James Kim

[+Criminal]

James Kim

 

If you have been following the story of James Kim, whose family became stranded in the snow in the mountains of Oregon, you have probably heard by now that his family was rescued and that the searchers have found his body. This shows the path he walked in an effort to find help for his wife and children. It looks like after many miles of walking, he ended up only about a mile from the car.

 

This would be a good time to reiterate some backcountry basics.

*Tell someone where you’ll be and when you expect to be back.

*Much like flying, you plan for the worst and hope for the best. The gear you carry should be based on that.

*Your GPS is a great tool, but have a map and compass and the knowledge to use them.

*Cotton kills. If you don’t know what that phrase means and why, look it up.

If you become truly lost, and you have passed the time you told that someone above that you’d be back, look for someplace to hunker down until the search party arrives. You will add immeasurable time to the search if you keep changing the search area. Make yourself as noticeable as possible, I.E. try to get attention from the air and the ground.

Edited December 7, 2006 by Criminal

[+ZSandmann]

Jeez, if he had taken the other road he would of went straight to the lodge. Its a super sad story, I feel so sad for his family, they said on the news that they did everything right in the situation. But I disagree, he should of never left the car. However, in that situation who could think rationally? Do you stay there to protect yourself or leave to save your wife and children. Heartbraking.

[+TrailGators]

That whole story is so sad. The weird part is that I was watching his review of the Sansa on CNET very recently and bought one. Then I saw his photo on FoxNews when this whole tragedy came up. Anyhow, it's really too bad that he didn't have a GPS with him or he would have found that lodge.

[+scobey]

Jeez, if he had taken the other road he would of went straight to the lodge. Its a super sad story, I feel so sad for his family, they said on the news that they did everything right in the situation. But I disagree, he should of never left the car. However, in that situation who could think rationally? Do you stay there to protect yourself or leave to save your wife and children. Heartbraking.

 

Growing up in South Dakota, I was always told to stay with the car. Someone would come along eventually. VERY few lived that left the car and sometimes they were found within a few hundred feet of a farmhouse. The same here in Alaska. Few live that leave the car or try to walk out from somewhere. Hunker down and wait.

[+Renegade Knight]

Three weeks ago I didn't know who this guy was. But after discovering the Cnet podcasts found that I liked this guys take on things. Then whammo.

 

I'll be making a winter kit for the cars, and I'll miss his work on Cnet.

[+ZSandmann]

When I lived in Colorado. We always kept a box in the back of the cars with bottles of water, crackers, space blankets, flashlights, flares, polar fleeces, and a quilt. Never needed it but was always glad to have it there.

[+BlueDeuce]

Half the problem is keeping stuff in your car that can stand sub-zero temps. Water? Batteries? Forget it, you have to go with the basics. (In snow country plan on getting your water/heat/shelter in the field)

 

The other half of the problem is being properly educated. The smarts not to get in the situation and the smarts to get out if you do.

[+TotemLake]

Half the problem is keeping stuff in your car that can stand sub-zero temps. Water? Batteries? Forget it, you have to go with the basics. (In snow country plan on getting your water/heat/shelter in the field)

 

The other half of the problem is being properly educated. The smarts not to get in the situation and the smarts to get out if you do.

My backpack is utilized as my emergency gear and rarely goes out of the jeep except to replenish and refresh.

 

My backpack has a freeze dried meal and dessert along with energy snacks and a camp stove (with a way to light it) that can be used in sub temps.

 

The only thing that froze on my camelbak last year was the water in the tube and valve. The water in the backpack was still viable... along with a 32 oz. bottle of water.

 

Certainly batteries will have a shorter life span, but if you rotate them out after 90 days (and I typically go through them anyway) you should be okay.

 

First-aid kits should include a mylar blanket. I made sure mine was big enough for 2.

 

I have a charcoal handwarmer (with a way to light that) and a stash of charcoal sticks to minimize my reliance on other fuels.

