Drinking and hiking in the dark

[billski]

ORANGE (AP) — A New Hampshire man who hiked up a mountain to watch Fourth of July fi reworks was rescued after getting lost on the way down.Twenty-fi ve-year-old Robert Holmes of Canaan called for help shortly after midnight Sunday to say he was lost on Mt. Cardigan, where he had watched fi reworks dis-plays the night before. Search crews, including a helicopter, found him cold but otherwise unharmed.Fish and Game Lt. Todd Bogar-dus said Holmes had been drink-ing before attempting to hike down. Another hiker, 17-year-old Cody Dugan of Grafton, returned to the summit after they got disoriented and walked to safety on his own in the morning.The case will be reviewed to see if Holmes should be forced to reimburse the state.

Pretty stupid to be drinking and hiking....

 

[bvibert]

The case will be reviewed to see if Holmes should be forced to reimburse the state.

I'm not sure what needs to be reviewed. Seems like a pretty clear case that he should have to reimburse the state.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

ORANGE (AP) —

Pretty stupid to be drinking and hiking....

I always used to brink a sixpack with me when I would go hiking in Montana..but not in the dark..more to get a buzz as replacing sweat with beer can get you buzzed mad quick..one time me and my buddy went to the supermarket and bought fried chicken and 40s for a hike..now that was fun..

All search and rescues should be reimbursed..why should taxpayers foot the bill..I know in Colorado, they sell insurance for that type of thing..so you're not stuck with a 4 or 5 figure Search and Rescue bill which typically happens to kids from Jersey at Killington each season..

 

[RootDKJ]

I always used to brink a sixpack with me when I would go hiking in Montana..but not in the dark..more to get a buzz as replacing sweat with beer can get you buzzed mad quick..one time me and my buddy went to the supermarket and bought fried chicken and 40s for a hike..now that was fun..

All search and rescues should be reimbursed..why should taxpayers foot the bill..I know in Colorado, they sell insurance for that type of thing..so you're not stuck with a 4 or 5 figure Search and Rescue bill which typically happens to kids from Jersey at Killington each season..

Funny, I was talking to a guy who claimed to be on Killington's S&R team, and he was bitching about how most of them are always from Connecticut

 

[billski]

I'm not sure what needs to be reviewed. Seems like a pretty clear case that he should have to reimburse the state.

It's probably not about the infraction, but about politics. Not sure you want to go slapping a fine on the son of a VIP if he turns out to be one....

 

[deadheadskier]

Easy to blame the drinking and the darkness, but chit happens. It did to me yesterday on tiny Mt. Agamenticus. I ran/hiked up a short trail and made the summit in 14 minutes. I figured I'd take one of the longer trails down and was just going off of memory having been up there twice before.

I started down and took what I thought was the Ring trail wrapping around from the back to the front. I was wrong, a switchback must have confused me and before I know it I'm a 30 minute jog in the wrong direction and I see a sign saying South Berwick which was in the complete opposite direction of where I needed to be. So, I had to back track and at another intersection that wasn't well marked I ended going up to a false peak; another 15 minutes of running in the wrong direction.

I finally made it back to the top about an hour and fifteen minutes from when I left the summit and then back tracked down to the base on my original ascent.

As I was 'running', I had left my cell phone in the car. All I had were my keys and a bottle of water. I was drenched from sweat. It was 4:45 when I was on the false peak, so if this were late fall, I could've easily gotten stuck out there for the night and been in real trouble.

Again, I had been up there a couple of times and felt fairly familiar with the terrain. Obviously what these guys did by drinking and going in the dark was fairly stupid, but sometimes something as simple as what I was doing yesterday can go wrong and people can end up in trouble.

 

[billski]

Easy to blame the drinking and the darkness, but chit happens. It did to me yesterday on tiny Mt. Agamenticus.

Again, I had been up there a couple of times and felt fairly familiar with the terrain. Obviously what these guys did by drinking and going in the dark was fairly stupid, but sometimes something as simple as what I was doing yesterday can go wrong and people can end up in trouble.

It's really easy to get disoriented in the woods when there are no points of reference. I'm not surprised with you, but you did have your wits about you.

My "stupid" remark is because near here a teen had been drinking at a house party, went out into the back woods in Norfolk, Mass last October without outerwear and didn't return. Found the next day dead, face down in the muck.

I also watched a You Tube of a backpacker who had so much to drink he had fallen with his pack on a could not get up. His buddies filmed the whole thing while laughing at him. I could see him turning face towards the ground pretty much passed out, with the weight of a full pack on top of him.

 

[Johnskiismore]

Dumb-da-dumb-dumb!

 

[RootDKJ]

Easy to blame the drinking and the darkness, but chit happens.

Hmmmm...I used some BBQ Chit on my ribs...

(another thread derailed, sorry)

 

[Beetlenut]

Hmmmm...I used some BBQ Chit on my ribs...

(another thread derailed, sorry)

Great!! Now I got a hanker'n for some BBQ!!

