# Mt Higby middletown,Ct DEATHS!!!!



## skizilla (May 24, 2007)

Checkout the Hartford Courant recently about two day s ago I think 5/21-5/23 the hartford ocurant has been running stories about several hiking related deaths on MT Higby in Middletown ct.  Mt Higby is some of the states best hiking the mattabassett goes right along it I believe, it has stunning cliffside trails with great views and that is part of the problem.  In August of this year a girl died hiking it and this week a 22 yr old guy fell 200 ft to his death.  Four people ended up trying to climb down and save him and they got stuck it turned into a three toen effort with helecopters and repelling gear to set things right.  
This is all unfortunate for the friends and family of those who died and my condolenses go out to the families and friends.  

Where are places that you hike that are dangerous?  I.E has a history of deaths and rescues.  Why is it.  What could be done to make them safer.

I am in no way advocating shutting down dangerous hiking spots I think access to these wild dangerous places make hiking great and is one reason I enjoy the sport.

Article below!!!!

Hiker's Misstep Came On Unforgiving Trail
May 23, 2007 
By JOSH KOVNER, Courant Staff Writer  The view from Mount Higby on the Meriden-Middlefield line would have been gorgeous by the time Chris Koenig and two friends reached the top of the ridge on the winding blue-blazed trail late Monday afternoon.

On a sunny, clear day, a hiker standing on the ridgeline that thrusts toward I-91 can gaze on Long Island Sound. But the route along the Mattabesett Trail can be unforgiving. On the edge of the sheer rock face, there's nothing to grab, nothing to stop a fall. Last August, a 17-year-old girl from Madison died in a 250-foot fall off the cliff.

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A preacher's son, popular and easygoing, Koenig, 22, loved the outdoors, and loved to challenge himself, said his father, the Rev. Richard Koenig, pastor of the Plantsville Congregational Church.

The 2003 Southington High School graduate was taking time off from the University of Rochester, selling replacement windows for New England Sash and "enjoying being 22," his father said.

Shortly before 5:30 p.m. Monday, at the edge of the cliff, "he tripped or stumbled - and he fell," Richard Koenig said Tuesday. "From everything everyone has told us, it was a tragic accident."

An autopsy Tuesday at the chief state's medical examiner's office determined that Koenig died of blunt force trauma and that the death was accidental.

Koenig plunged more than 200 feet, triggering a complex rescue attempt involving four fire departments and two police agencies. Two other hikers - one of Koenig's companions and a third hiker who had been walking alone on the trail - had started down the sheer cliff to try to help, but they got hung up on the rock face and had to be rescued by Middletown firefighters. Koenig's other companion summoned help with his cellphone, and then scaled down the mountain to guide Meriden fire crews to Koenig.

With no trees on which to tie their lines, Middletown Fire Capt. Jay Woron's crew had to drive iron pickets into the rocky trail to anchor their ropes. Firefighters rappelled 40 feet down the rock face, harnessed the stranded men, clipped them to their belts, and were hauled back up to the ridge.

On Tuesday, one of Koenig's companions, James Helbling, 20, of Southington, declined through his mother to comment on the ordeal. An incident report that described the actions of each person involved and the identity of Koenig's other companion was not available Tuesday.

"We're pretty lucky we didn't have four people falling," said Meriden Assistant Fire Chief Joseph Kaminski. "On the cliffs, one step can be one step too far."

The well-worn trail snakes into the woods at some points and winds back to within a few steps from the edge of the rock face, Woron said.

Koenig's death, like the other woodland accidents over the years, shook the hiking community.

"Our hearts go out to the family," said Adam Moore, executive director of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association. "We ask hikers, please, stay on the trail; please use caution."

At Richard and Susan Koenig's house on Church Street in Southington's Plantsville section, next door to the church that Richard Koenig has led for 16 years, friends arrived Tuesday with covered dishes.

The pastor remembered a son who was a skilled piano and viola player, a young man "who lived in the moment, who embraced life."

"He had two years at Rochester. He was home, trying to build up some funds, figuring out his direction in life. But he was happy," Koenig said.

