Overdue Hiker - Do You Have Any Info?

Use this forum to stay informed on missing persons alerts, active SAR's and unfortunate hiker accidents we can all hopefully learn from. Any information you may have on a missing person, including first hand weather related information or any other insight (however little) may prove to be critical information to Law Enforcement / SAR in locating the person in question.
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Jimr
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Re: Overdue Hiker - Do You Have Any Info?

Post by Jimr »

A tent is very difficult to spot from the air. A well trained flight crew can easily miss a small tent in such a vast wilderness. The mind tends to filter out detail for the sake of the big picture. It would be easier if the tent were a gaudy, contrasting color that stood out profusely against the colors of nature. Few, if any of us own such a thing. I know first hand how easily a helicopter can be within 100 ft of you, looking for you and not see you even though you are waving at them like a mad man.
If you don't know where you're going, then any path will get you there.
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Re: Overdue Hiker - Do You Have Any Info?

Post by SSSdave »

To expand a bit on Jimr 's post. Consider that if a storm was coming, a person is more likely to tent in a location with wind protection. Such locations may be beneath stunted whitebark pines or next to large boulders below cliffs at talus runouts. Places difficult to view by aircraft.

Another thing that may have happened is quentinc may have taken a minor fall while peakbagging that did not entirely incapacitate him. For many injuries, especially joint/bone/muscle injuries, a person is most capable of still functioning during a short period after an injury occurs before things swell up. So he might have broken a bone in his foot or ankle say such that he was able to hobble down some minor distance to a tentable spot where he managed to put up his tent before the end of Sunday. Then Monday morning he woke up but was unable to move maybe because any movement caused sharp pain or he became barely delious or unconscious. Thus was unable to even get up and out of his tent. Subsequently the tent could be covered with snow with him inside still quite alive though injured. And he could be slowly eating his food laying inside his sleeping bag knowing it had to last. And water would be easily had with snow available right out his tent door.
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Re: Overdue Hiker - Do You Have Any Info?

Post by caveman »

I mean verified that the SEKI-posted tent was verified by Claus or someone else that it was the tent that was taken on this trip. I'm Glen Raines, president of the hiking group , Perfect Pace. DP Hiker is one of our trip leaders. DP Hiker thinks that one of our members, Alan, may be the hiker who he was planning to take along from Birch Lake to Amphitheater Basin next year. I will contact Alan to find out if this is the case. Alan hiked with Larry on the trip that the tent picture was taken. The wording on the facebook post was ambiguous to me as well, but Alan verified with me that the Kelty tent was Larry's tent on the picture I posted. Since they ran into inclement weather on that trip as well, I'm hoping Alan may be able to remember the rain gear Larry was wearing. One of our trip leader's Mike, has incredible memory, and hoping he may be able to remember Larry's gear as well. Larry has attended 28 trips with Perfect Pace since 2007. The last trip he attended with us was the southern sierran tip backpack 3/2-3/4. I have verified with DP Hiker that Larry used the SEKI-posted tent on our Santa Cruz Island trip on May 2011, so it may very well be the one taken on this trip. We have already sent a post to our members to supply any information that may be helpful in the search effort. We are also scanning our pictures for any clues on the clothing or gear he may have taken. If there is anything else we can do to help, let me know.
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Re: Overdue Hiker - Do You Have Any Info?

Post by thegib »

Does anyone know what peaks in the area he's climbed before - so we can cross them off the list? Have the ground teams found any summit registers yet? Which ones? so we can cross them off the list. Speaking for myself, I wouldn't go out Muro Blanco under most any circumstances. Taboose is far and away the most desirable way out. If you can't make it through the howling wind, you sit tight then wait till you can. If you're hurt, you won't get far down the S. Fork anyway. So you'd sit tight and try to build fires. To those going up to help search, has anything changed? are you coordinating in any way w/SEKI?
Not finding a camp makes me think the worst, that he fell with full pack on while going x-cntry. I'd look carefully on both sides of the north ridge of Pinchot. As reconnoitering the JMT is a waste of time, perhaps he went to the lake just north of Pinchot pass then turned SW to cross at 3720m+, descending to the White Fork, with the idea of heading NNW over 3740m+ and looping back to Bench lake. Easier might be to cross Pinchot pass N to S, then head up to cross the N ridge of Crater Mtn, bag Crater, descend to White fork as above, loop to Bench and out. It's doable in 4 days.
Good luck to all searchers.
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Re: Overdue Hiker - Do You Have Any Info?