 

I have three ways of lighting up anything with fire.

 

I don't carry just the high tech stuff, but that should be pretty standard fair anyway.

 

I rarely let the car get below half tank of gas during the winter. That's my personal winter rule. A half tank in my jeep is 4 straight hours of idle.

 

I think most geocachers are fairly prepared in some fashion. Kim certainly was to a point. He just let his anxiety overcome good sense. Not sure what I would have done under similar conditions after a week of no sign of help.

[+BlueDeuce]

The only thing that froze on my camelbak last year was the water in the tube and valve. The water in the backpack was still viable... along with a 32 oz. bottle of water.

 

There is nothing wrong with carrying high tech, but my cell phone isn't gps enabled. Not a good thing, still the fact still remains that once my contract expires I won't be carrying a cell phone.

 

Anyway, the problem lies in the balance. To carry water in my car trunk every day in winter that thaws and freezes, thaws and freezes isn't practical. Most containers cannot handle such punishment. Of course if you are heading out on a mountain drive you should probably throw in a couple gallon jugs in the back seat. However, after ten days stuck on a mountain road you have a problem. Carry water when you can, but more importantly carry equipment to get drinking water, or know how to find it.

 

Same with batteries. That pair of AA’s sitting in my trunk when it’s 35 below ain’t gonna do me that much good. I’m going to have to carry them on my person when I leave the house.

 

I rarely let the car get below half tank of gas during the winter. That's my personal winter rule. A half tank in my jeep is 4 straight hours of idle.

 

Absolutely 100% agree.

[+pdxmarathonman]

...look for someplace to hunker down until the search party arrives.

I wonder what I would have done after 9 days of hunkering down.

 

I was on a late summer bike ride over Bear Camp about 12 years ago. The back of the t-shirt for that ride says "I survived Bear Camp". There was another similar fatality within a few months of that ride. Whenever I see that shirt in my drawer I am reminded that bad things can happen in wonderful places.

[John E Cache]

I took a class in Alaska and learned that two of first signs of hypothermia are irrational behavior and slurred speech. We were told to watch for signs in our group because the cold person never knows it is happening. Taking off clothes and leaving the car itself could have been symptoms of hypothermia.

 

Should someone make a sticky thread for visitors to the NW? I am not from here and am still learning about the special dangers here. Me telling those Louisiana visitors awhile back to dress warm now seems stupid and incredibly inadequate.

[+TrailGators]

[+evergreenhiker!]

Yeah, seeing that google earth pic sort of hits home the tragedy. Man, if he only went the other way or if he somehow was able to go aroudn the bend a bit more...

 

Chris is right...gotta be prepared...10 essentials and let someoen know where you are going. Synthetics are a must especially in the wetter/colder months. In the summer, I'll slide...wear cotton shirts, but my pack's extra clothes are synthetics...e.g. polypro tops and bottoms.

[+Criminal]

The Seattle Times is reporting Kim hiked 16 miles, six more than was originally reported.

 

That's after a week without food.

[+klossner]

Half the problem is keeping stuff in your car that can stand sub-zero temps. Water? Batteries? Forget it ...

Carry lithium batteries and don't use them until you need them. Their shelf life is several years and they perform well at low temperature. I load them into my GPSr for snow treks.

 

This would be a good time to reiterate some backcountry basics ...

That's all well and good when you realize you're heading into the backcountry. These were Californian urbanites who thought they were driving on good roads from one city to another.

[+ironman114]

There are very few "good" roads between I-5 and the Oregon or California coast in that part of Oregon, especially in winter. He is not the first one to die from that mistake in the last few years.

 

It is real sad to see that he could have went another direction and had an excellent chance of success.

 

Being prepared also means having and studying maps of where you are going to go and the surrounding area.

 

A gps tells you where you are and which way to go if you have a destination but nothing about what's in between.

