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Darwin Award nominee.... ?
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Nothing is surprising on the Mt. Whitney Trail...nothing.
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I wonder when the 'head injuries' occurred...  Ladies and gents, the 'Magoo Move of the Day' goes to...
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Darwin Award nominee.... ? I know, poor buggar. Reminds me of the old saying "If something can go wrong, it will go wrong". I don't want to take too many liberties with this one. Karma/dharma has a way of catching up with you!
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Darwin Award nominee.... ? I know, poor buggar. Reminds me of the old saying "If something can go wrong, it will go wrong". I don't want to take too many liberties with this one. Karma/dharma has a way of catching up with you! Surviving an incident disqualifies a person from the Darwin awards. And, yes, I am glad the guy survived! We can learn from this and add to our list of don'ts: 979 -- Don't carry on cell phone conversations while walking on mountain trails in the dark with cliffs nearby. Waiting for #980...
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I bet he was trying to chew bubble gum at the same time... Good Grief Charlie Brown... 
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." -Marcel Proust
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"Pilgram, life is hard, but it's a lot harder when you're stupid."
J. Wayne
Sands of Iwo Jima
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Too amazing to lose, so I am copying the article here: From The Sierra Wave, http://www.ksrw.sierrawave.netMan on Cell Phone Falls off Mt. Whitney Trail
Written by Tom Woods
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
A man talking on a cell phone walked off a cliff in the Mt. Whitney region Sunday, prompting an all-night Inyo County Search and Rescue team response.
The man was described as a 28 year old from Brea, CA. After reaching the summit of Whitney, the hiker had descended the mountain in the dark. He was in the switchbacks above Lone Pine Lake, when he was distracted by a cell phone call. The victim then apparently walked off the trail and fell 25 feet off a small cliff.
After midnight, Search and Rescue Volunteers with Inyo County and China Lake Mountain Rescue Group reached the man who complained of back pain and head injuries. The volunteers packed the hiker into a wheeled litter and carried him down the trail. Two and a half hours after starting down the trail with the victim, the carry-out team reached the trailhead at Whitney Portal.
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I forwarded the news piece to a friend as a group of us (him included) is planning a Whitney dayhike tomorrow. Turns out a mutual friend was on the trail and helped. My friend's email reads, in part -
"This was on the switchbacks between Lone Pine Lake and Outpost around 6:30 PM, so it was light...Said the man was initially unconscious. An EMT happened along soon after, and had the victim "packaged up" when the rescue folks reached him with the one wheeled stretcher. The evac was straighforward and fast. Even then, the victim's partner was upset that it took more than an hour for anything to happen."
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I want to know which phone company he has - I couldn't get a squeek out of my phone anywhere on the trail.
(to be used for emergency only of course!!)
"You gotta get up to get down"
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I want to know which phone company he has - I couldn't get a squeek out of my phone anywhere on the trail.
(to be used for emergency only of course!!) I have had great luck with Verizon in the ES's Seems to work almost anywhere you can see the Owens Valley.
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My understanding with Verizon is that so long as you have a fairly close line of sight with LP that you'll be able to get service...
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." -Marcel Proust
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i'm guessing california will now ban hiking and talking on cell phone.
i saw a guy riding his bike two weeks ago and talking on his cell phone crash into a tree. he wasnt hurt.
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i'm guessing california will now ban hiking and talking on cell phone.
i saw a guy riding his bike two weeks ago and talking on his cell phone crash into a tree. he wasnt hurt. Who cares about him! How was the tree?
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This trend may have nothing to do with cell phones.
The following incident actually happened today in the northwest San Gabriel Valley.
A deer run full speed into a window. The window was unhurt. The deer was dazed but took off in the opposite direction. He hit a cement wall. The wall survived. The deer died. There was no cell phone in sight.
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Not a good day to be stupid. 
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Glad he survived, but I'd have to say this is natural selection in its purest form.
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I passed the rescue team on the way up and wondered what had happened. I had envisioned all types of incidents but once again the truth is stranger than I could have imagined
It's just better in the mountains
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Hi I spent yesterday morning talking with this young man as always the truth is not that exciting , notice the event started around 6:30 PM did you notice they were back at the trailhead around 7 AM and he was released from the hospital around noon, another hiker spent the first night with the injuried hiker and transported him back to the portal to get his car , and bypass the alarm system due to the damage done to the key device that was shattered in the fall. This was a rare event on Whitney someone had a fall and needed to be rescued. Thanks Doug
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