Hiker Spends Extra Night in Wilderness
Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:20 am
I saw this on Hiker Hell. Thought it might be worthwhile to learn from a guy who did something smart when in jam. Emphasis added.
Now, that being said, I've hiked out many a time by the light of the moon and not had a problem. I think the calculus is somewhere along the lines of "can I really get out tonight, and can I do it safely?" If not, time to bed down an hour or so before it gets dark. I once did a forced bivvy. I hiked until it was too dark to hike anymore. I crawled into some bushes to sleep. In the morning I woke up in the middle of ... poison oak. Bed down early.Hiker Spends Extra Night in Wilderness
Who: A 54-year-old man
Where: Linville Gorge, North Carolina
His mistake: He separated from the two friends he was hiking with.
What happened: Rick Cobb was hiking with two friends when they separated for an unknown reason around noon. They planned to meet around 5 p.m., but when Cobb didn’t show up by 9 p.m., his friends called for help.
Multiple agencies, volunteer services and search and rescue groups began to search for Cobb. When darkness fell, Cobb – an experienced backpacker – decided to hunker down for the night. He stayed put, made some bedding and waited for daylight to start moving again. Cobb had a fire starter, water and food with him.
The next morning, Cobb was able to find his way out of the gorge. Rescue crews located Cobb while he was hiking to the parking lot. He was cold and hungry, but in good condition.
Rescuers credit Cobb’s discipline to stop moving at nightfall and hunkering down for the night. If Cobb decided to wander through the wilderness at night, he may have gotten even more lost or could’ve slipped and injured himself.
