How a hiker found Steve Fossett’s crash site
You probably heard the story by now of how Steve Fossett’s plane crash site was found in the Sierra Nevada mountains by a lone hiker last month. It turns out the discovery was basically the result of luck and the Army National Guard posted a good article on the circumstances.
Preston Morrow, whose wife Natalie is an officer in the Nevada National Guard, went hiking September 29 with his dog in the Inyo National Forest with the intent of reaching the Mineret mine. After 4-5 miles of hiking, Morrow realized he wouldn’t make it to the mine and back before dark so he decided to hike off trail to the top of a 10,000 foot ridge to get a view of the area. On his way back down he came across Fossett’s ID and over $1,000 in cash.
The next day Preston and Natalie returned to the area with a wildlife specialist and videographer to get GPS coordinates of the site. During that trip Natalie found Fossett’s black Nautica sweatshirt in the forest. The rest, as they say, is history and recently Fossett’s remains were identified using DNA technology putting an end to the unofficial search operation.
For many folks, the idea of never knowing what you’ll see or find on a hike is what makes hiking so addictive. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve resisted turning around on an out-and-back hike just because I wanted to see what was around the next corner. Keep hiking and bring your camera whenever you go out - you never know what you’ll run into!
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