Teen hikers found safe after cold, wet nights in Ore. wilderness
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MOLALLA, Ore. - Two teens who spent a couple of unplanned nights in the wilderness east of Salem were found safe Monday afternoon.
Jackson Chandler, 17, and Bradley Nelson, 16, left to go for a day hike in the Table Rock Wilderness area Saturday afternoon and did not return. About 50 people searched for them on Monday, aided by an Oregon Army National Guard helicopter.
"We planned on just going up past a logging road past where we parked, and then just popping up to the ridge real quick and coming back real quick, but we got up to the top of the ridge, and when we tried to come back we ended up going the wrong direction," Chandler said.
"I was definitely concerned. I didn't want to be spending the night out there."
A Clackamas County Sheriff's spokesperson said the pair did not need medical attention after they were found at about 2 p.m.
"It was hard, and we were cold, but we managed not to get hurt and just kept walking," said Nelson.
The boys said they found a tree that was keeping the ground relatively dry and slept under it Saturday night.
They were found about an hour from the search command post. Both boys said they were thankful for everyone involved in the search effort.
"Thank you to everyone who put all the effort in to find us," Nelson said. "It's good to be home."
A private citizen found the two teens and picked them up in his car.
Both Chandler and Nelson attend West Linn High School.
Both boys are Life Scout rank in the Boy Scouts, have multiple outdoor and survival skill merit badges and are working on becoming Eagle Scouts, a family spokesperson said. It was their first hike into the Table Rock area, a remote, rugged wilderness area east of Salem.
Hunters found the boys' truck Sunday afternoon along the side of the road near the Lost Creek Meadow area about five miles east of the Table Rock Wilderness area.
The boys were found north of Bagby Hot Springs, approximately 7 miles from the truck's location.
They had a compass, knives and a stove. Nelson said they used the stove to try to stay warm in the cold.
The boys did not have any food with them but said they drank plenty of water.
"We just had to keep telling ourselves to put one foot in front of the other," Chandler said. "Taco Bell isn't going to come to us."
KATU's Erica Nochlin contributed to this story.
I am so glad that these boys were found safe and sound! Its good to hear some good news for a change. It sounds like they have learned a valuable lesson.Next time,I hope they have everything that they need.While,it sounds like they were not going to be out that long,they really needed to be more prepared.Even,the most experienced hikers can get lost!
Glad they found their way out OK. Hiking to the top of a ridge or peak can be the last known waypoint on a trip sometimes. Think about it for a minute. You're on top of a high point. If you're an inch off up there, you're ten miles off down there. Upon arrival take a compass reading and note the direction you arrived from. Pay attention to the lay of the land if you can't see any distant landmarks. Choose the correct drainage to follow and good luck.
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I'm an Eagle Scout and I've never been lost. I'm a shroomer and hike the forest with out trails or a compass looking for shrooms. I pay attention to the lay of the land, the slopes and streams. I've been known to go in there at 10 AM and exit out of there at 4 PM with in view of my vehicle after making one big circle. Following a drainage is the key I guess.
Hallelujah!!! At this time of year when we hear of the bad turn of events for hikers gone missing, this does a mother's heart good!
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Welcome home, boys!!
OK, lets start by actually reading the story (such as it is) - you will note that they did have a compass with them, however a compass isn't much good without a map to go with it, which I'm guessing they did not have. While I'm certainly glad that they're safe, I'm sure their Scoutmaster will have a few words with them, vis-a-vis not being a particularly good example for the younger Scouts to follow. They could have been a little more prepared, and probably shouldn't have started so late in the day - especially if they weren't going to stick to their planned route. It also sounds like they were a few items short of the "10 essentials" which even a Tenderfoot Scout should know enough to have with them. I'm sure the experience will figure prominently in their respective Eagle boards of review.
I'm so glad these boys were found safe and sound! They must have been so miserable with all that rain. Hope that Taco Bell tasted good!
Happy to see they found them and they are ok!Â
Ok this is my suggestion to anyone hiking without a compass. Go back to the olden days where we didnt have such things as gps, compasses or maps and is something I learned in the military. When you are hiking take some cloth, or if you dont have cloth use sticks in an arrow like fashion at each trail merge to point you back to where you came from. This is really helpful because you can follow the sticks back, or if you have a cloth and some scissors you can tie the cloth (neon cloth works best) around the branches to mark every 10 feet or so, that way you never get lost. The sticks work best because you are out in the wilderness and there are lots of sticks to make arrows pointing you back to the direction you came. If you are worried about the arrows getting stepped on put sticks into the ground marking the trail as well. I have never been lost because I did this very thing.
