Lost Hiker Wells area

[Bill I.]

Was that the person they found about 15 years ago with the wrong size boots and very close to his food stash, yet starved to death. If so, I read the lost posters on the way into the Plains at that time and heard what happened to him later......

Boomhower was the guy who was hiking the NPT, realized at Cedar Lakes that he was running low on food, and thought that the Colvin Brook-Sucker Brook Trail was a shortcut to Route 30. Apparently his only maps showed the NPT corridor, but not the surrounding areas. So he had no clue what the CB-SB Trail was like, had a miserable time, and lost the trail just past the height of land. He set up camp and stayed put, expecting searchers to come along any day.

There was a SAR effort, but Boomhower's last known location was the Cedar Lakes... so that was where DEC looked. A friend of mine was on that search, and says he recommended searching the Colvin Brook area, but the ranger wanted to focus on the area north of Cedar Lakes.

Meanwhile, Boomhower was camped out at the headwaters of Sucker Brook with no food and declining strength. And no idea where he was. He was there for several months until he finally collapsed and died.

Hunters found his body that fall. He was ridiculously close to the trail, and only about 3 or 4 miles from Lewey Lake. The terrain up there is not too rugged, with nice open hardwoods for the most part. It just goes to show that being "lost" is probably 98% a state of mind and lack of preparedness.

There is a good account in the new book, At the Mercy of the Mountains.

[Little Rickie]

hitting little rickie in the head with your compass, etc etc.

Hay, long time no insult. Where have you been? This place is getting to PC. We need a little fire to heat this place up.

So little Miss flamer can you do better than this.

Hey Red! But did Lil Rickie like it?

No way I can ans. that.

[redhawk]

Boomhower was the guy who was hiking the NPT, realized at Cedar Lakes that he was running low on food, and thought that the Colvin Brook-Sucker Brook Trail was a shortcut to Route 30. Apparently his only maps showed the NPT corridor, but not the surrounding areas. So he had no clue what the CB-SB Trail was like, had a miserable time, and lost the trail just past the height of land. He set up camp and stayed put, expecting searchers to come along any day.

There was a SAR effort, but Boomhower's last known location was the Cedar Lakes... so that was where DEC looked. A friend of mine was on that search, and says he recommended searching the Colvin Brook area, but the ranger wanted to focus on the area north of Cedar Lakes.

Meanwhile, Boomhower was camped out at the headwaters of Sucker Brook with no food and declining strength. And no idea where he was. He was there for several months until he finally collapsed and died.

Hunters found his body that fall. He was ridiculously close to the trail, and only about 3 or 4 miles from Lewey Lake. The terrain up there is not too rugged, with nice open hardwoods for the most part. It just goes to show that being "lost" is probably 98% a state of mind and lack of preparedness.

There is a good account in the new book, At the Mercy of the Mountains.

Some accounts say that he could see the plane that was searching for him every morning. He was also carrying a GALLON of white gas (for his lantern)which makes one wonder why he didn't make a smoke fire since it was also rather wet according to his notes.

He carried a lantern and fuel, but not enough food.

Hopefully, forums like this will educate the inexperienced people so that they are better prepared. Which is one of the reason we should always be stressing caution and preparedness. People just don't realize how easy it is to get lost and how dangerous it can be with just a change in conditions.

Hawk

[Jason]

So, you are telling me that this Boomhower guy was not at all injured, had plenty of fuel, and still managed to camp out and die after a period of months?!?!?

Heck, live on boiled water and pine needles and drag your sorry ass out of there...a few miles for a day or two and he would have ended up somewhere with more foot traffic (or even car traffic for that matter). Why wouldn't he have gone back to the trail junction to park his ass right in the middle of the main thoroughfare?

I'm sure this case has some strong lessons in what to do and not to do, but this sounds like the type of survival scenario where some sort of mental delusion set in. If he had died in a few short days, I could understand how we could point to all kinds of items and decisions that would have aided him, but this story sounds purely ludicrous! He didn't succumb to the elements after 12 hours of panicky bad decisions; he simply shifted his perceptions so acutely that he was incapable of doing anything!

[DRIFTER]

........I think it would make a real interesting thread if someone wrote out a, " I'm lost ", scenario complete with weather conditions, [ cloudy being best], area lost in, and what if anything the person would have with them! Then have everyone chime in on what they would do to either get themselves out or wait for a rescue? Could be educational even for people who are confident about getting themselves out, you can always pick up a little something.......I won't be around for a few days, so anyone's more then welcome to pick up on it or I'll consider it when I get back. What are your thoughts on such a thread?

[redhawk]

So, you are telling me that this Boomhower guy was not at all injured, had plenty of fuel, and still managed to camp out and die after a period of months?!?!?

Heck, live on boiled water and pine needles and drag your sorry ass out of there...a few miles for a day or two and he would have ended up somewhere with more foot traffic (or even car traffic for that matter). Why wouldn't he have gone back to the trail junction to park his ass right in the middle of the main thoroughfare?

I'm sure this case has some strong lessons in what to do and not to do, but this sounds like the type of survival scenario where some sort of mental delusion set in. If he had died in a few short days, I could understand how we could point to all kinds of items and decisions that would have aided him, but this story sounds purely ludicrous! He didn't succumb to the elements after 12 hours of panicky bad decisions; he simply shifted his perceptions so acutely that he was incapable of doing anything!

I believe that he wrote that he had some kind of stomach condition and lost all strength. perhaps Wildriver or someone else gas some better information. There were a lot of things that he should have dome differently. If you read the whole story then it would seem evident that he was doomed the moment he stepped unto the trail. The planning was poor, gear choices could be questioned as well as the decisions that he made.

If you wanted to publish a book that showed exactly what to do wrong, his story would pretty much be it. I hate to be harsh considering the tragic end and the effects i am sure it had on his family and friends, but I really believe that incidents like this need to be made common knowledge to help others avoid the same ends in the future.

Hawk

[sp_nyp]

according to the blurb in the TV special I saw on this, he had lost his water tablets somewhere along the way and eventually became ill from drinking water out of a puddle... or some such thing.

I can't validate any of that, it is just what I recall seeing on the tube.

It was some show about 3 different people that got lost, two survived and one died. The whole time I was watching I was sure the adk guy would live. I couldn't believe it. Some crazy (hallucinating) guy that was lost in the desert, drinking his own urine managed to survive, and this guy in the adks sat there and died.

[Bill I.]

All the details I know of Boomhower came from Bronski's book. Anyone who hasn't read it yet can find it here.

And you can find some reactions to the book here.

My impression from reading the story was that he was running low on food, started to "crash" physically and mentally, and then embarked on a series of poor decisions--the worst decision being the one to deviate from his planned route. As he perceived his situation to be increasingly worse, he had a harder time keeping his wits about him. And so, to everyone who reads his story, his actions appear irrational and baffling.

That was my take.

[ken999]

I recall beaver fever as part of Boomhower's problem...serious cramping, dehydration etc.

[Jason]

That looks like a good book...perhaps I will buy it!

Beaver fever or not, this guy definitely lost it along the way and as Redhawk said probably didn't have what it took from the moment he stepped on the trail. It's just maddening to think that no matter the level of illness, discomfort, etc., a few hours of backtracking might have saved his life in terms of him being visible to rescuers on the main trail.