[+brodiebunch]

That road shows up on maps from several major map companies as a valid road. One only of the them I think shows it as a perforated line which map legends indicated as gravel or tertiary road. Ultimately you have to drive around those hills either on Rt 42 or US 199.

 

I had tried to cross that road at night but in the summer but turned back as its condition worsened. Its a bad road.

 

Very sad story......

[+Blue Power Ranger]

It is terrible what this family went through.

 

I read the following article on cnn.com today and couldn't help but wonder what would poses them to get to the point on these roads that they did.

 

MERLIN, Oregon (CNN) -- We came to Oregon to retrace the path James Kim and his family took the day they got stranded in the Rogue River wilderness.

 

When we finally reached the spot where the Kims' car stopped after a long, winding journey, our traveling companions -- Sgt. Joel Heller, Josephine County Sheriff's office, and John James, owner of the Black Bar Lodge -- both had the same exact thought: Why did the Kims continue down such a desolate path when they so clearly did not know where they were going?

 

Though it is heart wrenching to question the decisions made by a man who died trying to save his family, it is hard not to wonder.

 

Three times, we passed large yellow signs warning that snow may completely block the roadway.

 

Eventually, we came to a fork in the road where a tiny sign -- almost invisible unless you actually stop the car and focus on it -- pointed the way to the Oregon Coast. The sign pointed left. The Kims drove right.

 

This was obviously the wrong direction. It was one lane, no guardrail, no markings, no "winding road ahead" signs, no speed limit signs, no nothing.

 

During our daylight journey, the road was so hazardous, so covered with snow and ice that a CNN satellite truck operator refused to continue, fearing the truck could go over the side.

 

The pavement began to break up, then turn to gravel, and finally to dirt.

 

This was an old logging road used only in summer by lodge owners hauling supplies. In winter, it was not generally in use.

 

In fact, beginning November 1 a gate usually blocked the road. Somebody must have broken the lock and left the gate open. Had it been shut and locked, the Kims could not have gone down the road at all.

 

But they did. Twenty miles down that desolate road, James and Kati Kim and their two young daughters found themselves stranded in the snowy wilderness.

 

By the time we came to the spot they stopped, our four-wheel-drive vehicle was being battered on both sides by overhanging branches and bushes.

 

This is where the Kims stayed for nine days, and the spot from which James Kim set off on foot on a journey into the Oregon wilderness that resulted in his death.

 

Edited December 12, 2006 by Blue Power Ranger

[+Criminal]

There's more reading here from the Seattle Times.

 

Another from San Fran here.

 

I think the lesson we can all learn from this is that one never knows when they’ll need wilderness survival skills. I remember a story WanderLost relates about driving a completely normal looking road up in (or near) Capitol Forest and ending up on a path that resembled more of a goat trail. That is the reality of the PNW.

 

We can read all about wilderness survival, but if the first time you need to light a fire in the wet or snow covered forest is when your life depends on it, you may be unhappy to discover it isn’t as easy as the books might lead you to believe.

 

Hypothermia is deadly, and it was what killed James Kim. The best way to prevent it is to stay dry and if you’re wet, to get dry as quickly as possible. Your children are much more susceptible, they’re smaller, they don’t know the symptoms, and they like to get wet.

 

It’s happened to me more than a few times, hike, sweat, soak up the ubiquitous rain, arrive at the cache location, and realize I’m soaked and shivering uncontrollably. I can overcome the cold by beginning to move again, but what if I twist my ankle or honk my head on a rock and pass out? A twisted ankle isn’t deadly, the hypothermia is.

 

Regardless of whether a ‘hike’ is 20 miles or 2 miles, or even if you never leave sight of the city, it’s important to know and practice the skills that will enable you and your companions to survive. To that end, if anyone wants to discuss getting together somewhere to collectively pool our knowledge and practice things like firecraft in a real world environment, let me know and we’ll plan something.

