Hays - another short saga...rescue success

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Here is another "hiker lost" story, albeit with a happier ending. He did some things wrong, and did some things right. Having at least one means of signaling searchers, an orange poncho, ended his saga.

BANGOR, Maine — An Ohio hiker lost for three days in Baxter State Park is in fair condition and recovering from surgery to fix his shattered left kneecap at Eastern Maine Medical Center, officials said Tuesday.

Michael Hays, 41, of Stow, Ohio, went into surgery at about 8:30 a.m. after being transferred from Millinocket Regional Hospital. He was out of surgery and back in his room Tuesday afternoon, said Paul Hays, who spoke to his older brother from his house in Ohio.

“He sounded like someone recovering from surgery,” Paul Hays said during a telephone interview early Tuesday evening. “He is medicated right now, so I am sure he is not in a lot of pain. It was very brief, our conversation. He had to speak to someone else and he hasn’t gotten back to me yet.”

Michael Hays ended the longest Baxter search in 40 years when he stepped into a small clearing in steep, densely wooded terrain a half-mile south of Helon Taylor Trail and waved an orange poncho at a passing Maine Forest Service helicopter on Monday, Park Director Jensen Bissell said.

Hays had last been seen by other hikers Friday afternoon on Mount Katahdin's Knife Edge Trail, a narrow, rocky ridge between 4,919-foot Pamola Peak and 5,267-foot Baxter Peak. The search began Saturday after he did not sign out on a trail register and rangers found his rental car in a parking lot.

Hays’ rescuers, Baxter State Park Ranger Rob Tice, Maine Forest Service Ranger-Pilot Lincoln Mazzei and forest service aviation mechanic Ron Adams, found him at about 3 p.m. Monday.

Doctors were concerned Tuesday about possible infection from a puncture wound to Hays’ knee, in addition to the shattered kneecap, but he was in good shape otherwise, said Rich Hohman, a friend who happened to be hiking in Maine at the same time as Hays.

“Physically, if it wasn’t for the knee, he would’ve been able to leave the hospital,” Hohman said. The two work at the headquarters of Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores in Ohio.

Besides extensive coverage in Ohio and in Maine, Hays’ story attracted telephone calls Tuesday from a producer at the “CBS Morning Show,” but his brother declined to be interviewed.

Bissell was pleased that the search ended well for Hays, but reminded other hikers Monday that Hays could have been found within six hours had he stayed on a trail. Hays also should not have expected his cell phone to work within the 200,000-acre park, Bissell said.

On Tuesday, Bissell said he hadn't spoken to Hays after his rescue.

For Hays, the injury cut his vacation short. In addition to Mount Katahdin, Hays intended to hike the tallest peak in New Hampshire, 6,288-foot Mount Washington, and in Vermont, 4,350-foot Mount Mansfield, Hohman said.

Attempts to contact Hays in his hospital room were unsuccessful on Tuesday.

 

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A few more details of Michael's episode.

PORTLAND, Maine — An Ohio hiker who went missing for three days before being rescued got himself into trouble when he decided to veer off the ridge between Baxter State Park’s highest peaks, apparently seeking a shortcut down to his rental car, the park’s director said Tuesday.

After reaching the top of 5,267-foot Mount Katahdin, Michael Hays was returning along the narrow and rocky Knife Edge Trail when he decided to leave the path before reaching Pamola Peak, where it would have been 3.5 miles to the parking lot, said director Jensen Bissell.

Instead of choosing a shortcut, Hays selected a more demanding route in which he injured his knee, limiting his mobility on treacherous terrain, Bissell said.

“It’s not a shortcut at all,’’ he said. “Sometimes people think it’s going to get better around the corner. This actually gets worse. It gets more difficult.’’

Hays, 41, of Stow, Ohio, shattered his kneecap during a fall, a co-worker said, and he was dehydrated and covered with bug bites when he was found Monday.

After being airlifted off the mountain, Hays was taken to a local hospital before being transported to a larger hospital in Bangor, said Rich Hohman, who happened to be hiking in Maine at the same time as Hays. The two work at the headquarters of Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores in Ohio.

Doctors were concerned about possible infection from a puncture wound to Hays’s knee, in addition to the shattered kneecap, but he was in good shape otherwise, Hohman said.

“Physically, if it wasn’t for the knee, he would’ve been able to leave the hospital,’’ he said.

The search, which began Saturday when Hays failed to sign out on a trail register, was the biggest in four decades in 200,000-acre Baxter State Park.

Bissell said hikers should learn from Hays’s mistakes: Hikers should always stay on established trails, and they should not count on cellphones to bail them out.

“Mr. Hays had a BlackBerry the whole time, and it was no good at all,’’ Bissell said. “The second issue is no matter what shape you’re in, please don’t leave the trail. If you are on the trail [and something happens] we’ll find you and make it OK, but if you leave the trail, all bets are off.’’

While Hays could not get a signal to use his phone to call for help, his cellphone carrier was able to tell searchers that he had attempted to check his voice mail during the time he was missing, giving searchers hope that he was still alive, Bissell said.

The helicopter that found Hays passed over once without seeing him. On the second pass, Hays waved his bright-orange rain poncho, and someone spotted him.

It probably would have been several days before searchers on foot checked out the area, Bissell said.

In addition to Mount Katahdin, Hays intended to hike the tallest peaks in New Hampshire, 6,288-foot Mount Washington, and in Vermont, 4,350-foot Mount Mansfield, Hohman said.

There. That gives us a bit more fodder for discussion.