Lessons learned from the Oregon tragedy

"john smith" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Newps wrote:

Tennis shoes, no hat or gloves. There could have been no other outcome.

Sure there could have!
He walked the wrong way.
One mile in the opposite direction was a stocked fishing lodge,
according to the reports I have been reading.
It sounds as though he didn't scout the area in the week he stayed with
the car. (Hindsight, I know.)

I'm not an outdoorsman, and never have been; but I've been reading the
additions to this thread each morning, with a sour expression on my kisser,
and this is one of the first posts that has made a lot of sense--scout the
area while you still can.

I don't watch scheduled TV, so last evening I finally did a quick web search
to learn a little more about this story. It appeared that they did have
some supplies, and that they did use them at least as well as could be
reasonably expected from the written advice that is routinely given. I
might add that a lot of the advice regarding staying with the "wreckage"
presumes that there is some reason that the wreckage might be found, and
that there may be injuries. Also, a lot of the advice was written before
most airplanes were painted white!

With respect to the clothing issues, it is true that they were
underequipped. However, having shopped for cold weather gear in an area
that doesn't receive cold weather, I am inclined to judge less harshly.
Those boots that were supposed to be the cat's pajamas can be annoying,
since you can't walk around outside as far as you planned, and the rest of
the outerwear that you used incorrectly may cause you to "catch your death";
but a bottle of wine and a long soak in the hot tub will probably cure all
that ails you. OTOH, in the wilderness, a lot of incorrectly recommended
clothing (or simply inexperience) is a severe handicap!

Peter