Missing AT Hiker Found, Safe - Take a Lesson

Ken Knight (photo from Backpacking Light)

compiled from several sources While most of the universe was oblivious, a rather frightening drama has been unfolding on our sister trail, the Appalachian Trail.

On Tuesday, Ken Knight failed to meet his hiking partners, and then Wednesday did not appear in time to catch his flight back to Michigan, where he lives. It turned out that no one had seen him since last Sunday. An official search began on Thursday. Friday, several members of the popular "greatlakeshikes" email group flew to Virgina to assist the Search and Rescue teams in looking for him. Ken Knight's regular job is as an editor for Backpacking Light magazine, and he produces "The Wandering Knight," a series of podcasts.

Ken is an experienced hiker, even familiar with this section of trail, however he is visually impaired. It is assumed that this contributed to his becoming lost. He has hiked many miles on his own. It was this experience that gave people hope that he would be located. This afternoon while the searchers were scouring the woods, local firefighters spotted a brush fire and responded. They found Knight had set the fire in hopes of attracting attention. He was slightly dehydrated, but walked out of the woods under his own power with the firefighters. A very welcome end to this story. And we certainly wish Ken the best!

Meanwhile, Nimblewill Nomad has been having an adventure on the Kekekabic Trail which illustrates the serious nature of a hike at the wrong season. Sheer determination carried him through the Minnesota northwoods to Heston's Lodge. After some self-recovery, he has decided to skip to Two Harbors, and return to the Arrowhead later in the season after the snow has melted.

His journal reports: "It's really hard to say if I've gotten lost any given time today, or if I've even been off-track the least bit. Places like, say, above Seahorse Lake and by Chub River, more than not, there simply is no trail, an occasional, piddly two- or three-rock cairn, a scrap of flagging underfoot, or the guess at a blowdown sawcut--that's it. In these places, and as I search intently, there's nothing to be seen but brush, rocks and char, nothing else, no tread, certainly no evidence that man has ever set foot here."

Yet this is a section that has been cleared by the Kekekabic Trail club several times since the blowdown of 1999. I personally participated in one of these trips to that exact section. It's quite eerie to know that someone, just a few years later, can't tell that we were ever there.

Nimblewill also wrote: "Through the Kekekabic Lake area I'm in the thick of the storm devastation. The going is incredibly slow, and the tread has become more faint. To stay on trail I must constantly look for axe or saw evidence. More often now, that's the only sign. In many places there is no tread. Also, today I am faced with some very scary stream fords, what with the snowmelt runoff at near full tilt. My feet get hardly a moment's rest from the ice cold water."

By the time he reached Heston's his feet were totally numb, he had fallen and twisted a knee, broken a hiking stick and the snow was still two feet deep. He is hoping to not have permanent nerve damage to his feet.

These experiences should remind us that going to the woods is a serious undertaking even on a well-traveled trail like the AT, or the NCT, which most people assume to be very tame. I personally find these stories particularly riveting this week as I am packing food to leave for a hike of the area Nimblewill has just found so challenging. I am hoping that the 10 days between his experience and mine will eliminate most of the snow.

But let's all take a lesson for heading out on the trail. Being prepared and making good decisions can certainly mean the difference between life and death.

See Hiker Missing on the Appalachian Trail
See Kenneth Knight Found Alive
See Nimblewill Nomad's Journal, scroll to April 22

Emergency Beacons Switch to 406 MHz

SARSAT System Overview (credit NOAA)

a news release of NOAA

NOAA Satellites Helped Rescue 283 People in 2008
Emergency Beacons Switch Exclusively to 406 MHz Frequency Feb 1

NOAA satellites were key factors in the rescues of 283 people throughout the United States and its surrounding waters in 2008. In each incident, NOAA satellites detected and located a distress signal from an emergency beacon and relayed the information to first responders on the ground

“With every rescue made, a tragedy was avoided,” said Mary E. Kicza, assistant administrator for NOAA Satellite and Information Service. “Each year NOAA satellites show their versatility by helping us forecast the weather, learn more about our environment and contribute to these life saving rescues.”

NOAA’s polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites, along with Russia’s Cospas spacecraft, are part of the international Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking system, called COSPAS-SARSAT. This system uses a network of satellites to quickly detect and locate distress signals from emergency beacons on board aircraft and boats and from handheld personal locator beacons.

When a satellite finds the location of a distress signal within the United States or its surrounding waters, the information is relayed to the SARSAT Mission Control Center at NOAA’s Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Md. From there, it is sent to a Rescue Coordination Center, operated by either the U.S. Air Force, for land rescues, or the U.S. Coast Guard, for water rescues.

2008 SARSAT Rescue Highlights

• Two people were rescued near Port Aranas, Texas, when their disabled boat was swamped by 12-foot waves.
• An injured hiker was rescued after using his personal locator beacon while hiking in a remote area near Hemet, Calif. The rescue became even more challenging when mountain lions were spotted nearby.
• A pilot was rescued about 70 miles southeast of Galena, Alaska, after his Cessna plane crashed into trees.
• Alaska topped the list for the most saves in the United States, with 49 lives rescued in 2008. Rounding out the top five states were: New Jersey, with 18 rescued; Florida, with 15 rescued; Hawaii, with 14 rescued; and California, with 12 rescued.

Older Beacons must be Replaced
Starting on Feb. 1, 2009, NOAA satellites will only receive signals from the new 406 MHz frequency beacons. The older emergency beacons, operating on the 121.5 and 243 MHz frequencies, will no longer be detected by SARSAT. Signals from the 406 MHz beacons can be detected instantly, are more accurate, and offer global coverage. NOAA has provided advance notice of the switch since 2000.

“It’s vital that anyone with the old 121.5 MHz beacon make the switch to 406 MHz beacons immediately so their distress signals can be heard,” said Chris O’Connors, program manager for NOAA SARSAT. “Plans for this changeover started in 2000 and we want everyone that relies on these devices to have the proper equipment.”

Now in its 27th year, COSPAS-SARSAT has been credited with supporting more than 24,000 rescues worldwide, including 6,045 in the United States and its surrounding waters.

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.

So You Think Your Food is Safe?

This photo essay is making the email rounds, but it seems really appropriate for hikers to see. Lest you think that bears are not smart or agile, this will give you something to think about next time you hang your food in the woods. And this is why I much prefer to be far away from areas where the bears have become accustomed to people. Meanwhile, have a good chuckle!