[+MissJenn]

To that end, if anyone wants to discuss getting together somewhere to collectively pool our knowledge and practice things like firecraft in a real world environment, let me know and we'll plan something.

Thanks.

I'd be interested in something like this.

[+Allanon]

To that end, if anyone wants to discuss getting together somewhere to collectively pool our knowledge and practice things like firecraft in a real world environment, let me know and we'll plan something.

Thanks.

I'd be interested in something like this.

Me too.

[+ReadyOrNot]

Another interesting twist to the story. The road that he turned down was suppose to have a locked gate, but a vandal had cut the lock and opened the gate. So many things that shouldn't have happened led to tragedy in this situation.

 

I remember a case near where I live when a teenager cut down the stop signs at a dangerous 4 way intersection. It caused a colision that resulted in a fatality. I believe they charged the teen with Involuntary Manslaughter. I think the same thing would be appropriate if they can find the vandal who cut the lock and opened the gate.

[+blazerfan]

Another interesting twist to the story. The road that he turned down was suppose to have a locked gate, but a vandal had cut the lock and opened the gate. So many things that shouldn't have happened led to tragedy in this situation.

 

I remember a case near where I live when a teenager cut down the stop signs at a dangerous 4 way intersection. It caused a colision that resulted in a fatality. I believe they charged the teen with Involuntary Manslaughter. I think the same thing would be appropriate if they can find the vandal who cut the lock and opened the gate.

 

Good luck finding whoever cut that lock. The county is so poor they are about to close the public library and the DA is talking about cutting staff down to 2 (yup 2 whole people to prosecute every crime in the county). The county jail is hardly kept at half of capacity and some of those are inmates from our neighboring county and the State that they pay us to keep. If not for the helicopters chartered by the family and one borrowed from Jackson County they may still be lost up there.

 

I've been over Bear Camp many times. It is a narrow forrest service road that washes out every other year and is kind of paved. Driving at night in bad weather he should have turned around as soon as he turned off onto it. Honestly, at night in slushy rain and you find your shortcut to the coast is a one lane road would you have continued?

[+Prying Pandora]

To that end, if anyone wants to discuss getting together somewhere to collectively pool our knowledge and practice things like firecraft in a real world environment, let me know and we’ll plan something.

I think that's an excellent idea.

[+ReadyOrNot]

I've been over Bear Camp many times. It is a narrow forrest service road that washes out every other year and is kind of paved. Driving at night in bad weather he should have turned around as soon as he turned off onto it. Honestly, at night in slushy rain and you find your shortcut to the coast is a one lane road would you have continued?

 

I would have turned around and drove back to the correct road. I think it's terrible that he put his family at risk. Thank God that the mother and children survived.. It's a tough lesson for sure. I think people who live in the cities and rarely get more than a couple minutes from a grocery store get be over confident. I think many of the decisions he made showed that he was overconfident.

 

What I can't figure out is why in the heck a techy guy like that was on a long road trip without a GPS device?

 

I'm sitting here watching the news and there's 3 guys up on Mt. Hood who may very well be dead. Same story.. Going up on the mountain unprepared and overconfident. I've got 25 years of climbing experience, so I can withstand 85 mph winds and freezing temperatures and I don't need to rent a locator device, because I'm that darn good!

[+Blue Power Ranger]

To that end, if anyone wants to discuss getting together somewhere to collectively pool our knowledge and practice things like firecraft in a real world environment, let me know and we'll plan something.

 

I'm interested. I've never participated in formal wilderness survival training so I would find this most useful.

[+LandRover]

Regardless of whether a ‘hike’ is 20 miles or 2 miles, or even if you never leave sight of the city, it’s important to know and practice the skills that will enable you and your companions to survive. To that end, if anyone wants to discuss getting together somewhere to collectively pool our knowledge and practice things like firecraft in a real world environment, let me know and we’ll plan something.

