Pandemic Wilderness Explorers Are Straining Search and Rescue

[Philip Tschersich]

The NYTimes has a story about the pandemic making people outdoor crazy and venturing into areas they are ill prepared for in some cases. This is not necessarily news to the people who frequent this site or know anything about what effect COVID has had on the outdoor industry. I feel sorry for the local volunteer SAR organizations having to deal with this though. We in Kodiak Island Search and Rescue (kisar.org) had a few more SAR cases than in a typical summer last year, but it was nothing terribly unusual. But the people we did go look for often turned out to be seriously inexperienced and poorly equipped day hikers who wandered down the wrong side of the mountain in the clouds.

[Michael B]

It shouldn’t surprise us when our government restricts the many other outlets that people are used to using to occupy their time. “Hiking outside – how hard can it be?”

Sadly, the generation with more information at their fingertips (literally!) compared to any before them continue to ignore the warning signs usually posted at trailheads and not do their homework.

[Philip Tschersich]

Here in Kodiak the explosion in local trail use started a two years ago when the Kodiak chamber of commerce started a promotion called “adjust your altitude.” Participants could register and become eligible for a prize at the end of summer once they had summited 7 peaks near town and documented the hike via a selfie on the summit with an “adjust your altitude” sticker on their water bottle. Apparently the thing that motivated people to get off the couch was the opportunity for online self promotion.

[Michael B]

Sounds like “Ready Player One”, but in real life, involving actual sweat and effort. The people in Alaska sound like they are made differently than the ones in California. Makes me want to move to Alaska. My wife wouldn’t like the cold, or the whacky swings in daylight hours throughout the year. Don’t mind me, just wandering through.

[Dena Kelley]

I definitely noticed a huge uptick in trail usage in my area near Anchorage, Alaska. Parking lots were overflowing. Very early start times were necessary on weekends just to get a parking spot. As is typical, though, generally within a couple miles of the trailhead the herd thins considerably. I am bummed because a normal event I host annually in the summer at a group campground at a local lake for an all-ladies overnight campout was not an option this year, because all the weekends were booked out for the entire summer by early February. That’s never happened to me before, and I suspect it’s due to COVID and people wanting to do outdoor gatherings.

[Luke Schmidt]

Michael Alaskans are not all bearded mountain men but I’m continually entertained by the perspective of Alaskan kids who have never lived anywhere else. Couple examples.

• My 11 year old friend thinks everyone is California is miserable because they live in a cities and it never snows. He can’t imagine a world without lots of snow half the year.
• Same kid likes to jump off the cruise ship dock in Valdez. Claims the water is “warm” in the summer. I’m not that tough.
• He was scared of snakes when he visited Texas. But doesn’t give bears a second thought.
• Another 5th grader said “I wish winter was longer. I like when its 20 below because I don’t sweet when I play hockey. I don’t like 20 above, that doesn’t even count as winter, I get all hot and sweaty. ” He meant 20 below Fahrenheit fyi. That’s pretty cold.
• I took a van load of Alaska Native kids to Denali for whitewater rafting. They watched the tourist like they were something exotic. “Why are they coming from Germany to Alaska?” To se the mountains.  “What? No mountains in Germany?!”

[Jeff McWilliams]

One of my pet peeves is people who are too lazy to do basic trip research.  For example, this was recently posted on a regional FB hiking forum:

“Any recommended routes to backpack the Porcupine Mtns? Wanna do about 3 nights/30 miles. and my longest backpacking trip yet. Going in October to see the color peak. I want to see LOC, mirror lake, some water falls, and some good ass views. I hear summit peak is nice?”

Someone else had already replied questioning the wisdom of them wanting to do 10 mile days, since they’re clearly a beginner.

I responded with a link to purchase the Porcupine Mountains hiking/backpacking guidebook by Jim DuFresne.

This type of lazy question is a pet peeve of mine:  Don’t do any research on your own.  Rather, ask online for a suggested itinerary and pick whichever one sounds best or coolest from the replies you get on social media.

It’s a pretty good example of:  learning outdoor skills is hard.  I’m just gonna learn by doing and making mistakes along the way.  Maps are difficult to read.  Just tell me where I’m at and how long before I get to camp, or the car, or whatever.  Getting that Instagram selfie that will garner many likes is more important than everything else.

