Hiker mistaken for Bear

I came across this sad story this morning. Just a horrible tragedy for both parties.

www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_08020...dent_KS.b15ff50.html

That's just awful.

Yeah, around here we could write a host of stories: house mistaken for bear, road sign mistaken for bear, car mistaken for bear, van mistaken for bear, tree mistaken for bear, river mistaken for bear .... "hunters" shoot everything all the time around here ...

nowww, when I was a boy, in hunter education classes we were taught never to shoot anything that we could not see and identify clearly and ensure the background behind the object was a safe arena for shooting, IMHO there is no mistaking people or other beings for legal game animals but there is shoot first and ask questions afterwards ... intolerable.

It is intolerable, but I would like to know more of the details such as where the shooting took place on the trail.

On the hike up the trail it is very exposed and therefore very visible from the area whether above or below other hikers.  I can only guess that the hunters were below the hikers?

I wonder what type of clothes the hikers were wearing?  It is very hard to imagine that taking a little time or possibly checking out things with binoculars might have resulted in a different decision than pulling the trigger but if the hikers were wearing dark clothing...  (When I am out, my typical attire is black long john uppers and lowers, and tan shorts!  My pack is a dull green.  I might need to rethink this now.)

It sounded like the kid was pretty young (inexperienced?) and might not have waited for the adult to second guess the decision.  Just speculation.  Certainly a tragedy for all involved.

Given the throngs of people out in the mountains around here, I can imagine that local hunters must normally be trained to be extra extra careful of making this kind of mistake.  Also, for hunting bears, which are particularly wary of people, I would probably go anywhere possible other than areas frequented by humans and their pets.  I may be mistaken, but looking for bears in the hiking trail area of Sauk sounds like a recipe for disappointment.

Just a little sensitive to this story since my son and I were at Sauk just a month or so ago.

Alan

I haven't been up Sauk Mtn yet, but it has long been on my list of places to go for a quick ski or a short hike. It's a former lookout site (1928-1980) with a spectacular SE view of Mt Baker from the top.

I tend to do a lot more hiking than skiing in August and September, and I had no idea that bear hunting season began so early. Didn't know I needed to wear "hunter orange" all the time just to avoid being shot.

As more details come out, this story just becomes more and more scary:
www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_08040...ent_TP.151051cb.html

Hunter who killed hiker wasn't with adult
05:40 PM PDT on Monday, August 4, 2008
By ROB PIERCY / KING 5 NEWS

OSO, Wash. – A 14-year-old boy who shot and killed a hiker on Sauk Mountain he thought was a bear was not with an adult when the accident happened Saturday morning.

The Skagit County Sheriff's Office says the boy was with his 16-year-old brother at the time of the accident. They had driven up to the mountain with their grandfather, but the two boys began hiking up the trail on their own.

Investigators say once the boys were about a quarter-mile up the trail, they thought they saw a bear and the 14-year-old fired a shot.

The bullet found 54-year-old Pam Almli who was hiking with a friend at the time. Almli was about 120 yards away from the boys when she was shot.

According to Pam's hiking partner, it was foggy that morning and had started drizzling. Pam had just put on a bright blue rain poncho when the shot rang out.

The area where Pam was shot is wide open with no trees around.

"I don't know how she could get shot here," said Gail Blacker, Almli's sister. "This is so wide open."

As the family returned to the scene Monday, they made a shocking discovery. A tooth -- likely Pam's -- lying in the dirt.

Both boys are licensed to hunt bears. The shooter may face reckless discharge of a firearm charges.

Video of hiker's family visiting site of shooting on Monday: www.king5.com/video/index.html?nvid=269739&shu=1
Video of hiker and family: www.king5.com/video/index.html?nvid=269371&shu=1

The thread on NWHikers.net about the shooting already has over 500 replies: www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=1

I cant believe there are no signs. I see NO HUNTING signs everywhere. Why not "hunting in progress" signs or something similiar. I also cant believe that hunting is allowed on such a popular hiking area/trail. Isnt it maintained with bathrooms and all?

On a side note. I know bear hunting is allowed at three fingers also. I know this becuase I drove up there around this time last summer and picked up what I thought was a lost dog. Had a collar (and what I fouind out was a tracker also) but was just running loose about 4 miles from the trailhead and looked starved. After calling the owner it turns out they dropped off a group of dogs 3 days earlier to chase a bear out. He was kinda pissed, lol. Oh well. Anyway might want to wear the hunter orange in that area too.