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Inchworm's remains found in Maine

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    • rafe wrote:

      I guessed the MI. But what's a FAK?

      I'm thinking stroke of some kind would be just as common. Or complications from diabetes.

      There's a well known thru-hiking journal (avail. on Amazon) with the title "300 Zeroes." The author got 1/3 or 1/2 way through a thru-hike. Had some chest pains, decided to stop and have them checked out. He ended up having emergency heart surgery, surgeon said he was right on the edge of cardiac failure. He finished the trail the following season.
      First Aid Kit.
      Lost in the right direction.

    • Tuckahoe wrote:

      Ok so what I find laughable is the continual blathering on of the super internet sluths who can not seem to accept the findings of the ME -- all the while admitting they've not read the report. Never mind that this is the official educated and trained to make such determinations and has probably examined more bodies than the basement dwelling internet morons put together. But no they're somehow the experts.

      It goes back to the days before web sites, probably before the internet ever existed. People pretending they are experts for some sort of ego boost.
      --
      "What do you mean its sunrise already ?!", me.

    • Tuckahoe wrote:

      Ok so what I find laughable is the continual blathering on of the super internet sluths who can not seem to accept the findings of the ME -- all the while admitting they've not read the report. Never mind that this is the official educated and trained to make such determinations and has probably examined more bodies than the basement dwelling internet morons put together. But no they're somehow the experts.
      My understanding is that the ME (medical examiner) ruled the likely cause of death as hypothermia that was exacerbated by lack of food and water.

      I have read comments on several different message boards where internet conspiracy theorists have willfully misinterpreted this to mean that she starved to death. Seemingly the internet sleuths came to this conclusion in order to claim that the official story of doesn't make sense (since starvation wouldn't make sense as the cause of death, hence why it was not the actual ruling) and so that they can claim the authorities are covering something up.
      Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    • OzJacko wrote:

      The authorities are satisfied it wasn't foul play. She was 66. It's wild country. It's very sad but I think we should all just accept that it was poor judgement or a health "issue" such as hypothermia or a heart condition and move on without further speculation.
      One thing we can all take from it is that if you hike alone you have a support crew of just yourself.
      I'm 61. I woke up the other night in the entrance of my bathroom. The clock said 12:30 AM. My wife caught me under one arm and my daughter caught me under the other arm . I have no idea how they knew I was about to pass out cuz they had been sleeping. It's a God/Holy Spirit thing. I spent the next week and a half in the hospital with pneumonia, blood clots on my lungs and Big ole kidney stones.If I had been in Maine by myself they would be finding my remains.

      THE GOOD THING IS SHE IS AT PEACE.


      (Did not mean to shout. I keep hitting the cap lock key. You should see my posts before I correct them.)

    • It may not have happened in July. I believe the stated cause of death was starvation and exposure. I sounds like Inchworm may have been there for some time before she died. It is very sad that the rescuers seemed to miss this location.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”

      John Greenleaf Whittier

    • twistwrist wrote:

      Something doesn't sound right about that. How would one die of exposure inside a bag and a tent? In July?
      Winning....post

      OK everyone has an opinion... I have delved into this, far too much, that's just me. She got confused at one blaze walked one mile off trail on a logging connection. And in my opinion died of natural causes. It's very sad.

      OK now for the Monday looking back on the game... She did what everyone does with a cell phone. Turn's it off when not in use. Turn's it on when needed. The folks that were looking for her worked overtime in the wrong places miles from where she was. The last ping or "reach to send" was a 1/2 mile from the body.. and the search and rescue did a great job, just wasn't enough and got misdirected by young people that confused one older adult with another. She purchased a Spot and left it in a motel at the last moment. So the data was unusable.


      I feel really bad about this... She did her best and so unfortunate the outcome. Her husband was there remotely at each and every stop and worked very hard for her safety & its unfortunate.
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:

    • Focusing on what we can all learn from this to keep ourselves safe...

      1) Recognise that being a try-hiker does not make you a skilled outdoorsman. We should all try to continue to expand our skill set to navigate off trail. And for goodness sakes, bring a map and a compass and learn how to use them.

