Hiking with Sleeping Pills?
KSL, a local news station, reported on a story I thought was funny and odd. It's about a local hiker on a Big Cottonwood Canyon trail in Salt Lake City. According to the report, this is what happened.
"He says he started up the Lake Blanche trail about 5:30 yesterday afternoon, he got to the top, and then he says a storm rolled in complete with heavy rain and wind. Instead of panicking Platt, who says he's an experienced survivalist, decided to make the most of it. He took the sleeping pill at a safe spot, fell sleep and woke up this morning. "
He did what?!?!
I'm not an "experienced survivalist" but that is the last thing I would do. If I'm hiking in the local mountains, I know that my cell phone works in many of these places and I'd take it and use it to call my wife if I'm stuck in a storm. Then, I might wait it out for a while knowing that those that cared knew I were I was and that I was safe.
The frustrating part of this story is that rescue teams and helicopters were out most of the night looking for the sleeper. I wonder if this is the first time this dude as taken a sleeping pill to escape reality. If he's carrying them in his pocket maybe he's addicted. It's too bad so many people had to search for someone that wasn't really lost but just inconsiderate.
One last quote from the article in case you are unsure of what an experienced survivalist should really do.
"Rescuers say generally it's not a good idea to take a sleeping pill when you're lost in the mountains. They say you need to be awake in order to be rescued. They say they were calling his name last night, and say if he was awake he probably would have heard them."
The KSL article was written by Richard Piatt
"He says he started up the Lake Blanche trail about 5:30 yesterday afternoon, he got to the top, and then he says a storm rolled in complete with heavy rain and wind. Instead of panicking Platt, who says he's an experienced survivalist, decided to make the most of it. He took the sleeping pill at a safe spot, fell sleep and woke up this morning. "
He did what?!?!
I'm not an "experienced survivalist" but that is the last thing I would do. If I'm hiking in the local mountains, I know that my cell phone works in many of these places and I'd take it and use it to call my wife if I'm stuck in a storm. Then, I might wait it out for a while knowing that those that cared knew I were I was and that I was safe.
The frustrating part of this story is that rescue teams and helicopters were out most of the night looking for the sleeper. I wonder if this is the first time this dude as taken a sleeping pill to escape reality. If he's carrying them in his pocket maybe he's addicted. It's too bad so many people had to search for someone that wasn't really lost but just inconsiderate.
One last quote from the article in case you are unsure of what an experienced survivalist should really do.
"Rescuers say generally it's not a good idea to take a sleeping pill when you're lost in the mountains. They say you need to be awake in order to be rescued. They say they were calling his name last night, and say if he was awake he probably would have heard them."
The KSL article was written by Richard Piatt
Comments
Post a Comment