WA hiker recently shot by hunter
Recently, a Washington state hiker was shot and killed by a bear hunter (
link). I've blogged before about hiking during hunting season (
here) and my conclusion was that I am basically comfortable most of the time. This recent incident raises my level of concern even though of itself it does not mean hiking has become more dangerous, simply that the dangers are now more to the forefront of my mind. I also want to keep the relative risks in mind, no other non-hunter has been killed in Washington by a hunter in the last 20 years. In those years, many hikers have been killed by falls, hypothermia, and other risks.
Like many hikers, I don't pay strict attention to hunting seasons. Of course I know when popular seasons are open, the number of obvious hunters makes that apparent. On the other hand some seasons, especially bear seasons, are much less obvious to me. If I don't realize it is hunting season, I may not make an effort to wear brightly colored clothing and not bushwhack or graze on huckleberries. I think I will be more careful about what I wear when hiking. Unfortunately my basic rain and wind shell is solid black, not a good color for hiking during bear hunting season. I have an orange vest but still am uncomfortable with the shell, too much black showing above the vest. I'm not sure what I will do, maybe replace the shell. I'm am already looking for some brighter mid weight tops instead of the black I now use. I do know the hiker killed was wearing a bright blue poncho which one would think should be bright enough to distinguish her from a bear.
I wish there were simple answers, I doubt there are. I wish hunters would not hunt on and around popular hiking trails but they also want access to the backcountry and need to find ways in. Of course I wish all hunters were certain of their target before shooting but experience suggests that isn't likely to occur. Most hunters may be very responsible but it only takes a small percentage of careless hunters for tragedies to occur. Looking at the population as a whole, there is always a percentage of people who are careless or reckless. Hunter safety courses help but do not eliminate the percentage of reckless individuals.
I'm not going to stop hiking during hunting seasons. I will weigh the risks and take appropriate safety measures.
Labels: Hiking hazards
Falling rocks
For some reason lately I've been thinking about hiking and rocks coming down hillsides and over cliffs. Maybe it is because of the recent
Outside Magazine article (
Dropped, in January 2008) of a NOLS climber killed by a rock pushed by another hiker. Maybe it is because I'm planning upcoming vacations to Utah canyon country and Yellowstone and both are areas where hikers have been killed or injured by rocks started by other people.
I've not been hit by any rocks although I've seen a lot started downhill, sometimes accidentally and sometimes purposefully, by others. I had one closer than I would like encounter on a local trail which switchbacked up a mountain. Some horsemen who had recently passed me started a head-sized rock coming down which was quite frightening as I tried to guess which way it would bounce, and what other rocks it would start, and stay out of the way. I've also accidentally started individual rocks or small slides a few times. When I do, I yell down to warn others but it can be hard to dodge multiple rocks especially on an irregular hillside.
All too often, I see people throwing or pushing (trundling) rocks deliberately off of cliffs without any attempt to ensure no one is below. It is fairly common at Yellowstone NP in the Canyon area and people have been killed by rocks deliberately tossed. I sometimes tell rock trundlers there are people below and sometimes I'm ignored. Trundling can be fun, I've done it myself but lately I'm more and more aware that it is hard to know whether people are below or not. I think that trundling is another activity responsible backcountry users should avoid.
Labels: Hiking hazards
Utah, less popular areas
While in Utah this October, I spent more time exploring less popular area, areas outside National Parks and less traveled areas of Parks. I've mentioned Escalante/Grand Staircase National Monument as an area I want to explore more. Another area I stumbled upon was Cedar Breaks National Monument. Because of its elevation, (over 10,000 feet) there was snow when I was there and I didn't spent a lot of time at the monument but I would like to go back especially if it is warm at lower elevations. There were some trails I would have liked to take.
I found another area by accident, I left the Interstate at Parowan to go to Brian Head. I gave that up due to snow and steep road but turned off at a road to Yankee Meadows. On the was was a very attractive local park with beautiful views and some trails. One particularly beautiful formation is Vermilion Castle, shown below. Several trails led to closer views but I didn't take any this time since the day was late.
I didn't do any exploring in Glen Canyon but I did see trails and roads I would have liked to explore. Again, something for my next trip.
Labels: Hiking hazards, Utah
Hypothermia
Several years ago, about this point in spring, I got hypothermic on a hike. I made it out okay but the incident was definitely a wakeup call, things might easily have turned out badly.
I headed to the local west side of the Cascades at a fairly low elevation for an early hike. It was warm and mostly sunny in the lowlands, at the trailhead it was cloudy and spitting some rain. The trail was badly obstructed with blowdowns and to make progress I literally needed to crawl through trees. After about an hour, I decided to give up, it was beginning to snow and hiking wasn't at all fun, just a succession of obstacles. Some amount of time later I made it back to my pickup and was surprised at the difficulty I had in getting my keys out and unlocking the pickup; my hands were very cold and stiff. Why hadn't I noticed and put on gloves? Fortunately the pickup was parked so the windshield faced what sun there was, it was probably 20 degrees warmer inside than out. As I usually do after a hike, I poured a cup of coffee, using the cup to warm my hands, and ate some candy. Shortly thereafter I started feeling very cold and then started to shiver. At that point I started coming out of my half daze and pulled off wet clothing and pulled on a wool sweater and cap, both were in my daypack but I hadn't been cold before. After I warmed up enough to safely drive, I went home, with my heater on full blast. At home I changed into warm, dry clothing, everything I was wearing was wet, including innermost garments, and had some soup. Then I crawled into bed, still feeling cold, and slept for 2 hours when I was finally warm, although still tired.
