WA WA - Laura Macke, Hiking Alone @ Enchanted Valley, Camping at Pyrites Creek, 30. Oct 2022

[Charlot123]

Donna Van Zandt was off my radar. Time to investigate!

She has a thread. Olympic park always makes me wonder.

 

[RickshawFan]

She has a thread. Olympic park always makes me wonder.

Olympics NP looks so beautiful, but it has the reputation for being EXTREMELy buggy, so I never wanted to go backcountry there. I have stayed front country. The west coast side used to be EXTREMELY remote. Miles of no one. A lot is Native American reservation, and the rest used to be logging. We were lucky to find a café. I'll never forget that café.

I was in Port Townsend quite recently in a late September, but a lot of the Olympics NP infrastructure was closed for the season. Some roads were gated off.

 

[RickshawFan]

It just seems so odd that LM would plan this trip. Why would anyone do that? "Everyone" knows not to go there in certain months. When did the plan form? What was the urgency about doing it now and not waiting for another year?

 

[RickshawFan]

She has a thread. Olympic park always makes me wonder.

The odd thing about that one is the discrepancy between how friends describe her personality. I have to look at it closer. It feels kind of cloaked in evil.

 

[GraceG]

I wonder if LM knew enough to take rain pants? A very high quality rain jacket, either new or with recently restored DWR? Waterproof hiking boots and significant socks?
After being in the PNW for years, and used to well-stocked day packs, I got shocked when I went to VT, and people don't carry rain gear at all, not even just in case. And rain pants are mostly used for snow, or because a group leader says they have to have them, or they're taking a cruise to AK, or something like that.
People are out there in VT for all-day hikes with 9 liter packs and calling it "prepared". I get so shocked. Anyway, this case with a VT hiker lost in the Olympics makes me think there might be some crucial gear essentials missing, that would gobsmack anyone with experience in the Cascades, Sierras, or coastal ranges (not to mention CO), especially significant, high quality, raingear.
NPS hasn't said how long ago the permit was purchased. Maybe this whole trip was on a whim, and LM didn't have the necessaries with her?
So many questions....

My concerns as well. The photo of her in "hiking" gear was very lightweight, no regular socks, (bare leg between lightweight tennis shoes and lightweight casual pants), thin shirt, no hat. This article today said she was "experienced" but in reading it, I'm still very concerned. I grew up in the coastal mountains of WA, this time of year the weather is fickle and it can rain for days, cold soaking rains that turn to snow at higher elevations. On a plus note, I did read in one of the earlier links that she had a tent with her. Woman missing 5 days is experienced hiker | Peninsula Daily News

 

[RickshawFan]

My concerns as well. The photo of her in "hiking" gear was very lightweight, no regular socks, (bare leg between lightweight tennis shoes and lightweight casual pants), thin shirt, no hat. This article today said she was "experienced" but in reading it, I'm still very concerned. I grew up in the coastal mountains of WA, this time of year the weather is fickle and it can rain for days, cold soaking rains that turn to snow at higher elevations. On a plus note, I did read in one of the earlier links that she had a tent with her. Woman missing 5 days is experienced hiker | Peninsula Daily News

My thoughts exactly. I was very concerned the moment I saw that photo. I actually guessed she'd done a bunch of the Long Trail, just looking at it. Per the article she did exactly that. I can't believe I guessed right!

There are almost no transferable skills between section hiking (doing pieces) the Long Trail and being able to hike safely for one day in the Olympics, Cascades, or Sierras. My experience with Long Trail hikers is that they overestimate their skill. Consider the LT has shelters every 7 miles. There are hundreds of people out there. They don't take maps because they just have to follow blazes. They hike in summer. They leave the trail (people will even pick them up) if a storm comes in. There are hostels. There are standard supply lists. There is cell service a lot of places. There are a gazillion road crossings, inns, ski resorts.... A little rain is no big deal: you just go to a shelter and whoop it up with other hikers.

