Editor's note: This updates with plans to use a helicopter to pull the trio out of the backcountry.
Winter's latest punch to the East caught three Appalachian Trail hikers in Great Smoky Mountains National Park unprepared and needing to be rescued by rangers, who called in a helicopter to lift the three out.
The three men from Gaffney, South Carolina, -- Shawn Hood, Steven White, and Jonathan Dobbins -- had set out from Fontana Dam on Thursday with plans for a ten-day hike. But last night they called rangers to say they were cold and wet and needed help as they were unable to walk and had no shelter.
Responding rangers were able to reach the trio -- all between the ages of 21 and 32 -- and brought dry clothing and tents.
"They are being treated for hypothermia and possible frostbite. All three are very weak and cannot walk," said Kent Cave, the park's supervisory ranger. "Plans have been made to extricate the hikers using a helicopter from the North Carolina Helicopter and Aquatic Rescue Team (HART) early this afternoon."
Overnight temperatures in the park were reported to be "in the single digits and winds gusting to 35 miles per hour made wind chills near 20 degrees below zero," the park reported. "Blowing snow created drifts up to two feet. Rescue efforts were hampered by weather, road, and trail conditions, as well as the remote, rugged location. The men were located some 5 miles from the nearest trailhead."
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Comments
Somehow, I don't think that someone is going to die on the trail because they were afraid they couldn't afford the rescue.
There are clear cases of idiocy - for which the victim should pay. There are clear cases of pure accident, which should be part of the normal course of business for the rescuing entitity. Yes there will be some "gray" areas but administrations and courts make gray area decisions every day. The public shouldn't be burdened to take care of those that aren't willing to take care of themselves - in or out of the woods.
NPS, as far as I know, doesn't produce maps, apart from those on the website and in the flyers. But I think NPS is pretty explicit that these shouldn't be used for backpacking/navigating. NatGeo/EarthWalk maps seem to be available at all the Visitor Centers.
For what it's worth, it's hard to pinpoint backcountry interest/use in the Smokies this past year.
For starters, there was the 16-day shutdown in October. That cut visitation by more than half for the month, from 1.1 million in October 2012 to 533,350 this past October and led to a 61 percent decline (down almost 6,000 from the previous October) in backcountry use, so that no doubt heavily impacted the year-to-date numbers.
As for the rest of the year:
In September 2013, backcountry use was down 21 percent
In August 2013, backcountry use was up 1.6 percent over 2012
In July 2013 backcountry use was down 17 percent. This drop possibly was due to a tornado that raked the park in June and downed trees across many backcountry trails.
In June 2013, backcountry use was level with the year before
In May 2013 backcountry use was down 4 percent from 2012
In April 2013 backcountry use was even with the year before
In March 2013, the NPS stats say no one was in the backcountry, vs 9,857 for the same month in 2012. That's a pretty good indicator that numbers were lost or not kept.
February 2013 backcountry numbers also were identical to February 2012, another indicator of poor records.
January 2013 backcountry use was reported to be down 17.5 percent from 2012. Could weather have been a factor? Heavy rains in late January and into February greatly impacted the park, washing out some roads, trails, and foot bridges.
Possibly hampering backcountry access/use was the fact that landslides in January and March shut down cross-park travel on the Newfound Gap Road.
So, was backcountry use down in 2013? Most definitely. How much, compared to 2012 levels? Somewhat harder to say, and definitely hard to say how much impact the backcountry fees had to do with it.
Good breakdown, Kurt. And legitimate question. I believe the answer lies in how this compares to other years of backcountry use in the Smokies. Every year sees some type of closure that is weather related here in the Smokies. Right now, Newfound gap road is closed again and has been off and on for weeks due to snow and ice. That didn't stop us from going into the backcountry but we know how to get around the roads. The tornado damage on Cane Creek, and Beard Cane trails only impacts two backcountry sites out of over 110. Why there is not data for the months in question is, well, to be expected. But I don't think you can argue that backcountry usage is down appreciably and it happens to coincide with the fee imposition. I know folks who are abandoning the Smokies entirely because of the fee. AT hikers are going around the Smokies and the neighboring wilderness areas are booming such as Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests where there are no such restrictions. I'll bet a good story can be found in their numbers.
There are cases where the victim was concerned about the cost and walked or crawled out, sometimes aggravating the injury with lifetime consequences. In many parks, the agency does exactly what EC states in the sentence following "idiocy". Having been associated with rescue and fire now for over 50 years (Yellowstone and Yosemite), it is my own experience that the vast majority of visitors we assisted/rescued deserved said and were extremely grateful. In most cases it was inexperience, but in those cases were reckless disregard was shown, we often cited them into court. Many generously donate to the SAR fund for the park if they have money to do so. It was a very rewarding job to be involved in these efforts. I could go on and on about this, but do not want to burden the website. EC, your point is true in some cases, as it is true in almost any public sector program, but it is a small minority, at least that is what I have seen. I still support the effort of these hikers, ill advised as it was, again we must all remember those times we needed assistance, especially the first time we tried something, myself included.
About "NPS Maps." I never cease to be amazed at how many people I meet who are hiking backcountry trails and trying to use the maps found in the NPS mini-folders they were handed at the gate. Those maps are not intended for any purpose other than general orientation for visitors.
I don't think it's my imagination at work when I think there are more and more rescues caused by a growing disconnect between Americans and the Great Outdoors. How many of these situations result from people whose previous outdoor experiences have come from watching a few TV shows?
I'm afraid the times when youngsters learned how to get along outside by being outside are disappearing.
And who's fault is that? Mine? Yours? Oh, maybe the guy that made the bad decision. Life has consequences. Bad decisions lead to bad consequences. Eliminate the bad consequences and there is no penalty for bad decisions which only means more people will make bad decisions. Is that what you want to encourage?
Minority or majority - they need to pay.
Well, with such an absolute absence of compassion, please do us all a favor and NEVER volunteer to help with a rescue, even if you are on the scene. Your judgement of the victim would emanate from you and help them to feel worse. Just go ahead and hike on out ahead of the rescue crew and bring your calculator & invoice forms to the trailhead for rapid and timely billing.