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| Post Number: 1
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Talus. 
Delsolation is my destination
Group: Members
Posts: 1897
Joined: Aug. 2006
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Posted on: Sep. 26 2012, 12:38 pm |
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This man had nearly completed doing all the 46ers in the ADK's. Had just a phone for navigation.
Story
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“Mountains are not Stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.”
― Anatoli Boukreev
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| Post Number: 2
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RebeccaD
Double Arch, Arches N.P.
Group: Members
Posts: 9994
Joined: Jul. 2004
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Posted on: Sep. 26 2012, 12:51 pm |
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Big mistake. Relying in technology with no back-up. Anything battery-powered can and will fail. If you can't find your way without it, then. . .
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Bits of writerly thoughts and random short fiction found at
The Ninja Librarian Blog
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| Post Number: 3
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nogods
Group: Members
Posts: 5492
Joined: Sep. 2007
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Posted on: Sep. 26 2012, 1:10 pm |
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For the past several years I've pretty much used my gps for navigation in the field, and although I carry sufficient batteries for the expected time plus one extra set, I still carry maps and compass in case the gps itself dies or gets lost, or I get into a situation where the gps is not as good as a map and compass.
I was recently talking to a forest ranger who told me they regularly get calls from people who can tell them thie location from the gps but apparently don't know how to use the gps to find their way out, some of them evening calling from a trail asking which direction to go.
Oh, and the part about being a 46're is of no big relevance. In fact, many of the aspiring 46'ers I've met are the least prepared hikers I've met on the trail. They seem mostly interested in getting up and getting down a peak so they can cross it off their list. They fill their photo pages with views from the top (and complaints about the few 46 peaks without views) and not much else. Makes one wonder why they even bother to climb the trail up Whiteface. Anyone can see the same thing by driving and taking a short walk.
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| Post Number: 4
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Lamebeaver
trail? I don't need no stinkin trail!
Group: Members
Posts: 16352
Joined: Aug. 2004
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Posted on: Sep. 26 2012, 1:22 pm |
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People can get lost with a compass too. I carry one as a habit, but on many trips I never look at it.
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| Post Number: 5
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High_Sierra_Fan
Group: Members
Posts: 39803
Joined: Aug. 2005
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Posted on: Sep. 26 2012, 1:51 pm |
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I've had more paper map "failures" than electronic. Blown away in huge wind gust, soaked in rain, torn, run out of the coverage off the edge.... Never had a compass go bad or get lost or smashed in a drop but absent a map a compass is a nice paperweight.
But no backup in what I expect was a lot of forest cover was certainly foolish, whether that be additional power or other navigation aids. If he'd been consistently doing that I'd have thought he'd have become sensitive to his power needs....
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| Post Number: 6
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big_load
Group: Members
Posts: 21963
Joined: Jun. 2004
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Posted on: Sep. 26 2012, 1:59 pm |
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I wonder about the details of his getting lost. Did he try to retrace his steps, but was unable to? Also, the story says what time they found him, but not what time he called.
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| Post Number: 7
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GoBlueHiker
Obsessive Island Hopper...
Group: Members
Posts: 14219
Joined: Jul. 2006
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Posted on: Sep. 26 2012, 2:01 pm |
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I have trouble figuring out why a cell phone dying on a trail would necessitate a rescue.
He walked in on a trail. He wasn't injured. The map app on his cell phone died. Instead of calling the calvary to come get him, couldn't he just turn around and walk back to the car the same way he came in? Or was he so glued to the phone that he had no awareness of his surroundings or knowledge of where the trail actually had gone, and couldn't find his way back using any form of recollection (or apparently, acknowledging there was a trail behind him that he'd just walked up)?
It kinda boggles my mind a bit. Perhaps there is some information missing from the story, I dunno.
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Wealth needs more. Happiness needs less. Simplify.
www.RainForestTreks.com
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| Post Number: 8
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High_Sierra_Fan
Group: Members
Posts: 39803
Joined: Aug. 2005
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Posted on: Sep. 26 2012, 2:22 pm |
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The trailhead he started out on may not have led to a trail that went to his summit destination, my understanding is a number of those peaks are bushwhacks. So as noted he may have been 'lost" off trail and in complex enough terrain a return to the trail might not have been straightforward. Coming off a peak down into the wrong drainage and things get weird fast....
