Missing backpackers found in Alaska

Good to see they got out, but I wish they had more details on what they ate if anything.
 
atleast it had a good ending as most do not...and she kept positive and her mind occupied with getting to her sisters wedding...when you lose focus is when hope is all but lost..
 
They were lucky they had a cell phone or they would most likely have not been found so would probably have died.

+1 on texastonydobbs comment on the wedding giving her drive. Staying focused on something is key to many people's survival. Also one of the girls was the cheerleader and kept the other in high spirits. She gave herself the job of taking care of the other girl, which again gave her focus and a reason to keep going.

Overall, it sounds like they were in high spirits so were probably doing just fine, other than food and fear.

We need to do a sticky on personal survival stories and links to other survival stories, as so much information can be gleaned from them.
 
They were able to send text messages out. This is an important lesson. Carry a cell phone AND a hand-held GPS device, even an older used one. All you need is to be able to get your GPS co-ordinates and you can text that to a friend/relative so SAR can come get you.
 
I'm glad the story had a good ending, but it makes me wonder....

....was it a stunt from an un-wed sister to have "her day" too? j/k (I'm only throwing this in because they both made it back just fine).

Good ending, and this goes to show you have to pack for everything, even those instant battery chargers that run about 10~20 usd so your phone works no matter what. Nowadays, most peoples phones can get on the internet, you can use "google: Earth" to look at terrain and houses all over the world to help find your position.

+1 on the GPS thing :thumbup:. I have no idea how to use it, but I can work a mean (mean as in "grrr" not a mathematical term) compass bearing with or without a map :D.
 
The fact that the cell phone worked at all is a marvel. Hell, there's parts of my house here in Wasilla I can't get a decent signal. Heck, for that matter there's parts of Hatcher Pass (local outdoor rec area that's nowhere near as remote as Denali) that there's no signal.

A GPS still confounds most of us (me included with some of them) but even I can operated the more basic models. I guarantee you, if I can figure it out, anyone can.

A couple other options would be a spot locator such as this one:

http://www.findmespot.com/Home.aspx

My father's had one for about six months now and has been VERY pleased with it. Even if someone doesn't want to buy one, in cases like this they could check them out to the seasonal employees when they go out hiking/ fishing/ whatever.

They also rent out satellite phones up locally for $75 a week or so, whick is more headache than I personally would want to deal with, but it could always be an option for some.

It's wonderful to hear that they were found alive and in good condition, that so rarely seems to be the case.
 
Runs With Scissors said:
The fact that the cell phone worked at all is a marvel. Hell, there's parts of my house here in Wasilla I can't get a decent signal. Heck, for that matter there's parts of Hatcher Pass (local outdoor rec area that's nowhere near as remote as Denali) that there's no signal.
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You're in Wasilla??? Good to hear from another Valley boy. I'm from Palmer, but I've been exiled to Minneapolis for the last 7 years. :mad:

Yeah, those two are lucky. The story made it sound like they were in a big alder patch when they were found, meaning that they didn't really make a good show of being visible from the air. If they went to moderately open ground, lit a fire and threw some leaves on there, they probably would have been rescued within 48.
 
Goin' from Palmer to Minneapolis doesn't sound like a transition I'd be real partial to. Although I have heard there's beautiful areas to play in once you leave the city.

Yeah, I was wondering about a signal fire myself, but...I guess everyone does things thier own way, and has there own reasons...:confused:

Take care!
 
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Hmmm. . . Normally the best course of action if you know you're lost is to stay put and make yourself as visible as possible (or so I've been told). On the one hand this may have led to an earlier rescue in this instance because they would have been closer to where the searchers thought they were. On the other hand, if they hadn't kept moving they would probably have never gotten a signal for their cell phone. What's everyone else think? Should they have stayed put or was staying on the move the thing that ultimately led to their survival in this case?
 
They traveled 20 miles in six days, so they weren't moving much.

They clearly didn't have a way to signal (make a signal fire or otherwise).

My thought is that they got lucky. You would think they would at least know the general direction back to civilization. Or they would at least have the sense to walk downstream.

In my mind's eye, I see a couple of hollow-headed Gore lovin envirokooks.... who don't know the first thing about nature.

And it drives me nuts when people act like you can starve to death in 6 days. Hell, there are people on here that think you can starve in 6 days. I saw a Discovery channel episode about "experienced outdoorsmen" couple who got lost in the Amazon and were ready to kill themselves on the second night because they had run out of powerbars and heard scary noises at night.
 
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nemoaz said:
They traveled 20 miles in six days, so they weren't moving much.

They clearly didn't have a way to signal (make a signal fire or otherwise).

My thought is that they got lucky. You would think they would at least know the general direction back to civilization. Or they would at least have the sense to walk downstream.

In my mind's eye, I see a couple of hollow-headed Gore lovin envirokooks.... who don't know the first thing about nature.

And it drives me nuts when people act like you can starve to death in 6 days. Hell, there are people on here that think you can starve in 6 days. I saw a Discovery channel episode about "experienced outdoorsmen" couple who got lost in the Amazon and were ready to kill themselves on the second night because they had run out of powerbars and heard scary noises at night.
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LMFAO....I know what you mean about the "starvation" thing, and I saw that same episode. I believe the couple miraculously had a pistol and no compas and they were ready to just crap out on the second day/night, unless that was a different story that involved a pistol :confused:.
 
I think they should have stayed put. Like someone said, if they would have tried to make themselves comfortable, they would have been closer to where everyone thought they were and conserved calories. I realize that sometimes you can't stay put, but this doesn't look like it was one of those times. When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing you do is stop digging.

Pistol but no compass, huh? Sounds likd a gene pool thing.
 
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I don't remember them having a pistol. They had a knife.
EDIT: Oops. Not sure if you mean the couple in the Amazon or our hippy chicks in Alaska.
 
I hope they get billed the 118k that was spent to find them. maby it would deter others.
 
batosai117 said:
....was it a stunt from an un-wed sister to have "her day" too? j/k (I'm only throwing this in because they both made it back just fine).

.
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I hate to say it, but that thought crossed my mind!

They get lost by a river, so what do they do, but leave the open area and a water supply no less with fish in in it, and go off through thick brush where they can't be spotted from the air. And to read the story I saw, they "rationed" thier one day supply of peanut butter sandwiches for 6 days?

Down to thier last granola bar?

The whole thing is too stupid to be believed. I say charge them for at least the cost of the chopper fuel.

I think theres more here than is let on.
 
The women said they each packed only bare essentials, such as two sandwiches and granola bars, thinking that would be enough for their short trek. They brought a compass and a map but still lost their bearing, mistaking one river for another. They tried to follow the river, but that proved impossible many times, Flantz said.
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Sounds like they survived in spite of what they did survival skills wise, not because of what they did. Sounds like they had a map and compass but had no idea how to use either of them. Of course they also made the classic mistake of not taking survival gear with them because they were only going to be gone for a few hours.
 
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