Hiker lost then found after cold night on mountain

[Ed]

He went down to Little Round Valley ...

So he was 180 degrees wrong, not 90 degrees. I agree with Cynthia, anyone can become confused about direction in a summit area with snow on the ground, low visibility, and the degradation of mental function that comes with cold and fatigue. Certainly has happened to me. I was not doing so well myself on Miller saddle on Saturday, due to the cold and its effect on my fingers. But finding direction when your common sense fails you is what compasses are for.

[Wildhorse]

RMRUpete's explanation confirms that this hiker found his own way down the mountain, just not by way of the tram. This person has a place in wilderness, lost or not.

Ed's point is still valid for many others in wilderness who don't have a place there because they are not fit and not prepared. I saw quite a few of such people on my own hike today. I believe they are there because they are naive and they count on being rescued if they fail. They don't even belong in pseudo wilderness parks like the one at San Jacinto.

Those of us who seek real wilderness, and the danger that is essential to it, must travel farther from civilization. We need to leave our cell phones at home. We need to tell our friends and relatives to not call for help when we don't return as soon as expected. GPS is fine. Map and compass are good. Knowing the stars and shadows is better. But most important of all is getting to know the land itself, gradually, as we walk farther into wilderness, learning to live with the danger that wilderness is, and knowing that we may never return. It is better to know one wild and remote area intimately, than to sample a thousand like the adventure tourists do.

[Hikin_Jim]

I believe they are there because they are naive and they count on being rescued if they fail.

I don't think it dawns on them just how serious it can get out there. I don't think the thought of rescue ever enters their minds. "It can't happen to me." Magical thinking.

HJ

[cynthia23]

Thanks for the clarification, RMRUPete. And many more thanks for all you do!

[Wildhorse]

I just noticed RMRUpete's saying after his signature. "How can I be lost if I don't care where I am?"

It can be taken as a rhetorical question, or as a riddle.

Either way, coming from a man who has spent 40 years helping people in the mountains make their way to somewhere else, it is a great question suggestive of rich irony and humor. It surely suggests the importance of asking ourselves, "Where should we be?"

[Hikin_Jim]

"Where should we be?"

Anywhere but here. (I'm at work)

HJ

[Cy Kaicener]

RMRU Report -- http://www.rmru.org/missions/2016/2016-001.html

http://www.riversidesheriff.org/press/cab16-0109.asp

[Hikin_Jim]

Spent the night under a boulder? He's a pretty tough cookie.

HJ

[Ulysses]

Spent the night under a boulder? He's a pretty tough cookie.

Indeed. I'm impressed. He was well prepared equipment wise and kept his wits about him and made it out safely on his own. That's a long hike down Fuller Ridge and Snow Creek.

[Ed]

He was well prepared equipment wise and kept his wits about him and made it out safely on his own.

Yes. But he triggered an SAR because he went down the wrong side of the mountain, something that could have been avoided by glancing at a compass. We are not talking about the fine points of map and compass work here, we are talking about distinguishing between the four cardinal directions. I'm afraid I am not an admirer.