Post by thegib »

Given the last thing he said was "explore Pinchot pass" I say day one: east side of Taboose. Day two follow JMT to Pinchot pass, then follow the ridge till it connects with the N ridge of Crater Mtn. Bag Crater if you've time, then descend to the lake at 3460m+ (headwaters of White fork). Day three, bag Ickes then cross over to the NW at 3740m+ and descend to as close to Bench as you can get. Day four out. That's a great little route.
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Re: Overdue Hiker - Do You Have Any Info?

Post by sparky »

I have been studying the routes around mt pinchot, striped, goodale, and mt wynne. Mt Wynne sounds like something I would shoot for especially if I was behind schedual and tired....I don't know if Larry would make that descision.

He might have been tired. He was behind schedual on day one. It might have taken him the better part of day 2 to reach taboose pass. If I was in this situation, I would most likely head south.

"Creeks around pinchot pass" If I wanted to check those out, and was behind schedual, but wanted to hit a peak...Mt Wynne and/or Mt Pinchot would be perfect, with Striped and/or Goodale second on the list. I have read the rock around goodale sucks, and is loose "kitty litter" This could be dangerous. Striped is more solid. Wynne is rarely visited (most atrractive to me) very little info on it....class 2/3 via west ridge class 3 via north ridge
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Re: Overdue Hiker - Do You Have Any Info?

Post by caveman »

I have received a response from Alan, the one who backpacked with him in May 2011. Alan informed me that he talked to Larry about Gardiner Basin at one point, but not Amphitheater. Attached are two pictures of Larry in that snowy May 2011 trip. Again, keep in mind these pictures we're taken a year and a half ago. Following is Alan's response:

"Checking my pictures for that trip, these are the only two that show what gear Larry wore when we hiked in the snow.

My two cents is that Larry most definitely brought the right gear for inclement weather. He's been caught in snowy conditions many times in the Sierras, so I'm pretty sure he took the right clothes that would keep him dry and warm in inclement weather. There were many trips where he talked about having to do a lot of postholing. To me, that would mean that he at least had gaters and, hopefully, water resistant pants. Oh, and extra pillows. He was one to bring pillows to fill out his backpack and help with lumbar support.

I'm also sure that he probably did not bring a stove with him. At the Kennedy Meadows trip, I was a little surprised when he said that a stove was too much of a hassle to take on a trip. But I think he would have been smart enough to at least bring matches in an event of an emergency. And he does bring extra food."
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maverick
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Re: Overdue Hiker - Do You Have Any Info?

Post by maverick »

-Thanks for the info and photo's Caveman!

- PM sent DAVELA
Professional Sierra Landscape Photographer

I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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Re: Overdue Hiker - Do You Have Any Info?

Post by sierraholic »

Don't give up hope yet! The other missing hiker on the western Sierra was found.

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/29/494726 ... ierra.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thoughts and prayers for Larry and all the searchers!
"Not all who wonder are lost!"
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Re: Overdue Hiker - Do You Have Any Info?

Post by lostcoyote »

thegib wrote:Given the last thing he said was "explore Pinchot pass" I say day one: east side of Taboose. Day two follow JMT to Pinchot pass, then follow the ridge till it connects with the N ridge of Crater Mtn. Bag Crater if you've time, then descend to the lake at 3460m+ (headwaters of White fork). Day three, bag Ickes then cross over to the NW at 3740m+ and descend to as close to Bench as you can get. Day four out. That's a great little route.
i'll put your idea into a picture map. i believe john dittli also suggested this as a possibility yesterday. (route illustrated in blue)

Image

also note that white fork basin is JUST OUTSIDE the search area (south of the red line i drew on the map above) illustrated a few days ago:

Image
Last edited by lostcoyote on Mon Oct 29, 2012 8:17 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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