The Helicopter Was Still Looking for Him

Back in 2005 I was guiding a group on day one of Tasmania’s Overland Track. It was a beautiful day, and a rescue chopper had been flying around Cradle Mountain all morning. It would search for a while, fly off, then come back and search again. Someone was obviously in trouble.

We'd just got to Kitchen Hut, at the base of Cradle, when a bloke walked up and asked “Are you a guide?” I responded that I was. He pointed up at the chopper and said, "Well, that's looking for me."

Earlier that morning he'd called search and rescue from up on the mountain because he thought he'd hurt his knee. Then the knee came good, so he thought he’d just keep walking. Now he wanted to know if I could ring them and tell them to stop looking. And before I could ask him anything else, he'd walked off.

Back then guides didn't carry radios and the sat phones we did have access to lived at the huts, not on us. I had a Nokia 3210 (great phone by the way), and I knew there was no reception at Kitchen Hut. So we carried on around the side of Cradle, and about half an hour later I found a spote where I knew there was limited signal, rang the search and rescue number I had on me, and got the chopper called off.

He told rescue he was hurt. He never told them he was fine. So a helicopter kept searching the mountain for a man who was already halfway down the track.

Most of us have the same problem the other way round. The people at home only know the last thing you told them. If that was "I’ll be back on Sunday", that's all they've got to go on when you're running late.

Before any walk, someone at home should know a MINIMUM of three things:

That last one is the bit people skip. "I'll be back Sunday" isn't a plan. Sunday when? And what should they do at 9pm if you haven't called?

On my walks my wife can track me and message me through my Garmin inReach, which makes things a lot easier. But the device doesn't replace the plan. It just makes the plan easier to keep. I always check phone coverage for where I'm walking too but I never rely on it. Most places I walk have no phone reception at all.

And if you're running late with no way to tell anyone, this is where the plan earns its keep. You don't need to race the clock. Slow down, stick to the route you said you'd take, and keep making good decisions. If it does come to it, the people looking will start in the right place.

The trouble starts when nobody knows the route, or the alarm time was the same as your finish time, so the first hour you're late is the hour someone starts to panic.

On any longer walk, anything bigger than six or seven days, I build a rest day into the trip. Normally that's two short walking days that leave room for a full day off if I need it.

Then there's the extra day. In my head I know the walk will probably take eight days, but the itinerary says nine. I don't tell anyone in the outside world the eight. If I need the buffer, I've got it. If I don't, we just get out early. I've done that on all my long trips over the years.

The reason it works is that a slow day doesn't turn into a search. Weather holds you up, someone in the group is sore, the scrub is thicker than the map suggested. None of that is an emergency, and with a spare day on paper, nobody at home thinks it is.

It also takes the pressure off you. When the plan has no room in it, being late pushes you into rushing, walking later than you should, or pushing on in weather you'd normally sit out. Slack in the plan means you never have to make that call. And…. who doesn’t love a rest day 😉.

Write down your route, when you expect to be out, and when someone should raise the alarm. Send it to at least one person who will actually act on it.

If it's a walk of a week or more, put one more day on the itinerary than you think you'll need. Keep the real number in your head.

It's a two-minute job, and it means that if you're running late, the only person worrying is you.

THAT’S ALL FOR THIS WEEK

Thanks for reading Mowser’s Musings. I hope this helps you hike further and happier.

Until next week, keep exploring.

Mowser

Discover more. Hike further.

P.S. I’m hosting a trip to Patagonia for 8 days of adventure and hiking in January 2028. Spots are now available. Save $200 USD by securing an early bird ticket now. Check it out and book here.

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