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Weathergeek's and IrisHill's f**ked up Friday and Saturday.
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<blockquote data-quote="Weathergeek" data-source="post: 38461" data-attributes="member: 77"><p>Well I guess it is my turn to tell a story. For those of you who don't know me or Irish Hill, we live in LPNF, which is a forest north of Los Angeles. There is plenty of riding around here, but most of it is closed in the winter due to snow, ice, erosion, etc. This riding is all very close to where we live (within a mile or two to the gates. Winter temps frequently drop into the teens and colder at this elevation and cell service is non-existant in a lot of places.<img src="https://www.dirtbikeaddicts.com/static/images/smilies/devil.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":devil:" title="Devil :devil:" data-shortname=":devil:" /></p><p> </p><p>So, I am on the way home from work and get a call from IrishHill saying he has got an issue. So I bite and say what's up. He says his son (Ryan) who had stayed home from school that day sick, is missing. So I say, don't worry, he'll show up before dark. A few minutes later, he calls back and says that his dirtbike is also missing, and this causes more concern. We know that some kids sometimes ride up here by going around the closed gates when conditions permit. So, I realize at this point that Ryan is up there somewhere and probably by himself. But I tell Irish, that don't worry, I still think that he will show up before dark. So dark gets here and no Ryan. Soon after, the sheriff is called and the fun begins. The only person to have seen him saw him heading towards the trail but still in town about 1 pm. We all go to Irish's house to give moral support and to decide what actions we should take. It is now approaching 8pm. Sheriff calls up a helicopter to search the area along the ridgeline with infrared to see if they can find him. No luck. By this time there is 20 or more people at Irish's house and a bunch of 4x4's and everybody is getting edgy. Search and rescue is called out at this point. I must say that Irish and I are having trouble getting the LEO's and search and rescue personel believe that Ryan is up on the mountain and not that he had run away but are finally convincing enough to get them to act. So, we make a plan to head out with the 4x4's and check all of the entry points to look for fresh tracks. We search about 10 different areas, all to no avail. By this time worry is running high and the temp had dropped to the low 20's and it is about 1am. Search and rescue arrive and set up camp to start searching. They head out and up the mountain on quads about 2am. The rest of us decide that at this point, it is better to let the pros do what they do. We go home with the plan to get up early and go up on the mountain with bikes to see what we can find and go to areas that are not quad accessable.</p><p> </p><p>Sun comes up the next morning (not our Sun on here)<img src="https://www.dirtbikeaddicts.com/static/images/smilies/smirk.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":smirk:" title="Smirk :smirk:" data-shortname=":smirk:" />, and we go back to Irish's house. There is still no news. However, the morning is warmer than usual and with a little sleep, we are convinced we will find Ryan soon. Sheriff sends the helicopter up again to search and tells us to stay off the mountain so there are no false leads. Just as the heli is done searching (still to no avail), Ryan's mom gets a text from him about 9:15am saying that he is OK and is on his way home. We are all DYING to find out what the hell happened, but are relieved that the ordeal will soon be over. Ryan gets home and tells the story (soon to follow). We then learn that the bike is up on the mountain but 3 miles off trail in basically virgin forest. So we plan for the extraction, but first the story for what happened to him.</p><p> </p><p>Ryan leaves home with all the lights and TV on and dogs out of their cages thinking he will go on a quick ride and be home before his younger brother gets home from school. So he leaves home with no goggles, a shirt, hoodie and his tennis shoes.<img src="https://www.dirtbikeaddicts.com/static/images/smilies/devil.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":devil:" title="Devil :devil:" data-shortname=":devil:" /> He has no water or food because he will be quick he thinks.<img src="https://www.dirtbikeaddicts.com/static/images/smilies/lol.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="lol :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" /> (Mistakes 1 and 2). He gets to the trail head and heads across the ridge. As he goes further the travel gets more difficult, ground is more wet, muddy and snowy. After a couple miles, he comes to a downed tree and is forced to go around the downed tree. This means he has to go downhill at a pretty good angle (40-45 deg) to get around the tree. (Mistake 3). After going downhill, he realizes that it was a bad idea (duh) and decides to turn around and go back up hill.<img src="https://www.dirtbikeaddicts.com/static/images/smilies/lol.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="lol :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" /> After quite a few attempts, he realizes again that he cannot make it. So what to do, not leave the bike and hike back home, right? He points the bike downhill and heads straight down.