Posted on 09/03/2025 11:50:09 PM PDT by thecodont
Halfway into a recent weeklong backpacking trip through California’s Sierra Nevada, nine members of a scout troop and their scoutmaster came across a man standing alone in a meadow deep in the Emigrant Wilderness. He appeared disoriented and didn’t have any hiking or camping gear.
The California Highway Patrol confirmed the man was Douglas Montgomery. The group soon learned the 78-year-old was an experienced outdoorsman and former scoutmaster himself. The group also learned that he was stranded after veering 15 miles off his intended route, had lost his backpack, and had been battling hypothermia for two days.
“We started very quickly realizing that he wasn’t all right,” said Michael-James Hey, scoutmaster for Troop 26 from Santa Barbara. “He was looking really bedraggled. He’s got cuts all over his hands. He’s very unsteady on his feet, and he’s being polite, but he’s pretty out of it.”
Montgomery was on a two-week-long solo backpacking trip. Several miles earlier, he’d set his pack down and left to get a better look at his whereabouts and the trail. When he came back, he was unable to find the pack, which contained all his food, water and camping gear, as well as a GPS-enabled communication device.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Impressive.
A backpacking trip at 78 is great. A 2 week solo backpacking trip at 78 is not smart. Bring a friend. Unless you want to go out Indian style.
He almost achieved his goal. Subconscious goal that is. Better luck next time.
Sounds like the poor guy probably had a stroke.
I always wonder if my solo 4-5 mile day hikes in somewhat remote areas are a good idea. I was in a remote part of Henry Coe in April.
We did a great 4 mile hike on the “Waters of Nevis” in the Scottish Highlands a few days ago (nope, no Cornwall). We were on a section of the West Highlands Way, a 96 mile hike. You can hike inn-to-inn with 10-15 mile segments.
“…go out Indian style” — LOL. Exactly right.
Yeah...I don’t think I would have left the pack.
Sounds like he was trying to find a way out where you leave a fixed point and walk a straight distance to look for anything to help navigate your way out.Think I might have left a bright colored cloth tied to a branch or something before I left all my goods behind.
and the whole troop got their search and rescue badges
“”””Several miles earlier, he’d set his pack down and left to get a better look at his whereabouts and the trail. When he came back, he was unable to find the pack, which contained all his food, water and camping gear””””
I wonder if he was experienced enough to have a small SERE kit on him?
People arrive at a spot and set their gear down and accidently wander off and get lost while searching for firewood or having spotted and followed a cute deer or something, a small SERE kit that stays on their belt all the time and matches the season and the locale, and is never taken off, helps one get through a night or two of being lost.
Never leave your Garmin inReach Mini Satellite Communicator behind.
Something similar happened to me a few years ago. I pitched camp at 10k feet elevation in a field of large boulders, on a moonless summer evening, and for reasons I no longer recall I wandered a few hundred yards away. My tent was red but it blended well into the boulder field once the sun fully set. So I spent a cold night huddled underneath a large boulder trying to keep myself warm. In the morning light it was a short and obvious walk back to my tent. If there had been bad weather it could have been worse. It is not difficult to be lulled into a false sense of security.
Relatively recently I went hiking overnight with a small group of millennials. The leader eschewed a topo map in favor of her cell phone. I had brought a waterproof topo printout which the leader frowned on as constituting excessive weight. I may be outmoded but my perspective was that millennials are fearless.
I’ve never used GPS and gadgets, but wow!
If he is experienced then why would that not be in his pocket, along with at least a couple of bic lighters and his sheath knife, a little compass, and the basics that outdoor guys carry on themselves even when they would describe themselves and think of themselves as empty handed.
You did a common thing, as described in post 9.
I agree!
Hidden good news — not all of Scouting has degenerated as these boys were obviously working on their 50-mile patch rather than woke activism or mandatory DEI indoctrination. Good job!
Interesting... Hope he’s fine.
I’ve been falling assed down drunk in the woods and never got lost!
I always had a gun, a compass(mine glows at night), and a topo map on my person, not in my backpack.
If all else fails walk down hill.
use the energy you have left to find people.
I’m a leader with a group similar to scouts. We were on a trip with boys and leaders from several troops. The trail lead told us he had a map. Several miles in i asked to see it and he shows me his Apple watch with some squiggly lines on it.
He told me we were hiking 11 miles. Since his entire map was on an1” square he couldn’t really make out the 29 mile distance.
Lesson learned. Paper map and don’t trust millennials.
Ultralight weenies. While admittedly back in the dark ages we carried too much stuff, the trend in recent fads is so minimalist they get into trouble frequently. I would never go anywhere on foot or motorized without paper map backup. Modern tech is great but. Things that don’t require batteries to operate. A zipper pull thermometer, or aneroid barometer/altimeter. Smart phones are amazing, but they hork out when needed most. The weather app on my phone shows 10 days worth of data. But if the cell signal is lost it just deletes everything and shows blank.
I’d like to find a standalone topo map program that doesn’t require a signal for data.
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