Someone from Oregon "ME" - View on this James Kim event (page 2)

Oroborus21

I don't mean to make light of his death but i think the situation illustrates that sometimes people who are smart in one area can be totally devoid of any practical intelligence in other areas.

Leolaia

Here is the distance he walked, from Google Earth... imagine this distance with snow....

Maybe since you are familiar with the area you can answer one thing that i wondered about. The question that I had was why he wouldn't walk back down the road or stay on the road but instead why he attempted to go cross-country. It seems obvious, that if one does choose to try to hike for help that you would follow the road in the hope of meeting up with some passing car (and certainly any rescuers).

-Eduardo

DazedAndConfused

free2beme said:

it looks like he was just seeking a little adventure and did not realize that Oregon is not the Bay Area (which is where he is from).

Exactly, he was out of his element.

Edited to add: If a person is used to better weather conditions he may not have realised how hard it is in another situation. I remember being lost in Oregon myself. It is very easy to do.

moshe

Maybe he had a GPS roadmap in his car and on the video screen it looked like a good road to take- he probably didn't even see the warning signs. I have used a GPS and taken detours in the Smokey Mountains due to accidents backing up the Interstate. I would never have taken that little winding road, but the GPS said it would eventually get me back onto the Interstate. I'll be watching for the rest of the story from Mrs. Kim.

sammielee24

I think people get lost for all sorts of reasons - weather conditions, poor directions, out of date mapping, inattention and so on. When I was watching the news during the search and rescue operations, one of the patrollers was on the road where the turn off was and he said at that time, that the cut off to the main road was easy to miss. I think it's presumptuous for us to think at this time, that he just wanted a little adventure - it could have been a simple case of taking a wrong turn in bad weather. Perhaps we might get too comfortable with Onstar and cell phones and think we can get out of any situation we find ourselves in because we are always connected technologically. My heart goes out to the family - a husband, father, son and friend is gone. From the photo's I've seen, the car looks like it was still sitting on the road - I have wondered the same thing - why didn't he stay on the road instead of setting out across country? My understanding is that he and his wife discussed his plan in great detail so eventually I'm sure the reasons why they made the decisions they did will all come out. sammieswife.

anewme

Poor James was completely out of his element.

Let this be a lesson for all of us to remember.

And be prepared when on a road trip to have in your car:
blanket(one colorful one for placing on top of your car to attract rescuers)
hat
gloves
jacket
matches
candle
candy bars
knife
rope
flashlight
pen
paper
back pack
mud boots

cell phones dont work in the mountains and canyons

You can use the candle wax or some engine oil to start a small fire to attract help

One trained woodsman said a candle in a car is a good way to stay warm
And that people stay warmer when they stay together.
Also that hypothermia can distort judgment. People together make better decisions.

I live in the mountains and canyons and must drive 15 miles into town past vast cattle ranches.
I have already filled a small overnighter suitcase with many of the items above.

Everyone on the West Coast feels so sorry for the Kim Family.

anewme

This also reminds me of an old brother in our hall who was Mr. Prepared For Everything!
He was always the guy the other brothers would go to if their cars wouldnt start in the parking lot.
Or if they needed a tool at the Kingdom Hall for any reason.
He preached carrying your own jumper cables at all times.
He was Mr. Safety too. He was always pointing out dangerous conditions around the KH too.
He became a witness after years in the military. He was retired and received a pension. His wife shopped at the military's discount store.
My elder husband always made fun of him privately because he was seldom seen for service.

My hunch is he was way smarter than the brothers gave him credit for.

Funny! I have since remarried a man very much like old Br. Prepared!

Anewme

Leolaia

anewme....This summer we spent two weeks in the outback in Australia, and this is the kind of trip that every year some people don't come back from. We had in our vehicle a GPS emergency beacon (which calls for a helicopter when activated), an Iridium satellite phone, a GPS unit attached to our laptop so we had real-time information on our location, a compass, CB radio system, a tank of water, three tents, cooking gear and a refrigerator (which we had to get repaired in the boonies), and I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch of other things... One thing we should have had that we didn't have was spare fuses...we had to buy some from a man, again, in the middle of nowhere.

lost_light06

No one will know why Mr.Kim decided to take that road, as unwise as it was. He had missed his turn off to Gold Beach and this was the next available road to take him there. Not being from the area he probably had know idea how bad it really is. From my understanding the road is very narrow and has turn offs here and there for turning around or letting other cars by. Whatever the case he probably figured he had gone that far so why turn around, plus, from what I hear, he may have been getting low on gas.

Here's my other take on it. He was driving a Saab. I jokingly call them Saab Snobs but the reason I bring this up is this. Saabs, like Volvos and Subarus are known for their agility on snow. Many models have AWD which really helps in snowy conditions. The side affect however is overconfidence by the driver. I don't know how many times I've been driving up to Mt.Hood in my van in horrible conditions and seen some A-hole idiot in a Subaru or Saab scream by me as if their car was glued to the road. The same overconfidence is exhibited by some SUV and 4x4 drivers. This may have played a part in why Mr.Kim felt he could take this treacherous road in the middle of winter.

Also, the photo of where he started and where he ended up is a little decieving. He traveled five+ miles but he only ended up 1 mile from his car (as the crow flies)

Someone from Oregon "ME" - View on this James Kim event

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