(Mistake 4). After 2-3 miles of hiking with the bike thru the forest, he becomes too tired to continue to fight all of the overgrowth. He leaves the bike there and continues to hike downhill. 3 or so miles further down, he runs into another trail that he recognizes and begins to take it to try to get home. After a mile or so, it is now getting dark. He lucks out and runs into a campground that is only jeep accessable but empty because the forest is closed. He makes himself comfortable by sitting at and later resting and trying to sleep on a picnic table. Morning finally comes and he hikes up and out of the campground via this trail to where my daughter and a friend see him coming out. They then take him home. So he had no water or food for 20+ hours and hiked 15 or more miles or hard hiking. <img src="https://www.dirtbikeaddicts.com/static/images/smilies/shocked.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":shocked:" title="Shocked :shocked:" data-shortname=":shocked:" /> There are many morals and lessons to be learned here, but the biggest one by far is: DO NOT RIDE BY YOURSELF AND MAKE SURE SOMEONE KNOWS WHERE YOU ARE GOING.<img src="https://www.dirtbikeaddicts.com/static/images/smilies/prof.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":prof:" title="Professor :prof:" data-shortname=":prof:" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>After he gets home and he gets interviewed by the sheriff, we all (Ryan too), head up the mountain to the entry of the trail and hike into where he tried to get around the tree. Three of the boys with us (17-20 years old) decide that they will hike down to the bike, push it out to the trail and then ride and hike out. We here them start and rev it as sound travels well up hill. We hike back out and head down the mountain. At the gate, we are blocked by a forest service dude, who is NOT happy we are behind this gate to get the bike. For the next 2-3 hours he busts our chops<img src="https://www.dirtbikeaddicts.com/static/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":rolleyes:" title="Rolleyes :rolleyes:" data-shortname=":rolleyes:" /> about why we shouldn't be back there and how we are all going to get very expensive tickets. After calming him down a bit, I show him where the bike is and where the boys are and how and where they will be coming out. He gets angry again and says that this is deplorable and how could we possibly be on a "congressionally not approved trail"<img src="https://www.dirtbikeaddicts.com/static/images/smilies/lol.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="lol :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" /><img src="https://www.dirtbikeaddicts.com/static/images/smilies/lol.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="lol :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" /><img src="https://www.dirtbikeaddicts.com/static/images/smilies/lol.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="lol :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" />. Now I am always pro law enforcement, but this guy was just an asshole. Anyway, he let us go finally and even opened the other gate so that we could go help the boys with the bike and reduce the amount of hiking they had to do. So there you have the abridged version. 40 plus hours of worry, anger and stress. Glad it is over. What a feeling it must be to think that your child is alone in the forest with wild animals and maybe freezing to death or already dead.<img src="https://www.dirtbikeaddicts.com/static/images/smilies/shocked.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":shocked:" title="Shocked :shocked:" data-shortname=":shocked:" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Weathergeek, post: 38461, member: 77"] Well I guess it is my turn to tell a story. For those of you who don't know me or Irish Hill, we live in LPNF, which is a forest north of Los Angeles. There is plenty of riding around here, but most of it is closed in the winter due to snow, ice, erosion, etc. This riding is all very close to where we live (within a mile or two to the gates. Winter temps frequently drop into the teens and colder at this elevation and cell service is non-existant in a lot of places.:devil: So, I am on the way home from work and get a call from IrishHill saying he has got an issue. So I bite and say what's up. He says his son (Ryan) who had stayed home from school that day sick, is missing. So I say, don't worry, he'll show up before dark. A few minutes later, he calls back and says that his dirtbike is also missing, and this causes more concern. We know that some kids sometimes ride up here by going around the closed gates when conditions permit. So, I realize at this point that Ryan is up there somewhere and probably by himself. But I tell Irish, that don't worry, I still think that he will show up before dark. So dark gets here and no Ryan. Soon after, the sheriff is called and the fun begins. The only person to have seen him saw him heading towards the trail but still in town about 1 pm. We all go to Irish's house to give moral support and to decide what actions we should take. It is now approaching 8pm. Sheriff calls up a helicopter to search the area along the ridgeline with infrared