David Dinwiddie

“Had an article on David in our local newspaper today -- going back over what happened.. and updating his status.. his foot developed an infection a few days after his initial release -- so they took him back in again.. lost a couple toes.. part of his foot.. quoted as saying that he might never be able to hike again.. but sure hopes to..

The most disturbing part of the article was the fact that his decision to sit tight was based upon the fact that he was supposed to meet some FRIENDS, and figured they would come looking for him when he did not show up.. oh.. but these FRIENDS cancelled their backpacking trip and didn't even tell him!

Sorry, ticks me off. I don't give a damn if you choose to cancel a trip, but by god, at least let everyone else know.
last edited: 1/23/05 9:18:05 AM”

“Is he a friend of Elvin Bishop?
j/k

What happened to this guy?
last edited: 1/23/05 9:45:17 AM”

“TownDawg - Do you have ALL the facts. Have the "friends" issued a statement? There may not have been time to inform Dinwiddie before he was on his way. And his cell phone may have been off. They may have checked and received false information that Dinwiddie had cancelled. Dinwiddie may have swayed back and forth and given someone the impression that he was not going.

From appearances I feel that Dinwiddie made some mistakes, but I don't know. I don't have all the facts. It's a very unfortunate thing for him. I'm thankful that he is alive. Didn't you ask us not to throw stone?

How 'bout a link to the article, please, old buddy. I'm looking for it, but the hacker software in my computer says, "no, no." So I'm going to take it down and restart.
last edited: 1/23/05 9:55:18 AM”

“No, he asked you not to post while stoned.”

“Nimblefoot - We have a thread for that, but it is hard to locate it when one is stoned!”

“This may or may not have any relationship to this --

Remember Aron Ralston who cut off his arm? He had hiked with two girls in the canyons of Utah earlier that same day. Just ran into them. They became the kind of buddies that people with like interests become, meeting up in the wild.

When they turned to make a loop, Ralston said, no, he wanted to keep going on down the slot canyon. They told him about a party that same night and he said he'd see them there.

We all know what happened. He figured the girls just figured he was a free spirit that, for whatever reason (another side canyon to explore??) did not show up at the party. They apparently raised no flags as to his whereabouts... and the fact he was NOT at the party.

In his book he was not bitter that they hadn't asked questions then. He realized they didn't know what to make of him or his free-spirited exploring.

Me? I was bothered a bit by it. I think if I met someone who said he "might" show up at a party somewhere that night, that at least I'd notify police or something... just in case. Sure, Ralston had tons of good, outdoor wilderness experience. But still... he was exploring unforgiving country alone.

Don't know if this would have been this guy's case or not. Just a discussion point...”

“I did locate this:
Lost hiker rehabilitating after losing part of right foot”

“Interesting thoughts Lizs. If I invited someone I met on the trail to a party and they didn't show after saying they'd be there, I would have been likely to just assume he'd blown it off and think nothing more of it. People casually blow off things like that all the time, including with people they know well - and a in this case, he might not know the directions, might have decided to spend an extra night, etc... But now, I'd definitely think twice if this were to happen.

My other question is about the three people that found Dimwiddie - it's not clear if they did anything to help him on the spot, or why they didn't leave someone with him to help while the others went for more assistance. Surely some wilderness first aid could have been offered, the article I saw didn't say if it was.
last edited: 1/23/05 11:04:21 AM”

“I'd be interested in what mistakes people think Dimwiddie made. This isn't to bash him, but I think we can all learn from things like this. Learning from other's mistakes is far better than making our own.

The one thing I spot was that he had no emergency shelter and was counting on staying in shelters. Even day hiking in winter, I carry a Hilleberg Windsack (as well as an emergency bag) and lots of extra insulating clothes.

I also wonder about his gloves. I wonder if he had liner gloves... these allow for dexterity while still providing some insulation. His fingers might have done better if he'd had some good liner gloves (or maybe he did). Also, those chemical hand warmers might have helped a lot in a pinch.

Lastly, this reinforces my intention not to go on winter trips alone, but meeting friends on the AT might be enough to get me to go in alone and thats what he did.

Again, this isn't to bash him. I've made worse mistakes, and hope I've learned from them, I just want to learn from this.”

“Is he the fellow that got stuck on the blowdown on the AT in the Smokies?”

“Didn't bother to read the whole thread yet.
I'll do that after this post.

TD doesn't have the facts at all.

This first thing that this incident has taught me is that the Tennessee newspapers employ incompetent writers as none of them have all the facts or if they do, presented them incorrectly or in an inaccurate manner. Best grade goes to the Maryville paper, worst to the Knoxville one.

First off, I happen to know those friends of his and I would trust their judgement over anyone.

