Lost hiker found in BNR Wilderness area

[Codger_64]

from http://home.nps.gov/applications/morningreport/index.cfm

January 27th Report

Buffalo National River (AR)
Lost Hiker Found Following Overnight Search

During the early evening hours of January 18th, dispatch advised rangers that a cell phone call had been received from a group of five college students who reported that one of their friends – 19-year-old Steven J. Strygulec of Rogersville, Missouri – had become separated from the group and was overdue by several hours after camping the previous night in the Ponca Wilderness. The caller also reported that Strygulec had no previous camping experience, had an injured knee, and required two hearing aids to hear properly. Rangers conducted hasty searches of area trails until 1:30 a.m., but failed to find Strygulec. They spike-camped overnight in the search area and resumed searching at first light along with additional rangers and park fire personnel. Shortly after 9 a.m., ranger Melissa Lamm came upon fresh, wet boot prints on dry slick rock along the Sneeds Creek Trail. She then found additional fresh signs and began moving quickly up the trail, following a series of fresh signs until she located Strygulec as he slowly worked his way uphill. He was not injured, but reported that he had spent a cold, dark, hungry night after having lost his sleeping bag and lighter during a river crossing, run out of food, and broken his one light source. Strygulec also reported that he’d quickly become disoriented after separating from the group, as he had no map, and that he’d wandered off trail for hours and had only stopped after he’d fallen over a 10-foot-high cliff in the dark. [Submitted by Kevin Moses, Middle Buffalo District Ranger]

Mistakes made by both the novice hiker and his companions are rather easy to see in retrospect. Aside from all of the incidentals that turned a pleasant hike into an emergency, what strikes me as the main cause was the lack of oversight practiced by the leader of the party, if there was one, allowing the inexperienced hiker to become lost and disoriented in the first place.

The situation could have ended much worse than it did, mostly thanks to the efforts of the NPS and NFS personel.

What leadership skills were missing here? What could the hiker have done (action or preparation) to have made himself easier to find once lost?

 

[Wildewinds]

You know you're having a bad day when you're lost and then you lose your sleeping bag and lighter, break your flashlight, and fall down a 10 foot cliff.

 

[tonym]

Seriously, the guy had no experience and was hearing impaired. What genius in their group let him get out of site???

Even my 5 year old knows the buddy system..


At least it was a happy ending...

 

[Codger_64]

Yup. Lost the sleeping bag? Was it secured in the pack, or loosly strapped below? One light source? One lighter?

 

[Codger_64]

...What genius in their group let him get out of site???...

Exactly my take on it. Someone in the group organized the hike. IMHO, that person had a responsibility to the group as a whole and to the individual members. We aren't talking extreme expedition leader skills here, just very basic leadership.

 

[Bushman5]

Seriously, the guy had no experience and was hearing impaired. What genius in their group let him get out of site???

Even my 5 year old knows the buddy system..


At least it was a happy ending...

amen to a happy ending. And yes, BOO to the geniuses that didn;t even bother looking back while hiking to see if everyone was there......

 

[cgmblade]

I've organized/led a few 2 or 3 day backpacking trips for inexperienced people. I've always made sure everyone had a whistle on a lanyard that could be worn around the neck. I've even gone so far as buying them myself and handing them out.

I also go over rules for what to do if you get lost, like stay put and blow the whistle. A little bit of preparation/foresight can go a long way toward preventing a story like this one. Fortunately it worked out okay for this guy.

It seems the less experienced a person is the less respect they have for the wilderness and just how fast a pleasant hike can morph into something tragic.

 

[Codger_64]

...BOO to the geniuses that didn;t even bother looking back while hiking to see if everyone was there......

Yes. A simple plan like rest stops every _ minutes to let everyone catch up would have helped. Since these were young people (college aged) and at least some of them had little or no outdoor experience, I have to wonder if the "leader" wasn't turning what should have been a simple, enjoyable hike into a competition.

First off, he (or she) should have taken note of each individual weakness or handicap. Anyone on insulin or other medical problems? Anyone deaf or otherwise handicapped? Anyone totally unfamiliar with basic outdoor skills?

A pre-trip equipment list and check at the trailhead isn't a bad idea either. IMHO, a group without a leader is no better than a mob. Ask anyone with Military field training or experience. An ineffectual leader is not much better than none.

 

[Marion David Poff]

A party moves at the speed of the slowest member, or at least it should.

I think even the Bible has something to say about it...

Good to hear that he did OK, in the final analysis.

But there is also another lesson to be drawn.... This guy had it bad, but he still survived. Just a little preparation and he would have been set.