 

[Adam Kilpatrick]

Have to admit I’m getting sick of seeing the vast majority of the posts on the various Australian hiking pages… similar vein. People seem to assume that doing a bunch of leisure hikes on the trails in our conservation parks that are right on the city fringe (and frequented by hundreds of people a day never getting more than 20mins easy walk from a car, nor less than 4/5 bars of 4G mobile reception) makes them a “hiker”. And, by default, they know what they are doing, and are ready to go on multi-day trips in relatively remote places with basically zero skills other than putting on sports attire and hitting selfie mode. Worse, are the plethora of ones that are making youtube videos about pretty well trodden overnight routes (or even day routes) and crapping on like they are some kind of hardcore epic explorer doing a new route into the wilderness.

[Dean F.]

I dunno, Jeff.  I mean, that’s what friends are for, right?  I have come here to BPL forums in the past and asked for trail beta.  I don’t feel like an amateur.  But, heck, if you want to know what is cool to do in the Bob, well, you ask Dave Chenault.  So I did.  In some cases you just need a local, like when planning a packraft trip and you have no idea when to expect max flow, and what gauging stations to check.
I think I know what you are saying- you just need to be careful not to paint with too broad of a brush.  There is nothing wrong with asking for help.  Some people are so new they don’t know HOW to research a new hike.

[Jeff McWilliams]

Dean,

 

I actually enjoy helping when I can if people ask intelligent questions.

Intelligent questions:  “I want to hike [destination] this summer.  I have the Trails Illustrated map, but not sure whether we should try to see A, or if we’re better off hiking to B and C.  It’s just my husband and me.  We have X experience and we’re fit people, so physical challenges don’t intimidate us. Any help? ”   Perfect opportunity for people to pitch in with their firsthand experience on what would be best and appropriate for their level.   Further, they’re thinking ahead and have lots of additional time to do research as suggested and plan accordingly.

Or:  “We’re traveling to [blah] in July and I can’t find any good resources on interesting/fun hikes.  This is a family trip and our kids are 10 and 14.   I looked on Amazon for guidebooks and came up empty.”  Okay.  The person made an effort and has given some indication of what kind of hike they’re looking for.  Experienced locals have a good starting point, and can guide the person toward resources that may be non-obvious, like a region-specific online trail guide or local expert who does Youtube videos or a blog, or whatever.

A bad, lazy question:  “Hey!  I’m driving up to Epic Lake tomorrow for the weekend.  Where can I camp and what hikes should I do?”  Seen all too often on Facebook.  This person isn’t planning ahead.  They’ve given no indication that they made ANY effort to research the area, know what kind of weather to expect, are aware of permit requirements, LNT regulations, fire restrictions, or anything.  Further, without prodding the poster with further questions, I can’t know their experience or fitness level, whether they’re bringing a family, their dog, Shmoopsie, or any other factors that could help provide them with meaningful recommendations.

I see the first two kinds of questions on “Trip Planning” forums like this one.  I see the third kind of question all the time on FB forums and Reddit.   Or, those types of people won’t ask any questions at all and will simply drive somewhere and make it up as they go.  Who’s more likely to leave TP on the side of the trail, dump their trash in a firepit, or chop down live trees for firewood?  I’m willing to wager it’s overwhelmingly the 2nd type of person and not the 1st.

 

[AK Granola]

Trails challenge-type events aren’t just for people who want “the opportunity for online self promotion.” Maybe there’s a few of those, but mostly there are plenty of families getting their kids out, teens finding something great to do, solo middle agers like me who need motivation to go out alone on a new trail. We do these events because they’re fun! They’re fun because people are sharing their experiences online, because it’s fun to check the trails off the list like an Easter egg hunt, because it’s fun to explore new places you didn’t know about, and because there’s a prize. It’s fun. Doh. We’re not all John Muir wannabees with a blanket and a loaf of bread climbing a tree in a windstorm to meditate on the planet. The sponsoring organizations could do a bit of education though as they put these events together, maybe even “check out a backpack” or something like NPS does, with the 10 essentials in it.