Well, they seem to have learned from this Glad they made it out alright. A little hungry and wet, but survived it. As others have mentioned, taking a little extra gear along, even for a day hike is a good idea. Something to snack on, waterproof tarp or poncho would have helped. Not sure if they had a whistle or anything else to signal with. In a lot of places a GPS is worthless as you can not get a signal. A map helps, as long as it is correctly oriented to where you are.
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Good job on the part of the search and rescue groups. Glad it was a story with a happy ending.
Now they can teach others from their experience
@Just Lookin A GPS would have been very helpful in this case - they don't lose signal like a cell phone, because they work off satellites. Having been up in this area a lot, I know exactly what they did crossing the ridge between Table Rock and Bagby.
musiclover
I know GPS uses satelites, and I know cell phones use towers. I also know that in some areas "under trees" a GPS will not pick up a good signal at times. I have cell phone and also carry a GPS when hiking. In some places when it is clear overhead, a GPS will work great. I have used my cell phone to call from some trails, or sent pictures. I have also noted how many satelites a GPS will pick up when under heavy tree branches.
I have not been in the area they were at, but other areas.
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Boy, what some kids will do to get out of a day of school! :/ j/k. So glad they were found and are safe. There's been enough bad news lately.
Betcha they won't do that again! By the way, who will be paying for the rescuers time and effort? Not them, I'm sure!
"Taco Bell isn't going to come to us."
And it's really hard to make a Dorito Taco out of sticks and berries...
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;)
So glad they were found alive and well. It's a good lesson for them both! They made some mistakes, but it was a great experience for them to have come out of without injury.  Â
Maybe they need to revisit their training as it appears they made several critical mistakes that could have ended up badly for them. A compass would have been nice because it's awkward when you have to eat your friends and some overnight gear even if it's just for a day (especially rain gear in this weather).
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It all worked out well and hopefully it will be a valuable lesson for these boys.
Actually, they most likely followed their compass(es) and a BLM, Metzger, or some other topo map. BTW, from where they found their truck to Bagby is quite the day hike, lol! Those two young men were "hooking and booking"...congrats to 'em both and hteir search teams.
 @RalphCramden Definitely a good lesson.  Turns out, they did have a compass (which they used), a campstove (which they used to stay warm and heat water to avoid hypothermia), and a first aid kit (which, thankfully, they did not need to use.
 @Chandler DadÂ
That's good. Maybe an orienteering class is the next step of their training.
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It's nice that they doing all of this. Most kids today would not take the time and effort to do all they have done in the Scouts. It's a lot of work and most kids today prefer the easy way out.
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I lived in the bush in Alaska for several years and out there if one is not prepared they become bear food.
 @Ifishsum  @Chandler DadÂ
Exactly. I take lots of readings when I leave and try to find long distance landmarks once I get away from the trailhead. I always carry a note pad to record my information and do a little drawing of the area. I add to it when I can see more as the hike progresses.
"I lived in the bush in Alaska for several years and out there if one is not prepared they become bear food" Well, good grief, man! Bears got to make a living too! "Whats for dinner, ma?" "How about a nice thigh?" "MMM.. Dark meat, yum!"
 @RalphCramden  @Chandler Dad Basic orienteering is taught very early in the BSA program. Still, many don't realize how easy it is to get turned around in thick woods like that. I won't even get out of sight of my truck unless I have a map and know exactly where I was when I left the vehicle. It kind of forces you to pay attention to what direction you're heading and generally how to get back to the road.
Great News! Thank goodness they were found and are okay.Â
Thank God they were found.Â
The first rule of thumb when you realize you're lost is Sit down...Think...Observe....Plan. First is shelter. then firewood and fire for the night, then stay put. Bright fire at night....smokey fire by day. I can safely say I've never been lost. I've been turned around, but never lost.
 @Bdou That's right. And don't keep walking. While you sit there and think you may figure out what you did wrong to become lost. Then you can easily correct the mistake. If you keep walking then you may get to a point where even if you remember the mistake you made to get lost it's too late to correct it. And if you must keep walking for whatever reason then be a trailblazer and BLAZE a trail.
@Tom1965
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You maybe right about GPS not working under the canopy. Same problem with a map and compass. No point of reference.  You are lost.
Not if you start out from a known point and know how to count steps...BTW, as I noted above, the fact that they were found near Bagby indicates that they had a decent BLM,Metzger or topo map beacuse from where the truck was found to Bagby is quite the hoof...
If I had to guess: They were lost before they got out of their vehicle. It was found several miles from the trail head they were planning to use. Without GPS, a good topo map and compass will be very confusing if your initial reference point is that far off. They went down the wrong trail.