 

I've watched Man vs Wild on the Discovery Channel so I'm pretty sure I could easily get myself killed following that guy's advice, so some real world survival skills would be a good thing.

[+Recdiver]

Regardless of whether a ‘hike’ is 20 miles or 2 miles, or even if you never leave sight of the city, it’s important to know and practice the skills that will enable you and your companions to survive. To that end, if anyone wants to discuss getting together somewhere to collectively pool our knowledge and practice things like firecraft in a real world environment, let me know and we’ll plan something.

 

I've watched Man vs Wild on the Discovery Channel so I'm pretty sure I could easily get myself killed following that guy's advice, so some real world survival skills would be a good thing.

I with you there. I've read the books, watched the movies, and consider no maid service as roughing it. Sign me up for the practice part since my pool of knowledge is pretty darn shallow.

[+runhills]

Regardless of whether a ‘hike’ is 20 miles or 2 miles, or even if you never leave sight of the city, it’s important to know and practice the skills that will enable you and your companions to survive. To that end, if anyone wants to discuss getting together somewhere to collectively pool our knowledge and practice things like firecraft in a real world environment, let me know and we’ll plan something.

 

I've watched Man vs Wild on the Discovery Channel so I'm pretty sure I could easily get myself killed following that guy's advice, so some real world survival skills would be a good thing.

 

I watched enough of Man vs Wild to get real ticked off bringing back some bad memories. Many years ago I was on Mt Rainier when two guys from Fort Lewis fell to their death. My party was coming down and met these two on their way up, obviously not havining the right gear (crampons on loose rubber overshoes, handheld flashlights and tied together with 15' feet of nylon rope). As we passed I quized them about what they were getting into and was basically told to mind my own business, they had military training in survival. A very few minutes later they fell.

 

I believe in training but it should focus more on preparedness than survival. Learning how to biuld a fire in the PNW is good to practice but maybe always carrying matches and Sterno is a better approach? The best survival is staying out of situations that you are not prepared to deal with. My caution is that one need not do stupid things (Man vs the Wind) with a false confidence of having survival training.

[+Criminal]

I watched enough of Man vs Wild to get real ticked off ...SNIP

I believe in training but it should focus more on preparedness than survival. Learning how to biuld a fire in the PNW is good to practice but maybe always carrying matches and Sterno is a better approach? The best survival is staying out of situations that you are not prepared to deal with. My caution is that one need not do stupid things (Man vs the Wind) with a false confidence of having survival training.

I wouldn’t take much, if any, of what I saw on a TV show and believe for one minute that the information was practical or accurate. Discovery has a show called Bear Grylls, last week he was in a survival situation, and he was trying to catch a horse so he could ride back to civilization. Later he built a makeshift raft and shot the rapids. Right.

 

Nobody is going to intentionally thrust themselves into a survival situation. I doubt many of us would ever carry a heavy can of sterno on a day hike or geocaching. This thread is sort of paralleling the one I started over here. I tried it, found it was more difficult than I thought, and saw some similarity with the situation James Kim was in. He was cold, wet, tired, and hungry. He supposedly had either matches or a lighter, but died of hypothermia.

 

Does anyone have a preference for when we’d like to do this? 30th or 31st? Later, after the holidays?

[+Blue Power Ranger]

Does anyone have a preference for when we’d like to do this? 30th or 31st? Later, after the holidays?

 

After the holidays would be best for me.

[+Team Jac'd]

To that end, if anyone wants to discuss getting together somewhere to collectively pool our knowledge and practice things like firecraft in a real world environment, let me know and we'll plan something.

 

I'm interested. I've never participated in formal wilderness survival training so I would find this most useful.

 

I used to be a boy scout, but would welcome the chance to rediscover my skills... or gets some in lacking areas.

 

cheers,

Poppa J

[+hydnsek]

Does anyone have a preference for when we’d like to do this? 30th or 31st? Later, after the holidays?

