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Backpacker Magazine – October 2006
Lost & Found
John Donovan disappeared in a high-elevation blizzard, leaving rescuers and friends stumped. His backpack contained a miracle clue. Bill Donahue investigates.
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Tags:
- Survival |
- Threats |
- Mysteries |
- California |
Indeed, the cryptic notes Donovan scrawled depict a man coming to terms with the bleakness of his situation. He tried to signal for help. He built a few weak fires that smoldered out, due to the winter's copious snows. He flashed a mirror at the sky. No one saw him. A 100-foot waterfall lay directly below, and the canyon's walls were virtually sheer. He was boxed in, and he likely knew that it would be days, maybe a week or more, before anyone noticed he was missing.
At one point on May 5, Donovan took an inventory of his supplies. He was down to 12 cheese crackers.His friends believe Donovan would've remained hopeful. "He always carried a transistor radio," says Chris Hook, "and I bet he kept turning it on, waiting to hear that people were searching for a hiker. He believed things would work out."
Then again, Donovan was a realist. "I see him walking around, yelling, 'John, how the hell did you get yourself into this?'" says Lynn Padgett. "Especially as he got older, when he made mistakes he was hard on himself. John didn't believe in fairy tales. He knew nobody was going to swoop down from the sky and save him."
Around 3 p.m., Day and ALLEN heard a waterfall and wandered off-course again, to take pictures of the cascade. When they tried to get back on the trail, they couldn't find it. "I wasn't worried," says Day. "I have a good sense of direction. And we figured that if we missed the bus back to the resort, we could just take a taxi."
They followed voices for a while, only to discover that, in fact, they were chasing echoes. By 5 p.m., they'd floundered back to Long Creek, which they'd seen from the overlook. They yelled for help and heard nothing but echoes, so they tried to head directly north, toward the tram. But they kept hitting dead ends. "The mountain forces you downward," Day explains. "It was like Chinese finger cuffs: The more we tried to get out, the tighter and steeper it got."
When dusk fell, Day scrambled ahead alone in search of alternate paths. "He went out of sight," Allen says, "and I was shaking. I was really scared." Allen had never spent a night outside, though she'd tried to camp out back in Iowa. "Me and my girlfriends, we'd start out," she says, "but then my brothers would come out and make scary noises."
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You don't have his talent
You don't have his condition
You no applause
The world is not fair?
But you have the right to dream
Let the heart become your declaration
Let the wounds become your medal
Let the world's not fair in front of you down!
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John j. Donovan was a true marine. Rest in peace john
it still hurts...
Rest in Peace John Joseph Donovan. You are missed by so many, and will live on in the hearts and memories of those of us who knew, or knew of you.
ya I agree I also dont understand why if John donavan was such A big part of them surviving,why he didnt get recognized more,He evidently went through way more than mutt and jeff did.stay on the path dumby,thats what its for.
ya I agree I also dont understand why if John donavan was such A big part of them surviving,why he didnt get recognized more,He evidently went through way more than mutt and jeff did.stay on the path dumby,thats what its for.
Saw him on date from hell I shouldn't be alive
this is a very touching story.
im glad to have encountered it
The more hikers I meet, the more I am astonished to learn that many cannot read a topo map well, or even read that compass that they carry.
Yet they chant their misinformed, wrong headed, opinions that the PCT is "too well marked" for hikers to get into trouble.
If you don't know how to navigate, start practicing. Learning to use a compass is actually pretty easy once you wrap your thoughts around it.
A compass is considered the FIRST tool of navigation. The gps is considered the SECOND, or plan B, tool to use.
In a white out blizzard, you can't see. But you can use that compass (or gps) to find your way to some sort of safety such as a hut, or tool shed, or descending trail so that you don't have to bushwhack and die like Mr. Donovan.
Don't run your mouth and be the fool. If you can't navigate, great, but don't chant to others that they should risk their safety to satisfy your own foolish lack of skills.
Ozzy B. are you serious? Your funny! You said, "you go girl!" in response to hearing they broke up? It was two years later you moron! I almost think your comments were more shocking than that incredible story. My Gosh you suck.
Ozzy B. are you serious? Your funny! You said, "you go girl!" in response to hearing they broke up? It was two years later you moron! I almost think your comments were more shocking than that incredible story. My Gosh you suck.
This is the stupidest episode yet. Gina Allen was worried about her bad breath?! This is simply natural selection at play.
I watched that episode of "shouldn't be alive", and i have to concur. they should call that installment "almost to dumb to survive".
"Though he trekked 4,000 miles a year, he was in some ways an amateur."
Is there such a thing as a proffesional "Hiker"?
Very interesting and intriguing story. Jon Krakauer, where are you? There is a book to be written here.
Just saw this on Oprah's OWN network tonight, although this show is typically on the Animal Planet. I was totally floored by the couple finding Donovan's campsite and, supposedly his body (although someone states above that was inaccurately portrayed by the program). I had to google his name and found this article that provides many more interesting details about Donovan. The article really gives such a good portrayal of his eccentric character, which at times parallels that of my father's. I am glad his remains were found, and that he received a proper burial. John, may you continue to help lost hikers along that trail and out of that gorge. Rest in Peace.
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