It Can Happen Mt. St. Helens, 1980’s summit hike We wake up early and pack up camp, drive to the ranger station. The weather is perfect. We’re an experienced family of hikers and climbers planning to summit and return the same day. We head up the trail making good time. We see groups coming up trail during a snack break who are wearing shorts and tennis shoes or cute sandals but no gear or backpacks, so we look at each other, thinking, “those are the ones you read about…”. We are prepared. The weather service says sunny skies and no adverse weather expected. We all have our ten+ essentials, food for days, rain gear, crampons, ice axes, bivouac gear…all for a day trip. It was a great hike up with mixed terrain, gorgeous views, fewer and fewer people up the trail (the ill-prepared wisely turned back). As we get close to the summit, light clouds materialize and it’s getting socked in. We rope up to send one at a time to look over the edge of the crater. Still on time to make it off the mountain well before dark, we head down trail. Everything is looking good. Then, the clouds thicken and the snow that was not predicted starts to fall. It soon becomes a whiteout and we lose our trail. Even when stopping to check the map and compass, our landmarks disappeared. We keep descending, only to hit one dead end (cliff) after another. We’re roped up and spread out, having lost time descending and retracing our steps back up to lateral over and try another way down. By now, we know we won’t make it off the mountain by dark, so we aim for the treeline to bivouac. After more dead ends, we finally make it down to the trees where we make camp in the dark. We use ice axes to hack off branches to stack on the lower level of branches fanning around a good tree. We start a fire and heat up food and beverages, but we can’t consume much due to nerves. We huddle in our rain gear and tarps under the tree as the snow turns to rain and soaks us all night. We hardly sleep and are up by dawn, breaking camp and heading out to intersect any trail. We find one and start moving down quickly. After a while, we hear the whistles of a hasty team and answer with our own. They get to us and radio back that all is well. We get down to their search and rescue van and radio the ranger station. They call home for us (this was in the pre-cell phone days), and we thank everyone for mobilizing for us. We had left word at home not to call us in as missing until we were overdue by a full day. Either the rangers saw we hadn’t signed out the night before or someone told them we were headed up as they were heading out. Regardless, we were grateful for the many selfless people who showed up to make sure we were ok. By the time we were safely off the mountain, we were starving and followed the SAR van to a diner for pancakes. I don’t remember if we bought their breakfasts, but I hope we did! So what went wrong? We had checked the weather. We had all the right gear. We had lots of navigating experience. And we still got lost. It can happen. -- SCVSAR member (fb)

Our Tracking Team specializes in identifying and following subtle clues — footprints, disturbed vegetation, broken branches, or other “sign” — to determine a missing person’s direction of travel and narrow down search areas. This weekend, the team trained on two advanced search scenarios: 1️⃣ Lost Track Scenario: Teams tracked a path through the woods that seemed to abruptly stop. Using their training, they determined that the subject was likely picked up by a vehicle on the other side. 2️⃣ Clandestine Grave Scenario: In a simulated exercise, trackers practiced identifying and following tracks related to a crime scene. They focused on interpreting movement patterns and preserving the scene in collaboration with investigators. In addition to conducting searches for missing persons, our Tracking Team assists with evidence searches and crime scene investigations, providing crucial support to law enforcement when meticulous attention to detail and precision are essential. Their work combines science, art, and dedication, all carried out by volunteers who train year-round to help reunite families. (fb)