I see nothing wrong with people asking for local advice online; that’s why we have these groups. I recommend guidebooks too but they’re often out of date. Most guidebooks also don’t give you a lot of detail. Some are even just plain wrong. And few are being published or updated and reprinted these days. Actually if you really want to explore an area and have some solitude, here’s my top secret tip! Go to the library, and find a really old guidebook they haven’t yet tossed out; they have trails no one knows about and that are often not maintained but can sometimes still be used. There are some treasures out there…

A bigger problem on social media is that people who don’t know what they’re talking about often answer questions they shouldn’t. And the asker may not have the smarts to know who really knows something and who just wants attention with their post. Watching a group for a while you get a sense of who knows something and who just thinks they do. If you dash in with a question and dash out, well good luck. In a time when people get medical advice from their auto mechanic, what can you do? (all due respect to consulting a good auto mechanic when my car is acting up!)

I actually think one of the worst trends isn’t social media at all; it’s that younger (yes gonna use that word) hikers don’t join or support hiking groups any more. Instead of actual clubs where people can meet experienced hikers, we now have “meet ups.” When you go on a meetup, 30 people might show up. No one is responsible for leading this group of strangers. People pair up or form small groups, which may end up leaving a newbie behind somewhere. No one is leading, no one is sweeping. No one checks gear to make sure everyone is equipped. No one even knows who’s with the group if someone gets left behind! Even if these groups aren’t responsible for the increase in SAR calls, I’d be willing to be there are a lot of injuries and unhappy experiences. I watched this happen on an outing; I was on the same trail, but thankfully not with that group! It looked like it really sucked for the unprepared.

With a Sierra Club outing, or some other organized group, there’s usually insurance, which no one likes until they need it. And it puts pressure on the group to train leaders, have procedures and help everyone who goes. Beginners learn the ropes from knowledgeable people.

People are also terrible at judging their own fitness, which is one reason why so many people quit. I used to worry about planned group hikes that would indicate “moderate” or “strenuous,” figuring I’d be at the back of the pack. So far that’s never occurred. I’m as bad at it as anyone else but at least I won’t be left behind!

This issue won’t change, even after the pandemic (is there going to be an “after the pandemic?”). Public lands managers who issue permits will need to up their game in warning, educating, and possibly charging a permit fee to cover rescue costs.

 

[Roger Caffin]

one of the worst trends isn’t social media at all; it’s that younger (yes gonna use that word) hikers don’t join or support hiking groups any more. Instead of actual clubs where people can meet experienced hikers, we now have “meet ups.”
Global problem.

Cheers

[Jenny A]

To expound a bit on what Karen touched on, I thing a lack of mentoring is a huge problem.  The internet generation expects that knowledge comes instantly (and it kind of does), but knowledge of facts is not the full experience.  Groups like the scouting organizations, Colorado Mountain Club, Sierra Club etc fostered a learning curve to insure that necessary skills were in place before launching a big adventure.

It was a process that took time, and people earned the experiences.

It seems that folks today don’t feel like they have the time.  They have a few days of vacation or want to escape for a bit, so they pick up and go and preparation be darned.   Too often the result is what we see ourselves or read about in the papers:  increasing trash and degradation of fragile resources from people who aren’t prepared for what they get into, or worse, injuries that require the assistance of SAR and put others in danger.   Unfortunately, it impacts all of us.

[obx hiker]

I was doing a section hike of the NC MST from Grandfather Mt. to the Linville River crossing a couple weeks ago. Late the 3rd day I was coming off the ridge on the east side of the Linville Gorge just past the Chimneys almost at sunset and ran into a mom, @ 12 yr old daughter and @ 10 yr old son trio just where the trail starts to drop off. They were lightly dressed, and had a small daypack. It was a warm day. This was @ a mile of basically level heavily used trail past the popular Table Rock access and parking area which had quite a few people including a troop of Boy Scouts camped for the evening. Also since it was @ sunset there were people strung out all along the route. You could see it “just over there”. I was near the theoretical end of a long day, trying to get some separation from all that activity on the next level site and it was about sunset and the descent ahead is very steep and loose and not much fun but anyway I stopped for a chat. Turned out they were sort of pinned in place and waiting for a Forest Service “rescue” under instructions “not to move”. The mom had an AllTrails app on her phone which was wonderfully detailed with contour lines apparently about every 10 feet of elevation change. Not sure of the baseline source for that detail but whatever.

