by BSquared » Thu May 18, 2006 6:51 pm
Thanks very much for posting, Bday! Having got lost many times myself -- but through dumb luck without getting into the kind of trouble you did -- I understand, and I think your survival instincts were remarkable. Good work!
I do hope *someone*, presumably Donovan's family (though as I recall there isn't much "family") do eventually disclose all of his notes. It could be extremely useful to others who have hiked or will hike in the same area. For example, recently there was a great deal of anxiety about an experienced hiker and mountain climber who was "lost" on Mt. Whitney. Only after his body was found many weeks later did it become clear that he had in fact been recently diagnosed with some kind of terminal illness and had gone up into the Whitney area to die, with the assistance of some drugs. Not a happy story, but I think the truth is always preferable to the rumors that inevitably fly in such cases. The bottom line is that John helped you in your trouble, and by knowing more about what happened to him, other hikers could be helped as well.
Thanks again for finding this forum and posting in it.