tales of survival

[wildwanderer]

Good news story out of Hawaii with a women found after being missing for 17 days. She fell down a ravine while hiking and couldn't get back up. Survived on water and plants.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-26/h ... t/11150670

While I don't doubt this womens story some do seem a bit more dubious.. everytime I walk the track to mt solitary in the blue mtns, NSW I ask myself how that Jamie Neal bloke deviated from a marked trail on a obvious ridge with no side tracks and then stayed lost for 2 weeks, only to emerge with barely a scratch. That trail to mt sol funnels you towards the korrowall spur, its very hard to wander off it

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldn ... pital.html

Though I guess once you get off track the bush is very thick in the cedar creek area and if you're not used to it, a person could easily become disoriented.

Always wondered where exactly he was found. News stories say narrow neck..but if lost in Cedar valley how did he get above the cliff line without using the track? Or did they find him near little cedar gap?

[rcaffin]

how that Jamie Neal bloke deviated from a marked trail on a obvious ridge with no side tracks and then stayed lost for 2 weeks, only to emerge with barely a scratch.
Ah, but it made for a good story for the newspaper, didn't it? Remember that the average reporter and the average reader would not have a clue about the bush.

Cheers
Roger

[stry]

Dear oh dear Roger. Do I detect a glimmer of doubt in your post

I like to look on the positive side. IE - If wandering off for a couple of weeks, and somehow or another appearing to suffer no ill effects, generates $200000, I think there is definite potential for us retirees to boost our incomes.

[vagrom]

Ben Maloney, 37 days in 2001 sounds like a similar story.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... ea&ampcf=1

[Lophophaps]

The track from Golden Steps to Mount Solitary is a four lane bushwalking highway until you get to the rocks, where it becomes a little hard to follow. If Jamie Neal walked off the track it was here. Coming out a few weeks later in such good condition is ... interesting. I'm starting to wonder:
1 Why I carry such a heavy pack on extended walks; and
2 Why nobody is paying me $200,000.
I will ponder on these points and find a solution.

I like to look on the positive side. IE - If wandering off for a couple of weeks, and somehow or another appearing to suffer no ill effects, generates $200000, I think there is definite potential for us retirees to boost our incomes.

More income would be nice, and Stry's idea has merit. The federal Labor Party is lost in the wilderness, and I wonder if they will ever emerge.

[Petew]

I just don't get how he got genuinely lost on this walk. Unless he didn't understand the concept of following a very obvious track.

Strange.

Maybe he blundered off in the wrong direction from the ruined castle into Cedar creek or something......

[wildwanderer]

Strange.

Maybe he blundered off in the wrong direction from the ruined castle into Cedar creek or something......

Yeah that's the only scenario I can think of as well. The solitary side of the ruined castle loop track is (or was) quite rough as most people go up and back rather than contine the loop.

Possibly heading down the steepish track from ruined castle to rejoin the solitary track and he veered right and headed down into the cedar valley.

Still doesn't explain why he couldn't just reverse and head back up to ruined castle though.. bush would have been thick off the track and obvious fairly quickly that he was heading in the wrong direction

Edit. Apparently wild magazine did an article on him and it has details on his route etc. issue 121. Be interested to read if anyone has this old issue laying around?

[Petew]

Really nice down in Cedar creek. We did an overnighter there last year via the scary walls pass. Came out at ruined castle.