They Don't Seem Very High...

...but they're high enough to be lethal to the unwary.

KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. – A woman was died in a fall from Crowders Mountain on Saturday afternoon.

Rescuers said she fell about 150 feet from the King's Pinnacle Trail near the Gaston/Cleveland County line.

They haven't released details about what happened, but say she may have been taking pictures.

The park's superintendent said this is the first accident he can recall from that part of the trail.


I've hiked that particular trail when I was younger, and can vouch that it's certainly high enough at 150 feet (that's 15 stories up) to be lethal. That's the very summit of King's Pinnacle. Still, it's the first time I've ever heard of anyone falling from that particular mountain; most fatalities at Crowder's Mountain state park take place on Crowder's itself, where the rock climbing occurs. It's a beautiful place for a day hike, and I'd be tempted myself to camp at the summit of King's Pinnacle if it was a cool autumn evening.

For Campers & Hikers

Especially those travelling in south Texas: Woods Roamer.

It's a defunct blog, but only recently so. Jim Curtis, this should give you some south Texas reference material when you write your next Grey Man novel.

via Primitivepoint.

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

He went hiking in the noonday sun in Death Valley.

Maybe They Should Rename It...

...the Lost Dumbass Mine.

David Bremson sees plenty of rescues in the Superstition Wilderness, like the 51-year-old woman who had to be pulled from the mountains for the second time in three months Wednesday after she got lost seeking the legendary Lost Dutchman's gold.

Typically, the weather is nice. People go hiking, hunting or seeking their fortune, and when someone gets lost or injured, search-and-rescue volunteers are called. Bremson, operations chief of the Central Arizona Mountain Rescue Association, doesn't mind doing rescues. But he has a message.

He doesn't believe the Lost Dutchman's gold exists, so his advice is don't endanger yourself looking for it. But if you do get in a jam, his team is not going to bill you for their work.

"Most of the body recoveries we've done out of the Supes have been Dutch hunters," Bremson said.

*Sigh* Will They Never Learn?

As much as it might be tempting to look over the top of a high waterfall, DON'T DO IT!

God bless the man's little daughter for trying to save him, only to fall herself. She could probably use your prayers.

I think this is a pic of the falls; I haven't ever been there:



(photo via alleneasler.com.)

Arrival

Blackthorn:

Maybe They Should Just...

...erect signs near the tops of waterfalls noting the current body count.

Nah. People would just steal 'em.

Let's Call Them I-tards

Some hikers and backpackers are relying on Iphone apps to navigate in the wilderness.

Lake District rescue teams said that younger walkers rely too heavily on mobile phones equipped with navigational “apps” and sat nav technology.

Dubbed the “shorts and flip-flops brigade” hardly any are familiar with the traditional methods of using a map and compass.

Nick Owen, Langdale and Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team leader, said: “They’re great with technology but they can’t walk up a hill without getting into trouble.

“They take no sensible kit like spare clothing and they rely on technical gadgetry which they’re not familiar with.”


If you're a hiker or backpacker, you should know what the Ten Essentials are, and more importantly, you should carry them with you on your hike. You should also know the basics of navigating with a map and compass.

She Went On Walkabout, That's All

56-year-old Wilma Edwards of Fayetteville, NC, was declared a missing person in September has turned up in Richmond, Virginia.

Apparently she is an avid walker, and on a previous occasion walked all the way to New York. Her trademark is apparently a white bucket that she carries around with her and sits on when she is tired of walking.

No more details to the story than that. Did she ask people for assistance when it came time to sleep? Where did she eat? Did she work as she went along? Do odd jobs to pay for meals, etc.?

Hiking In Florida In Mid-July: What Could Go Wrong?

Heat exhaustion, for one thing.

And it's a big thing. You really need to carry a lot of water in that combination of heat and humidity.

Losing Touch With The Land

A study in UK suggests that Britons are losing their affinity for the outdoors, with fewer and fewer each year knowing how to fish, use a compass, or climb a mountain. Some don't even travel.

And yet, I'd bet that many of them do those things while playing video games; they just can't be bothered to do them in real life.

It's Spring, So That Must Mean...

...it's time for the annual hiker-falls-off-Crowder's Mountain-story in the Charlotte Observer.

This one apparently didn't die, but appears to have hurt hisself rather badly.