The national media picked up the story of a rescued hiker in the North Cascades.
NorthCascades
Posts: 10,968 Member
It's been in the Washington Post, the front page of CNN, and on local television. Also in Spiegel Online, Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Mittelbayerische, NTV, Welt Reisen, Bild, ...
A local in my neck of the woods - Nancy - went day hiking from Stevens Pass, and ran into a PCT thru-hiker who had been on the trail since Mexico. They hiked together for a couple hours, shared stories, talked about gear. Nancy didn't think the thru-hiker, Katharina from Munich, had enough gear to be on the trail this late in the season, and tried to talk her out of it. It takes a determined person to hike 2,700 miles, and Katharina was undeterred. She had already made it through the Sierra and was about to finish, she was confident.
A few days later, a winter storm hit. Nancy couldn't stop worrying about the hiker she'd met. She knew how fast Katharina intended to hike, and knew the area well enough to know what was realistically possible. She called 911 and said there's a hiker in trouble, probably north of Mica Lake but south of the Suiattle River. Out of about 200 miles where Katharina could have been on the trail, Nancy had narrowed it down to about 5.
That's exactly where Katharina was. The storm had blown her shelter away, and both her pairs of gloves. She was soaked to the core, frost bitten, and hypothermic. She had tried calling for help, but there's no reception in the mountains. She was 30 miles from help; it took her an hour to go 100 feet in the storm and in her condition. She left a note to her family apologizing for getting herself killed on the trail.
And then the Search and Rescue helicopter appeared. It had followed her tracks through the snow (shown below). It tried 10 times to land but there was nowhere flat enough to touch down. By that point they were running low on fuel and out of daylight, and Katharina would not survive the night. It was time to pull out all the stops. One of the two pilots jumped out of the helicopter and built a makeshift landing pad out of downed wood, and knew enough German to welcome Katharina aboard in her native language.
Nancy's concern and expertise, along with the incredible skill (and professionalism) of our SAR pilots saved that lady's life.
A local in my neck of the woods - Nancy - went day hiking from Stevens Pass, and ran into a PCT thru-hiker who had been on the trail since Mexico. They hiked together for a couple hours, shared stories, talked about gear. Nancy didn't think the thru-hiker, Katharina from Munich, had enough gear to be on the trail this late in the season, and tried to talk her out of it. It takes a determined person to hike 2,700 miles, and Katharina was undeterred. She had already made it through the Sierra and was about to finish, she was confident.
A few days later, a winter storm hit. Nancy couldn't stop worrying about the hiker she'd met. She knew how fast Katharina intended to hike, and knew the area well enough to know what was realistically possible. She called 911 and said there's a hiker in trouble, probably north of Mica Lake but south of the Suiattle River. Out of about 200 miles where Katharina could have been on the trail, Nancy had narrowed it down to about 5.
That's exactly where Katharina was. The storm had blown her shelter away, and both her pairs of gloves. She was soaked to the core, frost bitten, and hypothermic. She had tried calling for help, but there's no reception in the mountains. She was 30 miles from help; it took her an hour to go 100 feet in the storm and in her condition. She left a note to her family apologizing for getting herself killed on the trail.
And then the Search and Rescue helicopter appeared. It had followed her tracks through the snow (shown below). It tried 10 times to land but there was nowhere flat enough to touch down. By that point they were running low on fuel and out of daylight, and Katharina would not survive the night. It was time to pull out all the stops. One of the two pilots jumped out of the helicopter and built a makeshift landing pad out of downed wood, and knew enough German to welcome Katharina aboard in her native language.
Nancy's concern and expertise, along with the incredible skill (and professionalism) of our SAR pilots saved that lady's life.
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Replies
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I thought about you and was wondering if you had been following the story when it was on our local news a couple of days ago.
Thanks for the updates,
Cheers, h.1 -
What an emboldening read .... Thank you, for I'd not have known about this, if not for your sharing.1
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Amazing story, thanks for sharing. The mountains near my neck of the woods are baby mountains compared to yours, and even so every year a number of people get killed - not enough gear, not enough experience and winter climbing skills, not enough respect for the mountains and how quick the weather conditions can change. Glad this one had a happy ending.1
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wow, what a story. I watched the link to the KOMO news conference you put in the OP - great to hear the whole thing from the hiker, the caller and the SAR people.
