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Any Confirmed Deaths while Geocaching?

rdaines

By rdaines
in General geocaching topics

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Isonzo Karst

+Isonzo Karst

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'm aware of one traffic fatality and one heart attach fatality while caching. Both a while back. One non-fatal diabetic coma. A zillion shin cuts....... a bazillion tick and skeeter bites and uncounted briar pricks

 

too slow - that was the heart attack fatality. I guess his fall killed him, but he fell because of his heart.

Edited by Isonzo Karst
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webscouter.

+webscouter.

Posted
Posted

When I die I hope it is in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming like the passengers in his car. :o

 

 

 

In reality I can think of no better way to pass than doing something I love. With luck I will be in a place that my wife can place a marker and spare the funeral expenses.

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imajeep

+imajeep

Posted
Posted
A whimsical topic brought on by me planning a 4 mile round trip hike through the Arizona desert in July when temps could be in the 110s. Hopefully I won't be a statistic but if I am will I be the first?

 

 

I don't mean to pour cold water (so to speak) on your adventure, but if you haven't hiked the Arizona desert before, don't underestimate it. Take at least twice as much water as you think you will need--as much as you can carry. Dehydration happens fast out there, and it can sneak up on you. I've seen people go out without a full appreciation of the harshness of the environment and get into trouble before they realized it. End of sermon.

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AZcachemeister

AZcachemeister

Posted
Posted

A whimsical topic brought on by me planning a 4 mile round trip hike through the Arizona desert in July when temps could be in the 110s. Hopefully I won't be a statistic but if I am will I be the first?

 

I live here.

I and my friends have hiked more than four miles in July, and nobody died.

Acclimatization was probably a help, though!

An important factor will be the terrain..hiking down a wash, or going up a mountain?

When doing an out-and-back hike, we usually cache a few 2-liter bottles about halfway in, but if it's a loop, you'll have to carry it all the way.

I have a Camelback that can hold two 100oz. bladders, and have cached all day (multiple shorter walks with driving between) without running out.

Be sure to wear that hat!

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Mule Ears

+Mule Ears

Posted
Posted

I'll add a few modest suggestions to AZcachemeister's excellent advice:

 

- Store extra water in your belly. When you shrug on your pack at the trailhead, chug down water from the cooler in the car (not from your canteen or Camelbak). I can easily carry an extra liter of water this way without discomfort; your mileage may vary.

 

- If you're not completely acclimatized, you will lose more salts than if you were. In my unhumble opinion, Gatorade is not a good replacement drink, and unbuffered salt tabs can cause stomach distress. I carry a chilled 12-oz bottle of V8 for salt replacement. Keeping your salts up reduces blistering and improves alertness.

 

- The US Olympic folks have found that sunscreen interferes with sweat-cooling, so a long-sleeve 'tech' shirt may be cooler than a coat of sunblock. I wear a short-sleeve shirt and a deep, farmer tan.

 

- And the classic: "Ration your sweat, not your water." If you're sweating hard and draining your water supply, ease off the pace. Don't try to 'stretch' your water.

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briansnat

+briansnat

Posted
Posted

A whimsical topic brought on by me planning a 4 mile round trip hike through the Arizona desert in July when temps could be in the 110s. Hopefully I won't be a statistic but if I am will I be the first?

You would not be the first.

 

Fellow Geocacher Dies While Hunting For Cache (December, 2004)

 

There was that one and one in California I think who died of head stroke while out caching. The only ones I know of who actually died while on the hunt.

 

Also several who died in traffic accidents while going to or returning from a cache hunt.

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outdoorsaddix

+outdoorsaddix

Posted
Posted (edited)

Well there is one guy up in canada who has been missing for over a month, i dont know the details for sure or if he was even geocaching, i heard about it in the forums tho. He is from Vancouver B.C and has been missing since may 7th, I think at this point he is presumed dead.

 

As for dieing while geocaching, I hope thats how I go, i don't want to die in a hospital like some wuss, im going to geocache till the end. Hopefully it will be in some fashion that will make people say "that guy was insane"

Edited by photonut13
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Renegade Knight

+Renegade Knight

Posted
Posted
A whimsical topic brought on by me planning a 4 mile round trip hike through the Arizona desert in July when temps could be in the 110s. Hopefully I won't be a statistic but if I am will I be the first?

 

 

I don't mean to pour cold water (so to speak) on your adventure, but if you haven't hiked the Arizona desert before, don't underestimate it. Take at least twice as much water as you think you will need--as much as you can carry. Dehydration happens fast out there, and it can sneak up on you. I've seen people go out without a full appreciation of the harshness of the environment and get into trouble before they realized it. End of sermon.

 

This weekend I went through about 4L of water with no pit stops (other than to get more water) and it was only about 3 hours of hiking and 90 degrees. It's amazing how much water you can go through.

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Harry Dolphin

+Harry Dolphin

Posted
Posted

No death but one of my caches can claim a helicopter rescue.

The cacher in question climbed up next to a waterfall when one of his handholds broke loose. A 3m drop and a pretty severe knee injury were the consequences.

 

My brother had a helicopter rescue from one of his in Nevada. (Can't find the log right now.) AFtr the cacher got out of the hospital, he asked my brother for a hint.

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boda

+boda

Posted
Posted

No cacher deaths, but ...

 

I have a series of caches nearby that is along a fire road. It is 4.5 miles up with a 2000 foot altitude gain (or loss on the way back down). Shortly after placing the caches, there was a newspaper article about a hiker taking a short-cut along a narrow ridgeline and falling to his death. I used those shortcuts when scouting and placing the caches.

 

A few weeks ago, someone somehow made it onto the road in a jeep. The jeep went over the side, and tumbled over and over. The driver was killed (seat belt on, seat and all ejected) and a passenger was critically injured.

 

The last folks to find the caches noted in their log that another vehicle is pretty badly damaged up near the last cache, but still on the road. Hopefully the were no injuries there.

 

I really worried that these folks were out looking for my caches. And it has made me a lot more cautious when I'm playing in the hills or mountains.

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