      2) When you go off trail to do your business or camp, keep track of the way you came. Make sure you can find your way back to the trail. I would rather be caught doing my business in the bushes 50 feet off the trail, than totally lost 200 feet off the trail.

      3) Someone in another thread made the excellent suggestion of placing your hiking poles at night to mark the direction you need to return to the trail the next morning.

      4) I know they say if you are lost you need to stay put, but at some point, if it does not look like help is coming, you may need to self rescue. Do this before you are so depleted you no longer have the energy to try. Keep your cool and approach the problem in a methodical way. You have a map, right?

      Other suggestions from the group? Hoping we never see something like this happen again.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”

      John Greenleaf Whittier

      The post was edited 1 time, last by IMScotty ().

    • to me the "lesson" has always been to carry a map and compass and know how to use them. and by "map" i mean a real honest to goodness map thats printed on paper, and not one on a device that uses a battery. best case, you're looking at a map on a 5 inch screen. worst case, the map is unavailable due to a dead battery or other equipment failure.
      2,000 miler

    • Da Wolf wrote:

      S&R messed up
      It is easy to criticize from a distance, but what is to be gained from that? They got some misinformation at the start of the search that led them astray. They have often stated that they did not have enough trained personal to cover that large of a search area. Sometimes the best efforts can still fall short. I am sure that they feel this loss very deeply and will do what they can to learn from this event.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”

      John Greenleaf Whittier

    • Dang.....I'm thankful that I "do Orienteering".....Not only map and compass, but when going off-trail, note direction on a compass and perhaps even "pace count" off. Very easy to do. Set up a 100 meter lane on open flat ground. Then, start off with say your left foot, count each time it hits the ground on the way to the 100 meter marker. I even use my fingers....fist in right hand....10 "lefts down" and extent a finger....another 10, extend second finger...another 10....third finger (get the idea). Now you know the DIRECTION you went and also the number of "left foots". Reverse the compass and count your way back out. In orienteering, we know our relative "pace count to 100 meters"....the compass can be used with the map to cover distance to an object.......Just some thoughts. Knowing you went "this compass bearing and 66 left foots down", makes it easy to just reverse the compass and count "66" again....should be within 10 meters (sight) of where you started from. .......Oh...and DO NOT attempt to hold the compass and watch it as you go off trail. Hold the compass up while stopped....wait for it to center....look up in the direction it is pointed and find the farthest object...be it a rock, bolder, tree.....put the compass down and walk to the object. Stop. Compass up....center.....look again (remember, you are also counting how far you are walking)....

      I've used this technique on Orienteering courses for up to 500 meters pace counting on a bearing and usually get close enough to what I'm shooting for (a building, a trail....a fence) to be within 20 meters of it (sight).

      Really tragic that she was lost.....
      Pirating – Corporate Takeover without the paperwork

    • IMScotty thanks for sharing your points. For me it is safety over modesty (to a degree). And over the next month I should start getting more familiar with my NH and ME maps.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Astro ().

    • CoachLou wrote:

      I hate getting in this discussion, but this still doesn't sit with me.

      An adult who just walked from Harpers Ferry, with other experiences....gets turned around, sets up camp and just sits there and waits to die. In 26 days she didn't walk around her perimeter during the day to check out the area?

      Yeah, that bothers me to. After I had rested, I would have spiraled outwards from a marked campsite to look for a trail. Listened for other people. Listened for any sounds made by humans. Looked for aircraft, see if there is a pattern on direction for a possible airport. Looked at my map, to see which direction is a possible town. Gone in that direction. Nothing the first day, gone back to camp. Rest and eat. Next day, decide which way to go. Go that direction, leaving markers of rocks and twigs/small branches so I can find my way back to a known good campsite.
      --
      "What do you mean its sunrise already ?!", me.

    • JimBlue wrote:

      CoachLou wrote:

      I hate getting in this discussion, but this still doesn't sit with me.

