I news article about Geraldine Largay posted today. http://www.wcsh6.com/entertainment/t...site/492863159
I news article about Geraldine Largay posted today. http://www.wcsh6.com/entertainment/t...site/492863159
Everyone has a photographic memory. Not everyone has film.
Sad.
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Her story makes me rethink the purchase of a PLB, especially as I get older.
Last edited by cmoulder; 11-20-2017 at 18:44.
The Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter ~ Cam "Swami" Honan of OZ
I hate to bash a dead person but she was an absolute idiot who should never, ever have hiked alone.
No directional skills. Her actions alone since being lost made no sense. Didn't follow the stream downward. Didn't climb to a peak for cell phone usage.
But worst of all, she couldn't build a sustainable fire.
It's hard to feel sorry for someone so completely devoid of common backpacker knowledge.
Last edited by cneill13; 11-20-2017 at 18:13.
In fairness, a very large number of thru hikers aren't skilled in backcountry off trail travel. In fact, probably the majority. Definitely including me - I don't know much about off trail travel. Her major mistake was going too far off the AT to relieve herself and then she couldn't find the trail. That modesty cost her life.
What I always do is find points of reference when walking deep into woods to dig a cat hole. It is definitely easy to get turned around in some places. Also, I point one of my trekking poles in the direction of the trail before I start digging. If the woods are really deep, I'll take a compass bearing as I head off the trail.
In any case, R.I.P. to the deceased.
First off I want to state that any comment I make is in no way intended to be offensive to the deceased as there's some really...ummmm to be frank, just plain mean comments in some of the posts on this thread. There's better ways to state one's opinion than to become derogatory.
Yes this ^
I feel super old school whipping my paper map out to see where I'm at, but then I remember that if doodoo hits the fan that map may be the key to getting me out of there. It's always a good idea to have a map and periodically keeping up with one's location on the map. I've seen way too much reliance on only electronic devices and/or the AT guides (primarily AWOL's, which has no maps).
AT: 2007-2019 (45 sections)
JMT: 2013
Equally important is the level of "situational awareness" that keeps track of "the ground generally falls off to the south around here, there's a stream west of the trail that crosses a highway a couple of miles south," or whatever the escape route is. With experience, a quick glance at a map is enough to keep that much in memory, so that even if the wind rips the map out of your hands, you still have an exit plan.
And I'll underline, "no disrespect to Inchworm." I think that likely the best way to respect her memory is to try to keep others from meeting the same horrific end.
I always know where I am. I'm right here.
I hope that what happened to Inchworm motivates more hikers to learn basic land navigation skills. "Everyone else is doing it" doesn't mean that you should go unprepared!
One advantage of being a fairly seasoned bushwhacko is that I'm not given to panic when I find that I've lost a trail. It just means that the hike has turned into an off-trail trip. It also means that I've outgrown the advice of "stay put and wait for rescue", which is fine for eleven-year-old boy scouts who are a few hundred yards from a campground and who will be missed within the hour, not so fine for grownups on multi-day solo trips. Self-rescue is the best kind of rescue.
I always know where I am. I'm right here.
AVENZA!! for cell phones.
There are some people in this world who don't belong in the woods! The first thing they drilled into our heads as Scouts was how not to get lost in the woods. (Any ex-Scouts out there?) No matter what, you knew what to do if fate dealt you a bad hand.