balzaccom
Trail Wise!
Waiting for spring...
Posts: 4,747
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Post by balzaccom on Dec 5, 2022 14:00:23 GMT -8
He starts by saying he is completely prepared. Uh huh.
Then he says that the trailhead and the destination are at the same altitude, so there should be no climbs--a flat walk. By this logic, you could hike from the South Rim to the North Rim in the Grand Canyon, because they are almost the same elevation. Maybe he should learn to read a topo map.
Then he says he's overly prepared, with six or seven days of food. Then admits that he doesn't have enough fuel to cook that food. Uh huh.
He won't hike cross country up to the trailhead--he needs a trail. But anyone who has done real hiking in the snow knows that trails are of very limited help---it's often easier just to hike straight up the slope...since the snow covers a lot of what would be obstacles. And it's half a mile, which the SAR team can see, and they keep telling him that. And he keeps not hearing it.
He won't hike 1/2 mile up the hill, but he has energy enough to set up camp, and to hike around to "scout out his situation." He even has enough energy to tamp down a large area of the snow so that the SAR team can spend the night with him there. That's what he does for three hours. It would take far less energy to just hike the hell out. Especialy since he tells the SAR that two and half hours isn't enough time for him to do that, and then they come down and walk him out in plenty of time...well within the two and half hours.
I did like the part about how he bought his Garmin just for these kinds of situations...and learned that it doesn't really solve the problem.
Nope. Not even Garmin can fix stupid.
But I am looking at this from the SAR team point of view: I hear the guy. He says he's fine, if a little tired. He has food and shelter. He's not in danger. Great. We'll send a team out to the nearest trailhead, 1/2 mile way, and he can meet us there. Should be no problem.
Next day he says, Nope. No can do. You've got to come get me.
They walk down the 1/2 mile and show him the way out. He grumbles. He says he seriously needed rescue, then points out how he was strong enough to help them turn around their snowmobiles--even makes fun of them for needing his help to do this.
And then complains that after he posts everything he does on YouTube, they shouldn't post about the rescue because, you know, it makes him look like an idiot.
Yes it does.
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FamilySherpa
Trail Wise!
Tangled up in Rhododendron
Posts: 1,791
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Post by FamilySherpa on Dec 5, 2022 14:20:18 GMT -8
I'm kindof thinking that regardless of all the ridicule and scorn he received, he actually got what he intended out of this whole charade, which is clicks and internet engagement. Sadly, on the internet, negative attention is the same as positive attention.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Dec 5, 2022 15:24:46 GMT -8
His phone needs a "Find My Trailhead" function. The new Apple iPhone 14s do. Auto on a backtrack feature when it detects “wilderness”; meaning no Wi-Fi. I’ve mine paired with my 4Runner and whenever I leave the parked vehicle it’s location is added to my map. Fun to see when I’m heading back in a train and I can see exactly how much further it’ll be (I’ve gone past stations before…) but that backtrack feature does breadcrumbs from what I understand.
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BigLoad
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Pancakes!
Posts: 13,452
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Post by BigLoad on Dec 5, 2022 15:55:35 GMT -8
His phone needs a "Find My Trailhead" function. The new Apple iPhone 14s do. Auto on a backtrack feature when it detects “wilderness”; meaning no Wi-Fi. I’ve mine paired with my 4Runner and whenever I leave the parked vehicle it’s location is added to my map. Fun to see when I’m heading back in a train and I can see exactly how much further it’ll be (I’ve gone past stations before…) but that backtrack feature does breadcrumbs from what I understand.
My ancient Garmin has about 50 waypoints that are some variation of the word "car". I should probably clean them up, but to be honest, my next hike will probably start somewhere in the vicinity of "car51".
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zeke
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Peekaboo slot 2023
Posts: 10,014
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Post by zeke on Dec 5, 2022 16:00:33 GMT -8
BigLoad Car 54, Where are you? ( Very old TV show)
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BigLoad
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Pancakes!
Posts: 13,452
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Post by BigLoad on Dec 5, 2022 16:26:26 GMT -8
While pondering this issue earlier today, I recalled a couple times on multi-day trips when I encountered major trail re-routes that conflicted with my maps and routes I had loaded onto my GPS. I don't know the reason for the first one, which went around the east side of a mountain, instead of the west side as had previously been the case. I was almost done skirting the whole mountain before I felt entirely confident of being able to reach my actual destination. I would have felt lost if I didn't understand the map and the terrain. As it was, I was mainly concerned about how much extra time it might take, since the new route was longer. The other time I hit a big surprise deviation, the trail had been recently rerouted due to fire damage.
