Oregon Professor Missing During Day Hike

I see Codger's point about getting a license, but at the same time, do you really want the Government to start inspecting you at the trailheads? Once they get started, then there are going to be mandatory doctor slips to prove your health, mandatory gear inspections, etc. Will everyone have to purshase a GPS because some bureaucrat thinks it should be required? :barf:

Then once they get into the business of getting into your business, I can see a time sooner or later where some Government agency will begin banning certain types of equipment of which they do not approve. Someone will say that knives will not be allowed as they are "too dangerous." Heck, they already ban guns in National Parks. :rolleyes:

I agree too many people go out to the field without proper equipment and training, but if they are in need of rescue because of their foolishness, then they should pay for it.

My $.02 :)
 
Dr. Mudd said:
Sounds like Natural Selection at work again. Seems like that happens quite a lot in the Northwest, doesn't it?
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What I said before sounded like I don't give a rat's rear about the missing man. That's not true really. I do hope the old professor (he's only slightly older than I am) survives until he is found and can be returned to his family. For me, and for many others I suspect, it's just hard to understand someone who goes hiking alone in an area where he could become lost or injured and not taking even some basic necessities with him. Maybe he'll be found in time to save him, though.
 
Midnight Scout said:
I see Codger's point about getting a license, but at the same time, do you really want the Government to start inspecting you at the trailheads? Once they get started, then there are going to be mandatory doctor slips to prove your health, mandatory gear inspections, etc. Will everyone have to purshase a GPS because some bureaucrat thinks it should be required? :barf:
My $.02 :)
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You haven't been keeping up with current news. This kind of thinking makes me nauseous. The nanny state at its worst. :jerkit: I don't what the bills untimate fate was.


Bill requiring PLB use.

I am a member of several SAR teams or have been and also believe that pay for play as far as rescues go is the way to go. We have that in NH called the reckless hiker law. It works and usually doesn't even need to be used. Just the threat of it and the person(s) realizing how foolish they acted is enough for them to make a "donation" to the agency or groups involved in the rescue. I never want to see a permit system in the areas I go and will not even go to an area that uses that type of system. I go camping and hiking to avoid that type of BS. I also stay away from the heavily traveled areas.

KR
 
You cannot legislate personal responsibility but....

Suppose the PLB fails to work, or the SAR team misreads the signal and the "protected" climbers die. Well, obviously someone is at fault. Not the climbers. They complied with the law. It has to be either the SAR team or the manufacturer of the PLB. Or the retailer or distributor. Perhaps they all share fault according to the jury that hears the case and have to equally split the costs of the judgement.

I hope the missing hiker is found in good health as well. And I still hope Steve Fossett's plane is found. But people take risks every day. They have the freedom to choose to go or not. To do so in a prepared manner or not.

Codger
 
I think the professor has a good chance of making it if he's wearing the right clothes and doesn't make any big mistakes. He's in good health and that'll carry a body farther than most pieces of gear...
 
Sounds like a similar case we're following just across the line in N.C. An elderly couple went hiking in the Pisgah Nat. Forest & have been missing for some time now. They confirmed that a 911 call was placed from the wife's cell phone, but it didn't go through. Cell coverage is VERY spotty in the western N.C. mountains. Due to the amount of time that has passed, they've pretty much acknowledged that it's a recovery mission now, not a rescue.
But, as was noted earlier, people can survive amazing things. This couple was apparantely experienced hikers, but tragically, they still didn't inform anyone where they were going & when they were to be expected back. That one thing would have made all the difference, just as it would have in all these other cases.
 
nomad211 said:
but tragically, they still didn't inform anyone where they were going & when they were to be expected back. That one thing would have made all the difference, just as it would have in all these other cases.
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This is the one concession I make on my winter canoe trips. I check in at the beginning of a one or two week solo trip with either the local Ranger Station or an outfitter who keeps my vehicle for me. They know when to expect me to check back with them within a day or two. My travel path is a charted wilderness river. If I leave the river to explore, my loaded canoe and camp are near my point of leaving the river. If I enter a cave or other dangerous area, I leave some gear outside to mark my entry. So far, I've only needed assistance once. After an unexpected heavy snowfall, the outfitter was unable to get down the mountain trail to the river at my takeout in either my or their trucks to pick me up. Their buds in the Forestry Service picked me up in their specially equipped off-road truck. They knew when and where to expect me to be, and I was there.