to see if they can find him. No luck. By this time there is 20 or more people at Irish's house and a bunch of 4x4's and everybody is getting edgy. Search and rescue is called out at this point. I must say that Irish and I are having trouble getting the LEO's and search and rescue personel believe that Ryan is up on the mountain and not that he had run away but are finally convincing enough to get them to act. So, we make a plan to head out with the 4x4's and check all of the entry points to look for fresh tracks. We search about 10 different areas, all to no avail. By this time worry is running high and the temp had dropped to the low 20's and it is about 1am. Search and rescue arrive and set up camp to start searching. They head out and up the mountain on quads about 2am. The rest of us decide that at this point, it is better to let the pros do what they do. We go home with the plan to get up early and go up on the mountain with bikes to see what we can find and go to areas that are not quad accessable. Sun comes up the next morning (not our Sun on here):smirk:, and we go back to Irish's house. There is still no news. However, the morning is warmer than usual and with a little sleep, we are convinced we will find Ryan soon. Sheriff sends the helicopter up again to search and tells us to stay off the mountain so there are no false leads. Just as the heli is done searching (still to no avail), Ryan's mom gets a text from him about 9:15am saying that he is OK and is on his way home. We are all DYING to find out what the hell happened, but are relieved that the ordeal will soon be over. Ryan gets home and tells the story (soon to follow). We then learn that the bike is up on the mountain but 3 miles off trail in basically virgin forest. So we plan for the extraction, but first the story for what happened to him. Ryan leaves home with all the lights and TV on and dogs out of their cages thinking he will go on a quick ride and be home before his younger brother gets home from school. So he leaves home with no goggles, a shirt, hoodie and his tennis shoes.:devil: He has no water or food because he will be quick he thinks.:lol: (Mistakes 1 and 2). He gets to the trail head and heads across the ridge. As he goes further the travel gets more difficult, ground is more wet, muddy and snowy. After a couple miles, he comes to a downed tree and is forced to go around the downed tree. This means he has to go downhill at a pretty good angle (40-45 deg) to get around the tree. (Mistake 3). After going downhill, he realizes that it was a bad idea (duh) and decides to turn around and go back up hill.:lol: After quite a few attempts, he realizes again that he cannot make it. So what to do, not leave the bike and hike back home, right? He points the bike downhill and heads straight down.(Mistake 4). After 2-3 miles of hiking with the bike thru the forest, he becomes too tired to continue to fight all of the overgrowth. He leaves the bike there and continues to hike downhill. 3 or so miles further down, he runs into another trail that he recognizes and begins to take it to try to get home. After a mile or so, it is now getting dark. He lucks out and runs into a campground that is only jeep accessable but empty because the forest is closed. He makes himself comfortable by sitting at and later resting and trying to sleep on a picnic table. Morning finally comes and he hikes up and out of the campground via this trail to where my daughter and a friend see him coming out. They then take him home. So he had no water or food for 20+ hours and hiked 15 or more miles or hard hiking. :shocked: There are many morals and lessons to be learned here, but the biggest one by far is: DO NOT RIDE BY YOURSELF AND MAKE SURE SOMEONE KNOWS WHERE YOU ARE GOING.:prof: After he gets home and he gets interviewed by the sheriff, we all (Ryan too), head up the mountain to the entry of the trail and hike into where he tried to get around the tree. Three of the boys with us (17-20 years old) decide that they will hike down to the bike, push it out to the trail and then ride and hike out. We here them start and rev it as sound travels well up hill. We hike back out and head down the mountain. At the gate, we are blocked by a forest service dude, who is NOT happy we are behind this gate to get the bike. For the next 2-3 hours he busts our chops:rolleyes: about why we shouldn't be back there and how we are all going to get very expensive tickets. After calming him down a bit, I show him where the bike is and where the boys are and how and where they will be coming out. He gets angry again and says that this is deplorable and how could we possibly be on a "congressionally not approved trail":lol::lol::lol:. Now I am always pro law enforcement, but this guy was just an asshole. Anyway, he let us go finally and even opened the other gate so that we could go help the boys with the bike and reduce the amount of hiking they had to do. So there you have the abridged version. 40 plus hours of worry, anger and stress. Glad it is over. What a feeling it must be to think that your child is alone in the forest with wild animals and maybe freezing to death or already dead.:shocked: [/QUOTE]
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Weathergeek's and IrisHill's f**ked up Friday and Saturday.
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