Risks Associated With Outdoor Adventures

When you consider the number of missing people in British Columbia alone, it makes you realize venturing into the great outdoors, does carry a significant amount of risk. Of course, outdoor adventure is not the only reason people go missing, but it is one of the many contributors to such mysteries.

In Canada, British Columbia has the highest number of people who go missing, followed by Manitoba, and interestingly, Nunavut has the lowest number per capita. In BC the numbers are staggering at 258 per 100,000 people. Manitoba has 152 per 100,000 and Nunavut has just 5 per 100,000 people. 

To gain some perspective on those numbers, the overdose death rate in BC is around 57 per 100,000 people. Heart attacks and strokes account for around 195 deaths per 100,000. 

When a person goes missing with no contact or signs of activities of daily living, for a significant period of time, I think in most cases, they can be presumed dead. Even if a small handful of the missing are eventually found alive, it is still an alarming statistic in BC, that is often downplayed, or under reported. 

There are many reasons people go missing, to include foul play, injuries, accidents, getting lost, mental illness, abductions, drownings, animal attacks, dementia, suicides, and a variety of unknown reasons.

Occasionally a person chooses to go missing, to establish a new identity in another location. However, that kind of missing person is a rarity, as it requires a significant amount of planning, and resources to execute such a plan. When people are alive, they need money, and money usually leaves a trail. So the person who runs away, must have access to a new identity, and money.

Those who study the missing person cases, have learned about risk factors. Things like hitch-hiking, drug and alcohol abuse, solo hikes, and vulnerabilities that cause people to become targets.

However, if we concentrate on the outdoor adventure missing persons, and leave the other suspicious cases to law enforcement, we can come up with some common denominators.

Rugged terrain, unpredictable weather, getting lost, taking a divergent route without notifying anyone, not leaving detailed travel plans, the inability to read a map, or use a compass, inadequate preparation for the conditions, bodies of water, and solo outings, all increase the risk associated with outdoor adventure.

When it comes to solo hiking trips, even the most experienced hiker is taking major risks. A slip and fall on icy slopes, or moss covered rocks, can end up being a death sentence. The wilderness is vast, and even with hundreds of volunteer searchers, they may never find a person who has fallen into a crevasse, or been swept away in a river.

We all do dumb things. I went hiking by myself many times, in locations where there was no cell phone coverage. If I would have needed help for any reason, it would have been a matter of fate.

During the time I lived on Haida Gwaii, it could take hours to get an ambulance or helicopter to a distress call, even if the person had a satellite phone. Then, it took many more hours to get the injured person stabilized, and on a medevac flight to a hospital in Vancouver.

Therefore outdoor adventure in very remote locations, is probably more dangerous than most people realize.

Recently I watched a show on Outdoor Disasters that described a backpacking trip in the mountains of Wyoming, taken by a 48 year old pastor. He frequently went on solo hiking trips, and in this particular case, it was to be a nine day trek. He was physically fit, confident, and experienced in the outdoors. He also took his dog with him.

However, he ended up changing his planned route, and midway into the hike, he stepped on a large boulder, which was unstable so he quickly jumped to the next one, and ended up getting his legs pinned between the boulders. During the days he was stuck there, he wrote a fairly detailed journal.

The fact he was missing was not discovered until he failed to show up to meet his family at a designated meeting place, after the nine day trip. When he failed to show up, his wife notified the authorities and the searches began.

The searchers had no way of knowing he had changed his route, and the search area was rugged and vast, so they had no luck in finding him. Plus unbeknownst to them, he had already been trapped for days before the search even began.

Eventually the search was called off. But incredibly after all that time, his dog was found.

Weeks later, a hiker who happened to be hiking in the area of his accident, came upon his body, and knew immediately that it must be the missing pastor, as there had been many flyers, and notifications posted after he went missing.

Even though he died before help arrived, thankfully for his family, he was found, and due to the journal writings, they knew what had happened. They also knew his state of mind, and saw the messages of love, and apologies he wrote to his loved ones, which was a real blessing. 

In so many missing person cases, the family never knows what happened to their loved one. They can never stop wondering, and often agonize over the imagined plight, or terrors they may have experienced. They are left in a state of limbo, sometimes refusing to give up hope that they may be found alive. 

Many of the family members who go through such an ordeal will claim that not knowing, is more excruciating than knowing what happened. Even though they still have to face the grieving, they are relieved, and can plan a funeral or burial.

Accidents do happen, and people die in accidents more often in urban locations, than in remote locations because of traffic accidents, and other hazards.

In some ways, all we can surmise, is that we all have an appointment with death. But we don’t have the date or time, written in any appointment calendar. 

But in hindsight, I do believe that a person who is going on solo hiking, or any outdoor adventure trips, should always take a locater beacon with a satellite positioning feature, and the ability to make an SOS call.

The personal locator beacons now cost around $500.00. When you consider the loss of life, or limb, as well as the hours and days of helplessness the poor person has to endure, it is a very worthwhile investment. It is more valuable than any other insurance plan you can purchase. And like all the various insurances we purchase, we never give it a second thought, unless we need it. We can go years without ever making an insurance claim, but would not want to be without it, if something did happen. 

Also, when you consider all the hours of searching, to include, planes, helicopters, and ground searches, often placing the search and rescue teams, and volunteers in peril, it is a small investment to make.

Freedom is what it is, with an immeasurable value to the human psyche. The freedom to experience the profound beauty, and expanse of the great outdoors, has no comparisons. It is understandable why people choose to seek solitude in nature’s beauty.

But when creating the bucket list of outdoor adventures, and all the things you will need, when planning a trip, the locator beacon should be right up there with water and food.

It is a small price to pay, if you really do slip up, and end up in a bind.

It brings to mind a whole set of questions surrounding the rapidly developing world of AI. I was wondering if an Apple air tag would do the trick. But apparently you have to be near another Apple device for it to work.

I also wonder if maybe he could have put an air tag on his dog? How far away does the other Apple device have to be, in order for it to work, to locate someone or something that is missing? Apparently they can work from thousands of miles away, but only if there are signals near by from other Bluetooth devices.

They are not intended to be used to find people, but it might not be a bad idea, to add a couple of those to your “how to find me” if I ever get lost insurance plans. After all, a person is far more important than lost luggage, or a lost iPad.