The other problem with LT hikers is that there is an almost cultish devotion to going light weight. This is the focus to the exclusion of safety. (I was guilty of some of this when I was an AT thru hiker, too, which, by the way, also doesn't give a person much survival skill...you could do the whole AT and not have a clue).

When I saw that photo of LM, heard she was from VT, and saw that she'd gone to a trailhead in the Olympics in a driving rain, intending a backpack trip, I guessed she'd been on the Long Trail, and that she'd be appallingly ill-equipped for the Olympics and not realize.

All my opinion, based on my personal experience.

 

[Charlot123]

What we get in Pacific Northwest are the winds called “extratropical cyclones” plus snow on top of it.

Pacific Northwest windstorm - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Snoopster]

My thoughts exactly. I was very concerned the moment I saw that photo. I actually guessed she'd done a bunch of the Long Trail, just looking at it. Per the article she did exactly that. I can't believe I guessed right!

There are almost no transferable skills between section hiking (doing pieces) the Long Trail and being able to hike safely for one day in the Olympics, Cascades, or Sierras. My experience with Long Trail hikers is that they overestimate their skill. Consider the LT has shelters every 7 miles. There are hundreds of people out there. They don't take maps because they just have to follow blazes. They hike in summer. They leave the trail (people will even pick them up) if a storm comes in. There are hostels. There are standard supply lists. There is cell service a lot of places. There are a gazillion road crossings, inns, ski resorts.... A little rain is no big deal: you just go to a shelter and whoop it up with other hikers.

The other problem with LT hikers is that there is an almost cultish devotion to going light weight. This is the focus to the exclusion of safety. (I was guilty of some of this when I was an AT thru hiker, too, which, by the way, also doesn't give a person much survival skill...you could do the whole AT and not have a clue).

When I saw that photo of LM, heard she was from VT, and saw that she'd gone to a trailhead in the Olympics in a driving rain, intending a backpack trip, I guessed she'd been on the Long Trail, and that she'd be appallingly ill-equipped for the Olympics and not realize.

All my opinion, based on my personal experience.

It's so easy to think we understand nature. I am almost as naive as they come. But I do research. Of course that research is likely not sufficient. I understand that nature is an unforgiving teacher.
We all try to transfer advice from one place and apply it to another. But as you have clearly pointed out that doesn't always work.

I am cheering for LM's excitement to take on the wilderness. I love her spirit. But I am crying for her and her family as they hope she will find a way to survive.

 

[RickshawFan]

What we get in Pacific Northwest are the winds called “extratropical cyclones” plus snow on top of it.

Pacific Northwest windstorm - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Yes. It's like Hurricane Irene in VT.

I've spent a lot of time on the PNW coast during those cold rains (business). I couldn't even imagine stepping on a trail in one of those or camping anywhere near a river. They're like menacing hypothermia the moment you get out of your car, and it's very hard to get warm.

I seriously thought about moving to the PNW coast, but realized the weather would just make me miserable. Seafood's great, though.

 

[Charlot123]

Yes. It's like Hurricane Irene in VT.

I've spent a lot of time on the PNW coast during those cold rains (business). I couldn't even imagine stepping on a trail in one of those or camping anywhere near a river. They're like menacing hypothermia the moment you get out of your car, and it's very hard to get warm.

I seriously thought about moving to the PNW coast, but realized the weather would just make me miserable. Seafood's great, though.

I moved from Boston (my favorite town in the US) to PNW and felt depressed because of the culture shock for a while. For people who like hiking, biking and nature, however, WA is a great place.

About the weather. Essentially, the huge water mass softens the climate, so it is like Great Britain here, everything grows, certain natural greenhouse effect. I believe that people should move closer to water in the future, and we have water here, lakes, rivers, plenty of them. The change of temperatures over the year is not striking, the winters are soft, the summer, not hot at all. It rains, yes, but for those who don’t mind the rain, it is pretty nice.
On the other side of the mountains, it is more continental, but still, not Midwest where I lived for a year. Even Idaho is tolerable, climate-wise.

The Pacific Ocean is cold, though. And very windy. So at the coast, you get the best (views), and the worst (wind and rain).