      An adult who just walked from Harpers Ferry, with other experiences....gets turned around, sets up camp and just sits there and waits to die. In 26 days she didn't walk around her perimeter during the day to check out the area?
      Yeah, that bothers me to. After I had rested, I would have spiraled outwards from a marked campsite to look for a trail. Listened for other people. Listened for any sounds made by humans. Looked for aircraft, see if there is a pattern on direction for a possible airport. Looked at my map, to see which direction is a possible town. Gone in that direction. Nothing the first day, gone back to camp. Rest and eat. Next day, decide which way to go. Go that direction, leaving markers of rocks and twigs/small branches so I can find my way back to a known good campsite.
      Certainly not sit in my tent for six days let alone 26
      Cheesecake> Ramen :thumbsup:

    • CoachLou wrote:

      I hate getting in this discussion, but this still doesn't sit with me.

      An adult who just walked from Harpers Ferry, with other experiences....gets turned around, sets up camp and just sits there and waits to die. In 26 days she didn't walk around her perimeter during the day to check out the area?
      Lou, the incredible thing is that this is not the first time this has happened. I remember another story of a male hiker who starved to death just a short distance from a trail because he kept waiting for help to arrive. The mantra of 'if you are lost stay put' seems too deeply ingrained in some people.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”

      John Greenleaf Whittier

    • IMScotty wrote:

      CoachLou wrote:

      I hate getting in this discussion, but this still doesn't sit with me.

      An adult who just walked from Harpers Ferry, with other experiences....gets turned around, sets up camp and just sits there and waits to die. In 26 days she didn't walk around her perimeter during the day to check out the area?
      Lou, the incredible thing is that this is not the first time this has happened. I remember another story of a male hiker who starved to death just a short distance from a trail because he kept waiting for help to arrive. The mantra of 'if you are lost stay put' seems too deeply ingrained in some people.
      People only read the first few sentences of most things. Telling people to move is later in the getting lost instructions.
      Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
      Dr. Seuss Cof123

    • rhjanes wrote:

      In orienteering, we know our relative "pace count to 100 meters"....the compass can be used with the map to cover distance to an object.......Just some thoughts. Knowing you went "this compass bearing and 66 left foots down", makes it easy to just reverse the compass and count "66" again....should be within 10 meters (sight) of where you started from. .......Oh...and DO NOT attempt to hold the compass and watch it as you go off trail. Hold the compass up while stopped....wait for it to center....look up in the direction it is pointed and find the farthest object...be it a rock, bolder, tree.....put the compass down and walk to the object. Stop. Compass up....center.....look again (remember, you are also counting how far you are walking)....
      Yes, yes, yes! (Adjust instructions appropriately for your compass's sighting mechanism. I use a mirror sight, myself.) About the only time that it's right to go chasing the needle is when you're caught in heavy fog or whiteout, or dense brush, and can't see far enough to take a bearing on a distant object.

      Also, watch your collecting features, and have a catching feature in mind. The first step to not being lost is staying aware of where you are and what's around you.

      When I've taken other people on their first intentional bushwhacks, I've chosen spots where I can give them simple and clear escape instructions like, 'down goes to the river. The river goes to the bridge. The parking lot is right near the bridge, you can see it from there.'

      It's actually a good idea to have some escape plan like that on every segment. On one on-trail trip a year and a half ago, I must have spent half a day whacking around a huge area of blowdown - there was a trail in there somewhere, but danged if I could find it. But I had my map, and reasoned, "if I keep the sound of the river to my left, I'll eventually hit the old haul road, I can't miss that. And I know that the trail has to be below me, I kept going uphill to skirt the mess." It took a couple or three miles, but eventually I got past the mess and spotted the trail again. I think the typical thru-hiker might have had a panic attack.

      Do you recognize what's on the ladder strap of my backpack that isn't holding the camera case?
      [IMG:http://trailjournals.com/images/about/2014AnotherKevin%5F17608%2Ejpg]
      Display Spoiler
      It's a set of 'ranger beads' - essentially an abacus. There are nine brown beads which are 100m, and five beige ones that are 1km. Every 59 paces (I'm taller than you are if your count to 100m is 66), I pull a brown bead. If there's no brown bead to pull (I've counted 900 metres already), I reset them all and pull a white one.

