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.
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.
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.
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.
Lesson #1: Have a Plan B, because if anything can go wrong, it will. When you’re in the wilderness you need backup comms, back up food and water, backup shelter from the elements and backup protection.
It’s usually a woman artist or author, but I guess it does happen to guys too.
Rescue badge
First Aid Badge
Glad they didn’t earn their Cadaver badge.
I spotted two major mistakes.
A few of the guys on this thread should look into Bothy bags.
They are far less than a tent but they can be something to keep the rain and wind off you while you rest and make something to eat.
Are Bothy Bags any good? - Review of this emergency/survival shelter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrQntDraOc0
Never go on a solo back packing trip.
“on a two-week-long solo backpacking trip”
SOLO. Idiot.