 

[RickshawFan]

I've pretty much implied ^^^ that I see this as a case of someone with no experience going into a dangerous natural area, and maybe not realizing the dimensions of either the situation or her skill deficit.

While we're waiting for search results...

On the positive, I thought I'd offer something that would be a good way to get that experience—in this case the Olympic NP—so a person would learn the kind of decisionmaking that might keep him/her safe in that area.

I always advocate going with a well-organized group that has a substantial history. By being in a group like that, you get an idea of "best practices" and you get to hear about the stupid things your fellow-hikers have done or situations they have come across and how they handled them, for better or worse. This way, you will go to the wilderness subsequently with a menu of decision making; this could save your life. For instance, is a wilderness trip in a cold deluge a wise plan? There'll be more than one person in a group who tried it....

So, I dug out a trip the Sierra Club offers in the Olympics, so everyone can see what kind of prior experience would prepare a person for contemplating a trip like the one to Enchanted Valley that LM went on. I am not advocating Sierra Club in particular, but they have well-described trips.

Here is a trip I wanna go on: Backpack Olympic National Park, Washington | Sierra Club

And also look how much stuff they're carrying. Almost certainly, LM didn't have that much stuff (though the SC trip is 6 days versus LM's 3). And those trip members are not overpacked: the leader INSPECTS the contents and weighs the packs, then distributes group equipment (the guy with the red pack prolly has the spaghetti pot or the whole ham).Everyone takes what is needed to be safe, and no more.
I went on one of those trips years ago in the Sierras around Labor Day. 3 blizzards in 7 days. We had to bail. And yes, our packs were inspected and weighed: unforgettable, since savvy folks knew how to cheat.... hahaha! Whole vodka bottles made it over the pass.

 

[Protectwomenandgirls]

PNW fall rains are nothing to mess around with. I work in this climate. I had to go home the other day, even in full professional rain gear - jacket, pants, boots, gloves - after about an hour and a half of working because it was 48 and I was still starting to experience mild hypothermia. The rain just wouldn't stop!!! I'm from Wisconsin where it was often -20ish degrees in winter, and I could (uncomfortably) work all day in that, but this heavy rain eventually penetrates even the best rain gear and there's no way to dry out/warm up again while you're outside

 

[Protectwomenandgirls]

Does anyone know if she was previously familiar with the area at all? There's no way I would hike very far, yet alone backpack this time of year if the weather report was forecasting rain...
My brother convinced me to backpack with him in Washington at the end of September a couple of years ago in the rain, but temps were much higher. September vs October makes a huge difference

 

[Protectwomenandgirls]

To me, this year has been extra cold in the PNW vs the past few years. In early Sept it snowed, hailed, and howled with winter winds in the mountains so I took that as a sign and ended this backpacking season early. Late August felt even too cold and rainy this year

 

[RickshawFan]

Does anyone know if she was previously familiar with the area at all? There's no way I would hike very far, yet alone backpack this time of year if the weather report was forecasting rain...
My brother convinced me to backpack with him in Washington at the end of September a couple of years ago in the rain, but temps were much higher. September vs October makes a huge difference

LM evidently had ZERO familiarity with this area. This is per family on FB’s Search for Laura Macke site.

 

[RickshawFan]

So, SAR in this case hasn't found LM’s tent. This strikes me as odd, but it also tells me it probably wasn’t pitched. I suppose it could have been blown upwards into a tree or skyward if it didn’t have enough guys or extra rope over the top, but barring that, it likely was in LM’s pack and probably on her back when she got into trouble.

Evidently, it was grey. FB Search page, per family. No telling if there was a raincover for the pack. These are often very bright, so the pack can be seen in bad weather, e.g. fog.

SAR hasn’t found the pack, either, but if it was grey, it would be difficult to spot in the river, because of all the rocks. SAR would be looking for a grey lump among billions of grey rocks.

I am speculating that LM got into trouble quite soon—too much rain fell even before Night 1—and the pack will eventually be spotted (perhaps by kids paddling in the water in future summers) within a few miles of the trailhead.

