Accident Report: Missing Man in the Presidential Range

Appalachia, December 2002

On Feb. 23 at 9 p.m., Samuel McKay, 31, of Norfolk, Virginia, was reported overdue for a meeting with his backpacking partner, Darrell Harding of Virginia Beach, Va. Harding called from the Mount Washington Observatory after hiking up from the pair's agreed-upon meeting place at Sphinx Col. At this point the decision was made to wait until morning to launch a search because Harding assured authorities that McKay was equipped for an overnight stay. AMC's Pinkham Notch facility was asked to place a note on the hikers' truck windshield instructing McKay to call the state police if he arrived back at the truck.

On that day, McKay and Harding had climbed Mount Madison from a prior night's camp on the Valley Way Trail. They planned to continue on over Adams and Jefferson and camp at Sphinx Col. En route to Adams, Harding got out ahead of McKay and the pair fell out of contact. McKay found himself floundering in deep snow, post-holing and crawling. Tiring, McKay turned back and found his way to Madison Hut. There he realized that, given legs that " felt like rubber, " pushing on to Sphinx Col was "not a smart decision." As the sun dropped behind Mount Adams, McKay decided to accept the offer of a ride back to his vehicle at Pinkham Notch from two hikers who were descending via the Valley Way. Even the descent was troublingly fatiguing. The two hikers dropped McKay at Pinkham Notch around 7:30 p.m. where, dehydrated and exhausted, he climbed into the back of the duo's truck and fell asleep. McKay awoke in the morning and soon saw an AMC staff member coming to check the truck for him.

Sources: N.H. Fish and Game Conservation Officer Kevin Jordan's report and a hand-written report submitted by Samuel McKay.

Analysis: Happy ending notwithstanding, there's little to recommend this pair's decision-making on the trip. While this columnist does not condemn solo winter hiking or backpacking, he certainly sees it as the province of only the deeply experienced. For Harding to press on to Sphinx Col once it became clear that McKay had fallen far behind was an irresponsible invitation to disaster. Though authorities were assured that McKay had overnight gear, McKay later stated that, while he had the tent poles, Harding had the tent. And McKay had neither map nor compass. McKay's decision to turn back when he encountered post-holing on Adams was well taken, albeit late in this particular game. As with other incidents in this column, the absence of snowshoes turned snow-walking into the most tiring of tasks.

Also, McKay's self-reported extreme fatigue points out that he was near an edge with very little margin for error. If not for the two hikers who offered McKay a ride back to Pinkham, McKay might well have had to make the best — or known the worst — of a night out at Madison.

Editor's Note: The preceding is a sample of the many accident reports provided in each issue of Appalachia.

—Sandy Stott, former editor of Appalachia, is an English teacher and dean of faculty at Concord Academy in Concord, Mass.