Hiker Electrocuted Climbing Electric Tower, Duh

Thanks to Jeff of HikingtheSmokys.com for hipping me to this story.

A 20-year-old college student at Lee University hiking through the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee was electrocuted when he was climbing a power pole. He fell 20 feet to the ground and is in critical but stable condition at a local hospital.

Caleb Baber was hiking with five friends from the school. The group strayed from the trail and Baber wanted to catch a glimpse of the river which was about 20 miles away. He saw a pole and climbed it to see if he can get a view.

About 20 feet up the pole, electricity arched and struck Baber on the chin and fell to the ground. Authorities said the pole carries about 69,000 volts of power. If he directly touched the line, he would’ve been dead.

Park authorities say this is an isolated incident – the first involving a hiker and an electric pole. The poles are said to be well off trail and the trails are well-marked – some trails are even color coated to tell hikers how strenuous the trail is.

Sounds like a string of bad mistakes made in a row.

Read the story here.