The perils of photography...

Geez, you sound like my mom.

Eh, I'd rather die doing what I love.

We're all going to die sometime, might as well enjoy things and not worry so much.

wow

I'd call myself foolish to not tell someone where I was going, when I would be back and not take a friend. A lot of people take out sat radios when on the land, here, but I can't afford that and our service only reaches for about 4 kms then its 300 kms of wilderness in one direction and thousands and thousands in the others.

Tell someone where you're going. Period..sure you may be able to take care of yourself all right if something happens and you need help.

I say he's foolish, I bet many will disagree with me though I feel it's better to be prepared than to be caught with your pants down (and a broken pelvis in three places, no less! Those HUUUURT)

I used to just go, till I got really SCREWED 20 kms ou....actually never mind I won't try explaining it you can just read about it here:
https://photography-on-the.net …hread.php?t=743​703&page=9
Plenty of cool pictures too.

After that I always took every precaution..a lot of people don't think about this too but TAKE FOOD AND WATER to last you a good couple of days even if you are only 30 odd kms out (you just never know).

Five things stressed to people who come out to Arizona and plan to spend time outdoors:
- Hydrate
- Tell someone where you're planning on going
- Hydrate
- Tell them what time you think you'll be back
- Hydrate

Personally, I find the phrase "Die doing what you love" to be rediculous. I fly. I love to fly. The last place in the world I want to die is in an aircraft. We train, practice and prepare so that we don't die in an aircraft.

You can be world-class at anything but the phrase that pays is:
"Use your Superior Judgement to avoid having to use your Superior Skills"

That story is pretty scary but with a few precautions, it could have ended a lot better.

The mountain rescue here are inundated with walkers who dont take even the slightest precautions.

The minimum kit recommended to walker/climbers is:
1) 1 set of Spare clothing
2) Fire lighting equipment (waterproof matches or other fire lighting equipment)
3) some form of food (high energy being preferred)
4) a torch (even a small penlight)
5) signalling equipment - a whistle as a minimum. (A blank CD works as a heliograph!)
6) a bivi bag for shelter
7) wet weather gear (waterproof trousers/jacket) as the weather can change in 30 mins up on the hills
8 ) a compass and map.
9) basic first aid kit
Also recommended is leaving details of return time/place and plan (if known) so they have a chance of finding you!

It is amazing how many people go walking here with none of the above kit and end up with hypothermia or dead.

Lets face it - the cost of carrying that (£30?) is a lot less than being DEAD!

where would we be right now if no one had ever ventured out? Probabaly wouldn't be.
I go out with a cell, a light, a lighter, and some plastic fire kindling that burns like rocket fuel but is safe to carry ( it is actually denture casting plastic, in case you are ever forced to burn your teeth). I think about what happens If I flip a boat or rip one open on a rock or just plain fall out, but I am not going to let it scare me to a standstill.
I leave a note, I let someone know if I am headed upriver or downriver, and I do them the favor of letting them know when I am safely (?) back on the trailer and driving home.
And I wear a lifejacket whenever I am alone, all the time. Think how much more gear I can save if I am not busy trying to save myself!

A guy I talked to recently does a lot of hunting and traveling out on the land to far away hidden places, rivers and streams deeep deeep in the wilderness here. Like 500 kilometers of canoeing and portaging with a full hunting outfit to bring back caribou or bison or what have you (a few hundred lbs of cargo in other words)

One thing he said was always tell someone where you're going, when you'll be back..and bring backups of your essential gear (he showed me a pic of him on his boat, which had its main kicker konk out). Luckily he had a backup, which allowed him to get back to his original starting location in 6 hours...otherwise he would have been a drift for a long long time, or had to break out oars..and for anyone who's been boating or canoeing - you really start to feel it after 20 minutes nevermind 20 some hours it would probably take, if not days, if he hadn't have had that back up kicker.

Safety first, just common sense..can't really feel any sympathy for the guy because he was just foolish but I'm glad he turned out all right.

