Improvisation off a latter day carcass?

[ZeSpectre]

Most of you mention the hundreds of parts inside a car that can help you to survive seem to forget the most important part. The tools to remove them.

Heh, guess you caught me in a blind spot right there because the first present I was given after I got my first car was a compact basic toolkit (hammer, pliers, etc). I've always made sure the basics were in every car I own and also stress it with my wife as well. Guess I'm so used to being prepared in that way it never even occurred to me to think about it.

In a way that makes me feel warm and fuzzy about myself at least

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Boats if what you relayed is correct, it sounds like the Kims were poorly informed about what to expect in the wild. Following the river to civilization might make sense when you don't have a road; but in a mountainous area like that, in that weather, leaving the road was sheer madness.

While water will ultimately guide you to civilization, roads will usually do it faster. Roads also have the advantage of having travellers on them who can help you and better terrain for making good time. In a situation like this one where exposure is a very serious concern, I simply can't imagine leaving a road and crawling down a steep gully to walk along a streambed that obviously wasn't suited for walking.

The reports mentioned that SAR teams tracking Kim kept having to be pulled off the trail due to hypothermia from repeatedly falling into the river themselves. I can only imagine what it would be like in nylon pants, jeans and tennis shoes.

All of that makes me think hypothermia as I just can't imagine the desperation you would have to feel to make the decision that this course of action represented the best chance for your family, even if you didn't have much wilderness knowledge. Then again, it may be one of those decisions where it didn't look so tough at first and by the time Kim realized what he was into, it was too late to turn back.

 

[Ryder]

I would have thought bears would be hibernating by now but checked around and found this in an Oregon newspaper.

Black bear hunting closed in Eastern Oregon Saturday night, but Western Oregon hunters have through December to hunt bears. A lack of rain and snow has delayed the regular bear hibernation times in most of Western Oregon

Bear cause me a significant amount of concern in the woods even with a gun. I'd be super paranoid without one!

 

[hso]

http://www.equipped.org/blog/?p=43

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Interesting factoid... in discussing whether Kim should have stayed put or not. In 1995, a man named DeWitt Finely got trapped in snow on Bear Camp Road. He was in good condition and prepared for winter weather. He made the decision to stay put with the vehicle and was there for nine weeks. Hikers found his body in the spring after he starved to death. The reason they knew he lasted nine weeks is he kept a diary while waiting.

 

[carebear]

I wonder how long he was missing before anyone started to look, and if anyone had any idea where he was headed.

Staying put until found does implicitly require someone to come looking and having a rough idea where(-ish).

 

[Boats]

DeWitt Finley is an extreme example in the other direction, as there isn't much evidence he did anything except stay in his truck.

By reports of the time, he was stuck, not lost. Had he walked a mile more on his known route, he was free of the snow. He did no apparent scouting at all and instead he hunkered down and died.

Both cases demonstrate why some radio, preferably a crank operable one, should be in the vehicle. The Kims could have heard that there were extensive search ops going on via news reports, and Finley might have heard that no one was looking for him.

 

[carebear]

"...<crackle> This just in, we are NOT, I repeat, NOT, looking for DeWitt Finley. Mr. Finley, if you're out there, we don't care. In other news... <crackle>"

 

[Boats]

The vargaries of English, especially when mutilated, are wonderous.

Of course DeWitt would have reckoned that in his case, no news was bad news.