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  1. #1
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    Default Geraldine Largay - The Final Campsite

    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.

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    Sad.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tipi Walter View Post
    Her story makes me rethink the purchase of a PLB, especially as I get older.
    If I recall correctly, she had a SPOT but either forgot it or chose not to carry it.

    In any event, this poor woman had serious cognitive issues and should never have been backpacking alone.
    Last edited by cmoulder; 11-20-2017 at 18:44.

  5. #5
    Registered User cneill13's Avatar
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    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.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by cneill13 View Post
    It's hard to feel sorry for someone so completely devoid of common backpacker knowledge.
    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.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Coffee View Post
    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.
    from things ive read she could have been 5 feet off the trail and not found her way back.

    which i suppose could happen to any of us. i think other things she did or didnt do are more of an issue.

    but i wouldnt call it death by modesty.

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    Quote Originally Posted by tdoczi View Post
    from things ive read she could have been 5 feet off the trail and not found her way back.
    which i suppose could happen to any of us. i think other things she did or didnt do are more of an issue.
    but i wouldnt call it death by modesty.
    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.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Coffee View Post
    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.
    and nobody carries paper maps any more. very foolish not to. very foolish to count on electronics

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lone Wolf View Post
    and nobody carries paper maps any more. very foolish not to. very foolish to count on electronics
    Yeah, I feel like a dinosaur with paper maps and at least a primitive understanding of a compass ... tons of people "see no need" for them anymore. "There's an app for that ... "

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    Quote Originally Posted by Coffee View Post
    Yeah, I feel like a dinosaur with paper maps and at least a primitive understanding of a compass ... tons of people "see no need" for them anymore. "There's an app for that ... "
    a map and even a casual ability to read one (know which way north was, read topo lines, etc) would have gotten her out of there

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    Quote Originally Posted by Coffee View Post
    Yeah, I feel like a dinosaur with paper maps and at least a primitive understanding of a compass ... tons of people "see no need" for them anymore. "There's an app for that ... "
    i don't own a "smart phone" or any other devices

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    Registered User El JP's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Coffee View Post
    Yeah, I feel like a dinosaur with paper maps and at least a primitive understanding of a compass ... tons of people "see no need" for them anymore. "There's an app for that ... "
    I'm bringing a phone and an Ipad with both the Guthook and AWOL guide. However, my primary means of navigational planning and use is the maps for every mile of the trail and a lensatic compass. Don't have to worry about batteries or a signal with them.

  14. #14
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    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.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lone Wolf View Post
    and nobody carries paper maps any more. very foolish not to. very foolish to count on electronics
    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

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    Quote Originally Posted by Berserker View Post
    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).
    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.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Coffee View Post
    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.
    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.

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    Quote Originally Posted by cneill13 View Post
    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.
    I know who to feel sorry for.

  18. #18
    ME => GA 19AT3 rickb's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maineiac64 View Post
    I know who to feel sorry for.
    Apart from the Inchworm and her family, I feel genuinely sorry for all the S&R people involved. This one had to hit harder than most.

  19. #19
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    AVENZA!! for cell phones.

  20. #20

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    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.

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