Mom showed me the route they had planned and explained they had hit sort of impassable blowdown up ahead a ways and then the lad was feeling poorly maybe sorta dehydrated so they turned back. The daughter looked like she was searching for a hole to crawl into; never made eye contact. I made sure they had water and sweaters and told them about the visual distress signal, 3 short – 3 long then 3 short and pointed out where I hoped to be camping down below. I also asked why they didn’t just walk back to the parking lot since it is “right over there” and Mom demurred based on strict instructions from their eventual rescuers to “stay put”.  I hiked on to the saddle before Shortoff, passing through the 5 or 6 down trees without hardly slowing down and reaching camp after sunset and as I was setting up in the gloam watched the headlamps arrive and depart on the slope above. A real head-scratcher.

I guess once they made contact and expressed some distress the Forest Service felt pretty much compelled to make “the rescue” in case something went wrong. So once you have requested aid or maybe even indicated some level of distress they are basically compelled to assist? Hmmm one more expense for “We the People” or does the rescued party pay? From what I gather this is happening almost everywhere. Hey if it leads to more general interest in trails, access and environmental stewardship then carry on.

Good thing they hadn’t continued on the route Mom pointed out on AllTrails. That would have led to some real distress.

 

[Paul Wagner]

I don’t mind the questions or the misadventures.  Sure, I would prefer to explore the wilderness in solitude–the rest of you please go home until my trip is over–but all these people are or can become voters.  And we need all the help we can get at the ballot box.

HOYH or in this case, post your own post, answer the questions you want, and take someone on a trip so they can take someone else…

When I owned my own company for 25 years, every year took the whole crew (and anyone else who wanted to join–kids, spouses, parents, roommates …) on a four day camping trip.  A lot of those people are now doing the same…and some of them rediscovered how much they loved being out and about.

I hope they’re still doing that.

[Dan]

The article seems to focus on the Winds. I think that a lot of this could be a result of the huge number of people moving from the coasts to the Rocky Mtn region. It’s just not the same.

I moved to Colorado a long time ago from New England and was initially shocked to find that trails were barely marked, if at all. “What? You mean I have to use a map?” Where I grew up and learned to hike, it was conventional to slash or paint trees. Add in the fast changes in conditions in the mountains, and people who might think they have things under control can find themselves in trouble pretty quickly.

It’s nothing new, but 20 years ago, they would have had to find their way out in misery. Now they can just call for help.

[John Vance]

I was in the Winds for the “blowdown” and it was extreme to be sure – and not just the wind, low temps and snow at 11,600ft was pretty intense for the 14 hours it lasted.  I have been going to the winds yearly for the past 30 years and on and off before that since 1975.   It has gotten busier to be sure, but this past year was insane with the number of people that came from all over the country and beyond.

I ran into many people not prepared – lost, panicked, out of water (a nearly impossible task in the Winds), out of food, not enough/right clothing, shelter, sleeping bag, footwear you name it.  Most all had GPS and bear spray – two things I choose not to carry, but to hear them complain of all the downed trees on the trail just a week after the storm and “why isn’t someone doing something about it” would be comical if it wasn’t so pathetic.  Most certainly showed little to no respect for the outdoors or others in a myriad of ways from trash, trail etiquette, pooping, not to mention a total disregard for the normal rules of camp placement.

I for one am fine if they all had a harrowing near death experience and never return.  Harsh maybe, but I am getting old and crotchety and have little patience for the lack, or near absence, of common sense and human decency that seems to be rampant in many aspects of society.

OK, off my soapbox and back to planning my pulk for next winter as the parts roll in.  I miss the solitude of winter and the Winds, as well as some of the local ranges, are nearly empty all winter.

[Roger Caffin]

^ +1
Cheers

[Philip Tschersich]

A hiker was lost and desperate. A stranger with an unusual hobby saved him.
“SOS. My phone is going to die. I’m lost,” the hiker texted a friend, along with a photo. Read in The Washington Post

Another situation that could have been fixed by using https://findmesar.com instead of a picture of his foot and a truckload of luck.

[Author]

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