I wasnt aware you could call 911 for welfare check on a hiker.
Very lucky. Apparently stupid , but lucky. Kudos to SAR .
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 11-01-2018 at 13:01.
OP link did not work for me. Maybe they moved it. I think this is the story - this link worked for me:
https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...e_call_sa.html
Kudos to the lady who dropped the dime.(it's a 20th Century saying......)
Wow...lucky, very lucky!
It is what it is.
"Learn when its's best to listen and when it's best not to."
It was an experienced local hiker(Sultan is not far from Skykomish) who strongly advised her on OCT 24 @ Stevens Pass what likely conditions and perils awaited her in Glacier Peak Wilderness(and into N Cacades NP), assessed her kit, the situation, and advised against continuing. Please tell me this German female thru hiker was aware of upcoming northern U.S.(WA STATE)/Can. border weather and the high difficulty and threatening weather that can hit in the PCT segment between Stevens and Rainy Pass? It's documented!!! GPW is real wilderness.
To be going nobo and safely fishing in CANADA that late probably into late first week of Nov even under lessening trail conditions one must be an especially skilled, informed, and strong backpacker(she very likely wasn't if she only had a tarp going solo into a snow storm in high winds in GPW) OR experiencing known favorable late fall weather. At that time of the yr she would likely have perished. She even said she had reserved herself to that fate in communications.
Nearing the end of a 2700 mile thru it gets easier for many personalities to assume one is supremely or sufficiently knowledgeable and more capable than one might actually be.
Choosing to continue in light of local knowledge and upcoming weather and nature of the hike ahead was a BAD DECISION.
Judged by myself as having done similar. It is humbling to go that far and making the call - the right call - to abort or delay when the prize for many is so close and have come so far. I stopped at Stevens Pass for 6 days, not knowing if I could ever continue that yr(it was also into Oct) as everyone I was thru hiking with went on. Fortunately, debilitating injuries healed enough I could finish in Manning Pk under light snow. Some LD friends haven't been so fortunate in other yrs.
Assume it can't happen to you though? You're special?
Yes,but it also refers to making a call from an archaic device known as a pay phone.Later the price went to 25 cents which inspired Travis Tritt to pen a country classic,"Here's a Quarter,Call Someone Who Cares".
The good news is that someone cared and was proactive enough to call authorities to intervene.
Sadly,too many people's last words are "I think I can make it."
If you just flickered the hang up thingy a couple times quickly , you got a good dial tone and could call for free.
that would work on some phones and not all.....
for a bunch of us traveling deadheads------instead of using this method, many of us got a chinger which would imitate the sounds the coins made when inserted, and would allow long distance calls.......
A conversation on phone phreaking and blueboxing is the last thing I expected to find here!