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GeoTom
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PostFri Sep 21, 2018 9:33 am 
Doppelganger wrote:
It's Kevin! wrote:
I need your help. We are setting up deposit bags to leave in the forest. The items they contain are as follows: Food – needs to be completely sealed. No home made. Need most bang for buck, high calorie count. Cliff bars are a big help. Flashlight with set of extra batteries Compass – tiny. If Sam finds the bags each one can be labeled with a general direction for closest trail or road Pancho – sets are good but small and light is key Parachord Pair of socks 2 lighters Knife Caution tape I’ve left out water. There are lots of rivers and glacial feed. Clean water. If Sam is on the move she can get water and since weight and size are key I’m packing the bags with other essentials. No bag larger than a 1 gallon bag These are all the items I have in the bags so far. Cost was roughly $1000 for twenty bags but I’m buying out this small town and prices aren’t cheap.
Why 2 lighters? Wouldn't a few waterproof matches work as well or better, and cost less? Extra batteries for the flashlight? How long were they expecting her to still be lost if she did stumble across one of these baggies? And caution tape? Parachord[sic]? A knife? I hadn't paid as much attention to the contents of the baggies before. Definitely some odd things in them.

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Base_Camp
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PostFri Sep 21, 2018 9:40 am 
when they were dropping the bags, they said that they left instructions for Sam to tear off the corner or something, if she found one, so they could track her movements. Then I heard that they didn't keep track of the locations of the bags, which is irresponsible on a number of levels. But if it was SAR that was dropping the bags for them, kind of makes me think they were doing it knowing it wouldn't help at all, just to keep the family happy and to give them a distraction. It's pretty lame that there are a bunch of bags up there littering the mountain side. Makes me want to go up there next summer, and pack out as many as I can find.

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MtnGoat
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PostFri Sep 21, 2018 9:40 am 
rbuzby wrote:
Someone on facebook posted that the mom should alert the searchers because she had a vision! She "saw" an area of clearing, below a cliff, with water falling nearby. Hmmmm, how did the Cascades get their name? Because there are 60 gajillion spots in the cascades that fit that description? Yup.
the psychic said look for two boulders, close together rolleyes.gif

Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers
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GeoTom
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PostFri Sep 21, 2018 9:43 am 
MtnGoat wrote:
the psychic said look for two boulders, close together
That sounds like a Beckey route description.

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cambajamba
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PostFri Sep 21, 2018 9:43 am 
Did any live human being ever see these bags in situ?

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cambajamba
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PostFri Sep 21, 2018 9:48 am 
And I know we've been over this ad nauseum, but like what were the bags for? In case Sam was running full tilt randomly through the "woods" and might find a bag, maow down a clif bar, leave a note, and then continue sprinting away from the trail???

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monorail
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PostFri Sep 21, 2018 9:50 am 
GeoTom wrote:
MtnGoat wrote:
the psychic said look for two boulders, close together
That sounds like a Beckey route description.
The boulders are near the obvious gully.

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Julia
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PostFri Sep 21, 2018 9:50 am 
Doppelganger wrote:
The items they contain are as follows: Food – needs to be completely sealed. No home made. Need most bang for buck, high calorie count. Cliff bars are a big help. Flashlight with set of extra batteries Compass – tiny. If Sam finds the bags each one can be labeled with a general direction for closest trail or road Pancho – sets are good but small and light is key Parachord Pair of socks 2 lighters Knife Caution tape
Didn't he/they/everyone say she was an experienced hiker? Why would she need many of the items in these bags? I mean, wouldn't "experienced" suggest she had the 10 essentials in her pack already? At this point it doesn't really matter ... I just hadn't really paid attention previously to the bag contents because I was distracted by the "tear the corner off this thingy so we know she has came across this bag (?)".

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. ~Groucho Marx
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cambajamba
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PostFri Sep 21, 2018 9:54 am 
No offense to the likely deceased, but a lot of people think "experienced" and "did it for a couple of years" are interchangeable.

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Fallaway
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PostFri Sep 21, 2018 9:54 am 
monorail wrote:
GeoTom wrote:
MtnGoat wrote:
the psychic said look for two boulders, close together
That sounds like a Beckey route description.
The boulders are near the obvious gully.
To reach the gully, follow an indistinct ridge.

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Subie
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PostFri Sep 21, 2018 9:55 am 
Has anyone actually seen one of these baggies up there on the trail? Would SAR actually go around leaving these baggies out there? Is it possible that SAR told them no dice to the baggies but KD and friends didn’t update people who would be upset that they donated money for nothing? I just can’t imagine SAR personnel dropping these off up there.

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pula58
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PostFri Sep 21, 2018 9:55 am 
dropping bags with food in them. Then, a bear finds a bag, gets the food and associates that location with being a place to get food. Then, bear attacked hiker. Hiker gets hurt or killed Then bear is hunted and put-down. The whole idea of not letting animals get your food is to protect people and the animals, From the start the FSS folks have shown 100% concern about their cause (understandable) while showing very little if any consideration over the tradeoffs between doing whatever you want and the trade-offs based on the fact that the area is a shared common space for all, not just one family. In other words, try to find your loved one, yes(!), but control and limit you actions and behaviors in accordance with the fact that this is a shared space.

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Exmoor
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PostFri Sep 21, 2018 9:55 am 
GeoTom wrote:
Why 2 lighters? Wouldn't a few waterproof matches work as well or better, and cost less? Extra batteries for the flashlight? How long were they expecting her to still be lost if she did stumble across one of these baggies? And caution tape? Parachord[sic]? A knife? I hadn't paid as much attention to the contents of the baggies before. Definitely some odd things in them.
I'm sure the boyfriend was acting on what he could come up with in his panicked state of mind. Many of the choices seem questionable, but obviously this was not an idea generated by experienced searchers. Paracord is one of those things that shows up in every "survival" kit you can find anywhere. I'm not sure how 20ft of rope is supposed to help you survive a cold night, but it's become a "thing" for whatever reason. Some of the other stuff seems pretty reasonable. I'd much rather have a lighter than matches. Flashlight seems useful for signaling and extra batteries don't seem stupid. Caution tape for setting up a high-visibility signal to helicopters, etc. Not sure why they didn't include a Topo map though. You can print a custom one out for the cost of paper these days. Once again, probably ignorance, or perhaps just not mentioned because it was not a significant cost.

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philfort
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PostFri Sep 21, 2018 9:57 am 
GeoTom wrote:
MtnGoat wrote:
the psychic said look for two boulders, close together
That sounds like a Beckey route description.
I nearly spit out my coffee when I read this....

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GeoTom
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PostFri Sep 21, 2018 10:01 am 
Exmoor wrote:
Some of the other stuff seems pretty reasonable. I'd much rather have a lighter than matches. Flashlight seems useful for signaling and extra batteries don't seem stupid. Caution tape for setting up a high-visibility signal to helicopters, etc.
I don't want to argue too much. I can see a lighter v. matches, but 2 per baggy? Flashlight/headlamp is definitely reasonable. But an extra set of batteries? Ok, I can understand that I suppose. Caution tape, visible, yes. But wouldn't a bright colored poncho (or pancho) work as well or better, while also serving as a clothing layer? I agree that he was probably not thinking very clearly. But, this is one instance where others around him could have made suggestions as what to include/not include in the baggies, or really question the necessity/usefulness of Operation Zippy Drop.

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