Stranded Woman Survives 11 Days in Rockies

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE): is a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disorder. It may affect the skin, joints, kidneys, and other organs.

General symptoms include:

* Arthritis
* Fatigue
* Fever
* General discomfort, uneasiness or ill feeling (malaise)
* Joint pain and swelling
* Muscle aches
* Nausea and vomiting
* Pleural effusions
* Pleurisy (causes chest pain)
* Psychosis
* Seizures
* Sensitivity to sunlight
* Skin rash
* Swollen glands
 
I'm going with that she was not in 100% right mind, accounting for the loss of shoes and her not knowing where her shoes were at all. Obviously she was not under the effects of weed for 11 days... at least i hope not.

I have to say that it does sound a bit like a Cohen bros. movie. It's a funny story because she is safe at home now and hopefuly in better health, easily could have been a sad story. Just imagine getting the munchies on top of no food for a few days. Ouch.
 
I've also read that sometimes people suffering from hypothermia have delusions of being very warm and strip their clothes off. Maybe?
 
Regardless of the reasons, I think we can all agree that she was lucky. I've lived in Colorado all my life and I've heard plenty of stories that didn't have such a happy ending!!
 
darkwaters said:
Some people aren't even prepaired for a day hike. Last year late summer earliy fall went hiking/rock scrambling and my bro-inlaw and I saw people hiking in flipflops. Weather wasn't bad but there were people asking if we had extra water because they didn't bring any.
Click to expand...

The trouble with water is that it is heavy, most people wont go carrying several lbs of spare water just in case they come across people poorly prepared that don't have any.

As far as flipflops go - could there be any worse footwear for hiking?

Some people are just woefully short of common sense, preparedness and skills for the tasks they are doing. It's a pity that we don't live in the information age so that people could somehow find out what they should do to prepare for a hike . . . oh, wait!
 
Nothing surprises me anymore, IMO it's a matter of natural selection. After spending 11 days in the Rockies with no gear I think I'd be a little crazy too... Psychosis may have been induced by sleeping in the woods and starving for 11 days.
 
PayetteRucker said:
After spending 11 days in the Rockies with no gear I think I'd be a little crazy too... Psychosis may have been induced by sleeping in the woods and starving for 11 days.
Click to expand...

Good point. I get a little nutty if I go 6 hrs. without food. Imagine what 11 days on minimal/no food would do to the brain.
 
Would it be too much to ask whether or not she could have had sense enough not to head off on her own like that with the preexisting conditions she had?

Glad she's still alive, but a little personal responsibility never hurt anybody.
 
bunghole said:
I've also read that sometimes people suffering from hypothermia have delusions of being very warm and strip their clothes off. Maybe?
Click to expand...

bh,

My understanding is that the body has sequestered the blood in the core, trying to conserve the heat. At the point of everything falling apart, there is a collapse of the vasoconstriction which allows the warm blood from the core to circulate in the limbs and one suddenly feels extremely warm. The people strip clothing off, but almost always die as this is just as the body's thermoregulatory system totally fails.

Doc
 
Be very, very careful with the word "Psychosis", gents. It can mean many things and is a generic term.
There are a multitude of possibilities as to why she did what she did; to try and draw a conclusion from such limited information is fallacious.

Just be happy she survived and leave medical and psychological speculation to the pros.


Or you could go ahead and ream eachother over details that aren't there...whatever floats your raft...
 
I'd be interested in hearing her story, assuming she remembers much of it, and about what the article calls a "series of poor decisions" that led to surviving an 11 day "dayhike"(assuming it's more than going out without her meds or whatever). I know, I know. She survived in spite of a series of poor decisions, but it'd still be worth reading.
 
Glad she survived.

First I thought it was a bad idea to leave the car. But then again, imagine you sit in a car for 3 days with almost no food and nobody finding you. You will definitely think that you´re going to die there if you don´t move on.

Is it really always better to stay in the car? Not sure.

In the end it has always to do with luck if you are found or not. Thinking of ordering a second nalgene bottle here...

l.
 
lightleak said:
Is it really always better to stay in the car? Not sure.
Click to expand...
I'd love to know real stats on survival. Anecdotally though, when was the last time you heard a news story like this: "Dad left the family in the car to get help, he survived, but those left behind died." I only recall the other way around...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top