Lost hiker found in BNR Wilderness area

Wildewinds said:
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.
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Surprised that nobody has said it yet, that could just as easily have been a 30 or 40 foot cliff. That would have made a difference when he hit bottom!!
 
There are cliffs in the 550 foot range on that river.

2hxu04m.jpg
 
Raisedby wolves said:
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.
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No, they were all idiots. It's just like my recent car accident, yes, I was stupid for pulling out of the driveway, but she was too for going 50 mph on a 30mph road with no dividing line. The guy who got lost was stupid for going in the first place, then again for not just sitting still. His friends were stupid too for bringing him, then letting him get lost, even knowing of his disabilities.
 
i hate to lay blame, but EVERYONE in that party is responsible.

- the hiker in question should have made it clear from the get go that he is hearing impaired and inexperienced.

- his fellow hikers should have been more alert....i simply cannot fathom hiking with a NON hearing person and not buddying up with them.

- the group leader should have been more alert and put another experienced hiker at the rear of the group - deaf hiker in the middle.
 
A lot of assumptions are being made that we really have no knowledge of. The Ranger's report didn't reveal a lot of detail about the composition of the party, their equipment, knowledge of the area or experience, except the details pertaining to the rescued person.

I like to look at a situation from every perspective before making judgements. IMHO, his being deaf complicated his situation, but did not likely cause it. The only way that could have happened is if the others in the group thought it would be funny to ditch the deafie in the woods. You wouldn't think people would be purposely cruel to deafies or other handicapped people, but you might be surprised.

I am late deafened, what is called "post-lingual". That means that I became deaf late in life after many years of spoken and written language. People talking to me don't know I am deaf from my manner of speech and writing. People who are prelingually deaf, from birth or early childhood, often speak with an odd accent because they can't hear themselves speak. Their written syntax is crazy looking because they are mentally translating their thoughts into first ASL then to English. It is like trying to do a literal translation of Spanish to English. So it isn't uncommon for people, particularly young people, to make deafies the butt of cruel jokes.

So that is just one more thing to consider. :)
 
Bushman5 said:
i hate to lay blame, but EVERYONE in that party is responsible....
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Yes. In group dynamics like this, everyone in the group has a degree of responsibility to the other individuals. In one way or another, each of them at some point failed to do something that might have prevented this situation.
 
cgmblade said:
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.
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My thoughts as well.
A whistle and a bit of planning would made this a non-event.
 
I really hate to do it, but I feel like most of the blame should rest on the lost hiker. I mean, he knew of his conditions and how they would/could affect his ability to hike, yet he did not appear to take any necessary precaution to avoid trouble.
 
Do we know for a fact that his friends didn't talk him into the adventure with assurances of safety? Everyone is an inexperienced hiker before they hike. As I said, I don't think his deafness caused his getting lost. From what we can glean from the report, it sounds like his knee injury was a result of his fall after getting lost. That only leaves his inexperience as a limiting "condition" that he might have been aware of.
 
Here is a news report...looks like they rewrote the NPS posting but it might explain how he was "separated from the others.

HARRISON, Ark. -- The National Park Service says a missing camper near the Buffalo National River showed up about 10:30 Tuesday morning. Steven Strygulec, 18, was on a trip with other members of the James River Leadership College when he got lost.

The National Park Service says the group camped out Sunday night in the back country. The group says Strygulec left ahead of the group the next morning, and was to meet back up with them in the afternoon. The other campers called the park service at 6:15 p.m. Monday when he hadn't returned.

Strygulect showed up near Sneeds Creek in the Ponca area. He said he'd lost his way.
http://www.ky3.com/news/local/82060822.html
 
Bushman5 said:
sometimes i wonder why i try and contribute here.
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I appreciate your contribution, here.

Bushman5 said:
i hate to lay blame, but EVERYONE in that party is responsible.

- the hiker in question should have made it clear from the get go that he is hearing impaired and inexperienced.

- his fellow hikers should have been more alert....i simply cannot fathom hiking with a NON hearing person and not buddying up with them.

- the group leader should have been more alert and put another experienced hiker at the rear of the group - deaf hiker in the middle.
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Right on target, at least as a "what can we learn".

Also, the psychology of a straggler may alienate him from the group or being slightly alienated may cause him to be a straggler. Viscous circle.
 
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Good find Ramm9! This "local" news report does give us some more information not contained in the official report from the NPS. Evidently the young hiker did not get separated from the group while they were all hiking, nor was he "pranked". He elected to strike out on his own from the group, planning to meet back up with them later in the day.

While this does place the majority of the responsibility for the incident squarely in his lap, IMHO it does not totally relieve the other members of the party of responsibility.

One tidbit revealed in the article that I found ironic was the name of their college. Evidently leadership was not practiced by the members on this trip. If it had been, a leader would have either nixed the hiker's plan to strike out alone or suggested a more experienced member accompany him as Bushman5's post suggests.

Now, on a different but relevant subject ....
Esav Benyamin said:
...BIG thumbs up to the responders who put out a super effective effort.
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Back around the early 1980's I made an epic fourteen day winter canoe voyage through the Lower Buffalo Wilderness area. During that time I saw not one single human being. I experienced record lows that actually froze over the flowing river. It snowed and sometimes frigid winds howeled down the bluffs causing my downstream progress to become a painful labor against headwinds. But twice during that two weeks I saw rangers glassing me from atop tall bluffs. They weren't spying to catch me violating regulations, but surreptitiously monitoring my progress for my safety while refraining from interfering with my wilderness experience. When I finally reached my takeout, the snow and ice covering the narrow, crude access road made delivery of my truck by the outfitter service I had hired impossible. The outfitter and NPS rangers arranged to have a National Forest Service four wheel drive crew cab pick up me and my gear. Thumbs up indeed!
 
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