      I first learnt to do it with simple pace counting - at a 66 pace count, a pace is pretty close to 0.001 mile and some people find that makes it easier. Pull a bead every 10 paces (very little chance of losing count) and they read out in tenths and hundredths of miles. Make it every hundred paces, and they read miles and tenths. But since I'm used to working with Romer scales and the UTM grid on maps, I'm pretty much using metres all the time anyway.

      And I virtually never count off more than 500m unless I'm following a handrail.
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • CoachLou wrote:

      I hate getting in this discussion, but this still doesn't sit with me.

      An adult who just walked from Harpers Ferry, with other experiences....gets turned around, sets up camp and just sits there and waits to die. In 26 days she didn't walk around her perimeter during the day to check out the area?
      I suppose I can imagine being pinned down by an injury and unable to travel, or perhaps being unable to find a way out of getting cliffed out. (although - I got in somehow...) But I'm a bushwhacko to begin with, and I'm basically never out in the field without a map.

      If I'm able to travel, even without a map, I can get out from anywhere in the East in a day or two. Keep going down. Down goes to water. There's a town downstream of you, guaranteed. And if you keep heading down, you'll eventually get below all that balsam and spruce you've been pushing through. and get back to where you're just pushing through nettle, blackberry, hobblebush and laurel. :)
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • JimBlue wrote:

      Many searches are done by forming a line separated by about 5 to 10 feet between each person. Easily done by untrained people. Does that terrain. Where she was found. Preclude such a search ?

      She was some miles away from where they were looking, because they started out with bad information.

      Ordinarily, you'll go with more like 10 metres apart - close enough that you can mostly see and hear each other, but there's no need to go shoulder to shoulder. In any case, though, you need an army of people to cover any sizable area. And you can't use entirely untrained people, because if the line should break, everyone needs to be able to get out again. You don't want the searcher turning into a second subject.

      Yes, the terrain is difficult. If it's anything like the same latitude in New York, the hazards include cliffs, whitewater, quicksand and dense vegetation. Quicksand isn't really dangerous (the only people who drown are the ones who get stuck in a tidal area and trapped in rising water, which doesn't happen in the mountains), but it surely impedes travel! The vegetation is probably the worst obstacle for a search. Imagine domestic Christmas trees. Planted two feet apart with their branches interwoven. That's what the balsam-and-spruce North Woods are like. It makes pushing through rhododendron look like a piece of cake.
      [IMG:https://c8.staticflickr.com/6/5583/14735257191_4918e7667c_z.jpg]
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • Yeah, with a MAP and compass (I carry what is called the "capsule" of a base-plate style orienteering compass when camping), and a clear head to always keep alert what you are seeing and hearing, you can navigate. "Catching" features are something you will see probably no matter what. Say I'm shooting for a distinct tree while orienteering. But there is a trail BEYOND where my tree is. If I hit the trail, I must go WHOOPS...didn't find the tree, because the "trail" caught me. In the last year of my orienteering, I've started to take "handrails" much more. These are something you can easily follow. A trail, a pipeline, a fence, a stream. Follow the trail to the fence, turn left....when the fence hits the stream, turn right and go UP stream looking for...whatever. Yes, I went 500 meters out of my way, and never took a compass bearing at all. Just worked off the map and the land features.

      We are also taught in orienteering to MOSTLY rely on the MAP and the terrain. "Thumb" the map (keep a finger on the place you know you are and move it along as you note land features). The compass is a tool, but being totally aware of the terrain as it relates to your map, is THE most important thing. Also, learn to "relocate". IE, know you are going due north from the trail, count the paces, if you don't find what you were looking for, turn around and relocated back to the BEST/LAST known location where you do know exactly where you are on that map.

      For Inchworm, she kept notes. I looked over her list of some of the gear they recovered and didn't note "maps". But there was a lot of wet gear. She did have some matches it said. But I've not seen where they have released any transcript of her journal. So I don't think we can say she "set up camp and just sat there" She could have been doing some exploring. I don't know what the AT looks like where she was near. But some of the trails in areas we orienteer at, when we are doing cross country (not on trail) there are places where the trails are so indistinct, your mind plays tricks...."is this another animal track down to water...or IS THIS the trail....shoot......well....".