 

After the holidays would be best for me.

Ditto, and count me in!

[+Criminal]

Does anyone have a preference for when we’d like to do this? 30th or 31st? Later, after the holidays?

 

After the holidays would be best for me.

Ditto, and count me in!

What, you mean like the shootout?

 

[+MissJenn]

I'll throw out a date: January 6, Saturday?

[+Recdiver]

I'll throw out a date: January 6, Saturday?

That is a nice date.

[+Allanon]

Sounds good to me.

[+WATreasureHunters]

I am very interested. The 6th works for me...

[+The Jester]

I've been over Bear Camp many times. It is a narrow forrest service road that washes out every other year and is kind of paved. Driving at night in bad weather he should have turned around as soon as he turned off onto it. Honestly, at night in slushy rain and you find your shortcut to the coast is a one lane road would you have continued?

 

I would have turned around and drove back to the correct road. I think it's terrible that he put his family at risk. Thank God that the mother and children survived.. It's a tough lesson for sure. I think people who live in the cities and rarely get more than a couple minutes from a grocery store get be over confident. I think many of the decisions he made showed that he was overconfident.

 

What I can't figure out is why in the heck a techy guy like that was on a long road trip without a GPS device?

 

I'm sitting here watching the news and there's 3 guys up on Mt. Hood who may very well be dead. Same story.. Going up on the mountain unprepared and overconfident. I've got 25 years of climbing experience, so I can withstand 85 mph winds and freezing temperatures and I don't need to rent a locator device, because I'm that darn good!

That attitude is what gets so many "experts" killed. My survival skills are good, my climbing skills are good, my equipment is good, but when I've climbed Mt Hood I rented one of the locator's because the mountain does give a d*** if you're good or not. Not everything that happens on a mountain can be over come with skill/equipment. Now that the weight has come down on ELT (from close to 5 pounds to about 12 ounces) I'm considering talking the wife into letting me get one - even though they are about $600.

[+WeightMan]

I just heard a report on KING TV that the gate that the Kims drove past was never locked. It was supposed to have been locked, but that was not done for some reason this year. It was not vandalized.

[+TotemLake]

I just heard a report on KING TV that the gate that the Kims drove past was never locked. It was supposed to have been locked, but that was not done for some reason this year. It was not vandalized.

It wasn't secured because BLM could not determine if they were locking someone in.

 

Oh yah... the 6th works good for me too. Maybe we can also turn it into a snowshoe hike?

Edited December 14, 2006 by TotemLake

[+blazerfan]

What I can't figure out is why in the heck a techy guy like that was on a long road trip without a GPS device?

 

Even if he had a GPS I'm not sure it would have done him any good. That area is not a good one for keeping a GPS signal especially in bad weather. If he had a good routing GPS in his car and he had signal he might have stayed on the right road but would have still ended up stuck in the snow if he didn't turn around. Of course on the correct road they would have been spotted faster.

Edited December 14, 2006 by blazerfan

[+Team Jac'd]

I just heard a report on KING TV that the gate that the Kims drove past was never locked. It was supposed to have been locked, but that was not done for some reason this year. It was not vandalized.

It wasn't secured because BLM could not determine if they were locking someone in.

 

Oh yah... the 6th works good for me too. Maybe we can also turn it into a snowshoe hike?

 

That sounds good from here... Where is a good place to do it that we can have some fun caching, hiking, and making sure our skills are up to date?

 

Also, as we have a number of people chirping in on this topic, any chance we could come up with a "20 essentials in your car for a PNW winter" list? Not focusing on the numbers, but focusing on something that most of us can agree would help if we get stuck? Perhaps also rate it for the number of people/days that it would help you out for?

 

Where I am coming from on that is that I usually cache with KidAce, my 9 year old daughter. I would rather have a good list of skills to have and things to bring and mentally know I am as prepared than I can be, than kick myself in the a** for not doing something simple.

 

Any takers?