Marion

 

[lukeeson111]

unbelievable

 

[Ramm9]

You know you're having a bad day when you're lost and then you lose your sleeping bag and lighter, break your flashlight, and fall down a 10 foot cliff.

Ain't that the truth. Hope he at least crossed a river on the way in. Sure would have helped if someone mentioned "hug a tree" to him and if they did he should have listened.

 

[Codger_64]

Like me, he was a deafie. We don't always hear what is being said. He may not have heard whistles or people calling him either. I wouldn't. Suppose he had been wearing a cheap strobe though?

 

[P. McKinley]

What leadership skills were missing here? What could the hiker have done (action or preparation) to have made himself easier to find once lost?

The series of events relayed in this piece indicate several lackings in preparation on the group's part:

1(and foremost)- There likely was no Risk Management Plan written, and certainly neither distributed to the appropriate emergency services in the area, nor discussed with group members.

2- Group members were not outfitted with standard safety equipment such as a simple whistle.

3- Inadequate communication device. NEVER rely on a standard cell phone in a wilderness or remote area like the BNR(yes, I've spent a good deal of time there). Its great the cell phone worked this time, but there are many large parts of that region where there is no coverage, particularly in the Ponca or on the river itself.

4- No informal system of group management, i.e. buddy system. And, if there was, then group leadership was massively deficient.

5- The following quote indicates no group training was done prior to the trip....
"The caller also reported that Strygulec had no previous camping experience..." Group training is essential, not only to the benefit of the individuals, but it's also necessary that the leadership knows each person has demonstrated a level of knowledge and competence.

6- It's unclear from the report whether this individual's leg was injured during the trip or before the trip. If it was before the trip, then a completely different set of guidelines would apply to group activities, group management, and route of travel. Knowing the Ponca, I might have looked at alternative destinations had I an injured member in my care.

I'm sure there's a lot of detail missing from this report, but that's what I come up with immediately from what I read.

 

[Scott Free]

You know you're having a bad day when you're lost and then you lose your sleeping bag and lighter, break your flashlight, and fall down a 10 foot cliff.

I know it's not funny but I admit I did laugh a bit after reading that part. All I could think of was Homer Simpson.

All said, it's not this poor guy's fault. It's the fault of the group or its leader. This guy should NOT have been left alone for even a moment.

 

[GWashington1732]

I going to take a stab and say that these people saw a guitar as a necessity to bring with them. Seriously, I could pull any Cub Scout out of a group and ask what to do if you get lost in the woods and every one would answer "stay put". If you get lost in the woods, you don't move around aimlessly, it makes it harder for searchers to find you, that's just common sense. And did he cross a river before or after he got lost? If after, that was just a stroke of genius on his part . His friends were idiots too, there's no nicer way of putting it. When you take a hearing impared person with no outdoor experience, you need to at least explain to them what to do in situations like this. I won't even let people get in the car with me to go hiking until they understand and agree to my rules.

 

[remmmm]

I think the only thing they did right was go hiking in an area with competent rangers that were luckily there to bail them out.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

If he had stayed where he was as soon as he realized he was lost and out of touch, none of the other disasters would have happened. No river, no lost gear, no fall, no injury. At worst, a cold hungry night.

BIG thumbs up to the responders who put out a super effective effort.

 

[Raisedby wolves]

They were a bunch of college guys.

Leader? This wasn't some sierra club or outward bound trip with a mission statement and a teamleader.

5 inexperienced knuckleheads that went camping.

BTW, I blame the lost guy, not the group. People should be responsible for their own actions. A deaf guy with a bum knee and no skills probably should realize winter camping might not be a smart idea.

In the end, I am glad he is OK. Bet he won't do that again anytime soon.

Carl-

 

[Marion David Poff]

They were a bunch of college guys.

Leader? This wasn't some sierra club or outward bound trip with a mission statement and a teamleader.

5 inexperienced knuckleheads that went camping.

BTW, I blame the lost guy, not the group. People should be responsible for their own actions. A deaf guy with a bum knee and no skills probably should realize winter camping might not be a smart idea.

In the end, I am glad he is OK. Bet he won't do that again anytime soon.

Carl-

You make a good point. While we should be concerned about the duty of care we owe our fellow man, he also owes himself that same duty of care.

Negligence should be discouraged, but so should willfull ignorance.

Best,
Marion

 

[Scott Free]

5 inexperienced knuckleheads that went camping.

BTW, I blame the lost guy, not the group. People should be responsible for their own actions.

You're right. I should have read more closely. At least I don't have to feel so bad for laughing about his long string of calamities.

I remember reading something about cowboy humor. A guy can fall off his horse, catch his foot in his lariat and be dragged through five miles of sharp rocks and cactus. As long as he survives, it's the funniest thing in the world.