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| Post Number: 9
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GoBlueHiker
Obsessive Island Hopper...
Group: Members
Posts: 14219
Joined: Jul. 2006
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Posted on: Sep. 26 2012, 2:32 pm |
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(High_Sierra_Fan @ Sep. 26 2012, 12:22 pm)
QUOTE The trailhead he started out on may not have led to a trail that went to his summit destination, my understanding is a number of those peaks are bushwhacks. So as noted he may have been 'lost" off trail and in complex enough terrain a return to the trail might not have been straightforward. Coming off a peak down into the wrong drainage and things get weird fast....
If that was the case for this guy, it's a bit more understandable, although I still fail to see it completely, considering he'd already gotten himself in there.
I've done plenty of bushwhacking myself, I'm plenty familiar with the nature of it. Yes, one can get mixed up, but that's also why one needs to frequently consult the map, which of course he didn't have.
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Wealth needs more. Happiness needs less. Simplify.
www.RainForestTreks.com
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| Post Number: 10
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nogods
Group: Members
Posts: 5492
Joined: Sep. 2007
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Posted on: Sep. 26 2012, 4:05 pm |
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Those are "trailess" peaks - meaning they have no official NYS trails. But it isn't bushwhacking. They are "herd paths" maintained by the 46'er club, and the beginning of the trails are old "truck" trails.
However, they are rugged trails in some very rugged country, and not easy to negotiate in the dark. Walking off in the wrong direction without a compass or gps could easily be a disaster.
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| Post Number: 11
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Dicentra
Bring it.
Group: Members
Posts: 15139
Joined: Sep. 2004
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Posted on: Sep. 26 2012, 4:13 pm |
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At least it wasn't a SPOT.
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One Pan Wonders ~ Back Country Cooking at its Finest
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| Post Number: 12
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Arizona
Valhalla, I am coming
Group: Members
Posts: 514
Joined: Apr. 2007
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Posted on: Sep. 26 2012, 6:57 pm |
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I keep my compass in my shirt pocket and use it to mark the vehicle, camp and any other spots of high interest as well as using the GPS. It is much more than a paper weight without a map. You can keep track of exact locations even if you don’t have a map. You really have to have it in use for it to be much good if the GPS does go out. The waterproof maps are great now and one can certainly see far more territory on a paper map at a glance than the little GPS screen. I sympathize with the wind problems. They can be brutal. I have no sympathy for Mr no map or compass. We use all the navigational tools when off trail and they are only part of navigation in the backcountry.
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| Post Number: 13
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DonTom
Trixie
Group: Members
Posts: 3412
Joined: Feb. 2010
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Posted on: Oct. 03 2012, 6:13 pm |
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(GoBlueHiker @ Sep. 26 2012, 11:01 am)
QUOTE He walked in on a trail. Even been lost for a while on a trail? I have , for a short while, but my GPS gets me back to the correct trail. There are places where I have only noticed a single trail, take it back the same way (I thought), to find somehow I end up at a much different place than I started from. Some trails "Y" and the wrong trail is the more noticeable one on the way back. I might not even notice the correct trail that I came in on where it "Y" ed because I never even saw where it "Y" ed.
BTW, I not only bring extra batteries, I always take two GPS units. A Garmin and a Delorme.
-Don-
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-Don- South San Francisco, CA or Cold Springs Valley, NV (near Reno).
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| Post Number: 14
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City Man
Group: Members
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Joined: Dec. 2007
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Posted on: Oct. 03 2012, 7:29 pm |
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I truly like and enjoy the ease that technology has added to my trips, I always have a map and compass just the same and usually depend on the map and compass more then the GPS.
I usually only use the GPS here and there for a quick spot check and verification.
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It never hurts to do good – Eek the Cat
The quest for adventure is a never ending pursuit, an all consuming way to live life, it is a deep feeling that will never go away, embrace that feeling and have fun with your adventures.
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| Post Number: 15
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SnidelyWhiplash
Group: Members
Posts: 522
Joined: Jul. 2012
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Posted on: Oct. 03 2012, 8:28 pm |
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I pretty much just navigate by map thse days. I really only reference my compass when I'm wondering about the name of a distant peak or some other feature. I can't remember the last time I used my GPS on the trail.
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