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| Pic from RCMP |
It was old man Tolkien who said “Not all who wander are lost,” and how true that is. Some of them are psychogeographers, and some are following their GPS not realising it’s leading them astray. But then again some of them really are lost, like this this guy, twenty year old, Sam Benastick who went missing on a ten day solo fishing and hiking trip in Redfern-Keily Park in the northern Rockies, British Columbia.
When he failed to return at the expected time, and as temperatures dropped to -20C (-4F) there was an official search, but failing to find him, the authorities called it off fearing the worst.
And then 5 weeks later he turned up alive, even if not exactly well. He was found by two trail workers heading for Redfern Lake. They knew exactly who he was. He’d sliced up his sleeping bag and wrapped it around his legs to stay warm.He was suffering from frostbite and also, get this, smoke inhalation caused when the makeshift shelter he’d built for himself burned down. An ambulance was called to take him to hospital, and Benastick was said to be in “rough shape.”
It’s not clear how much walking he did while he was missing - one account said he was chased by a wolf, although the BBC did manage to come up with what must be one of the most bathetic captions in their history, "Sam Benastick is an avid hiker."
Avid hiker indeed! I wonder if he's less avid than he used to be.
Benastick apparently told police he stayed in his car for a couple of days and then walked to a creek where he camped for 10 to 15 days. He was carrying a tarp, a backpack and some camping supplies. He also had a dirt bike, and according to his mother a lot of peanut butter. And eventually he made his way to the area where he flagged down his rescuers. A very happy ending
Anyway here he is, in and out of hospital
I do hope Taylor Swift sends him some love).
The BBC quotes Adam Hawkins, the search manager, as saying he’s ‘intensely curious’ to learn more about the area where Mr. Benastick was found and what he was doing while missing. It’s a curiosity many of us share, in a good way.
