Backpacking trip mishap from this summer

[AlmostThere]

The Coast Guard doesn't come inland to participate in hiker searches.

This would come as news to the two hikers and five rescue workers looking for them who were located and extracted from the 5000-foot level of Mt Adams in central Washington by a Coast Guard SAR crew based at the mouth of the Columbia River. The incident was one of several inland hiker SAR operations depicted in the Weather Channel's Coast Guard: Cape Disappointment series, and those were from just one CG station in the space of a few months.

Actually the Coast Guard often lends a hand to sheriff's departments and other agencies involved in non-marine SAR. A Google search for coast + guard + hiker + rescue yields half a million results.

They never helped my team at all. Nor in any of the mutual aids I've been in across the state -- never saw them at the conferences or statewide trainings either. You learn something every day, obviously. Seriously doubt tho that their own website would host stats for all the inland rescues....

[Jimr]

I don't want to turn this into a SAR resource discussion, but the involvement of CG is possibly a resource availability decision.

[SSSdave]

Thanks kpeter, your story well complements the thread night issues and is something I tend to be careful about. I make quite an effort after arriving at destination zones, looking for a camp spot. Like you I always drop my weighty pack and then head off on a search while maybe just grabbing topo and water bottle. My searches often last quite awhile, more than a half hour, as it also serves purpose of exploring the local zone for later photography. And upon dropping the beast, I carefully examine where I am on the landscape that may include looking at the topo so returning will be certain.

The issue becomes more dangerous in forest to the extent if my notion is to possibly wander away some distance I may choose to continue to carry the pack. And as you noted that is grounded by the realization that one of the prime directives out remotely in the backcountry is not to put oneself in a situation that removes our mortal fleshly bodies from the necessary protection of our modern equipment and clothing.

I always carry some aluminum foil that has multiple purposes. While the sun is out, placing spread out foil atop one's pack can assist being able to notice a pack from a distance. I am more apt to do that when I want another group member to see my gear while I am not around that is catching up after say lingering behind.

My decades honed map skills and ability to size up positions on landscapes is exceptional thus can greatly depend on that to do so with confidence. Another way this comes into play is day hiking after base camping in remote locations. If during daylight hours one never wanders off away from camp spots far after making backcountry camps, it won't matter wherever one camps. Also if one camps along trails or lake edges, finding one's camp after exploring day hiking well away is likely trivial. However I more often site camps well away from trails and lake edges while base camping in which my day hiking may involve considerable ramblings far away for hours. Thus again need to be able to return with certainty to my camp spots that may include wisely noting where my path routes versus the map that I have a strong habit of continually looking at. The issue of being able to find one's camp becomes more dangerous again in dense forest so that also needs to be considered when siting camps.

The problem for solo novices that are not familiar with these scenarios is upon putting themselves in these situations the first time they may like kpeter not bother to carefully note where they left gear and later find themselves confused looking for their camp.

[Wandering Daisy]

Mountaineers usually prefer brightly colored clothing, packs and tents so base camp can easily be found at the end of a long day's climb and sometimes in a white-out. Given the choice of bright colors or "environmentally" proper subdued colors, the older I get, the more I go for bright colors. In fact, when solo backpacking I always have at least one very bright colored item to use as a "flag" if I need to be seen in a rescue situation. However, since i usually buy gear on sales, my latest pack is black and my gray Tarptent is particularly difficult to see. I wish Tarptent would offer a bright colored option. My new Big Agnes Copper Spur is brightly colored. I actually bought a pruple spoon so I would not lose it! Not that being spoonless is critical, but I hate losing gear of any kind.

My husband always uses a GPS and takes a reading on the tent location. He makes no bones about it- he hopelessly unable to read a map and has absolutely no sense of direction. For him, the GPS is an essential piece of gear. I think beginners need to do this too until they get more experience.

[maverick]

I wish Tarptent would offer a bright colored option.

Ain't gonna happen, have inquired about this before, Henry falls into the environmentally proper, blend into nature camp.

[longri]

I've always thought it better to blend into the environment given that it's shared. The whole notion of being alone in the wilderness is frequently just an illusion given the traffic and the relative nearness of civilization. So a big bright tent with reflective tape and a flashing superbright LED inside seems like too large a visual footprint.

With GPS technology it would seem much simpler to set a waypoint. A secondary approach is to memorize landmarks to build some temporary cairns if that's insufficient.

I've had trouble locating camp many times. Once we spent hours searching in the dark for our two bivy sacks that were placed in an inconspicuous spot amidst the talus. We'd actually walked right past them, within about 30 feet, an hour or so before we finally located them.


My favorite tent color is yellow though... so the heck with blending in.

[maverick]

My favorite tent color is yellow though... so the heck with blending in.

How about placing some strips of Luminous Marking Tape on each of your hiking poles, they are water resistant, and put them in an area, standing erect, near your tent so that they are visible from a distance.

[Shhsgirl]

This is a great thread, and, being 65, I appreciate very much Anne's story. I am with Daisy, in that I never go far from the tarp to pee. I always wear my headlight and glasses when I leave my tarp at night, although I usually have the headlight off. I have temporarily lost my pack when scouting out campsites, and it has been aggravating. I can see how it can become scary very quickly, and am glad to have read this and gotten fair warning. I don't think I will be dropping the pack after this.

I have become seriously disoriented in car campgrounds at night, trying to get back to the tent from the bathroom. I developed the habit of carefully noting my way to the bathroom, landmarks, etc., so I can get back.

Thank you, Oleander, for a very useful discussion.

[Ska-T]

Given the choice of bright colors or "environmentally" proper subdued colors, the older I get, the more I go for bright colors.

Years ago when I was a poor struggling post-doc backpacking near Bishop Pass with another impoverished academic a clothing cop from the subdued color school passed us in the opposite direction and said, with dripping sarcasm, "You guys certainly are a colorful group!". I laughed to myself because our choice of colors wasn't based on anything other than what was available on sale.

Nowadays days I am usually subdued if I take off my bright red bandana, leave my yellow shoes and matching Dirty Girl peace symbol gaiters back home, and don't put on my home-sewn bright teal rain shorts.

[rlown]

I wear surplus marine desert pants and a grey flannel plaid long sleeve shirt. Try and find me.