About Over four years ago, I read “Touching the Void” and I was always intrigued by situation hikers find themselves in and the incredible things they do to stay alive.
This blog is about learning from other people’s mistakes, so you don’t make the same ones.
“Better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat”
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Who: A 23-year-old man from Rondebosch, South Africa
Where: Table Mountain, South Africa
His mistake: Bad luck. Maybe he smelled like money
What happened: Three men were hiking between Rhodes Memorial path and Devil’s Peak on Table Mountain when two muggers began harassing them verbally.
The hikers started running down the trail to try and get away from the muggers. One of the hikers got away. Another stumbled and rolled into the bushes. The last one tripped and broke his leg. The muggers stole the man’s backpack, cell phone and money.
Two months ago, a similar incident happened in the same area. That hiker sustained a fractured skull from that attack.
Read the story here.
OTHER HIKER HELL STORIES:
Three hikers from a Boy Scout troop and a hiker with an injured ankle were rescued in New Hampshire.
Two lost hikers on the Appalachian Trail are found and rescued
Who: A man and a 38-year-old woman
Where: Margarine Ridge, near Mount Hay, Australia
Their mistake: They didn’t bring enough water
What happened: Two hikers set out for a day hike and became dehydrated. Unable to continue, they called for help around 10:30pm.
Rescuers in a chopper spotted the hiker, but because of the fading light, the rescuers were unable to pluck them off of the mountain. The couple spent the night outside and waited until first sun when a second, and successful, attempt was made to rescue them. The hikers were treated for dehydration and released.
Read the story here.
MORE HIKER HELL STORIES:
Missing 62-year-old hiker found near Lake Piru after full-day search
Rescuers assist an injured hiker who tripped and hit his head on a rock
Who: 41-year-old Sergio Mori of Brookline, Mass.
Where: Crawford Notch, Massachusetts
His mistake: Just tripped and bad luck
What happened: A man went out for a solo day hike in Crawford Notch. After hiking up Mount Eisenhower and descending the Edand’s Path, the man fell and injured his ankle so bad that he was unable to hike out of the wilderness. The remote area has no cell phone service so the man was forced to brave temperatures in the low 20s.
The next morning, another hiker found the man and called for help. The man was hauled out and taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Read the story here.
OTHER HIKER HELL STORIES:
An injured rock climber is rescued 120 meters up a sheer cliff.
Lost Hiker walks out on his own in Icicle Valley, Washington
Rescuers save woman with sprained ankle on Tabletop Mountain
Who: A 38-year-old man
Where: Chicago, IL
His mistake: Didn’t check out the downclimb
What happened: A builderer (a climbing boulderer who climbs on buildings) had to be lowered from a 25-foot traffic light after topping it out. The man took off his shoes and shimmied up the light and couldn’t get down. Rescuers used a hydraulic cherry picker to get the man down.
Read the story here.
OTHER HIKER HELL STORIES:
A Lost hiker was rescued in the Hollywood Hills.
Two women were rescued after getting lost on Montecito Peak.
A Japanese climber was injured in a 25 foot wall in Joshua Tree.
Who: 20-year-old Chirstopher Ochoa of French Camp, CA
Where: Silver Creek Falls, Oregon
His mistake: Bad luck. Unsure if he was wearing the Mountain Hardwear monkey jacket.
What happened: A man wearing dark clothing while hiking in Silver Creek Falls Park a couple weeks ago. At the same time, a 67-year-old man and his grandson were huntin’ for bears. When the man saw a rustling in some bushes, he fired a single shot and hit the hiker. The hiker died at the scene.
Read the story here.
Other Hiker Hell stories:
I’ve been on hiatus while I skied and rock climbed all over the west coast. Now that I have some extra time, I figured I’ll keep on blogging since I got an email here and there from loyal readers that they miss this blog.
I am going to streamline the operation. I won’t be posting as many stories, but I will provide links at the bottom of each post of other Hiker Hell stories that are going on in the world.
If you are interested in helping me post stories, please contact me and we can figure something out. It won’t pay, but it will surely fill your time. You can contact me here.
Who: 40-year-old Matthew Chidgey
Where: Wildwood Regional Park, California
His mistake: He was alone and possibly ventured too close to a swollen river
What happened: A man was anxious to see some nearby waterfalls after a large storm. He asked his roommate to go, but the roommate declined, so the man went by himself.
When the man didn’t return by the night time, his roommate reported him missing. More than 40 members of search and rescue teams looked for the man. The next morning, rescuers and family members also looking for him, found the lifeless body in a rain-swollen creek at the bottom of a steep, rugged canyon.
Authorities would like to remind hikers that rivers can stay swollen and potentially dangerous more than three days after the rainstorm.
Read the story here.
Who: A 36-year-old man and a 13-year-old boy
Where: Northeast Czech Republic
Their mistake: One ignored warnings. The other just seemed like bad luck.
What happened: In two separate incidents, two people were killed in avalanches. In the first incident, a 36-year-old backcountry skier died in Northeast Czech Republic. Authorities said the man ignored avalanche advisories and skied anyway. He triggered an avalanche and died.
In another incident, a 13-year-old boy and his 15-year-old friend were sliding down a steep hill. A small avalanche was triggered and buried the 13-year-old boy. The 15-year-old ran for help, but by the time rescuers arrived, they were unable to resuscitate the boy.
Read the story here.
Who: A man in his 30s
Where: Mount Mackie, British Columbia, Canada
His mistake: It’s unknown
What happened: A man and three of his friends – all in their 30s – snowmobiled into the B.C. backcountry for some skiing. During one of their ski descents, one of the skiers triggered an avalanche. Three of the men were able to get out of the way. The fourth was buried and died of his injuries.
The surviving skiers were able to ski to a hut where they made contact with a snow cat guide. The cat was able to assist the men in finding their friend, but because of the existing avalanche danger, the cat and the skiers were forced out of the area. A recovery mission will resume when conditions permit.
Authorities said the four men were experienced backcountry enthusiasts who all had avalanche rescue gear. Local authorities plan on closing the access road to the trailhead until snow conditions improve.
Read the story here.
Who: Two men
Where: Elephant Trunk, Kitt Peak, Arizona
Their mistake: It’s unknown
What happened: Two men were rapelling off of the Elephant Trunk on Kitt Peak and somehow became stuck. It is unclear what stopped them from completing the rappel.
Fortunately the men had a cell phone to call for help. The Southern Arizona Rescue Team and Pima County Sheriff’s Deputies were unable to do a nighttime rescue, so they used a chopper to drop off warm clothes and provisions for the men to make it through the night.
The next day, rescuers used 300 feet of rope to perform three rappels to rescue them. Rescuers were able to bring the climbers down to safety 25 hours after the ordeal began. There were no injuries reported.
Read the story here.
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