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Glad they were found safe and sound. It's nice to read happy lost and found stories. Even if they are bit soggy.
See below, re: GPS...until you can get out above the trees on some logging road or knoll, GPS is spotty at best up there...
Judging from the statement taht the truck was found about 5 miles east of the trail head near Lost Creek Meadows, it looks like they simply missed the turn for the trailhead by about a mile or two...it doesn't take much when you get out on some of those roads. At least they didn;t get lost on some of the trails that aren't marked on maps. Oh, and BTW, GPS is about useless in that area, having hiked it for many, many years - trying to get a line of sight for satellite reception is near impossible in many cases; learning how to use a compass and a map (which these two young men probably did owing to their Eagle Scout training...) is invaluable when all you can see are trees, trees, trees, oh and more trees... This part of Oregon is beautiful and unique but you can disappear quicker than DB Cooper out there...So very glad this ended well.
thank you god for keeping these boys safe.
 @mstercor Yes, thank you god.  Now if you could see to it the next time that they don't get lost in the first place, that would be swell.
...such a happy bit of light, aren't ye? Ever think that maybe all the sense of community and the outpouring of support that occurred might have been God's point? Go back to your cave, please.
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Which is most likely not up in the Mollalas, now, is it?
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Have a blessed day, Festivus; your name belies you.
 @FestivusÂ
I might suggest you quit practicing spirituality since you're kind of like a 3rd grade math student trying to lecture to physicists.
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The fact that YOU don't understand omnipotence and omniscience outside the confines of a human paternalistic model simply makes my point above.
 @ormom  @Festivus You're right, I don't have to believe in god, any of them, and neither do you. Â
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There are logical implications to omnipotence and omniscience that can't be avoided by a paternalistic "you just don't understand god like I do" argument.
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And quit practicing pop psychology. Â You're really bad at it.
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 @FestivusÂ
festivus you don't have to believe in God, but at least try to understand that the god you don't believe in is nothing like the true God. I wouldn't like, respect, or believe in your notion of your god either. I suspect that you developed your notion of god based on a flawed human father-figure. That is early grade school thinking and people who have progressed spiritually beyond Sunday school can see what you don't.
@Festivus @Tom1965 Obviously your view of God is very limited, Festivius, and VERY wrong as well! God may very well have helped these boys, abut He doesn't kill anyone in an earthquake or anyway else. Maybe he allowed the earthquake to wake some people up - maybe that's what it will take to wake YOU up!
 @Tom1965 Seems there's always a substantial outpouring of support whenever someone too young dies as well.  T'would seem an awful unusual way for god to get his work accomplished. Â
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People are awful loose with the thanking god part of the day while forgetting to place the blame. Â Saving two in the mountains hardly justifies losing a thousand in an earthquake. Â
So glad they're ok and headed home for a warm meal and hot shower!! Three cheers to the search & rescue teams, and high-fives to Scouting groups for teaching them the skills to take care of themselves.
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"...spent a couple of unplanned nights in the wilderness..." -- nicely phrased, KATU. =)
I wonder what happened; did they under estimate how long their hike would take? Did they get lost?
"A family friend told KATU News that the boys kept walking after they became lost. They were found about an hour from the search command post."
The hazards of hiking in the woods is sometimes you lose the trail and the more you walk around the farther off the trail you are. Sounds to me they had it under control, though! Only an hour away, good chance they had SOME idea which direction they were going.
 @portlandborn83 3 days instead of a few hours + no medical attention needed, I'm sure they got lost.
Made a left turn at Albuquerque!
Look on a map of the area and find Lost Creek Meadows and backtrack to Table Rock. They should have probably gone up Deetee Creek Rd rather than Table Rock Fork Rd. It happens and it's easy to get lost (been there done that, only we've been lucky enough to find our way back before anyone was too worried, lol!). As I noted above, at least they weren't on some unmarked trail...
Glad they were found safe!
Glad they're ok....my dad taught me a simple rule when lost in the woods- Walk downhill to water, then walk downstream to civilization.
Same here. He also said "Don't panic, if you just try to enjoy it you will be more focused" He was right, the more you freak out, the less you pay attention and the more chance of getting hurt. You get hurt your chances getting out can drasticly drop.
"Walk downhill to water"...
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If you look at a topo map, that's not necessarily a good idea. There are drop-offs and hidden cliffs that would end up being your last step in the brush and undergrowth up there.
Woohoo to good news!
Good news!
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I think it will be an interesting Eagle board of review for Jackson and Bradley. Getting lost = -1 point. Staying alive = +3 points.
This is good news. I'm sure their parents are relieved and happy this afternoon. Thanks to the Search and Rescue people for all they do.