 

[riverc0il]

Seems like a lot of Monday Morning Quarterbacking here. The clip posted above just says the guy was "drinking" but it doesn't say he was drunk. Lots of people have a celebratory beverage on the summit. I can't see myself doing it but don't see it as being a problem if it is one or two drinks. Some folks bring a bottle of wine up to the summit to celebrate their 48th peak. I can see have a brew or two on a mountain top while enjoying the fireworks.

Hiking in the darkness is extremely exhilarating. But it is much easier to become disoriented than when it is light out. People loose the trail in broad day light often times. IMO, given the information provided, this case is anything but cut and dry.

 

[bvibert]

Seems like a lot of Monday Morning Quarterbacking here. The clip posted above just says the guy was "drinking" but it doesn't say he was drunk. Lots of people have a celebratory beverage on the summit. I can't see myself doing it but don't see it as being a problem if it is one or two drinks. Some folks bring a bottle of wine up to the summit to celebrate their 48th peak. I can see have a brew or two on a mountain top while enjoying the fireworks.

Hiking in the darkness is extremely exhilarating. But it is much easier to become disoriented than when it is light out. People loose the trail in broad day light often times. IMO, given the information provided, this case is anything but cut and dry.

You don't think it's cut and dry whether he should pay for the rescue? Regardless of the alcohol and if he was drunk or not; he ventured into the woods ill-prepared to to get himself out. It's not like he had some freak accident and got hurt, or some big storm unexpectedly rolled in. He got lost and called for help to get him out, IMHO that's a pretty clear case where he should have to pay for the rescue.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

You don't think it's cut and dry whether he should pay for the rescue? Regardless of the alcohol and if he was drunk or not; he ventured into the woods ill-prepared to to get himself out. It's not like he had some freak accident and got hurt, or some big storm unexpectedly rolled in. He got lost and called for help to get him out, IMHO that's a pretty clear case where he should have to pay for the rescue.

times 2

 

[riverc0il]

The above article does not say anything about the hiker being ill prepared. Any one can get lost in the woods... where do you draw the line? What if any of us went for a hike, took a wrong turn, and got lost in the woods and called for a rescue? I just don't see enough reason, given the information described above, to determine that this was recklessness.

 

[deadheadskier]

As posted, I got lost in a place no one would expect too. Actually maybe that's not true, there's a lot of flats and ups and downs on the Big A trails; for a good half hour I couldn't tell you where the summit from which I came was located. Wasn't like I could just start heading back up hill and hit the summit. I did try, but ended up on a false 'peak' a good ways away from the true summit. Having several trail intersections without signage didn't help the matter either.

Hard to say whether or not the guy deserves to pay. Unless the trail head specifically states that individuals are responsible for their own rescue costs, much like they do at Back Country gates at West Coast ski areas, I think it would be tough to pin the cost on someone.

 

[bvibert]

The above article does not say anything about the hiker being ill prepared. Any one can get lost in the woods... where do you draw the line? What if any of us went for a hike, took a wrong turn, and got lost in the woods and called for a rescue? I just don't see enough reason, given the information described above, to determine that this was recklessness.

As posted, I got lost in a place no one would expect too. Actually maybe that's not true, there's a lot of flats and ups and downs on the Big A trails; for a good half hour I couldn't tell you where the summit from which I came was located. Wasn't like I could just start heading back up hill and hit the summit. I did try, but ended up on a false 'peak' a good ways away from the true summit. Having several trail intersections without signage didn't help the matter either.

Hard to say whether or not the guy deserves to pay. Unless the trail head specifically states that individuals are responsible for their own rescue costs, much like they do at Back Country gates at West Coast ski areas, I think it would be tough to pin the cost on someone.

Yes, anyone can get lost, but if you don't have the ability to find your way out once you get lost then I'd say you were ill prepared. In other words if you head into the woods without a good idea of your surroundings or a map and compass and the ability to use them then you were ill prepared. He had to know that it would be dark, so he should have been prepared for that too.

If I got so lost that I had to call in a search crew to help me out then I'd fully expect to pay for my rescue. Basically I feel that you should be on the hook for the rescue unless something out of the norm happens to cause you to be stuck.

I know that I can't afford to be rescued, that's why I try to make sure I'm prepared to get myself out before I head into the woods...

DHS, your case is different because you had the sense to find your way out yourself.

 

[dmc]

He should just say
"I didn't want to be rescued - I was going to find my own way out... I didn't make the call - don't charge me"

 

[bvibert]

He should just say
"I didn't want to be rescued - I was going to find my own way out... I didn't make the call - don't charge me"

If I read the article correctly he was the one who called to say he was lost and needed help..

 

[Marc]

I'd just like to point out that this wasn't me. So it could really only be one other person. Does anyone know where Austin was on this night?

Stupid Cardigan.

 

[dmc]

If I read the article correctly he was the one who called to say he was lost and needed help..

Kinda of a choppy read... but yes you are correct...