They did not cancel their trip, they were there at Tricorner Knob for two nights because of slow progress due to the snow. They didn't know his route. When he didn't show they attempted to contact David but were unable to do so. They figured he bugged out because ofo the crappy weather. When they were able to get signal they did call someone they know who works in the Park main office but that was a day later and they were informed that the NPS was already searching.

Also you don't go searching for someone when the weather is howling. That is a sure fire way of getting more people in trouble.

Davids story has holes in it, particularly in what happened to his gloves and the timing of certain events. We believe he was already hypothermic due to breaking trail solo in heavy snowfall before he fell and got hurt.

David usually carries a tarp, I am uncertain if had it this time. I don't know about id he has glove liners.

Davids biggest mistake was in not turning around sooner when the weather went south, not spelling out his route and hiking solo.
last edited: 1/23/05 12:12:30 PM”

“David insisted that the three hikers who found him stick together and go get help. It is unclear that they even knew what to do in order to help him.”

“ugh. i have bad memories of tri-corner knob shelter. the worst day of my thru-hike was there”

“pls s'plain crash”

“You are right, but it is not just Tennessee newspapers, HPM... I got out of the field of Journalism because of this type of bull#&%!$ and poor writing that is supported in this field. The elements of a good article are always ignored and sensationalism reigns...

I have encountered several people on the trail that were meeting up with someone and that someone has canceled at last minute either without means to communicate that to the other party or just being careless to communicate the no-show at all. This could happen to anyone of us no matter how hot we think we are with our backpacking skills and gear. Never underestimate what can happend to you remotely in the wilderness... period!”

“i was forced to sleep on the dirt floor due to the sleeping bunks being packed like sardines. like an idiot, i didnt lay down a groundcloth and left my pack and other items on the ground. the shelter was maybe 20 feet away from the spring, and it rained that night, and the ground got saturated and made a couple inches of standing water in the shelter. everything was wet to soaked, including my sleeping bag. i was glad to be only a days hike away from davenport gap and civilization where i could dry everything out”

“howdy folks.. sorry I just got back.. yeah.. you might be right Michael.. I realize that you know more of the specifics better than I -- all i knew was what was printed in the paper, and the paper clearly said that David was expecting his friends to come look for him when he did not show up -- so he chose to wait it out.. and later found they cancelled their trip.. (I assumed entirely).. All I know was what the paper said.. was it inflammatory?.. boy it was to me.. but it's a sore spot.. I have a real problem with folks that say they are coming "to the party" -- and don't even have the courtesy to let you know when plans have changed.

If indeed his friends were stuck at TriCorner, that's an entirely different situation -- trust me the paper didn't spell it out that way.. which is what fired me up so badly.. did they mistate the facts?.. I don't know.. Did David twist the truth a little?.. I don't know.. All I know is what I read.

My apologies for my rant. It just really got under my skin -- assuming what I read in the paper was truth, and my emotions went from there. Hang on, and I will go get the paper -- so I can pass along the writer's name.
last edited: 1/23/05 2:59:43 PM”

“did they mistate the facts?..
Yes.

Did David twist the truth a little?..
No. Hypothermia makes you delusional.

Don't bother with the guys name, I have no interest in persueing the matter.

Don't apoligize (but thanks anyway) all we can do is go on the info (right or wrong) that we have at the time.
last edited: 1/23/05 3:05:30 PM”

“ok.. your link Paul is same exact article. Mine was posted on page 6B of "The Jackson Sun" but appears to be the same exact article in its entirety.

I guess the sentence at debate is this one: "Instead, they had cut their trip short without telling him because of the inclement weather."

Michael, you are right -- it does not say that they cancelled their trip, but rather they cut it short. This adheres to your explanation of the facts that they were basically stranded at TriCorner. (Lord knows we have all been on that ridge enough to sympathize!)

I suppose my interpretation got caught up with the phrase "without telling him". If I understand you right, it was more of a case of they couldn't tell him. (We all know how ridiculous it is to try to get a cell signal ANYtime we go backpacking.)



heh.. oh well. Appreciate our friendship Michael. I just should have picked up the phone, called you, and gotten the REAL story ehh?

so.. who's up for a trip to the Smokies??

I gtg for now.. Deb has a honey-DO project for me to get started on. Again, sorry for the rant -- I misread the article a bit, and the article was also a little misleading -- so between that, and the fact that people not communicating changes in their itineraries tends to tick me off -- I was fit to be tied this morning.
last edited: 1/23/05 3:13:08 PM”

“I hate talking about someone elses "mistakes" behind their back.

They seem to only be mistakes if there are detrimental consequences. Otherwise they are close calls, if noticed.