Before I went hiking again, I thought long and hard about what had happened. I was alone, if I had fallen, easy to do on the wet, tangled wood I crawled through, I might not have made it out. Obviously I couldn't rely on feeling cold or shivering to warn me of approaching hypothermia, I didn't remember feeling cold until after I started to warm up. And the temperature wasn't that cold, probably above 30 F the entire time. The extreme tiredness was also worrisome, luckily I had planned on going home afterward.
The first thing I did was replace my old and battered Goretex shell, it was no longer keeping me dry. At the same time I bought a new shell, I picked up some lightweight rain pants. I also noticed that even though in a daze, I followed my usual hiking practices (SOP). I needed to add some rules to my hiking SOP to hopefully avoid this problem in the future. I wasn't wearing much cotton, mixed polyester/cotton pants, and a tee-shirt but everything else was wool or polyester (see
here). However I needed an additional or heavier layer on top. So I started wearing a midweight top over a lightweight top in similar conditions with at least a sweater in my pack. I also made the rule that in cold weather, after going up for a while, when I started down for a stretch, I needed to put on another layer. No thinking if I'm cold, just do it. Also, I need to eat more often, at least every 2 hours and preferably more frequently and drink more often, every few minutes. At least part of my problem was exacerbated by low blood sugar and dehydration, ridiculous given the wetness of the hike.
I've done a lot of hiking in similar conditions since without any problem. I continue to remember this episode and what I learned. I was very lucky that I learned this lesson without serious consequences. In the last few years, I've read about a number of people who weren't so fortunate.
Labels: Hiking hazards
Lightning
I recently read the book
Shattered Air by Bob Madgic, an account of a lightning strike on Half Dome that killed 2 hikers and seriously injured 2 others. The book discusses the injuries, the rescue operation, the recovery of the badly injured hikers, and history of the hikers before the hike. I found the book interesting and thought provoking. After reading the book I want more than ever to explore Yosemite and see Half Dome and the surrounding area. Yosemite is another of a long list of places I want to see and hike.
I also started thinking about lightning dangers when I hike. Most of my hiking is done in Washington State which has a low incidence of lightning strikes, only 2 deaths between 1995 and 2005. Yellowstone park has had some lightning deaths but none recently. Other states I hike in commonly also have relatively few deaths. I'm used to reading that lightning kills more people than bears or cougars in North America but then there are probably more people exposed to lightning than bears or cougars.
I've retreated from storms on exposed ridges or mountains several times. After reading the book and doing some more reading, I doubt I've been as careful as I thought I was. I had little idea lightning could strike from 10 miles away
http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/overview.htm.I remember several times watching lightning get within 5 or so miles before I left the area and might not shelter even then, just try not to be the highest item in the vicinity. I've actually been more nervous about wind blowing over trees or knocking branches on me. Even more, I've worried about lightning causing forest fires, a very real danger in the northwestern US.
I'm not going to become extra anxious about lightning now although I will think more about safety in the future especially when I get down to Utah locations which are more open. I still enjoy watching lightning storms especially from a sheltered spot but I doubt I will go into any caves or rock shelters during a storm.
Labels: Hiking hazards
Performance garments and 'cotton kills'
I really like the wicking performance garments for hiking and other outdoor activities. I was quick to adopt the various types of polyester and have several tops and bottoms of various fabrics, thicknesses and lengths. I wear these not only as base layers but also use the heavier tops especially as a sweater. Even in the warmest, driest weather I usually wear a coolmax tanktop under my cotton tee-shirt.
A little searching on the Internet will find many references to 'cotton kills' for outdoor performance clothing. I'm not suggesting that anyone should wear cotton for hiking, but idea that cotton itself is the problem is overly simplistic. When I started hiking, snowshoeing, and x-country skiing in the late 1960s, nearly everyone I knew used 100% cotton waffle-weave long underwear. There really wasn't much else readily available, wool and silk blends were expensive and hard to find and often the wool was too uncomfortable to wear against the skin. Cotton jeans and flannel shirts were also common and parkas were cotton/nylon or all cotton. Hikers, hunters, etc. regularly spent extensive time in the backcountry dressed largely in cotton with some wool and they didn't all die of exposure (hypothermia). I don't know whether the proportion of backcountry users which had problems with hypothermia was greater then or not, I do note that people still succumb even with better clothing. Like many things, people need to be aware of limitations, think, and be prepared for the unexpected. The last couple of times this topic has come up on Usenet's rec.backcountry, others have commented that cotton has its place for outdoor use.
I still use a cotton tee-shirt for most hiking, to protect against abrasion from my pack, against insect bites, sun, and wind. I often use cotton jeans in dry areas. Cotton is tough, wind resistant, cheap, and in low humidity disperses sweat better than many other fabrics. I really do like my wicking underwear and performance fleece and use wool blend or polyester blend pants for wetter, colder hiking. And again, I would not advise anyone to go out into the backcountry with cotton garments, but I don't like the overly broad statement that 'cotton kills', unpreparedness kills.
Labels: Hiking hazards