      It's just sad what happened. We can all try and learn from it. But I don't want to second guess the SAR, or what Inchworm COULD or SHOULD have done. We just won't know.
      Pirating – Corporate Takeover without the paperwork

    • AnotherKevin wrote:

      rhjanes wrote:

      In orienteering, we know our relative "pace count to 100 meters"....the compass can be used with the map to cover distance to an object.......Just some thoughts. Knowing you went "this compass bearing and 66 left foots down", makes it easy to just reverse the compass and count "66" again....should be within 10 meters (sight) of where you started from. .......Oh...and DO NOT attempt to hold the compass and watch it as you go off trail. Hold the compass up while stopped....wait for it to center....look up in the direction it is pointed and find the farthest object...be it a rock, bolder, tree.....put the compass down and walk to the object. Stop. Compass up....center.....look again (remember, you are also counting how far you are walking)....
      Yes, yes, yes! (Adjust instructions appropriately for your compass's sighting mechanism. I use a mirror sight, myself.) About the only time that it's right to go chasing the needle is when you're caught in heavy fog or whiteout, or dense brush, and can't see far enough to take a bearing on a distant object.
      Also, watch your collecting features, and have a catching feature in mind. The first step to not being lost is staying aware of where you are and what's around you.

      When I've taken other people on their first intentional bushwhacks, I've chosen spots where I can give them simple and clear escape instructions like, 'down goes to the river. The river goes to the bridge. The parking lot is right near the bridge, you can see it from there.'

      It's actually a good idea to have some escape plan like that on every segment. On one on-trail trip a year and a half ago, I must have spent half a day whacking around a huge area of blowdown - there was a trail in there somewhere, but danged if I could find it. But I had my map, and reasoned, "if I keep the sound of the river to my left, I'll eventually hit the old haul road, I can't miss that. And I know that the trail has to be below me, I kept going uphill to skirt the mess." It took a couple or three miles, but eventually I got past the mess and spotted the trail again. I think the typical thru-hiker might have had a panic attack.

      Do you recognize what's on the ladder strap of my backpack that isn't holding the camera case?
      [IMG:http://trailjournals.com/images/about/2014AnotherKevin%5F17608%2Ejpg]
      Display Spoiler
      It's a set of 'ranger beads' - essentially an abacus. There are nine brown beads which are 100m, and five beige ones that are 1km. Every 59 paces (I'm taller than you are if your count to 100m is 66), I pull a brown bead. If there's no brown bead to pull (I've counted 900 metres already), I reset them all and pull a white one.

      I first learnt to do it with simple pace counting - at a 66 pace count, a pace is pretty close to 0.001 mile and some people find that makes it easier. Pull a bead every 10 paces (very little chance of losing count) and they read out in tenths and hundredths of miles. Make it every hundred paces, and they read miles and tenths. But since I'm used to working with Romer scales and the UTM grid on maps, I'm pretty much using metres all the time anyway.

      And I virtually never count off more than 500m unless I'm following a handrail.

      Ranger beads, compass, and an accurate map can provide a knowledgeable person with a level of accuracy comparable to GPS. I've read of extraordinary feats of land navigation in unfamiliar terrain during inclement weather accomplished with the above items.

      Lest we forget.....


      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC

    • Da Wolf wrote:

      S&R messed up
      Yup... with a supporting and well loving hubby. But as a group we forget as we get older... it's Ageism. Unfortunate.

      I had a experience with meeting an older woman who left Port Clinton in the Morning, She misspoke and said yesterday... We were less than two miles from her start... but that said "volumes" about mental heath and getting your calories in. As we get older absorbing calories can be harder the older we get. Could you hike the trail at 18 - sure.. can you do it again at 70? (to be up to you)
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:

    • JimBlue wrote:

      As we get older memory and digestion goes through changes.
      Yes, but 26 days by any standard is pretty darn respectable and show just how resilient the human body is at keeping itself alive, I doubt a 10 year old would live any longer, give or take, and disregarding the few stats that people have lived much longer. the point is there are many other factors that played more a roll in prominence than her age and metabolism.