5 hikers rescued overnight on Appalachian Trail - Asheville Citizen-Times

[Lone Wolf]

dial they will come...

[bfayer]

dial they will come...

That's a fact

I will say though, as much as I despise the folks that call 911 because they ran out of Cheetos, cell phones have done a great job of helping to take a lot of the the search out of search and rescue.

I always prefer a 12 hour rescue to a 72 hour search followed by a body recovery.

[Lone Wolf]

That's a fact

I will say though, as much as I despise the folks that call 911 because they ran out of Cheetos, cell phones have done a great job of helping to take a lot of the the search out of search and rescue.

I always prefer a 12 hour rescue to a 72 hour search followed by a body recovery.

cell phones put money in my pocket as well as the outfitters here in damascus. just a hint of bad weather and the phone rings off the hook with hikers wanting a shuttle to town.

[bfayer]

cell phones put money in my pocket as well as the outfitters here in damascus. just a hint of bad weather and the phone rings off the hook with hikers wanting a shuttle to town.

Good to know business is still good for you guys. The weather this winter has kept me off the trails more than I would have liked. If I'm not back to work by the time my daughter gets home from college, I'll probably be calling you up, I want to get the kids down there for at least a few days this summer.

[HikerMom58]

Cell phone coverage in the Mt. Rogers area is not good.... jus sayin.

[lonehiker]

If they were in fact just day hiking, they were actually pretty well prepared having both a sleeping bag and a tent. All that they were lacking was a bit of common sense not being aware of the weather.

[briankeithsmith]

This is a pic I took on Tuesday near the top of Bluff Mtn.
https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resi...t=photo%2c.JPG

[Lone Wolf]

Cell phone coverage in the Mt. Rogers area is not good.... jus sayin.

actually it's very good. we get calls from up there a lot. i was up hiking last week and had service

[HikerMom58]

I had no service at the Mt. Rogers Visitor Center this past summer.. I have Verizon. There's a hiker out there right now that has been texting his mother daily, she hasn't heard from him since the snow storm & is worried. The hikers, at my house, (and others online) just confirmed the fact that cell reception in that area isn't very good.

[Hot Flash]

The only thing that tops that are 70 virgins...

Who in their right mind wants virgins?

[Venchka]

If they were in fact just day hiking, they were actually pretty well prepared having both a sleeping bag and a tent. All that they were lacking was a bit of common sense not being aware of the weather.

Common sense seems to be a trait that has been bred out of the human race since Al Gore invented the internet.
...they lacked rain gear, a stove (a real stove), the means to start a fire no matter what, a couple more tents & 4 more sleeping bags. The article mentioned that the ladies couldn't find water. When all all about them the forest was covered in water. They were standing in it.

I reckon 2 things will come from their experience:
They learn from it & are better prepared next time.
They were scared to death and will never venture into the mountains again.

Wayne

[moose717]

I'm glad those kids are ok. I did a lot of dumb things when I was that age ... hopefully they gain something from the experience.

[SawnieRobertson]

I may have missed it, but I did not see anywhere in the story where it said these young ladies were doing anything but day hiking. Seeing that the majority of them did not have any backpacking gear, I think it can be reasonably assumed that they were day hiking.

It is very rare that I will go day hiking in winter without some type of shelter and insulation to make it through the night if need be. Just like in this situation, things can go bad quickly. At least one of these young ladies was smart enough to bring shelter and a sleeping bag, and it may have saved all their lives.

I could be wrong on this, they could have started out with gear, and then dumped it when they started getting hypothermic. I have seen it happen before, people think their gear is slowing them down and they dump gear to speed up so they can get to safety. Hypothermia can cause some very strange thought processes. Happens with people in the water too, they take off their PFD so they can swim better.

I am very glad they are all safe.

You are right. No day hiking, night hiking, backpacking, whatever, any season without the "10 essentials," whatever they are to you.

[4eyedbuzzard]

It is very rare that I will go day hiking in winter without some type of shelter and insulation to make it through the night if need be. Just like in this situation, things can go bad quickly...

Maybe one of the advantages of doing most of my hiking in the Whites. Even in summer on day hikes I carry a tarp, Nanopuff, Precip, light base layer, long pants, hat, fire source, etc. Maybe 5 lbs of "stuff". Because you just never know. I've never needed to spend a night out unanticipated - but quite a few times I've been glad I had the extra clothing when the weather turned unexpectedly, even in July. Glad they made it out okay.

[Almost There]

I had no service at the Mt. Rogers Visitor Center this past summer.. I have Verizon. There's a hiker out there right now that has been texting his mother daily, she hasn't heard from him since the snow storm & is worried. The hikers, at my house, (and others online) just confirmed the fact that cell reception in that area isn't very good.

Hmm...maybe the cell signals are just wonky up there because that is the exact spot my wife and I called for a ride back to Damascus a couple of years ago...and we have Verizon too! I've always found I get pretty good reception up and down the trail with Verizon...the 100 Mile Wilderness being the one exception, and even then when on top of a peak I could almost always get reception.

[Almost There]

Maybe one of the advantages of doing most of my hiking in the Whites. Even in summer on day hikes I carry a tarp, Nanopuff, Precip, light base layer, long pants, hat, fire source, etc. Maybe 5 lbs of "stuff". Because you just never know. I've never needed to spend a night out unanticipated - but quite a few times I've been glad I had the extra clothing when the weather turned unexpectedly, even in July. Glad they made it out okay.

Bingo, back in 2008, my hiking partner thought I was nuts when I threw my headlamp in my daypack before we went up Katahdin. We came down in a thunderstorm, and I booked it because it was starting to get dark. I was waiting for him but my headlamp started to dim, and I had to get down for spare batteries. I went back up to find him, but me and another hiker couldn't find him. He hunkered down until first light near the falls...Needless to say he wasn't laughing in the morning about my decision to bring my headlamp. Depending on where you are it's just smart to bring certain items with you...just in case.

[Mags]

Common sense seems to be a trait that has been bred out of the human race since Al Gore invented the internet.

Naaah..it's called being young and dumb.

I, too, was young and dumb. I was also lucky at times.

Typical DACK (Dumb Ass College Kid) behavior. Now if they had done this back in deep winter... That's another ball of wax. :O

Were they backpacking or dayhiking? Still not 100% clear after reading the article. (A three day trip could mean car camping with day hikes).

[HikerMom58]

Hmm...maybe the cell signals are just wonky up there because that is the exact spot my wife and I called for a ride back to Damascus a couple of years ago...and we have Verizon too! I've always found I get pretty good reception up and down the trail with Verizon...the 100 Mile Wilderness being the one exception, and even then when on top of a peak I could almost always get reception.

Wonky is a great word... I like it! The James River Footbridge doesn't have good cell reception, neither does VA 42- Newport VA, I was just there 2 days ago... no coverage with Verizon. I'm feelin that mama's pain. Gotta hear from her son....

[MDSection12]

Wonky is a great word... I like it! The James River Footbridge doesn't have good cell reception, neither does VA 42- Newport VA, I was just there 2 days ago... no coverage with Verizon. I'm feelin that mama's pain. Gotta hear from her son....

Gotta stay calm and not let the imagination wander too, though. If you recall my 'rescue' story, my wife kept getting calls from my family saying 'no reason to worry' and she'd repeat back to them 'I know there is no reason to worry.' She knows me well.

[HikerMom58]

Gotta stay calm and not let the imagination wander too, though. If you recall my 'rescue' story, my wife kept getting calls from my family saying 'no reason to worry' and she'd repeat back to them 'I know there is no reason to worry.' She knows me well.

Thanks MD.. I remember!