Rider Missing Lolo Pass to W. Yellowstone.

[Intech]

Not the news any of us wnated to hear. Prayers for Donald and family. Definitely making me look at the SPOT. I had the thought running through my head on the way to EOM Friday when I was really hauling on the twisties on 58 near Damascus. Riding alone in the middle of nowhere, late afternoon, steep drop off, little to no traffic. Yep. It made me slow down.

 

[High Desert Rider]

Definitely sad news. Condolences to the family.

 

[Kevin Daly]

that is sad news. I think next time I do a long ride I will do a spot like Warchild suggested.

 

[Fencer]

Not the news any of us wnated to hear. Prayers for Donald and family. Definitely making me look at the SPOT. I had the thought running through my head on the way to EOM Friday when I was really hauling on the twisties on 58 near Damascus. Riding alone in the middle of nowhere, late afternoon, steep drop off, little to no traffic. Yep. It made me slow down.

I run a spot, but from the description of the accident, he was more than likely killed on impact from the drop.

All the spot would have done is save the anguish from him missing/time passed. they would find the body sooner.

I guess what I am trying to say is, don't get a false sense of security

RIP rider

 

[Toecutter]

All the spot would have done is save the anguish from him missing/time passed. they would find the body sooner.
I guess what I am trying to say is, don't get a false sense of security

Finding the body sooner would have been immensely helpful to his loved ones. Searches are extremely expensive in more ways than money. That's why I own a SPOT and my other ATGATT and hope I never need any of it. It's like insurance, and their search policy is also a good idea if your medical insurance doesn't cover air transport.

From Pashnit:

The final information from "Raven"
*****************

Donald's step-son, Justin, and I were searching together these past two day and have become great friends. I am so honored to have met such a wonderful person along with Donald's son, Noah.

We'd been searching some very back road areas due to some information we'd gotten on Saturday and when we finished that we went up to Darby with plans to run down 93 at the same time of day to see if we noticed anything due to the time of day. Since we'd come across 43 to get to Darby, we'd decided we'd try the 93 route to Salmon.

Coming into Darby was the first time all day that we'd had cell service and we checked in, around 5pm, to let Larry (search coordinator) know what we were doing. That's when we got the news.

It was an extremely tough decision between heading straight back to Dillon or going down to mm322.1. We went down 93 and it was the right thing to do. The road down across the border is absolutely gorgeous with some tricky corners but they're well marked with warning signage and guard rails.

Just above North Fork, the road straightens out a bit and the corners switch from technical twisties to nice sweepers which continue coming out of North Fork. About four miles south of North Fork, there's a nice straight away coming into a left hand turn. It doesn't look too bad on satellite view but it's actually a deceptively tricky, decreasing radius, double apex turn that's much too easy to take much too much speed into (even at the speed limit) because it looks like an easy sweeper on the approach. About 2/3rd's the way through there's about 3 feet where it opens up and then shuts down so there's not much reaction time to adjust either one's line or speed mid-corner. It's no wonder he missed it. Anyone could have and, I've no doubt, many have in the past.

It's also no wonder that searchers missed seeing anything as they searched the road because there's a well-used gravel pull-out with lots of tire tracks and a double embankment - an immediate ditch and then a rise with tons of over-growth and reeds hiding a second ditch with another rise with tons of over-growth and reeds before the river. Even knowing where to look, the vegetation looked undisturbed.

While I am very dis-heartened that this story has ended in this way, I can report that it is a truly beautiful place on a truly beautiful road and I know that Donald will ride with all of the folks on all of the forums that have been involved in this amazing effort.

It is very peaceful there.....

Raven

 

[rogdeb]

Sad, sad, sad .. Condolences to Donalds family.

 

[exskibum]

Yikes, I know right where they're describing. Coming through that stretch the last Friday in June, we were touch and go about going to rain suits in that area. There were two HD trikes going slow that I finally passed on a strait right about there (and who re-passed us not much later as I donned my rain suit on the side of the road). Seriously: I remember an easy left hander that made me think I was back to being an amateur, caught me off guard with a brief pucker moment right after I passed the trikes, but I wrote it off to extraneous ego thinking (about the HDs I had just passed -- why I remember this stupid gaffe) instead of having my head where it belonged. Can this be the same place that Raven described? Checking it on Google from the road view seems to confirm it, or at least, very close, though it was greener and wetter when Judy and I came through.

Very very sad end in a very beautiful area.

 

[weekend rider]

condolences so sad from the :heart: