Hikers take wrong turn and get benighted

A diabetic hiker had a lucky escape last Thursday 13th July 2017, finding his way back to “civilisation” after be­ coming lost overnight.

Hyung Lee (65) with his wife Kyunghye Lee (63) was due to take his diabetes medication.  He and his wife set out on a three hour hike from Blaxland along the Florabella Pass Track on a Wednesday when they took a wrong turn and ended up benighted in a rock overhang in overnight temperatures down to 5 degrees Celsius.

An extensive search involved a rescue helicopter, paramedics, Blue Mountains police rescue and local volunteers.

The two meant to hike from the villages of Blaxland to Warrimoo along bushtracks, but ended up in the opposite direction.

• No compasses, map, route guidance, track signage?

The sun in Australia’s southern hemisphere has a northerly arc across the sky, whereas in China’s northern hemisphere it has a southerly arc.

“Ended up in the opposite direction” is pertinent for those from the northern hemisphere when navigating in the southern hemisphere.  The sun in Australia’s southern hemisphere does a daily arc across the northern sky, whereas in China’s northern hemisphere the sun does a daily southerly arc.  Switching between hemispheres is disorientating, akin to driving on the right instead of the left.

One has had challenges realigning in the northern hemisphere.  So perhaps this contributed to the couple’s disorientation.

Fortunately, the couple eventually hiked into the backyard of a home at Cowdery Street, Glenbrook at about 7.45am on the Thursday, five kilometres from where their hike started at Blaxland railway station.

Blue Mountains Local Area Commander, Superintendent Paul Albury, addressing the media stated:

“At some point in time they became lost.  They had warm clothes and food … they exhausted their water overnight.   They went hiking at first light until they were luckily found.  For people who aren’t experienced hikers they did everything right you could have hoped for [after becoming lost?].  Rescue Squad walked the entire walking trail …we searched until about 2 [am).  The gentleman had dia­betes and high blood pres­sure so there were some con­cerns he had fallen ill … they are very well considering the ordeal. It’s quite fortunate the temperatures weren’t as cold as normal.  People from overseas don’t understand the perils, how vast the area is and how quickly things can go wrong… and people from other parts of the world do things impromptu. Locals prepare much better.”

Supt Albury said Blue Mountains police had already made 70 rescues this year.  Only 500 people were lodging their treks annually through the Track Your Trek initiative, which was started eight years ago by NSW police and the parks service.

While the initiative had made an enor­mous impact on rescues, it was still “minuscule” com­pared with the 2 million visitors who come to the Mountains each year.

The couple did not have an emergency beacon.  There are about 20 of these available on loan at Springwood and or Katoomba po­lice station, but not at Blaxland.  “Sadly they are rarely used ” Supt Albury said.

This is our preferred personal locator beacon – Australian made in Sydney, waterproof with twin GPS signals to a search accuracy of 5 metres.

Always Carry a Head Torch 

Head torches are cheap yet vital kit for every hiker to prevent, even on a short intended hike.

In the Blue Mountains where most hiking tracks are down into valleys below the escarpment, actual last light along a valley track can typically occur at least an hour before official last light for a given area (like on to of the escarpment in view of the sun).

So essential kit for a Blue Mountains hike is a head torch, becasue it’s pitch black at night out there. Prices vary considerably with light performance and features, and here are two extremes:

The Energizer 250 lumen Torch & Headlight Gift Pack at just $32 night saver!

To the very fancy LED Lenser MH10 Rechargeable Headlamp retailing for $180 from Anaconda.

(Better than benighted freezing and uncomfortable in pitch black wilderness).

“The MH10 is a very lightweight LED Lenser headlamp for its brightness output. It is equipped with a red tail-light as well as colour filters for various different uses. And its USB 3.0 charging system offers an international standard for comfortably charging your Led Lenser. Perfect for hunters, fishers, hikers and everyone who is looking for extremes outside.”

Features:

• Brightness (lumens) options: Low 10 | Mid 250 | Power 600
• Beam Range: Low 20m | Mid 100m | Power 150m
• Power Source: USB 3.0 Rechargeable Lithium Ion
• Run Time: Low 120hrs | Mid 15hrs | Power 10hrs
• Rechargeable
• Product Weight: 158 g
• Box contents: Headlamp, Rechargeable battery, USB cable, Filter set, Pouch
• Warranty:  7 Years
• Front Switch: on the head of the torch so you can use one hand
• Rear Light: – a red back light so that you can also be seen from behind
• Transportation Lock: prevents the light from being turned on inadvertently
• Outdoor robustness rated IPX4:- Protection against water splashing from any direction
• Low Battery Warning and Charge Indicator (shows the current charge status of the battery)

Don’t leave home without one, plus new spare batteries to suit!