Forum Index > Trail Talk > Bodies of two young snowboarders missing since November 2017 on Baker recovered
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oldgranola
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oldgranola
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PostFri Oct 12, 2018 10:17 pm 
news report Tragedy from last year finally solved. In part. This article says that Jake was found in the swift creek drainage south and below huntoon point (first, some off trail hikers found and reported gear...strange location to hike), but Lenz was found opposite NE of huntoon near the Lake Ann trail. Talk about splitting up! I've been in the area but am having a tough time figuring out the picture. They must have gotten really turned around in the snow but then split up. Lenz's idea was better but still.... Then I wonder why two hikers were waayy up Swift creek well past trail end? Fishing? Pre-season Elk poaching? strange. Important thing of course is the tragedy of two young people and their suffering.

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oldgranola
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PostFri Oct 12, 2018 10:34 pm 
Apparently one can do cool hikes that connect Swift Creek with the lake Ann trail. Looks like Swift creek has problematic river crossings, erosion but he Lake Ann trail can connect or make a loop of it. I 've been up Swift from the Baker Hot springs area but not to the junction. So maybe not so strange that hikers were up there. Just sad that the young ones got confused and went down the wrong slopes and split up. Must have been tough

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I'm Pysht
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I'm Pysht
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PostSun Oct 14, 2018 6:35 am 
Years ago I was involved in a search and it was reported that the victim was found by "hikers" who were actually people involved in the search effort.

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wolffie
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PostSun Oct 14, 2018 8:38 pm 
It's easy to underestimate the importance of these searches, even when it's way late. It's really hard on the families when they don't have a body to say goodbye to, and they cling to futile hope forever -- it is poignantly touching and most sad. The SAR people certainly don't get the thanks they deserve.

Some people have better things to do with their lives than walking the dog. Some don't.
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cambajamba
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PostMon Oct 15, 2018 12:24 pm 
That abandoned Swift Creek Trail valley is one of the more magical and awesome hiking relics around. Yes, godawful creek crossings but it's one of the few places around where a little effort gets you near total solitude.

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pipedream
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PostMon Oct 15, 2018 12:55 pm 
Just a guess as someone who's been in that area during the winter but not much during the summer... They were likely up at Huntoon Point. The avalanche danger was, at the very least, Considerable, as quite a bit of snow had fallen but being early season it was somewhat anchored. Jake could have triggered and been caught in a slide at the top of the south-facing side of Huntoon Point. Drew probably tried to go for help and either got lost trying to fight his way back to the ski area in the storm or triggered and was caught in a slide himself on the NE aspects off Huntoon Point heading into Swift Creek. The Lake Ann trail runs more or less down the creek in this area which is probably why the report refers to it as such. I've seen some big slides off that NE aspect starting right around treeline and running to the valley floor. It's a bad place to be when there's avalanche danger, despite most backcountry users considering it "safe".

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captain jack
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PostMon Oct 15, 2018 1:34 pm 
cambajamba wrote:
That abandoned Swift Creek Trail valley is one of the more magical and awesome hiking relics around. Yes, godawful creek crossings but it's one of the few places around where a little effort gets you near total solitude.
Yep, no people up that drainage, it belongs to the bears. Use the steel cable across Swift Creek to test your hand over hand skills.

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timberghost
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PostWed Oct 17, 2018 5:40 am 
oldgranola wrote:
Then I wonder why two hikers were waayy up Swift creek well past trail end? Fishing? Pre-season Elk poaching? strange.
You mean preseason elk scouting

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treeswarper
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PostWed Oct 17, 2018 6:14 am 
timberghost wrote:
You mean preseason elk scouting
That's what the good hunters do. They scout for deer too. Many missing folk's remains are found during hunting season.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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