Lost Hiker on AT near Max Patch

[Rush]

Hi, this is my first time posting on this forum and it seems like a good group of people.

We drove to Max Patch in North Carolina on July 1st to hike to the top. When we arrived in the parking lot Fire/Rescue was there. Turns out a hiker on the Appalachian Trail went down around Lemon Gap. Not sure how far this is from where the AT intersects with Max Patch. The medic I talked to said the hiker broke their leg and was lying in the mud all night. Hopefully they got the person out alright, I never heard anything else about it. I attached a pick from the top of Max Patch, the fog was REALLY thick!

Does anyone have any stories like this? People getting lost, disoriented, stranded, etc.? I'm hiking the Wonderland Trail in September and just trying to learn as much as possible about hiking and backpacking.

Thanks,

Rush

[PaulGS]

I live near the Rockies and people getting lost, stranded or injured is a regular occurrence. Thankfully, things almost always end happily with people being found or rescued in good time. Still, it is good to have some type of emergency communication when heading out into the backcountry.

Many folks use a SPOT, a DeLorme inReach or a 406mhz personal locator beacon such as the ACR Resqlink PLB so that they can send an SOS via satellite should an emergency arise. These are more powerful and more reliable devices then a cell phone or satellite phone and can give a person a much greater safety margin when out in the wilderness. 

Great picture and welcome to the forum!