I don't carry radios, transponders, GPS, or a cell phone. I doubt that any of them would work in the deep valleys cut by the river. But I do know how to make a stinky black smoky fire if I need help. Mr. Ranger always inspects such out of place events on his turf.

Codger
 
At 2 or 3 ounces I can't think of a reason not to bring a cell phone. Sure coverage is iffy, but if you get in trouble and can manage to eek out a phone call you will save yourself and a lot of other people a tremendous amount of hardship. It can also provide some light and even just the battery could be of use.
 
Cell coverage is less than spotty in mountainous wilderness. Besides, I don't want Cingular buzzing my pocket to announce new feature plans.

Can you hear me now?

Codger
 
There are some situations, at this professor's age, that proper survival gear wouldn't necessarily mitigate: stroke, heart attack, etc. If he stumbled off a path or into a gully or brush during such an event, he'd be hard to find, I suppose.
 
re: cellphones. even if coverage is so spotty you can't get a call out, many times you can get a text message out. That said, the cellphone is one of the first things I leave behind when I head down a trail. Somehow electronic gear and hiking do not go together.
 
Dr. Mudd said:
For me, and for many others I suspect, it's just hard to understand someone who goes hiking alone in an area where he could become lost or injured and not taking even some basic necessities with him. .
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Most people never give any thought to risks or any way to help mitigate them. We here on this board have a different mindset than the general public.

For general public SAR should be free. For risk takers they should put up a bond before they enter. SAR volunteers should be compensated with a modest honorarium for the hrs they put in on missions and training to help offset the costs and attract decent people.

Skam
 
I got a feeling that the old prof has some skills from years gone bye and that he got himself into a bit of trouble that he couldn't stop from taking place. It's gonna happen to all of us at some point in our lives and as far as I'm concerned, there's no better place for it to happen.

re: cellphones, they are great in an emergency and that's exactly how I treat mine. If it's an emergency, or I need to call home, I turn it on. Otherwise, I leave the thing off.
 
Hey Longbow! Check your voicemail and pick another ringtone besides Freebird!:D
 
:D I'm really getting to hate the freebird ringtone. Our daughter has it on her phone and it goes off about every 10 mins.:rolleyes: Mine sounds a lot like the *Eighth of November* by Big & Rich.;) At least, if you sent me a text, that's what I'd hear. If my phone was on. :D
 
I'm about 80% deaf, so mine doesn't ring... it vibrates. When someone calls it can be either startling or thrilling depending upon which pocket it is carried in!:D

I don't suppose there has been an update on this lost hiker story yet?
 
Codger_64 said:
I'm about 80% deaf, so mine doesn't ring... it vibrates. When someone calls it can be either startling or thrilling depending upon which pocket it is carried in!:D

I don't suppose there has been an update on this lost hiker story yet?
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Hahaha! "startling or thrilling" ROFL, so sorry but I find that sentence damn funny man!!!!:D:D
 
I went back to the original article & clicked on the local news header:

UPDATED: 4:10 pm PST November 9, 2007

There is still no sign of a University of Oregon math professor who went hiking in the Three Sisters Wilderness on Sunday -- and hasn't returned.
 
I seem to recall that the family (James Kim) that took a wrong turn and became snowbound recently - where the father went for help and died of exposure - were located thanks to a cellphone signal. Could just be the cheapest PLB you can get.
 
Cell phones and radios depend on location to be usable. My town [hardly in the wilderness] finally got cell phone coverage but only works in about 1/2 the locations here. As a amateur radio Ham I'm very well aware of limitations of various radio systems here also. Even GPS has limitations tho the better ones work well under most situations. Mountains, thick forest , distance of cell phone towers or radio repeaters all are considerations. Know what works and what doesn't in your area !!
 
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