HikeArizona.COM

writelots wrote:Unfortunate fact is, there is no way to stop stupid people from doing stupid things.

big_load wrote:... stupidity was formerly a self-limiting condition: not surviveable beyond a certain degree. Interfering with nature's course has increased its prevalence in the general population. Fortunately, although it may be hereditary, it is only weakly contagious.

writelots wrote:I've seen very intelligent, clear thinking individuals follow stupid people into stupid actions (and I raise my hand as one of them) too many times to count.

rlrjamy wrote:i look both ways...roll my eyes...and reluctantly raise my hand also...sans the very intelligent,clear thinking part

Warning: Don't get lost in New Hampshire

Eagle Scout hiker Scott Mason of Halifax, Mass., is rescued April 28 near Pinkham Notch, N.H.
He is seeking to reduce the $25,000 fine he incurred from New Hampshire for the three-day search for him.

By Martha T. Moore, USA TODAY

When New Hampshire lawmakers decided to bill negligent hikers for their rescues, they figured they would solve some budget problems and teach hapless tourists a lesson. Then a 17-year-old Eagle Scout got lost on Mount Washington and ended up with a bill for $25,000.

Now New Hampshire officials, facing possible litigation, are defending a law that hasn't solved their budget troubles and puts the state at odds with national search-and-rescue groups that say billing hikers is dangerous.

"It certainly has put us on the hot spot," says Lt. Todd Bogardus, head of search and rescue for the state Fish and Game Department.

Few other states bill those who are rescued — and most of the other laws target skiers who stray off marked slopes.

Oregon caps the amount that can be billed at $500. Hawaii requires there be an "intentional disregard" for safety, and Idaho limits reimbursement to rescues from lands that are closed to the public. A Maine law that permits the state to recover costs of a search and rescue is seldom enforced.

The National Association for Search and Rescue opposes billing for rescue, contending people won't seek help if they're afraid they'll have to pay for it. "The public needs to understand that there's going to be someone there to help them and you shouldn't worry about downstream consequences," spokesman Howard Paul says.

In April, Scott Mason, then a high school junior from Halifax, Mass., set out on a 17-mile day hike in the White Mountains. The popular hiking destination includes Mount Washington, where unpredictable conditions have earned it the title "home of the world's worst weather."

When he didn't return by nightfall, his parents called for help. Teams from four search-and-rescue groups searched for four days, assisted by helicopters rented from Maine and Vermont.

Mason had hurt his ankle and tried to take a shortcut, only to get stranded by melting snow and swollen streams that also hampered the searchers. During his three nights on the mountain, he had built a rock shelter and started a fire using hand sanitizer* as an accelerant.

Bogardus says Mason was negligent because he did not turn back on the trail after he was injured.

Mason, who declined comment, is in negotiations with the state Attorney General's office over the fee, his lawyer Jed Callen says.

Since the negligent hiker law took effect in June 2008, the state has billed 13 hikers other than Mason an average of $203 for their rescues.

"People (who) make poor judgments at some point in time have to be responsible for their actions," says Democratic state Rep. Dennis Abbott, who sponsored the law. "You don't rent helicopters for nothing."

National groups say billing for rescue is like a firefighter dousing the flames and then billing the homeowner.

Sometimes hikers are foolish, says Charley Shimanski, president of the Mountain Rescue
Association. "But at the same time, you also have people who don't know how to use a welding torch
… burning down their garage. And they still need the help of the fire department."

Bogardus and other New Hampshire officials point out that while everyone's taxes pay for the firefighters, search-and-rescue teams are funded by a $1 surcharge on snowmobile, boat and off-road vehicle licenses.

That covers only 84% of the annual cost of search-and-rescue missions, a department performance audit shows. The state averages 138 rescue missions a year and spent $258,000 on them in 2007.

Almost half of the missions are to help hikers, Bogardus says. And almost half of those hikers are from out of state, department records show.

An earlier New Hampshire law allowed the state to recoup expenses in rescuing "reckless" hikers. The new focus on negligence, Bogardus says, "is a much easier standard to prove."

Freddie Wilkinson, a climber and writer who was part of the search party that found Mason, calls the new standard a dangerous precedent because "the government assumes the authority to regulate personal decisions made in the wilderness."

Says Bogardus: "Take care of yourself and don't expect big brother."

writelots wrote:Unfortunate fact is, there is no way to stop stupid people from doing stupid things.

ssk44 wrote:There are still dinosaurs out there that are actually not giving in to using GPS.