Nature Will Kill You If You Don't Pay Attention

They thought hiking above 10K feet in the Colorado mountains would be just like hiking in Texas. It wasn't. Pair of unprepared hikers from Texas rescued near Lake Como in Sangre de Cristo mountains

I suppose if they had managed to die from exposure, we would have to give them a Darwin Award. As it is, they're very lucky, fairly stupid hikers.

“These hikers were highly unprepared,” [Alamosa Volunteer Search and Rescue] AVSAR said. “They had no extra clothing and no way to stay dry in their tent, with no rain fly. These hikers said they did not understand why it was so cold and rainy in Colorado, because it has been ‘so hot in Texas’ where they hike all the time.”

The hikers’ tent was inadequate for Colorado conditions, one of many errors AVSAR says could have resulted in their death had search and rescue not been able to reach them.

Most of Texas is at or near sea level. Well, a lot closer to sea level than the 11,765 feet at Lake Como, where they were camping. And Texas is famously HOT in the summer.

But back to our campers, and the cautionary tale.

“They never checked any weather forecasts and did not have any extra food, water or layers for the intense hike in or the night to camp,” AVSAR posted. “This is an extreme example of how ignorance can kill people suddenly in these mountains.”

You can click thru for the details, and you should click thru for this.

AVSAR and the American Hiking Society urge people to carry ten essentials when they venture into the backcountry, including proper footwear, maps and compass.