Those and similar experiences reinforced for me how valuable it is to understand the landscape all around me from start to finish. I think of routes in terms of this mountain and the next mountain, or on a smaller scale, some collection of drainages. It's hard not to feel harshly judgmental about an unimpaired person giving up with such a short distance to cover. At least it didn't turn into a recovery.
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BigLoad
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Pancakes!
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Post by BigLoad on Dec 5, 2022 16:26:58 GMT -8
BigLoad Car 54, Where are you? ( Very old TV show) At my current pace, I might not get there until next year.
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Post by Sleeping Bag Man! on Dec 5, 2022 17:21:43 GMT -8
I'm kindof thinking that regardless of all the ridicule and scorn he received, he actually got what he intended out of this whole charade, which is clicks and internet engagement. Sadly, on the internet, negative attention is the same as positive attention. The vast majority of comments on the YouTube video are ridicule & scorn for the Idaho County Sheriff Dept. In fact this morning the top comment was someone urging Conti to sue the Sheriff Dept. for defamation. Looks like that may have since been deleted. On Facebook there are more voices sympathetic to the authorities...but still mostly in Conti's favor.
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Post by Sleeping Bag Man! on Dec 5, 2022 17:47:09 GMT -8
Great. We'll send a team out to the nearest trailhead, 1/2 mile way, and he can meet us there. Should be no problem. Next day he says, Nope. No can do. You've got to come get me. They walk down the 1/2 mile and show him the way out. He grumbles. He says he seriously needed rescue... At 12:42pm he tells dispatch "Fine but I feel like I'm walking to disaster" The deputies walk to him instead - a walk which he just described as a potential disaster - but instead of admitting that his fears were unfounded & expressing gratitude for being assisted in overcoming those fears... ...he complains ( 19:40): "I finally have to ask for food, and I'm given one Clif Bar (scoff)"
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zeke
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Peekaboo slot 2023
Posts: 10,014
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Post by zeke on Dec 5, 2022 18:17:30 GMT -8
Anyone who has ever eaten any sort of bar while out in the snow is well aware it has to be thawed out in the pocket for quite some time. Probably took him the entire 1/2 mile walk just to make it chewable.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Dec 5, 2022 18:27:18 GMT -8
Anyone who has ever eaten any sort of bar while out in the snow is well aware it has to be thawed out in the pocket for quite some time. Probably took him the entire 1/2 mile walk just to make it chewable. Lol yes. Though the more cake like ones aren’t near the challenge of the original PowerBars that pretty much turned into stone.
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bcpete
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There's cool, and then there's me.
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Post by bcpete on Dec 5, 2022 20:22:57 GMT -8
Anyone who has ever eaten any sort of bar while out in the snow is well aware it has to be thawed out in the pocket for quite some time. It takes me about 5 minutes to thaw a frozen Snickers bar so I can bite into it without breaking a tooth, but I have to put it under my armpit ... under all my layers of course. The bonus is that my wife is less inclined to want a bite.
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Travis
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WYOMING NATIVE
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Post by Travis on Dec 5, 2022 21:54:33 GMT -8
At about 12:00 minutes into the video there is a topo map showing the location where Conti hit the SOS. That same location is shown on Acme Mapper here. You can see the topo with much better clarity at the link. From his SOS to the nearest road is about a mile as the crow flies and about a 900-foot climb. He says he arrives to the closer lake at about noon. From there the half-mile 900 foot climb begins. Switching between USA Topo and satellite, the topo shows a fairly steep climb, but the satellite seems to show fairly easy ground cover. And evidently the sheriff's deputies didn't find the descent all that tough. But they didn't have to spend time making a YouTube video of their indecision.
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Travis
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WYOMING NATIVE
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Post by Travis on Dec 5, 2022 21:57:15 GMT -8
Anyone who has ever eaten any sort of bar while out in the snow is well aware it has to be thawed out in the pocket for quite some time. It takes me about 5 minutes to thaw a frozen Snickers bar so I can bite into it without breaking a tooth, but I have to put it under my armpit ... under all my layers of course. The bonus is that my wife is less inclined to want a bite. No thanks, I'll wait on the pocket process.
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Dec 5, 2022 22:32:10 GMT -8
He says he arrives to the closer lake at about noon. From there the half-mile 900 mile climb begins. If he thought that was tough, he ought to try coming out of the Grand Canyon. On my way out in April, I had stopped for a quick break with about 900 feet left when the rangers checking welfare passed me going down. I was surprised when they asked if I was OK. Really? I've already come up almost 4,000 feet and I'm almost done. Do I look that bad? Or just that old?
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