ACTIVE SEARCH JAPAN - Patricia "Pattie" Wu-Murad, 60, US Citizen, on hiking trip Kumano Kodo Trail, didn't arr next stop Osaka, 10 Apr 2023

[ZaZara]

I cannot read the courant.com article directly due to geographical restrictions, but fortunately someone posted it on archive.is:

https://archive.is/QyKmO

<modsnip - Rules - Copyright Rules - paywalled articles can't be quoted>

IMO the trail that 'wasn't really well marked' is not the Kohechi trail, but the trail that Pattie was not supposed to be on.

 

[Charlot123]

Oh my, 700 miles is a lot and if she was half-way through them she'd already covered 350 miles of it!

I wonder if the guesthouse she was staying at the night before had any single male guests who may have taken a nefarious shine to her, and followed her along the trail?

Until we know more, in this case, an attack by a human, by an animal or a physical condition that made her deviate off the track hold equal value.

Each track has own physical challenges. In the end there is a breakdown of conditions that happen in Grand Canyon.

The 10 Most Common Hiking Injuries and Illnesses and How to Treat Them

Save your trip or even your life with these treatments for 10 common hiking injuries and illnesses that can strike on the trail.

www.backpacker.com

 

[ZaZara]

Good article, @Unalienable Rights .



Pattie’s husband said that (his opinion) the Kohechi wasn’t well marked until after Pattie went missing. Yet it’s hard for him to imagine Pattie making this mistake.

This ‘incorrect’ trail near where her things were found was actually searched before. It was a treacherous one. They had calculated at that time that if she fell, she would fall on the left.

The backpack was located on the right.

RSBM & BBM

IMO the trail that wasn't really well marked is not the Kohechi trail, but Kirk is referring to the other trail, the one that Pattie wasn't supposed to be on.

So instead of taking the well-marked Kohechi trail, Pattie (an experienced hiker) allegedly chose the badly marked other trail. I can imagine that Kirk is confused about this. And rightfully says that they don't know if indeed she got on that trail. (I would like to add that even if she chose the wrong trail, she would have noticed her mistake soon, because if you are walking north to south, the sun is on your right hand side in the morning.)

I hope the family manages to organize another search party soon. To search the right side of that trail, and also the other side of the stream where the items were found.

 

[Charlot123]

RSBM & BBM

IMO the trail that wasn't really well marked is not the Kohechi trail, but Kirk is referring to the other trail, the one that Pattie wasn't supposed to be on.

So instead of taking the well-marked Kohechi trail, Pattie (an experienced hiker) allegedly chose the badly marked other trail. I can imagine that Kirk is confused about this. And rightfully says that they don't know if indeed she got on that trail. (I would like to add that even if she chose the wrong trail, she would have noticed her mistake soon, because if you are walking north to south, the sun is on your right hand side in the morning.)

I hope the family manages to organize another search party soon. To search the right side of that trail, and also the other side of the stream where the items were found.

That’s the thing. I have been reading a lot about spatial disorientation during flights, but I never looked into hiking disorientation. Certain well-traveled forums are full of terms like “disorientation when hiking” or even “hiking dyspraxia” that looks like a misnomer to me. However, the main message is, people can suddenly get disoriented at poorly marked trails.

I wonder what was the elevation of the trail? Thinking, Patty was healthy, but any new inner ear infection, for example, could cause dizziness and disorientation. We poorly know Patty’s family history. I think there should have been a reason for disorientation, but we know the situation too poorly.