Actor Julian Sands reported missing while hiking

Well, our trails do generally require boots....but I don't think hiking is quite the extreme term as you describe.

LOL. I walk like 5 miles a day. I walk on paved bike trails that have dirt trails branching off them. I've never once called what I do a hike. It's a walk. Maybe it depends where you live, but around here (Southern CA) if you say you are going hiking, people know you mean you are going up a mountain trail with equipment. Nothing at or close to sea level elevation would be called a hike.
 
around here if you say you are going hiking, people know you mean you are going up a mountain trail with equipment.
Yeah cuz that's what you have in your area, other people have other things in their area. It doesn't mean people aren't hiking because they don't fit your definition of it.
 
LOL. I walk like 5 miles a day. I walk on paved bike trails that have dirt trails branching off them. I've never once called what I do a hike. It's a walk. Maybe it depends where you live, but around here (Southern CA) if you say you are going hiking, people know you mean you are going up a mountain trail with equipment. Nothing at or close to sea level elevation would be called a hike.

Well, I would say that if you are only walking on pavement, then it's not a hike. Off-road though - yeah.
 

You can say that. I never would. It's just still a walk or a run for me.
I'm with you...consider hiking totally different than others on this thread. Hiking to me is walking in the wild! No thanks! It's not for me.
 
The PP just means a type of hiking really, they are imagining something that is specific when hiking itself is a broad term. Hiking on a remote mountain with nothing to prepare can be quite dangerous. All hiking and even walking comes with risks. They just vary based on location and difficulty.

Mt Baldy is supposedly pretty popular, although this is winter. He was only about 6 miles from the suburbs. But it's still national forest, regardless of how close it is to heavily populated areas.
 
OMG, so hiking in woods on a trail is not hiking to you if it is not a mountain? I've been hiking in Shenandoah National forest on trails that are not mountainous. Y'all are weird.

I'd consider the Mist Train hiking, even though about 2/3 of the way is paved, and I've seen people do it in normal running shoes.

This is the description of the trail that he hiked. But right now there's a good deal of snow and we've had some pretty bad weather the previous week. He seemed rather adventurous to do this in those conditions. I think I've done something similar in Yosemite in winter.

Mt. Baldy Trail​

Area Status: Open​
The Mt. Baldy Trail is 6.4 miles long. It begins at Mt. Baldy Village and ends at Mt. Baldy Summit. The trail is open for the following uses: Hiking​

The other thing is that his cell phone location has been triangulated and he was moving before it stopped - likely from the battery dying. If I go almost anywhere now, I carry multiple USB power packs. I think my biggest one (and it's heavy like a brick) could probably power my phone for about 5 days of just being on without doing much else. But that might be enough to locate me if I was being looked for.

I'm not sure why he didn't call someone.
 
I'm not sure why he didn't call someone.
Either dead battery or no signal at the time he realized he was in trouble would be my guess. Since he liked to hike, he may have hiked that area before and felt confident in his abilities. By the time he was in trouble, he may not have had as many options left. It happens.

It happens in hurricanes and floods, where people have been through them in the past with no problems, only to call for help if they can when it turns out to be different. Sometimes the help can’t come, and people lose their lives. It’s not that people are ignorant of the risk, but because they have come through issues before, they believe they will again.

I felt the same way about some of the people in Mendocino, who were talking to reporters or sending out videos standing next to rising, rushing water. You don’t know what debris that water may bring, or how quickly it will rise, so I wouldn’t be standing there after an evacuation order has been issued.
 
Either dead battery
While I never anticipate being gone for long when I go out on the trails near my house and I make sure my phone is well charged that is one reason I carry a portable charger with me and a cord. Will it last a long time? No but it's at least a backup.
 
OMG, so hiking in woods on a trail is not hiking to you if it is not a mountain? I've been hiking in Shenandoah National forest on trails that are not mountainous. Y'all are weird.
Maybe. I don't consider walking through the woods or on a paved path "hiking".

"Hikes tend to be longer than walks and require proper equipment and footwear as terrain and trails are more rugged."

I'd consider the Mist Train hiking, even though about 2/3 of the way is paved, and I've seen people do it in normal running shoes.

This is the description of the trail that he hiked. But right now there's a good deal of snow and we've had some pretty bad weather the previous week. He seemed rather adventurous to do this in those conditions. I think I've done something similar in Yosemite in winter.

