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A very sad story, but alas, not unusual for this neck of the woods:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061207/ap_ ... ing_family

The terrain where this guy wandered off is pretty much deep canyons and dense woods. One of the guys on the search party had to be lifted out by chopper when he fell down a canyon--his fellow rescuers couldn't reach him on the ground.

These USFS and BLM roads are often nice smooth paved roads with fog lines and lane dividers, just like any other road. They're just not cleared during the winter.

Here's the tip: Paper maps (like the sort you get from AAA) carry the legend "Closed in Winter" for these roads. Believe it. However, most electronic navigation systems do not carry the legend. When in doubt, check a real map--don't depend on the display.

It could save your life.

Sadly it happens almost every year to someone...

schlepporello wrote:The bottom line for me was the fact that I didn't want to tear up our only ride home and I sure didn't want to wander off somewhere where I'd get stuck and never be found.

That's when you drop you trailer and take your work truck!

We just had a terrible storm in Saigon this week. It took about three days to get the water out of the street. Now I know why the vehicles most Saigonese families own include a motorcycle and a small boat. I knew it wasn't for Sunday fishing trips.