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.
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.
If that links to the broadcast I saw the tail end of on WCHS (local channel for me) recently, then it's worth watching. I should go watch the whole thing. Best description of how and why of the incident your going to get.
Her fatal mistake was trying to climb to get a cell signal. Unfortunately, no matter how high she could have climbed, it's unlikely she could have gotten a signal. Following a stream down hill will always get you to a road eventually.
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Last edited by cmoulder; 11-20-2017 at 18:44.
The Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter ~ Cam "Swami" Honan of OZ
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.
Whatever issues she may have already had with sense of direction, experience, and knowledge, being stressed, exhausted, and hungry and exacerbate the situation. You're not at your sharpest under such circumstances.
Every time this unfortunate woman's name is mentioned, it's the proverbial "dead horse" all over again...
The big difference between Largay and myself? When I have to take a Turd break I dump my pack on the trail and go off the trail about 8 feet and dig a proper cathole and release the festering Stool, all the while eyeballing my pack on the trail.
She got lost on July 23, 2013 and her body wasn't found until October 2015. Wow. She survived at least 26 days.
Her last camp was 2 miles from the Appalachian Trail. Two miles in the Maine woods might as well be 50.
This whole story will never make sense to me, I’ll never understand how someone could take a pea break and end up 2 miles from where they need to be.
...and stay there for 26 days while all around you is the most notable search going on in Maine’s history, sumthin’ dosent add up.
Maine Ranger Deb Palman said, "This is some of the worst country in Maine. It's hard to understand how logistically difficult this area was on any given day, by the time a searcher would get close to where Largay was found, they'd have to turn around to make it back to their vehicles by nightfall."
This I find perplexing. I would assume searchers could backpack in and spend the night and continue the search---so they won't have to turn around and "make it back to their vehicles by nightfall."
About 20 years ago I went on a backpacking trip in Pisgah NF with a friend and he had the worst balance of anyone I've ever known. Each step on the trail, some of it rugged, was like watching someone soaked in molasses moving in slow motion. It was mind blowing and infuriating but I kept my mouth shut.
I imagine Geraldine had the same sort of impediment---not lack of balance but maybe terrible spatial awareness.
Last edited by Tipi Walter; 11-20-2017 at 22:07.