Thanks for posting this.2 -
middlehaitch wrote: »I thought about you and was wondering if you had been following the story when it was on our local news a couple of days ago.
Thanks for the updates,
Cheers, h.
The lady who called 911 has been a member of our local hiking forum for years, I've known her through it as long as I can remember. Before she called for help she posted about it to see if anybody else had given the hiker a ride out. I was watching this one from the very beginning.
In other news, that hiking forum has a calendar contest every winter. I've been entering it for ten years and won once. A lot of our people visit your side of the border and I've heard nothing but that I have to see it. All of it, from Victoria at least to the Rockies.3 -
That’s amazing! I haven’t watched much news this week so totally missed it.2
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OT but since this is your thread, a bike acquaintance posted a pic from hurricane ridge this week. They said the ride down was totally worth the climb up. They rode from Sequim which was 70.3 mi round trip.2
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Awesome!1
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Nancy sounds like one helluva woman. What a happy ending.2
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There's one more thing I should say about this whole story.
Katharina will not be billed for her rescue, not even for the helicopter flight. Everybody in the US who hikes, trail runs, mountain bikes, hunts, rafts, etc, needs to understand this.
Search and Rescue is mostly done by volunteers. It's coordinated by the sheriff as part of his/her regular duties. Fuel and helicopter maintenance in this particular case comes mostly from donations. (I've given many hundreds of dollars over the years; there but for the grace of God go I.). In other cases it's done by the armed forces and written off as a training flight. Airlifts are free, they're not like the ambulance.
In the US you will never be charged for a rescue. There are a few rare and extraordinary exceptions, but it takes a lot more than bad luck, a little bad judgement, or just an adventure gone wrong.
If you genuinely need help, the sooner you call for it, the better it is for everyone. The longer you wait, the worse your chances are, the more difficult the situation becomes, the more dangerous it is for the rescue team. Don't ever hesitate to call for legitimately needed help because you're afraid of the bill, there won't be a bill.
Last thing, there are devices that can call for help from just about anywhere on earth. Garmin makes one, it even integrates with some watches.15 -
OT but since this is your thread, a bike acquaintance posted a pic from hurricane ridge this week. They said the ride down was totally worth the climb up. They rode from Sequim which was 70.3 mi round trip.
Thank you for passing along that bit of info. It's not always like that, some rides are terrible on the way down for various reasons, I did one where I wish I could have ridden up and got a ride down. I've been wanting to do the Hurricane for years and that's a little bit more motivation. And I have family in Port Townsend.
Do you think it's too late already this year? I've got 33 mm tires, which is a lot for a road bike but probably not enough if there's snow.0 -
This, Hurricane Ridge web cam, may be helpful.
https://www.nps.gov/customcf/webcam/dsp_webcam_image.cfm?id=81B46251-1DD8-B71B-0B29B9750DE273B5
Cheers, h.1 -
In the US you will never be charged for a rescue. There are a few rare and extraordinary exceptions, but it takes a lot more than bad luck, a little bad judgement, or just an adventure gone wrong.
At one point in that news conference, Katharina said the SAR pilot asked her if she'd need a ride back. She is a feisty little thing but she readily concedes she was beaten by the snow.
She was so close.1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »OT but since this is your thread, a bike acquaintance posted a pic from hurricane ridge this week. They said the ride down was totally worth the climb up. They rode from Sequim which was 70.3 mi round trip.
Thank you for passing along that bit of info. It's not always like that, some rides are terrible on the way down for various reasons, I did one where I wish I could have ridden up and got a ride down. I've been wanting to do the Hurricane for years and that's a little bit more motivation. And I have family in Port Townsend.
Do you think it's too late already this year? I've got 33 mm tires, which is a lot for a road bike but probably not enough if there's snow.
I suggest you check the ranger station weather/condition reoprts. There has been snow in the Olympics and as you know conditions can vary slot this time of year. Heres the link and phone #.
https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/current-road-conditions.htm2 -
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Wow, no snow anywhere on the ground. Thanks for sharing that!1
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