I keep thinking about my first trip. At one point in my trip I dissmised my legs cramping up (severly) as dehydration & lack of food. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if I was nearing heat stroke. I was alone and on the wrong trail. The only way to rehydrate and eat was to remove my pack. I didn't take off my pack because I didn't think I had the energy to get it back on. I was on a ridge and needed to reach a campsite before dusk. So I pushed on.

Maybe I got lucky. I might post my TR on that someday.

Anyway, mistakes happen to everyone. Most of the time I think people "get lucky".”

“BM: Anyone that's hiked with me knows I have a saying.. "If I don't cheat death once or twice, it wasn't a very good backpack trip."

Scary thought now, looking back on some of those "close/near misses" where I was definitely LUCKY.

http://www.anycities.com/user/towndawg/1242.htm--> For example.”

“They seem to only be mistakes if there are detrimental consequences. Otherwise they are close calls, if noticed.

Very true.

David told us "Guys, the woods got me this time."

We asked about his fingers and he said that one night he'll roll over and they will break off and next time we come up we all can go toss them off a mountain.

And I've already had this conversation with David.
last edited: 1/23/05 3:35:12 PM”

“Thanks for the info HPM. The hypothermia explanation makes a lot sense.

Great Story T-Dawg, I enjoyed it.

Again, there is no insult from me in talking about someone's mistakes - it's a chance to learn and given how unforgiving the trails can be in Winter, it would be a mistake to pass up the opportunity to learn. There is no point in judging, however. If I thought I was immune to the mistakes other people make, there would be no point in my trying to learn from those mistakes.

I know that the size of the mistake bears no resemblance to the size of the consequences. I've gotten off entirely for some huge ones, and suffered dearly for smaller ones.”

“Thanks, TownDawg. Rant all you want. Enough of us know you well enough that we can easily talk things out and get some clarification. I believe I was wrong about who said something about not throwing stones. It's not important, but thanks for not chewing me out.

humanpackmule and Smokygirl - Thanks for all the additional information that you provided. I have been watching for additional articles about this unfortunate event.

In my search for additional information, I found out that training programs have been started to improve responses ot these types of emergencies. So maybe some good is resulting from the incident. Unfortunately, I can't relocate the articles, but here are a few interesting links.

'Lost hiker' helped drill teams show skills

“North Carolina SAR Advisory Council”

EAST TENNESSEE CAVE RESCUE (ETCR)

”

“OK.. another look here. As a reporter who certainly tries to get facts straight, I don't like that smokygirl rakes journalists as often not telling the truth and being sensationalistic.

Can that element be there? Yeah. But I certainly like to think there's a lot of us that tell the story as it needs to be told. And I'm sad to see we lost one who apparently also felt tha way in smokygirl.

So here's the dilemma. The reporter goes on what was told to him or her. Are we obligated to double, quadruple check every fact? No, you would never see/hear the "news" if we did. If something seems amiss, yes, it should be checked. I would likely have checked what happened to the friends. But that's me.

I am now being asked to write stories of very old senior citizens for our town's sesquicentennial, its 150th anniversary. I have a problem with that. How do I know if what they're telling me is right? Half of them have dementia

So I report what they tell me, putting in the appropriate disclaimers such as "according to" etc., but still there's the story. I am trying my best, but I don't know if they have the price of a 1918 train ticket wrong, etc.

It just happened last week. I interviewed two men who were at the same Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the 1930s. One said they were paid $21/month. The other one said, no, we were paid $30/month, and when you got into the armed services, ironically, it was $21/month. One small article -- two different takes on the same item.

Also, a person will read a story with the emotion of his involvement with it, or knowledge of the industry or situation or whatever. And you will read it "closer" than others.”

“Also, bearmagnet, I can tell you a story about backpacking solo and thinking I was suffering from heat exhaustion. We should compare notes.

And yes, there is the point about "near misses." Sometimes I think it's amazing we live as long as we do, as well as we do.”

“Useful article on hypothermia first aid (page 3 of a 3 page piece):

http://www.outdoored.com/Articles/Article2.asp?ArticleID=122&TextFileName=2000/2000-122-3.asp”

“Lizs - Here is a link to a post that I made earlier today. It expresses My Feelings About Newspapers.”

“Hey guys, a bunch of people I know want to send this guy some get-well cards, so if anyone out there has his mailing address, could you please post it here or at
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7207

Thanx”

“So David came up to meet us at Cosby after our hike.

Three months after nearly freezing to death on Inadu Knob in the Smokies, loosing two toes and still not having full use of his hands and looking very thin he made it a point to drive himself out to see us, tell the boys his stories late into the night AND get up at 4am to cook us breakfast including homemade doughnuts cooked on site.

Damn, the guy is amazing.

He wanted me to tell you guys to be careful out there and thank you for your prayers and concern. He's currently writing a book about the experience.”