Coming up on the final days of summer 2026, I was reminded recently of the need to take common sense with you when you travel into the backwoods of Oregon--or anywhere else. On a hike a few weeks ago, a companion and I encountered a man in shorts and a t-shirt carrying no water or a backpack. His face was sweaty and turning red; he looked hot, miserable, and ill-prepared for a hike. When I inquired about how he was doing, he said he was trying to catch up to his family, who he expected to be hiking out of the park that day. I tried to offer him a bottled water, but he refused. He left me with an uncomfortable feeling that I would see him again on the evening news. I remember passing a search-and-rescue team once as I was heading out, and they were heading in; there is something a bit sobering about seeing the column of young, fit people with stern expressions, followed by deputies. Of course, it's even more sobering when the rescue team is there to extricate a loved one. As a guy who has had to hike out of the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness in the dark with a barely working flashlight after my father broke his leg on an upper trail, take it from me: you need to respect the wilderness as much as you appreciate its beauty.
I have shared hiking safety tips in the past, but I'll add a new one to the list today. Don't forget your personal locator device or a satellite communication tool — especially if you're like me and tend to hike alone. I use a Motorola texting device that lets me text anywhere I have my iPhone and open sky above. It's not always perfect, but I see it as taking a degree of responsibility for my own well-being and safety. In the Mt Jefferson Wilderness in particular, I've now seen both a cougar and a brown bear at fairly close range. The cougar was surprisingly large. That's one reason why I have added bear spray and/or a firearm to my list of recommended items; better safe than sorry. (I tend to carry both now.) Before carrying one, of course, make sure you have trained (and continue training) on how to use it. For example, when I used to work in the loss prevention, safety, and security fields, I would sometimes imagine scenarios and work through how I might respond to them. At least once, and probably more, this mental rehearsal proved useful when there was no time to really think. I recall, for instance, pretty confidently using pepper mace the first time in downtown Bellingham late one night when a fellow was getting his head repeatedly bashed into the downtown sidewalk in a vicious attack. Seconds do count. Be aware, incidentally, that it's best to avoid spraying pepper spray of any kind into the wind. (I never did that, but I do vaguely recall testing my spray once.)
It occurred to me that I was perhaps somewhat close to being one of those lost in the great outdoors, too. When I was a young boy, my mother took me car camping in Washington State Dungeness Spit State Park. I somehow managed to squeeze out of the backseat of her Vega and open the front door of the car in the middle of the drizzly night. I sleepwalked from one side of the park to the other. I recall my wool socks splashing in big puddles in the pitch-black of the night. I recall waking up just enough to decide on directions before falling back asleep. I even remember standing at the top of a high bluff overlooking the ocean and staring off at distant twinkling lights across the water (Port Angeles, I think). I am not sure how close I came to the edge, or even where I precisely was. Despite it being too dark to see the parked cars in the campground, I don't recall being afraid. I didn't wake up until I returned and opened the car door, giving my mother a scare she would not soon forget.
To give a taste of the unusual disappearances and attacks in Oregon, I am sharing a few links below.
Article detailing national park murder of the Cowden family in Southern Oregon (along with many other missing cases). (Go to the Carberry Creek incident.)
Below is a segment from David Paulides of the CanAm Missing 411 Project. This incident starts around the 47-minute mark.
In a related digression, here are some links to missing persons-related sites.