 

cheers,

Poppa J

[+TotemLake]

Also, as we have a number of people chirping in on this topic, any chance we could come up with a "20 essentials in your car for a PNW winter" list? Not focusing on the numbers, but focusing on something that most of us can agree would help if we get stuck? Perhaps also rate it for the number of people/days that it would help you out for?

 

That's going to depend largely on where you travel. I plan for abandoning the car in an urban setting most of the time with maybe a maximum walk on dry pavement of 20 miles in one day as an extreme distance. When I go hiking into something moderate, then I'll throw some extras into the back. Criminal can attest to that. He was surprised with the amount of ... errr... stuff... I had when we attempted French Peak.

[+pdxmarathonman]

I plan for abandoning the car in an urban setting most of the time

Me too. Cell phone and credit card

[+Renegade Knight]

What I can't figure out is why in the heck a techy guy like that was on a long road trip without a GPS device?

 

Even if he had a GPS I'm not sure it would have done him any good. That area is not a good one for keeping a GPS signal especially in bad weather. If he had a good routing GPS in his car and he had signal he might have stayed on the right road but would have still ended up stuck in the snow if he didn't turn around. Of course on the correct road they would have been spotted faster.

 

The main hope of the GPS is that he would have seen the lodge and made a bee-line for it. He would have made that hike given he hiked further than that only go end up fairly close to the lodge when he died. I don't know one way or the other if the lodge is a POI in the mapping software though.

[+TotemLake]

I plan for abandoning the car in an urban setting most of the time

Me too. Cell phone and credit card

As recently experienced in the great blackout of 2006, that doesn't work well in large blanketed black out areas. Cell phones barely made the grade unless you were close enough to a working tower and no guarantee of getting on them then with the saturation levels. Credit cards were worth their weight in value in stores that had no power. I suppose I could have grabbed a hat and flipped them into it from 10 feet away.

[+WeightMan]

I plan for abandoning the car in an urban setting most of the time

Me too. Cell phone and credit card

As recently experienced in the great blackout of 2006, that doesn't work well in large blanketed black out areas. Cell phones barely made the grade unless you were close enough to a working tower and no guarantee of getting on them then with the saturation levels. Credit cards were worth their weight in value in stores that had no power. I suppose I could have grabbed a hat and flipped them into it from 10 feet away.

 

The credit card problem is one reason I have a cache of $20s in my house. Those bills are always accepted unlike larger bills and so are easily used when credit cards won't work. No, I don't have a cache like that in my car, but I try to never go out without several bills in my wallet.

[+ReadyOrNot]

What I can't figure out is why in the heck a techy guy like that was on a long road trip without a GPS device?

 

Even if he had a GPS I'm not sure it would have done him any good. That area is not a good one for keeping a GPS signal especially in bad weather. If he had a good routing GPS in his car and he had signal he might have stayed on the right road but would have still ended up stuck in the snow if he didn't turn around. Of course on the correct road they would have been spotted faster.

 

The main hope of the GPS is that he would have seen the lodge and made a bee-line for it. He would have made that hike given he hiked further than that only go end up fairly close to the lodge when he died. I don't know one way or the other if the lodge is a POI in the mapping software though.

 

Yeah. He would have at least seen that the road led towards the river. I think that's what he was trying to do was find the river and follow it into town. Assuming some intelligence, he more than likely would have found the lodge while moving towards the river. But what's done is done...

[+pdxmarathonman]

I plan for abandoning the car in an urban setting most of the time

Me too. Cell phone and credit card

As recently experienced in the great blackout of 2006, that doesn't work well in large blanketed black out areas. Cell phones barely made the grade unless you were close enough to a working tower and no guarantee of getting on them then with the saturation levels. Credit cards were worth their weight in value in stores that had no power. I suppose I could have grabbed a hat and flipped them into it from 10 feet away.

I thought we were talking about abandoning the car in a city