Posted on 05/26/2016 1:18:25 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
Geraldine Largay knew she was doomed.
It had been two weeks since she left the Appalachian Trail to go to the bathroom and lost her way; two weeks since she had wandered deeper and deeper into the woods of northwest Maine in search of a cellphone signal to message for help; two weeks since she had pitched her tent underneath a copse of hemlock trees atop a ridge; two weeks since she was supposed to meet her husband, waiting for her in his SUV on Route 27.
Largay’s food was running low. Her water, too.
So the 66-year-old retired nurse sat down and wrote a note to whoever might find her — after she was dead.
“When you find my body, please call my husband George and my daughter Kerry,”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
What 50 something is not old anymore?
“But really how far off trail do you have to go to tinkle to get lost?”
Well, she’s a girl....
(Flame-retardant suit on)>>> and the line was long
A Garmin topo GPS with breadcrumb trail would have saved her life. So much for saving a couple hundred bucks.
“an old man in his 50’s “. . . . LOL
two weeks since she had pitched her tent underneath a copse of hemlock trees atop a ridge
Atop a ridge. No water.
You can go 30 days at least without food. No water, 3-5 days.
If you are ever lost in the woods, go low. Keep going downhill. You will be near water to replenish your supply and also will, in all likelihood, encounter a road or a house.>>>. agreed and maybe a train track or old train bed. in pa the trail crosses rt61 at port clinton (yeh) there is a place to shower up and get a room for the night. I’ve hiked hunted along the trail there. and you can’t get lost much but if you do you just follow the water all the say to town. first day hiking however i had a map of the entire place and knew exactly where i was at all time. compass map orienteering.
Did you know John Muir hiked all through rugged California wilderness well into his 70’s?
There’s a men’s room behind every tree.
No, not at all.
That makes three of us!
Should have watched a few episodes of “Mountain Men” or “Naked and Afraid” before she took off into the woods - at least she might have known how to make a basic shelter or start a fire.....
Pitiful
Was her mind not right?
Four weeks to just sit and wait to die?
That’s just bizarre
Follow water downstream
Follow setting or rising sun
In Maine either way you hit a road in due time
It ain’t Siberia
A big fire in Maine would have attracted search planes
She was a trail Walker by the book
Not a woodsman
Naive
Sorry for fam
Yeah....I agree
But post menopausal woman are not easy to command
Trust me
I’ve never been a thru-hiker, but when I was younger I went on extended trips and did large swaths of the Appalachian Trail from the late 70’s through the early 90’s. In all I’ve done 800+ miles (Springer to past Rockfish Gap) and some sections I’ve done twice. I had plans to complete it one summer but marriage, a career, and three children took my attention. In recent years I’ve been more of a hunter and fly-fisherman than a backpacker, but I still hit the trail on occasion.
Back in the 90’s certain backpacking leaders began to urge a minimalist approach to gear, which I have always believed dangerous. Yes, a very light pack allows hikers to have a more enjoyable hike, which is all well and good until an emergency arises. I know of several fairly mundane situations that became trail emergencies due to lack of proper gear. I have no idea if this poor lady started the A.T. with a compass, but there’s a decent chance that if she did, it was dumped along the way to achieve a lighter pack, likely at the urging of some misguided guru who convinced her she’d never need it.
I’m an old scout. I believe in being prepared. But that doesn’t just mean having sufficient gear, it also means having sufficient knowledge to think yourself out of trouble. Or better yet, avoid it all together.
If she’d had a gun, she could have shot an endangered species and the feds would have been on her in no time.
As are over the hill men who know everything!
“If she’d had a compass and the most minimal knowledge of how to use it she would have had no trouble getting back to the trail.”
That’s it in a nutshell, Enchante. The poor woman became disorientated and obviously had no knowledge about how to get herself out of trouble. I’d guess that she had neither a compass nor map and wouldn’t know how to use those tools if she did. So unfortunate.
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