Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG can't we just agree that this is very sad and while she clearly made some mistakes, it is a sad story and we all have likely made mistakes that could have been fatal and got lucky (I see people texting and driving every day...) while she made mistakes that turned out to be deadly. Also, she wasn't planning to hike solo - but her hiking partner had to get off the trail early and she decided to continue. It also doesn't sound like she just stayed in place - she tried to hike up to get a cell signal and it was in very dense woods so hard to see far in front of her. Also from what I read in "A Walk in the Woods" there are a lot of people hiking the AT, so you are less alone than in a lot of hikes (provided you stay on the trail).

No, we can't agree. First of all, if someone dies because they were texting and driving, my reaction would be the same: they were downright stupid to do that, and they risked other peoples lives. Texting and driving isn't a "mistake." It's a conscious action that is well known to be risky not just to one's self but everyone else. Honestly, I even put that in the category of drinking and driving.

While hiking alone isn't as bad as texting and driving, it's downright foolish, even for someone who is experienced. She could have easily stopped when her hiking partner stopped. And in some accounts, the hiking partner even URGED her to and said they could do it again the following summer.

Sure, a lot of people hike the AT, but when you go off the trail, that is a different story. And even with a lot of people hiking the trail, it's still a horrible idea to do it alone.

Every time a story like this comes out, the message should be that it is foolish to hike alone. But instead, you get all of these people offering "well, I could have navigated" or "it's just a tragic accident."

No. Don't hike alone in remote areas.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How did no one find her in 28 days? Did her husband not report her missing??

They carried out a massive search, I believe beginning the next day when she was supposed to meet her husband, just didn't find her. They scaled back the search after 3 weeks when they hadn't found her. If you look at the stories they have a map that plots the track the searchers took and her final location - it was within a 100 yards or so.

Anonymous wrote:PEOPLE

Christopher McCandless died from eating poisonous plants. There's every indication that he was a good survivalist. Stop drawing parallels between his poisoning and death from paralysis and a woman who couldn't find her way to a road 4 miles away in 20+ days while perfectly healthy!

Anonymous wrote:PEOPLE

Christopher McCandless died from eating poisonous plants. There's every indication that he was a good survivalist. Stop drawing parallels between his poisoning and death from paralysis and a woman who couldn't find her way to a road 4 miles away in 20+ days while perfectly healthy!

While hiking alone isn't as bad as texting and driving, it's downright foolish, even for someone who is experienced. She could have easily stopped when her hiking partner stopped. And in some accounts, the hiking partner even URGED her to and said they could do it again the following summer.

Sure, a lot of people hike the AT, but when you go off the trail, that is a different story. And even with a lot of people hiking the trail, it's still a horrible idea to do it alone.

Every time a story like this comes out, the message should be that it is foolish to hike alone. But instead, you get all of these people offering "well, I could have navigated" or "it's just a tragic accident."

No. Don't hike alone in remote areas.


Hiking is downright foolish?? Good lord so we should all lock ourselves in our houses and never venture out into the great outdoors? What an odd and sad view you have. This woman lived a full life and died adventuring into the great outdoors. To me that is a much better life than someone who lives a long time and is too timid to ever do anything with it!

Anonymous wrote:

While hiking alone isn't as bad as texting and driving, it's downright foolish, even for someone who is experienced. She could have easily stopped when her hiking partner stopped. And in some accounts, the hiking partner even URGED her to and said they could do it again the following summer.

Sure, a lot of people hike the AT, but when you go off the trail, that is a different story. And even with a lot of people hiking the trail, it's still a horrible idea to do it alone.

Every time a story like this comes out, the message should be that it is foolish to hike alone. But instead, you get all of these people offering "well, I could have navigated" or "it's just a tragic accident."

No. Don't hike alone in remote areas.


Hiking is downright foolish?? Good lord so we should all lock ourselves in our houses and never venture out into the great outdoors? What an odd and sad view you have. This woman lived a full life and died adventuring into the great outdoors. To me that is a much better life than someone who lives a long time and is too timid to ever do anything with it!

Your reading comprehension is lacking. The PP said 'hiking alone', not 'hiking'. And, given the portion of the AT she was hiking, yeah, it was downright foolish to do that alone.

Anonymous wrote:This woman died because she was a moron who lacked basic survival skills.

Anonymous wrote:How do you get lost on a trail anyway?

Anonymous wrote:

While hiking alone isn't as bad as texting and driving, it's downright foolish, even for someone who is experienced. She could have easily stopped when her hiking partner stopped. And in some accounts, the hiking partner even URGED her to and said they could do it again the following summer.

Sure, a lot of people hike the AT, but when you go off the trail, that is a different story. And even with a lot of people hiking the trail, it's still a horrible idea to do it alone.

Every time a story like this comes out, the message should be that it is foolish to hike alone. But instead, you get all of these people offering "well, I could have navigated" or "it's just a tragic accident."

No. Don't hike alone in remote areas.


Hiking is downright foolish?? Good lord so we should all lock ourselves in our houses and never venture out into the great outdoors? What an odd and sad view you have. This woman lived a full life and died adventuring into the great outdoors. To me that is a much better life than someone who lives a long time and is too timid to ever do anything with it!

Your reading comprehension is lacking. The PP said 'hiking alone', not 'hiking'. And, given the portion of the AT she was hiking, yeah, it was downright foolish to do that alone.

Anonymous wrote:PEOPLE

Christopher McCandless died from eating poisonous plants. There's every indication that he was a good survivalist. Stop drawing parallels between his poisoning and death from paralysis and a woman who couldn't find her way to a road 4 miles away in 20+ days while perfectly healthy!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PEOPLE

Christopher McCandless died from eating poisonous plants. There's every indication that he was a good survivalist. Stop drawing parallels between his poisoning and death from paralysis and a woman who couldn't find her way to a road 4 miles away in 20+ days while perfectly healthy!

Not only that, he was extremely well informed and experienced.

Furthermore, he had (and read) botanical guide books which authoritatively stated the wild potato seeds were indeed safe for consumption.

What happened to him could have happened to anyone in his situation.