Hiker lost for 5 days in lava fields

Funny how this "experienced hiker" lacks even basic provisions, doesn't leave a note behind, and generally does his level best to get himself killed.
 
By "experienced" they must mean he's walked a lot of clearly marked trails. My EDC backpack has a GPS, a compass and a real signal mirror (part of Ritter Pocket Survival Pack). Lots of other good stuff and that's my EDC BP. Other than complacency, there's no reason for an experienced hiker to get lost. There are a lot of places you can get lost within cell phone coverage -- 911 works on any network.
 
Must clip this story out to use when questioned about the small sponge I routinely carry while backpacking.

There is a large lava field in the SW U.S. that has claimed a few of the clueless.
 
I had the opportunity to visit the Amboy crater recently and besides being 127 degrees and all that heat radiating off of the lava rock and all the Mojave greens waiting to pounce, it wasn't such a bad place. :eek: :cool:

It isn't difficult to understand just how treacherous that type of terrain really is, once you've experienced it.
 
It isn't difficult to understand just how treacherous that type of terrain really is, once you've experienced it.
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Another thread on the same topic describes the lava field and it's not the place I'd pick for a casual hike. I'd take a buddy, staying found gear, getting found gear as well as food and water. It's no place for an impromptu survival experience -- although it may be the perfect place to trap the unprepared in an impromptu survival experience.
 
ras said:
There are a lot of places you can get lost within cell phone coverage -- 911 works on any network.
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I agree with everything else you said, but this is not actually true. There are still some places in the US where 911 will not work on a cell phone. I think full 911 coverage is supposed to be in place by 2007.

--Bob Q
 
Bob Q,
There are still some places in the US where 911 will not work on a cell phone.
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How does that work? Are you saying there are areas with cell phone coverage that don't recognize 911?
 
It's moot anyway. Around here you'll be lucky if your cell phone works at all, especially in canyons or valleys. Some services do OK, as long as you have a trucker antenna and booster. Other providers won't get a signal no matter what.

-Bob
 
I was 35 miles east of Canton, Ohio -- hardly the wilds.

Between us, we had four different cell companies. Only the Alltel customer could make or receive calls all week.
 
longbow50 said:
I had the opportunity to visit the Amboy crater recently and besides being 127 degrees and all that heat radiating off of the lava rock and all the Mojave greens waiting to pounce, it wasn't such a bad place. :eek: :cool:

It isn't difficult to understand just how treacherous that type of terrain really is, once you've experienced it.
Click to expand...

Amboy, the Crater, and the Mitchell Caverns are interesting spots.

In the 1950s when Amboy was still a living town, some locals piled old tires in the crater, torched them, and news reporters came from hundreds of miles around.

Amboy more or less died when U.S. 40 bypassed Route 66.
 
I must be getting computer monitor eye fatigue...I could swear the title of this post read "Hitler lost for 5 days in lava..."

:)
 
geekswithguns said:
I must be getting computer monitor eye fatigue...I could swear the title of this post read "Hitler lost for 5 days in lava..."

:)
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I believe that he has been lost in something much hotter than lava for the past 60 years or so. But that is only a guess. :D

Mike
 
I spent this last week end on the east fork of the salmon river here in Idaho. I always carry my camelback and my mountainsmith lumbar back with survival equipment. Why the guy did not carry anything is beyond me.
 
swami_p said:
I spent this last week end on the east fork of the salmon river here in Idaho.
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Awesome area. I spent some time around Shoup back in the mid seventies, truly some wild country. Some day I'd like to go back.
 
Lava fields are loads of fun! My father took me to one spot, we hiked over it and found a beatuiful black sand beach. It looked nearly untouched except for the distinctive piles of stones (grave markers). Oh well, at least he never fell inside a lava tube. :yawn:
 
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