food, after a few days you will be so WEAK that you won't have much ability to initiate (or continue) self-rescue. Extreme situations & environments cause the body to burn enormous amounts of energy. Quick example: many people don't realize that your body burns a lot of energy in hot weather just to stay cool, even when sitting still.

Once depleted & weak, the only option left will be the dumb-luck of getting rescued passively. Of course in this particular case the area may not have had much to offer regarding game. At least she wasn't injured, so perhaps some fishing would have been in order before she got weak.

I choose to 1) throw in a little extra high-calorie food in the pack, no matter how short the hike and 2) understand (and practice) basic fishing & game taking methods.

This story also shows another benefit of outdoor preparedness: being equipped to help others in need. The 2 hikers who found this lady had enough food to share, and apparently they had a GPS with which to provide coordinates to rescuers.

The old saying goes something like this: "every mountaineer must know that someday he will be involved in misfortune, if not his own then someone else's".

As far as being weak after a few days; I dont think that the majority of us would be too weak to self-rescue after only a couple of days. True, after a week or so, possible, but, 2 days...not so sure on. I know I have enough fat on me to live two WEEKS comfortably! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
Granted, she had run out of food two weeks into her ordeal, and was weak. I, for one, still dont place a whole lotta emphasis on hunting/trapping. But, thats me. In MA, its easier to fish than hunt. And, takes no energy at all. Still, if I were caught out that long, I think I would have been prepared enough for part of it, which, she was.

Another example to add to the "Help may not be on the way" list. She would have most likely been dead within a week if those hikers hadn't found her.

If you don't have a PLB and you haven't let someone know where you're going to be then if it's possible walking out as Les always does may be the best solution.

If you've got two weeks of food, tent, sleeping bag & good clothing then walking out in this scenario is the best option, IMO. Of course that is coming from someone who always has a compass & can tell my directions from the night sky.

Why wait until you're too weak to travel?

The ironic thing is those of us who could navigate our way out successfully won't find ourselves in this position in the first place. Funny world isn't it...

Reading about this makes me even more cautious about my riverside trapsing that I like to do here in TN. It reminds me that I can get stranded if I'm not careful.

I do know of a guy who got stranded on a small isle in a small river once because of rapidly rising water. It was in his younger days before he knew about the water release time schedule of the dam upstream. Took the county rescue squad to get him out. Then the farmer who owned the land next to the river had him prosecuted for trespassing with a hired special prosecutor! All I know is the end of the story: The guy is a trout fishing guide now and owned the farmer's land then sold it. Guess the farmer messed with the wrong dude.

I imagine (or, hope) that if someone successfully walks out of wilderness on their own without any navigation devices would realize how much of a needle in a haystack situation that is and would better prepare next time.

This is a good example where a PLB would have resolved the issue after the camper was unable to self-rescue.

The follow-up news article looked like the brothers marked the position on a topo (no gps?).

They did a good job to get her ready for the next couple of days until SAR could be notified and respond. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

It will be interesting if the details are published. It stated that she was severally dehydrated, yet she was near the river. It gave no further information.

Two years ago, I would not have guessed you could get dehydrated drinking all of the water you want - WRONG! Two years ago, I drank out of a sprinkler hose before I remembered it was hooked up to the irrigation out of the duck pond. I drank the water at 11:00 AM. At 9:00PM I went to bed sick with diarrhea and flu like symptoms.

For the next three days I fought dehydration and diarrhea with large amounts of every liquid I could think of. I finally wimped out on the third and was admitted to St Als hospital in Boise near death with Campylobacter. Doctors said I would not have made it another day. It is spread by wild water foul.

Gardia, you can tough out for weeks and months by avoiding rare meat. Campylobacter or Chororia untreated is death. The treatment of either is quite simple and effective with a prescription.

A planned two week trip is a tad more than a walk in the park, but your note on the table idea would be better than nothing. Assuming that you had friends of family nearby to search for the note...

Yah, I puzzled about that too.



Yah, that's what came to mind to me as well. It would be interesting to see if we find out if this was the case. If so, it would probably be a factor in her ability to self-rescue.



What is the relationship between gardia and rare meat? I haven't heard about that before.

True or not, I guess this is a good reminder to pack more water treatment that you think you'll need.

-john

Hehe, an unintentional but surprisingly accurate slip of the keyboard? <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Re: my earlier statement about "a few days" without food making you weak, OldSoldier is right, a few days is probably no big deal. But if you stretch that to 5+ days then throw in a rugged environment that is also cold, I think my points were valid.

I too would like to hear more details from this event. Sounds like a great contender for a new episode of "I Shouldn't Be Alive".