Mt. Baldy Trail​

Area Status: Open​
The Mt. Baldy Trail is 6.4 miles long. It begins at Mt. Baldy Village and ends at Mt. Baldy Summit. The trail is open for the following uses: Hiking​

The other thing is that his cell phone location has been triangulated and he was moving before it stopped - likely from the battery dying. If I go almost anywhere now, I carry multiple USB power packs. I think my biggest one (and it's heavy like a brick) could probably power my phone for about 5 days of just being on without doing much else. But that might be enough to locate me if I was being looked for.

I'm not sure why he didn't call someone.

Possibly whatever happened...came about very quickly. Maybe an accident or medical emergency.
 
While I never anticipate being gone for long when I go out on the trails near my house and I make sure my phone is well charged that is one reason I carry a portable charger with me and a cord. Will it last a long time? No but it's at least a backup.
Batteries also don’t last as long in really cold conditions, so even with a backup, he could have run out of power earlier than he expected.

I suppose it’s also possible that he dropped the phone, causing it to stop pinging his location either from the cold affecting The battery or damage to the phone itself.
 
Batteries also don’t last as long in really cold conditions, so even with a backup, he could have run out of power earlier than he expected.

I suppose it’s also possible that he dropped the phone, causing it to stop pinging his location either from the cold affecting The battery or damage to the phone itself.
That is a good point about temperature affecting things both hot and cold affects your phone's performance, battery life and that of any battery backups you have. Def. true.
 
Either dead battery or no signal at the time he realized he was in trouble would be my guess. Since he liked to hike, he may have hiked that area before and felt confident in his abilities. By the time he was in trouble, he may not have had as many options left. It happens.

It happens in hurricanes and floods, where people have been through them in the past with no problems, only to call for help if they can when it turns out to be different. Sometimes the help can’t come, and people lose their lives. It’s not that people are ignorant of the risk, but because they have come through issues before, they believe they will again.

I felt the same way about some of the people in Mendocino, who were talking to reporters or sending out videos standing next to rising, rushing water. You don’t know what debris that water may bring, or how quickly it will rise, so I wouldn’t be standing there after an evacuation order has been issued.

I meant that his location was pinged for a while (reportedly a few days) after he had been reported missing, so obviously he had a working battery and was within cell phone range, although it might not have been very solid.

My experience in the mountains with poor reception were before I had 4G or 5G, so my experiences may not be similar. I do remember trying to get a call in and it barely worked. I suppose it could ping but might not be able to call out.
 
I remember him from one episode of "Person of Interest."

Hopefully they find him soon, miracles do happen!
 
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro come with Emergency SOS via Satellite for free for two years after activation.

I am not sure why this feature has not been highlighted more in advertisements.

The iphone 14 actually weighs slightly less than the iphone 13. 6.07 oz vs 6.1 oz.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213426

The feature has already been credited with saving people.

https://gizmodo.com/apple-emergency-sos-satellite-services-rescue-la-county-1849894698

https://www.pcmag.com/news/man-stra...d-after-using-iphones-emergency-sos-satellite
VERY useful information, thank you for taking the time to share.
 
That is a good point about temperature affecting things both hot and cold affects your phone's performance, battery life and that of any battery backups you have. Def. true.

I've heard of people using cell phones in cold weather, and it's usually recommended to keep it close to the body to keep it warm unless being used for short periods of time.
 
On some of the shows I've watched about game wardens and the like certain places with hiking areas have a system in place where at one starting point of the trailhead a hiker will put their info in a covered type shelter in slots. Along with pertinent information including dates they expect to be gone there's name, I *think* description but not positive and contact information. Then they can check that often enough for if a hiker doesn't come back out at another end of a trail and while it's not perfect it does provide at least information that in the event they come up missing there's at least some more to go off of.

In the case of this person missing they were reported missing on the same day they left so I'm not sure that system would have helped if it hadn't been checked that day for hikers out in a particular region.

Going back to an old thread since there's new information.

I've gone hiking in Yellowstone where there was a voluntary trailhead register. It was just sheets of paper on a clipboard with lines to fill. I just put down my name, time I entered, and my expected destinations. That's similar to self-issued day use permits at some places - especially Forest Service wilderness areas. Last time I did one of these, it might have just been going 2-3 miles past the point where a self-issued permit was required. I think back then it was a carbonless duplicate, but these days it's just a stub (to be deposited) where one enters all the information and then keeps a numbered permit without any other information. Theoretically if someone is reported missing, they can check the stubs to get an idea where the missing hiker might have planned on going.

IMG_1691.jpg



I can't find one per se for Mt Baldy, but Angeles National Forest has a similar self-issued permit system.

IronMtn-25-1030x773.jpg
 














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