Much of the trail is in a canyon near the riverbed and the search has been hampered by foul weather (i.e. dangerous amounts of rain). Once the water got going in there, there’d be no way to escape. You’d literally go with the flow. This summer, there was a case exactly like this with a fatality in Zion.

Search for Laura Macke FB page

https://m.facebook.com/groups/1599582887166512/?tsid=0.7655946345651187&source=result

 

[Snoopster]

So, SAR in this case hasn't found LM’s tent. This strikes me as odd, but it also tells me it probably wasn’t pitched. I suppose it could have been blown upwards into a tree or skyward if it didn’t have enough guys or extra rope over the top, but barring that, it likely was in LM’s pack and probably on her back when she got into trouble.

Evidently, it was grey. FB Search page, per family. No telling if there was a raincover for the pack. These are often very bright, so the pack can be seen in bad weather, e.g. fog.

SAR hasn’t found the pack, either, but if it was grey, it would be difficult to spot in the river, because of all the rocks. SAR would be looking for a grey lump among billions of grey rocks.

I am speculating that LM got into trouble quite soon—too much rain fell even before Night 1—and the pack will eventually be spotted (perhaps by kids paddling in the water in future summers) within a few miles of the trailhead.

Much of the trail is in a canyon near the riverbed and the search has been hampered by foul weather (i.e. dangerous amounts of rain). Once the water got going in there, there’d be no way to escape. You’d literally go with the flow. This summer, there was a case exactly like this with a fatality in Zion.

Search for Laura Macke FB page

https://m.facebook.com/groups/1599582887166512/?tsid=0.7655946345651187&source=result

Thanks for the link to the SAR page for Laura.

Some points I picked up from it....

Her car was found parked right at the EV trailhead, rather than near Graves campground. Her gear was not in it. So it seems she did head out on her planned hike.
Two ONP rangers hiked up to the Enchanted Valley on Thursday, November 3. To date there has been no sign of her clothing or gear.

A post by her sister yesterday morning (Monday) indicated that SAR crews overnighted at Enchanted Valley to search the upper portion. One crew was going to hike out that day, searching as they went, while another crew was hiking up to Enchanted Valley. A drone with infrared capability to search river and shore was also being used. Some SAR stayed in field last night as well.Today the emphasis will be on aerial searches.

K-9s were used a couple of days ago, but came up with nothing.

 

[Springrain]

To me, this year has been extra cold in the PNW vs the past few years. In early Sept it snowed, hailed, and howled with winter winds in the mountains so I took that as a sign and ended this backpacking season early. Late August felt even too cold and rainy this year

The past few days have been DREADFULLY cold here in Whatcom County. I woke up today and almost cried when I went outside lol Definitely not the norm for here. We can deal with rainy and gray weather, but this cold and snow is just not the norm, especially in November.

It took an abnormal amount of time to get warmer weather here as well this year. I was wearing hoodies into June, which is not like me as I tend to run hot! (Well, I don't like cold weather either lol but still) I would definitely not want to be lost in those mountains now.

 

[Tower]

LM evidently had ZERO familiarity with this area. This is per family on FB’s Search for Laura Macke site.

This makes me so incredibly sad. I am just filled with dread seeing the weather report for today. As the others have said, it is SO wet, you just cannot fully dry out until you leave the trail. And I’ve never been there in late Oct/Nov. We joked that we were already “molding” halfway into day one and the temps were likely 20+ degrees F warmer than they would be now, plus we’ve never had significant wind.

Even inside my tent, everything was slightly damp because it was hard to leave all your wet gear totally outside. My husband is much better about this because he does mountaineering in much colder conditions. You must leave all damp items in the outer vestibule and protect your sleeping bag, etc., from moisture so you don’t freeze.

 

[MsMarple]

I'm in Port Townsend and woke up this morning to see a light dusting of snow outside. It's cold! And last week's winds have left around 1600 people still without electricity.

Hopefully Laura is prepared enough to stay alive until she's found but it doesn't look very promising.