This may be a little long winded, but I think it needs to be said.

If you notice, the article never says "experienced", just well
prepared.

The author and family were a little too well prepared for one thing
but not prepared for other things, IMHO. They were well prepared for
the cold, but not the possibility of overheating. Even after half a
mile you can become overheated and may need to take off a layer or
two off (yes, even in cold temps). The kids wouldn't have been able
to do this with full snow suits on.

I witnessed a very similar situation on the Appalachian Trail this
summer, where the outcome was VERY different from this family's
ordeal. In this case, the person was ignored until it was too late
to help the person. One of the saddest days of my six month trip.

Exhaustion, dehydration, and heat stroke are very serious
situations. In EVERYBODY, one of the first signs is irritability
(but not just the only one). Especially with kids as they might not
be to tell you exactly what is going on. Don't ignore these littles
signs. It just could, and in this case of the article did, save
someones life.

How "experinced" a person is is only something they can decide. I
would hope that even people who just do short day hikes would know
first aide. I couldn't believe the amount of people I ended up
helping this summer who parked their car just to hike up to the
nearest overlook/monument/whatever that ended up needing some kind
of first aide care that they were not prepared for. Several times
this summer, I helped to get people out of the woods.

In short, I'm just saying be prepared for the trail that you are
hiking and pay attention to the little signs that might indicate a
problem.

Daisy

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "Phyto" wrote:
> Here is a great article from a local newspaper that highlights just
> what can happen *even if* you are an experienced hiker and have
people
> with you (especially children) - And, there is a letterbox located
at
> the Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary.
>
> LINK:
> http://outdoors.mainetoday.com/hiking/almeida.shtml

Thanks for the link Phyto. I read the article ... and speaking as a
nurse, the first thing I thought was, "Geez oh pizza ... didn't
anyone check to make sure that child wasn't over-heating?!"

Anyway ... what's over is over, and fortunately all's well that ends
well, in this case.

I also took advantage of the opportunity to look at the photographs
and to listen what the children thought of the hike (by clicking on
the links to the right of the article). That was interesting.

BTW ... I found out waaaay more than I need to know about the author
of this article. (Bowing to another thread re: search engines ...
but surfing the net is how I found out about letterboxing! I don't
watch TV but I don't consider myself morally superior.. I waste my
time online. LOL!)

Not only is WENDY ALMEIDA a content producer for the Outdoors
section at MaineToday dot com but this is not the first time she's
used a family hiking event for one of her articles. Here is another:
http://outdoors.mainetoday.com/hiking/almeida030713.shtml
(The little cutie-pie holding the "magic feather is the very same
child who "got sick" on the hike in the latest issue; referenced by
Phyto.)

Is there a point to this message? No. It's 4am where I live, and I'm
awake. (grin) If I were more clever, I would find a way to tie this
all together, I'm sure.

Enjoy!
---PJ


--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "Phyto" wrote:
> Here is a great article from a local newspaper that highlights just
> what can happen *even if* you are an experienced hiker and have
people
> with you (especially children) - And, there is a letterbox located
at
> the Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary.
>
> LINK:
> http://outdoors.mainetoday.com/hiking/almeida.shtml