#BreakingNews; Search Underway for Missing Hiker in Arkansas

Alarming news: A hiker that prepared for a difficult hike and did adequate research has gone missing. Aware that he was lost, he reached out to family members with text messages, which have now stopped.

A search for a Fort Worth waiter who has been missing for four days after he became lost on a hiking trail in the mountains of west Arkansas continued on Wednesday without success.

Joshua McClatchy, 38, is in a remote and rugged area near Mena, Arkansas.

McClatchy became lost in the Caney Creek Wilderness Area on the Buckeye Trail. He had not previously hiked the trail, but had researched it and consulted with others who are familiar with it, according to family members.

Read the full article HERE: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article231234473.html


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Nine Rescues in the Adirondack Wilderness in 6 days

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers responded to 9 search and rescue incidents in the Adirondacks in the past few days.

Read the Full ARTICLE HERE:  https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2019/05/9-adirondack-hiker-rescues-last-weekend.html

Many of the rescues were the result of ankle injuries, minor injuries or equipment failure.

What's alarming is the increase in rescues, accidents, disappearances and deaths in the past 3 weeks throughout the hiking and travel communities.

 I have a good amount of faith in the hiking community, but one can only surmise that the increase in Social Media and photo density of far-off, picturesque and alluring natural destinations has triggered more and more unprepared folks to enter TRUE wilderness areas. Failure to have proper footwear, a first aid kit, or a method to reach out in case an emergency happens has become more prevalent than ever. Luckily, these are rescue reports, which is the BEST CASE SCENARIO for a bad situation.

While the "need" to bring more people into nature and appreciating our wilderness areas remains the same, the balance of cost and detriment to the small tourism-based economies for nearby towns is hard to calculate. Rescue's aren't free, and even if individuals are fined for their lapse in judgement or poor decisions, there's no accounting for whether the costs of the rescue will truly be re-cooped.

Gavin Johnston, Missing from the PCT and Helpful #MissingHiker Tips.

Gavin Johnston, 28, was last seen on the Pacific Crest Trail on 10/18/2018.

Please use the following link for updates:  https://www.facebook.com/Find-Gavin-Johnston-missing-from-the-Pacific-Crest-Trail-WA-2141098792639233/

Additionally, this page is doing something very useful this that I think would be helpful for other #MissingHiker groups/pages/posts/news announcements.

They have a very detailed account of the gear this man was carrying at the time of his disappearance.

Why is this helpful?

Well, the PCT isn't as popular as the AT, and if you spot someone else with "too much" of the EXACT SAME GEAR, that's enough for any rational person to be alarmed and contact authorities. Alternately, in the worst case scenario, if remains turn up and these items are within a reasonable distance, it helps to identify the body.

Keep yourself safe on the trails: Get Knowledge

Don't get lost.... Contact your local REI, study online, take a community college class.  We still live in a country where cell signal can be unreliable, and even the best GPS device can fail.

After recently getting a little confused in the Rio Puerco Basin of New Mexico (I was somwhere between a Mesa, and the Ojito Wilderness), I've decided I definitely need to get my bearings and learn how to orienteer, read a map better, and figure out true North...even if I'm stuck in level plain flat lands that all look the same.