It seems like there have been a number of stories about lost or stranded hikers in the past month and I suppose as the weather warms up we’ll be seeing even more. Springtime, in particular, can be more dangerous than other times of the year for a few reasons:

• Weather changes quickly in the spring. I find it funny that almost everyone, no matter where they live, thinks their area has the craziest weather in the country. Yep, in the springtime you may have a hot day followed by a cool one or a sunny day followed by thunderstorms or even snow showers. That’s spring - the weather is changing.
• For many of us who skip camping and hiking trips in the cold winter months our outdoor skills tend to be dulled a little while after living indoors. The same goes for physical stamina as well - spring may not be the best time to attempt that summit you couldn’t quite reach at the end of last summer due to exhaustion. Get a few moderate hikes under your belt before you attempt the tough stuff this year.
• Trails and campgrounds may still be wet even if it hasn’t rained in days. Snow melt and general spring sogginess can happen well into June so be prepared.

That last tip is particularly applicable to the group of friends who found themselves stranded in a flooded Beegam Gorge near Platina, CA. After the guys realized they were stuck they did all the right things and a helicopter found them just one day after they failed to return from their trip.

My favorite part of the story comes at the end when the helicopter pilot offers the group a choice: be airlifted to safety but leave their dog behind OR take a GPS to help them navigate out of the gorge themselves. The dog’s owner decides they’ll take their chances with the GPS (bravo!) but in the end they are able to give the dog a sedative so he too can take the helicopter ride out.

Now that’s a happy ending

Two Appalachian Trail news items of interest this week:

Mike Caetano of Pensacola, FL is hoping to become the oldest person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail and he’s already on his way into the record books. The 86-year-old man started his hike this spring and hopes to complete the journey in November. Caetano is planning a “flip-flop” hike where he’ll skip some southern sections of the trail this summer and will return to them in the fall to complete the hike. This is not Caetano’s first time on the trail as he’s “section-hiked” the entire Appalachian trail in the past. The current record holder, 81-year-old Lee Barry, completed his thru-hike in 2004. We’ll try to keep you posted on Caetano’s progress as we hear more…

A legally blind hiker was rescued after becoming lost on the Appalachian Trail last week where he spent 6 days alone in Amherst County, VA. Ken Knight became separated from his group while hiking on the trail and it took rescuers three days of searching to locate the man (he wasn’t reported missing until three days after he disappeared). After lighting a signal fire that turned into a 2-acre brush fire, Knight was found by rescuers mostly unharmed.

Knight says he’ll consider hiking with a satellite beacon or a cell phone next time but points out that the most important things hikers should bring along are survival skills. Technology can fail he says and survival skills may be the only thing that keep you alive until help arrives. Amen to that.

A woman missing in the Pisgah National Forest since Sunday walked out of the forest safely on her own after about 24 hours in the wild. The UNC-Asheville student had been hiking alone Sunday afternoon and when she didn’t return that evening her roommate alerted authorities who mounted a seach and rescue effort. In so many of these cases we hear about the things hikers do wrong when they get lost in the woods but it turns out Lindsey Pfundstein actually made the right choices:

• She left a note with a roommate saying where she went and when she’d return. Lindsey ended up changing her plans a bit but rescuers were still able to find her vehicle quickly and were searching in the general area where she was lost.
• Lindsey brought along water and food. Many hikers skip the water and food, especially if they’re only planning on a short trek but in an emergency this can be a lifesaver.
• At night Lindsey found shelter and stopped moving around. Nighttime can be disorienting and oftentimes lost hikers will become even more lost trying to navigate at night. Lindsey also found an Adirondack (3-sided) shelter and covered herself with leaves to stay warm. Bear Grylls would have been proud
• She didn’t panic - at least that’s the feeling I got from reading the article. When Lindsey walked out of the woods she spoke with a reporter who asked, “Are you searching?” she replied “No, I I think I’m the one they’re looking for.” Such a calm response is pretty amazing considering what she went through. A positive mental attitude is probably the most important thing to bring to the outdoors.

We’re glad this story had such a happy ending. Hopefully others will take this as a lesson on hiking safety and what to do when lost outdoors…

Three blazes on a hiking trail signifies the beginning and end points of the trail.

Hikers in Duluth, MN are asking for better trail markings on the Kekekabic Trail to keep hikers from becoming lost on the sometimes confusing and winding 42 mile trail. A burned out area in one section makes the trail even more difficult to follow and just last fall 2 hikers were lost in the area for 3 days before being rescued.

Normally Superior National Forest officials would have no problem improving trail markings and signage but much of the Kekekabic Trail lies in wilderness areas where man made objects, particularly signs, are prohibited. Proponents of the signage argue that massive rescue efforts with helicopters and search groups like the one undertaken last fall actually have a much greater impact on the wilderness area than a few strategically placed signs. Officials from the forest service say they’re willing to consider additional trail markings and for now it seems there is little opposition.

What do you think? Should trail signs and/or markings be allowed in wilderness areas? Are trails in and of themselves evidence of human activity in wilderness areas?