Where would we be if nobody had ventured out? Well consider this..they came back didn't they? To show us the way, and the trails - they had to be alive to do that

here in Oregon, we hear stories every winter about people going out in their cars to play in the snow in the mountains and freezing to death. They get stuck, and either die right there or try to walk out and die on the way out. Every year.
somehow, people that would be aware of the dangers and prepare for survival if hiking, boating, skiing, snowmobiling or motorcycling to a remote location lose all sense of danger if they can drive there in their cars. It is as if they think the windsheild is a video screen and they are only involved in the scene as much as someone playing a video game.
As a volunteer fire fighter I have helped recover bodies of people that died trapped in a rollover just twenty feet from a busy road, just as unseen as if they had been twenty miles out in the wilderness. I have been involved in recoveries where people drowned in plain view of 100 people.
My point is this: Danger and death are everywhere, just on the other side of the windsheild and 500 kilometers out in the wilderness in a fully loaded hunting boat. I can understand someone being unconcerned about the danger on a short day hike doing a little climbing, maybe risking a six meter fall for a better shot. I can understand how doing something as everyday as driving makes it seem so much safer than something like canoeing. Be aware of the dangers and prepare for them and chances are you will be fine.
On this Thanksgiving day, I am thankful that I have made it home every time I have risked it, and thankful that this young man was able to survive his ordeal and make it home too.

Well Said

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #9087223
Well Said

Agreed.

Better to prepare to fail than to fail to prepare!

siriusdogstar wrote in post #9082412
John Muir with only his long wool coat and some bisquits in the pocket used to go out in high Sierra Nevada storms for thrills.

The wilds are much safer than "civilization", sure there are some things to know about like preventing hypothermia, watching for rogue waves at the beach, and how to handle wild animal encounters.

I go places I'd never be found if something happened even if I told someone where I was going; cell phones don't work there either.

Yea and the Sierras are LITTERED with the bodies of greenhorns, flatlanders, and morons who thought they could get through this or that pass in the Spring or Summer!!.

The Sierras are not to be trifled with, unless you prepare. The rescue teams up are busy every year...

Todd Lambert wrote in post #9083574
Geez, you sound like my mom.

Eh, I'd rather die doing what I love.

We're all going to die sometime, might as well enjoy things and not worry so much.

Fascinating outlook.

And if it was that simple I'd say "go for it".

But the fact is, once you've been missing for a day or so and Search & Rescue missions are mounted, taxpayers start footing the bill. Quite frankly, I have no issues with people dying doing what they love (curious that you would a 'love' a protracted death by dehydration/exposure etc) but once it starts wasting my taxpayer dollars, I'll start to raise my objections.

Not sure about the US, but every year Aussies fork out millions of dollars on Search & Rescue Ops for people who venture into the bush (and occasionally the sea) unprepared.

Tourists tend to be the worst offenders, possibly because they have no concept of how hostile our wilderness can be.

The most recent story of note was this clown. Incredibly, he survived 12 days in the Blue Mountains, but not after he cost taxpayers a small fortune in SAR bills. And all because he didn't tell people where he was headed.

I love the bush and the tranquility of being out there alone, but I don't much like the idea of a long, agonizing and lonely death caused by by dehydration/exposure. I always let someone know where to send the first rescue chopper.

mikekelley wrote in post #9082284
Living life smart != living life scared.

^ this

Funny, the local TV news didn't mention he was a photographer. Mind you they run a weekly Weather Window Photo Contest, guess they didn't want to bring negative publicity.

Geno DM wrote in post #9087984
Funny, the local TV news didn't mention he was a photographer. Mind you they run a weekly Weather Window Photo Contest, guess they didn't want to bring negative publicity.

I'm not sure if he was just an amateur photographer or professional... if not professional -possibly the reason broadcast media didn't raise it.

I pay taxes too, just saying.

SOK wrote in post #9087786
Fascinating outlook.

And if it was that simple I'd say "go for it".

But the fact is, once you've been missing for a day or so and Search & Rescue missions are mounted, taxpayers start footing the bill. Quite frankly, I have no issues with people dying doing what they love (curious that you would a 'love' a protracted death by dehydration/exposure etc) but once it starts wasting my taxpayer dollars, I'll start to raise my objections.

Not sure about the US, but every year Aussies fork out millions of dollars on Search & Rescue Ops for people who venture into the bush (and occasionally the sea) unprepared.

Tourists tend to be the worst offenders, possibly because they have no concept of how hostile our wilderness can be.

The most recent story of note was this clown. Incredibly, he survived 12 days in the Blue Mountains, but not after he cost taxpayers a small fortune in SAR bills. And all because he didn't tell people where he was headed.

I love the bush and the tranquility of being out there alone, but I don't much like the idea of a long, agonizing and lonely death caused by by dehydration/exposure. I always let someone know where to send the first rescue chopper.

^ this