Lost hiker survives 27 days

B

Bob W

Joined
Dec 31, 2000
Messages
17,079
http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/26/us/missing-hiker-gerry-largay-last-messages/

An older solo hiker stepped off the AT in Maine to use the 'restroom', couldn't find the trail again, and lived out the rest of her life sitting in a tent and waiting to be found. She was found, two years later.
I guess it's an old story but details have just been released regarding her attempts to send text messages in an area with no cell service.

27 days seems impressive but maybe not, considering she was a through-hiker so she had food and shelter.

Has anyone hiked this area where she perished, near the Poplar Ridge Lean-to? Any insight as to the vegetation and topography?
 
Heard about this. My understanding is that where she was lost is very isolated and used for military survival training. I'm not too familiar with Maine, but if it's anything like New Brunswick then you have a lot of regrowth areas which are dense and very difficult to navigate because everything looks the same.

Also read that the search teams were only getting to that area at the time they'd have to turn around, so they were probably only looking for an hour or two in that area each day at the very most. If true (Boston Globe article, I think) then I'd have to call into question such a search method. They should have specialists in situations like this who set up a base camp closer to the search area, in this case it was a three-day hike so they should have had a few search points if there were no signs of the general area.

Very unfortunate as she seemed quite prepared and had a nice survival camp setup. They only missed her by 100 yards or so.
 
Chignecto Woodsman said:
They only missed her by 100 yards or so.
Click to expand...

that's what i read from an official report as well. i think she still stuck to the leave-no-trace deal right at the very end...i would've imagined even a small open fire's smell would've grabbed the searchers' attention being that the source is unlikely from the lean-tos in either direction...i mean just 100 yards away, really unfortunate.
 
Honestly sounded to me like she had no business hiking alone on the AT or otherwise. No sense of direction. Compass might have helped but that assumes you know generally which direction to go.
 
a compass, some flag tape, anything would have helped. It sounds like she prepped for the walking part, but not the possibilities. It could very well be that her anxiety didn't allow her to look at what could go wrong without panicking. Its also possible that her meds changed how she reacted. If the meds kept her from focusing, or from getting excited about attracting attention.... not sure. I've met people who don't allow them selves to think about bad things, and as you expect they do wander themselves into bad situations. All of this is pure speculation of course, there is no way to know all of what happened.
 
I have looked at several stories, but they are short on details.

Did she try a signal fire?

Whistle? A whistle will surely carry 100 yards.

I'm with gg, she had a baseline. All she needed was to go south, and an experienced hiker would not need a compass. Line up two objects at roughly a right angle to the Sun's E-W track. Get the the first, and line up no 3. This is literally a First Class Boy Scout requirement.
 
We have dueling threads on this.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1398974-Two-Year-Old-Mystery-Solved

I have not been to that exact part of Maine but Maine is heavily vegetated, rugged and rocky underneath in areas and a ton of lakes and marsh/swamps. Real wilderness especially for East Coast standards, Maine is definitely the most difficult part of the AT.
She like may AT hikers were probably only skilled enough to follow the trailmap and the trail itself. Off trail and it all changes fast. She was quickly out of her element I suppose.
RIP, feel sorry for the family. I have done some SAR searches and to meet/see the loved ones at the SAR HQ is a very sad thing in deed.

We assume that everyone else has outdoor skills like we do here on BFWSS not the case. My brother is no idiot but to watch him light the fireplace on Christmas eve is like pulling nails, it is painful to watch his ineptitude.
 
Bob W said:
The woman knew she was north of the trail. So all she had to do was follow her compass south and she'd of hit the trail eventually.

---------
If anyone is curious to see the area, topo map and vegetation cover, I looked up the coordinates for the Poplar Ridge Lean-to.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/4...m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d44.97!4d-70.445337!5m1!1e4
Click to expand...

She didn't even need a compass for such a rough reference.

My guess is her mobility was low and taxing, so she felt it was better to wait for help, and when she realized that this was the wrong course she was too depleted to move at all in rough country.

Off path can be incredibly intense in effort to keep going straight, and it can constantly "lead" you to easier paths that crook you out of real progress...

Gaston
 
I don't understand.

Could a simple compass have prevented this?
Click to expand...

Yes. She could have shot a back bearing before leaving the trail to do her business and then followed it back to spot on the trail.
 
I've been section hiking the AT for the past several years. I started in Maine and most recently finished in Harper's Ferry, WV. Maine is tough. Making progress off-trail would be very difficult. Through-hikers rarely carry a compass. She clearly made some bad decisions.
 
I know it's not advised to speak ill of the dead..........but if you get lost going to take a poop you have zero business doing a solo hike. She was hiking with a partner that got called away on a family emergency I believe and she decided to continue solo........with little skill and no compass. Electronics do and will fail. Teach your kids and hiking partners some of the old school ways, just might save their life someday.
 
The mimeographed advice for the Pacific Crest Trail suggested teams of four - so two could go for help if one was disabled.

I see they now say "Don't go alone."
 
pinnah said:
I don't understand.

Could a simple compass have prevented this?
Click to expand...

Such a sad story, hard to reconcile how something like this can happen.

Based on the initial missing persons report her hiking buddy for part of the trail said that she had one, but didn't know how to use it. Which is just about as good as not having it. She also had a SPOT, but left it in a hotel room.http://www.centralmaine.com/2016/05/26/maine-warden-service-file-reveals-largay-didnt-know-how-to-use-a-compass/

A dog team was within a 100 yards of her final location, but those of us who have been in those woods know what 100 yards translates to really in terms of visibility. My heart goes out to the family and the volunteers efforts.
This was from the SAR GPS tracking map
SAR_TRACKLOGS_MAP_MWS_01.jpg


Here's the official report: http://www.centralmaine.com/2016/05/25/report-largay-kept-journal-during-weeks-missing-in-maine-woods/document/
 
Dang I wonder how far off the trail she had to go to pee? When I gotta use the bathroom and I'm in the middle of nowhere, I just go. I read a few of the articles. I'm guessing she was a nature lover who hiked for a hobby. I see a lot of these types over in Appalachia country. Most of them bring only enough to night it out and usually travel in big groups that lack survival/hunting skills.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top