Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 It never stops ! Despite the many warnings, unprepared hikers in the White Mountains of New Hampshire continue to get lost, cold, wet and immersed in darkness without a flashlight. NH Fish and Game and other rescuers were forced to hit the trails of Mt. Lafayette on two separate missions on the evening of June 19, 2026. One of the rescued hikers was hypothermic and unconscious when located, and a volunteer from a rescue squad suffered a serious injury during the operation. When will this end ? The many rescues and body recoveries are almost always preventable when responsible hikers prepare for weather variables such as wind, rain, snow, darkness and colder temperatures as they climb to the peaks.

 This time it was three hikers on Mt. Lafayette caught on the mountain at night without a flashlight . The lack of preparation continues , and it isn't even Memorial Day yet. New Hampshire Fish and Game once again, on May 11, 2026 were contacted to locate the three hikers in Franconia Notch, NH, after they were unable to follow the trail after dark , as temperatures dipped into the 20s . A proper flashlight might cost a few bucks and weigh only a few ounces . Why did they not have one? Fish and Game in New Hampshire are understaffed and overworked . Their prime duty used to be ensuring that fish and wildlife were protected , but hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire has become extremely popular over the past few decades. And many who take to the hills assume incorrectly that the weather on the peaks will be quite like what they experience as they leave their cars at the base. And they are unprepared for what they encounter . Search-and-rescue and body recoveries require ...

I recently watched the movie, Infinite Storm , starring Naomi Watts in the role of Pam Bales , an expericed, and very well prepared hiker who took a solo Fall hike in the White Mountains of New Hampshire . Bales not only saved her own life that day when the weather up high turned bad - but she also saved the life of a manwho was ill-prepared to venture into the mountains - and probably bent on ending his own life Pam wrote about the ordeal  in Backpaker.com. The tale sounds eerily similar to the horrible tragedy experienced by the late Emily Sotelo  in the Fall of 2022, although with a happier ending. Bales was not only a well-prepared hiker, she was a member of a New Hampshite Search and Rescue team . She knew what to do in the White Mountains - how to do it - and when do do it.  Pam's tale was as bizarre as that of Emily Sotelo, but she saved two lives that day - her own and that of "John". Sometimes we create our own happy endings.

 My background is quite diverse. I have worked as a Research Engineer, Game Warden, Police Lt./Investigator and Health Coach . I write about things I know and give advice to those that are willing to listen. Emily Sotelo's tragic-but-preventable death from exposure on Mt. Lafayette need not be in vain. I have spent most of my life as an outdoorsman - in all kinds of weather conditions. The following was simply one excursion: Linda Lane (to me): "Are we in trouble?" Tom Lane: "We could be!" My wife and I were hiking in the White Mountains to stay overnight in Madison Springs Hut . The weather started out fairly decent for a late-summer hike, but at the higher elevation, things turned bad. The temperature dropped significantly - the cold rain started - and the high winds were blowing the rain sideways. All four of us opened our-well-stocked packs and put on Gortex parkas over the down vests and fleece jackets. But the weather was now bad enough that, even well e...