desert dweller
Trail Wise!
Power to the Peaceful...Hate does not create.
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Post by desert dweller on Feb 24, 2020 7:26:34 GMT -8
Quite the story. MailOnline‘I went from hiking on a beautiful day…to making a goodbye video to my family’ By CLAIRE NELSON PUBLISHED: 19:02 EST, 22 February 2020 | UPDATED: 03:41 EST, 23 February 2020Often, the most dangerous moves are the ones that don’t feel like it: there are no red flags, no alarm bells. Everything during those next few seconds happened so fast, yet each movement left a clear and perceptible etch in my memory. My right foot slipping. The desperate flutter as the fingers of my left hand scrabbled for something to hold on to.
It seemed to happen so slowly, yet in real time it was no more than a few seconds. A slide and a brief scuffle of dust. With that, I slipped off the edge.
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davesenesac
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Our precious life is short within eternity, don't waste it!
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Post by davesenesac on Feb 24, 2020 8:08:44 GMT -8
Very lucky to still be alive. A human needs to have exceptional inner mental strength to survive 3 cold nights in such a remote place while suffering painful injuries. Like many of our Southwest desert parks, there are vast dry waterless areas without trails, miles from anywhere where one might walk for hours while never crossing paths any others have walked in decades. Many such places are accessible right along paved highways. Death Valley NP has more such remoteness than anywhere else.
Although I've always been attracted to exploring such places, it is a dangerous game even when one has learned the rules. Below is an episode where I bit off a bit too much. Follow down the link to the "Black Mountains badlands adventure" heading:
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tigger
Trail Wise!
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Post by tigger on Feb 24, 2020 8:19:36 GMT -8
Wow. What a story.
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Post by johntpenca on Feb 24, 2020 8:24:47 GMT -8
The funny thing was reading the comments to the article.
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toejam
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Hiking to raise awareness
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Post by toejam on Feb 24, 2020 9:04:44 GMT -8
The funny thing was reading the comments to the article. Bunch of critical couch potatoes. Y'all stay home and be safe.
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Post by trinity on Feb 24, 2020 9:15:11 GMT -8
Y'all stay home and be safe.
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reuben
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Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
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Post by reuben on Feb 24, 2020 9:53:26 GMT -8
Bunch of critical couch potatoes. Y'all stay home and be safe. They'll die on their couches watching Netflix and feel not only good, but self-righteous about it. HYOH.
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Feb 24, 2020 10:11:13 GMT -8
Yeah, a lot of non-hikers there! And all the comments about “let someone know where you are going”... she did! And that, I will note, is why she was found.
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Hungry Jack
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Living and dying in 3/4 time...
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Post by Hungry Jack on Feb 25, 2020 5:18:51 GMT -8
The funny thing was reading the comments to the article. So often the case. I like the one about "metabolize her emotions."
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Post by autumnmist on Feb 25, 2020 11:45:50 GMT -8
I think she went through a lifetime of emotions, and a lot of self analysis, which I thought very introspective and insightful:
"... did not regret the person I was, but I regretted not accepting who I was, not embracing her fully. ... I’d wasted all that precious time distracting myself from putting myself out there and finding my voice."
Powerful insights. She was a lot stronger mentally than she realized.
I thought the "comments" were petty and vindictive. Some people are threatened by others who don't necessary push the edge, but do explore it. It's easier just to be safe and let the world go by.
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Hungry Jack
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Living and dying in 3/4 time...
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Post by Hungry Jack on Feb 25, 2020 13:04:44 GMT -8
I thought the "comments" were petty and vindictive. Some people are threatened by others who don't necessary push the edge, but do explore it. A lot of forums generally aren't very forgiving of mistakes like this. I have seen this a lot on 14ers.com when rescue missions for novice hikers make the news. The place went berserk about 4-5 years ago when some guy did a dumb thing and brought his German Shepherd on a difficult traverse off Mt. Bierstadt. The dogs paws got shredded on the rock, the day got late, and he had to abandon the dog at about 13,500 ft. Another hiker found the dog the next day, posted about it on the site, and within a day a bunch of hikers went up and rescued the dog. The owner was absolutely pilloried online to the point where it was redundant over 10 pages or more. The owner was eventually (justly) fined, and the dog was given new owers.
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Post by autumnmist on Feb 26, 2020 8:22:44 GMT -8
I'm afraid that I wouldn't have been tolerant of anyone who abandoned a dog, especially at a level of 13,500 feet.
Still, the wrath that people display reflects so much anger, and if I write anything more this will be moved to the TPA.
As I've said before, "Lord of the Flies" mentalities.
And apparently the initial response is to be critical. Still, I would never have abandoned a dog under those conditions. But I would have had pads for the dog's feet so the paws weren't injured.
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Hungry Jack
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Living and dying in 3/4 time...
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Post by Hungry Jack on Feb 26, 2020 8:31:47 GMT -8
I'm afraid that I wouldn't have been tolerant of anyone who abandoned a dog, especially at a level of 13,500 feet. Still, the wrath that people display reflects so much anger, and if I write anything more this will be moved to the TPA. As I've said before, "Lord of the Flies" mentalities. And apparently the initial response is to be critical. Still, I would never have abandoned a dog under those conditions. But I would have had pads for the dog's feet so the paws weren't injured. Of course. I agree. Abandoning a dog at 14,000 ft is reprehensible. But my take-away from the event was 1) the guy did a very human (dumb) thing 2) people rallied to save the dog. But the pitchfork mob online was a site to behold. Unfortunately, online forums unleash a special brand of invective that would be absent in most face-to-face forums (we agree).
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Post by autumnmist on Feb 26, 2020 8:35:37 GMT -8
Hungry Jack , I understand, and agree. online forums unleash a special brand of invective that would be absent in most face-to-face forums Perhaps it's part of the fact that people post anonymously, although some of them don't and feel they can be freer with their criticisms. I wonder how many of them would act the same way if they met the man face to face. Or, maybe I don't want to know. Perhaps we're learning how NOT to interact with people as we rely more and more on less personal contact but more contact through electronics. Reminds me of an in-service we had when I worked outside of law, in a company with multiple departments, some of which weren't cooperative with ours (they wanted to manage a capital program in our jurisdiction.) That day, the guest speaker addressed the "how to win friends and influence people" philosophy. We had to meet with an employee we didn't know, spend 5 minutes of discussion on each of our lives, accomplishments, qualities, etc., and find a certain number of positive aspects about this person. I wondered if I could do it - knowing absolutely nothing about this person from a competing and sometimes hostile department, and anticipating that we both were going to emphasize our good qualities. But somehow we got beyond that and actually found valuable insights in each other. It was nice to know that reaching deeper into the personality and soul of another person can yield positive results if we're motivated to do so.
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Hungry Jack
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Living and dying in 3/4 time...
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Post by Hungry Jack on Feb 26, 2020 8:39:46 GMT -8
Perhaps we're learning how NOT to interact with people as we rely more and more on less personal contact but more contact through electronics. Yes! I am watching this closely with my son, who gets ample screen time but has yet to get into social media (he's only 9--a few years away). So far, he is very social and empathetic, so all good. But it is a real concern as he gets into his teens.
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