Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Old Postcard Wednesday--Mount Hood from Lost Lake, Oregon



There was such excitement in this part of the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday afternoon, when a 28-year-old hiker was found alive after having gone missing for three nights in the Mount Hood Wilderness. Agencies were looking for Pamela Salant after her boyfriend. Aric Essig, called the Hood River County Sheriff's Office early Sunday morning to report the two were separated when they left Bear Lake to search for a new campsite last Saturday afternoon. (Note: Hood River is a town/area and should not be confused with the Columbia River that runs the length of the Columbia River Gorge where the town of Hood River is located.)

Reports I saw on TV noted that Pamela Salant had fallen 60 feet, breaking her leg (and some reports also say her back), and then had amazingly slid on her rear down a steep embankment toward a creek because it indicated to her the direction of the Columbia River, where she hoped she would be spotted. Shoe prints initially led searchers to Salant. She survived by eating berries and caterpillars.


I wondered how far Bear Lake was from Lost Lake pictured in this old postcard and found that they are about 25 miles apart there in the Mount Hood National Forest. Here is a screenprint showing the area, with 'A' indicating Bear Lake where the couple had been camping, and 'B' indicating Lost Lake shown in the postcard image:


A bit more from reports about the rescue [Source: KOINlocal6]:
After over two days of searching, at about 2 p.m. Tuesday, overhead searchers found Salant wading in a creek at the bottom of a steep drainage area, according to Hood River Sheriff Joseph Wampler.

Wampler said Salant was initially spotted lying on a log and waiving to the overhead helicopter. Four search and rescue personnel worked their way to her location and waited with her while air transport from the Oregon National Guard in Salem arrived to the remote scene. . .

. . .After Salant's rescue, Essig spoke to his girlfriend and marveled at her survival skills, which included covering herself in moss to stay warm and using her underwear to tie-up a deep laceration on her knee. . .

. . .Reached in Boston by WBZ, Salant's parents, Jane and Martin, described their daughter as an avid hiker, camper and adventurer who hiked in South America last summer.

Pamela Salant is now in a Portland hospital in serious fair condition but doing well, the search teams have gone home feeling wonderful, and the Mount Hood Wilderness has returned to its beautiful wildness once again. Lost Lake and Bear Lake will welcome more hikers and campers before this summer has passed. May they all tread softly in those special places, and may they tread safely there too.


To end, here is a video of the helicopter rescue that I find spine-tingling. It is truly great rescue footage! I am posting the raw footage first:

                                    






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11 comments:

Don't Feed The Pixies said...

there's that mount hood again

glad that the woman was rescued

mythopolis said...

Wow. She is a lucky one. Well, not as much lucky as in good physical condition, resourceful, and I assume kept her cool under such circumstances! Good story!

Unknown said...

Excellent rescue - good fortune and survival skills played a part.

As a seasoned veteran of the trail, I have to question the wisdom of splitting up to find a new campsight...
Still, there are times when I like to hike alone. But I would never go without taking at least one good dog...

Roxana said...

they look so tiny, hanging there, like dolls, so breathtaking... such happiness, when humans make miracles like this happen... the amazing solidarity people are able to show always fills me with tears (especially on the background of the opposite, the atrocities of war...)

Rob-bear said...

While I understand the lost hiker was found, alive (thankfully), I'm also glad the Lost Lake was found. I hope nobody else get lost near Lost Lake. There've already been lots of lost up there.
Thanks.

Lydia said...

Catfish Tales~ I read your comment hours ago and have thought about it throughout the day. It is powerful how the story of the loss of someone can impress itself upon a day/person in the future. Your story was like that for me. Thanks for sharing it.

Pixies~ Is Mount Hood haunting you? Think maybe it is calling you to visit? Ooooeeeoooo

mythopolis~ I know! She really kept it together, even though in pain. When her boyfriend described how she put moss on her body to stay warm I really had to smile at her ingenuity.

Citizen of Earth~ I am with you on that splitting apart on the trail idea...not a good idea, but having a dog along would make it a better idea. I heard only one short tv reporter mention that the boyfriend said they had had a small argument earlier that day, but that it wasn't something that would send her off. They probably each needed a bit of solitude and separating to search for the next campsite sounded like a good idea...at the time! I saw him interviewed outside the hospital last night and he said this is the kind of thing that brings people closer.

Roxana~ Wow, your comment really made me think about the marvel of such a rescue and what the opposite of such caring is. Then I thought of the helicopters, marvels themselves indeed. How heroic it looked, strong and still in space while she was being rescued. Quite the opposite of its use in a war zone...

Rob-bear~ . . . also glad that Lost Lake was found. That is priceless! Something only a bear--lost in deep thought--migh consider. :)

Kathe W. said...

wow- what a story- great post Lydia. Mt Hood is not a mountain to take for granted.

Freda said...

I don't mind the idea of the berries but caterpillars? I'm glad the event had a happy ending. We see helicopter rescues in the mountains round where I live, but that one was really spectacular.

Darlene said...

I love stories with happy endings. I'm glad this story had one.

Olga said...

You made me worry a little from reading this post. I'm that that everything ended well.

Brian Miller said...

i am glad that they found here...almost got stuck in a snow storm once out there...about 8 years back...as i was coming through the mountains...

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