Well said, David, well said. I have refrained from commenting on this story, since I didn't feel I had anything concrete to add that wasn't in the report. And like you, I felt that some of the comments were way out of line.

I've see a lot of discussion on this and other forums about the dangers of attack by wild animals...bears, cougars, wolves, etc. I have lived, hiked, camped, hunted, climbed, and paddled my whole life. I have been in Alaska for the last 25 years. Before that I grew up in the Pacific NW, then spent years in the Rocky Mountain region. My own view is that wild animal attacks are way down the list of things to worry about when out in the wilds. This is not to say that there is no risk, or that one shouldn't take reasonable precautions such as bear spray, but the odds are actually very low.

While it is worthwhile to analize incidents to learn what can be learned, many people seem to delight in ridiculing the people involved. People tend to forget that we all make mistakes. If we are honest with ourselves, we all know we have done things that in retrospect seem pretty dumb. I know I sure have. I try to learn from those mistakes and move on.