"There's an unreality to it," he said. "One minute, you expect Chris to walk in the door. The next minute, you know he's not."

Contact Josh Kovner at jkovner@courant.com.


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## Mike P. (May 24, 2007)

Easy trails next to Cliffs & popular places that's why these place have tragic accidents from time to time.

Sleeping Giant - one of the deadliest, some climbing
Higby
The Cliffs on Mt. Race or Tom in MA (Western MA & Central)

Washington + presidentials
Franconia Ridge, some think safer than Washington & get into trouble that way
Monadnock


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## MarcHowes (May 24, 2007)

hehe you beat me to it Mike P  Thats the most common formula for trail deaths: Popularity or Percieved ease next to cliffs  There are plenty of meaner/nastier mountains than say -- Washington, but they don't kill lots of people because they aren't within an easy days drive to 50 million people and therefore don't get climbed by gazillions of people each year!

You dont see a lot of/any deaths on Tripyramid Slide, Flume Slide, Hancock slide even tho they are quite dangerous just because they are hard to get to/relatively unpopular/scary enough looking to deter people who are likely to get into trouble...

Of course, that doesn't mean people don't get into trouble in places like that, and some of the more obscure trails like Tripyramid slide DO attract woefully under prepared clueless folks


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## walkerd2 (May 24, 2007)

Does anyone know any of the statistics for Mt. Monadnock? After hiking up their once in the summer and seeing someone hiking in those Ugg boots, I figured winter would be a better time to go there.


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## threecy (May 25, 2007)

Mike P. said:


> Franconia Ridge



I second that, while the ridge is rather flat, there are sections of the Franconia Ridge/AT Trail that are a trip or mistep from falling hundreds of feet into no man's land - if you were to survive the actual fall, there's a good chance no one would see you.


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## Mike P. (May 28, 2007)

Monadnock has plenty of unprepared people in winter, it's barely in NH, it's not in the Whites, it's a little mountain, etc..

A lot of snow & ice lead people with not a lot of crampon experience (providing they have them, after all it's only Monadnock ) can trip on a front point - my wife did or slip & fall.

More often than not on Monadnock people get lost, someone told me this weekend about their fist date with their wife, they went down the wrong trail. For people unfamilar with rocky summits, the rocks all look the same so it's easy to start down the wrong trail.  If you figure you can cut across & get to the right one you likely could get in even deeper trouble.  If it's cool/cold & you don't pack accordingly, hypothermia is the likely culprit of deaths on Monadnock while falls likely cause more injuries (ugg's Skeetchers, Flip-flops & I'd guess by now some Wheelies too) 

With Franconia I'd say more people getting lost in poor visibility, The top of Lafayette does not have much to help you determine which way the hut is if you can't see it & the old foundation is hard to detect if you don't know there used to be a building there.  I've been up there about a dozen times in 15 years but I'd rather try to get off Little Haystack in bad weather than Lafayette.


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## czimborbryan (Jun 3, 2007)

Part of the problem of Mount Higby is that some nuckle-head painted blue-blazes for the Mattabesett Trail right along the very edge.  A quick trip could end in a long fall.  I was always told that there should be at least a 6-foot distance between the edge and the main walking path.  There is a good sign warning of dangerous cliffs just a tenth of a mile from the cliffs.  There should also be warnings that people have fallen to their deaths as well as some advice for safely viewing from the cliff's edge as well.  For example, if wishing to look down to see the bottom, the safest way to do that is by laying on your stomach.  You can't fall if you're already down.  The last thing that I want to see is a railing bolted to the rocks, so I hope everyone is more safe.


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## Mike P. (Jun 7, 2007)

If there are too many signs, I would thnk that would detract from it.  (a cliff should be ample warning you could fall)   I like your idea though that a sign showing people the proper way to look over the edge might be a good idea.  

Six feet, that could be problematic on Katahdin's knife edge.


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## czimborbryan (Jun 9, 2007)

"If there are too many signs, I would thnk that would detract from it. (a cliff should be ample warning you could fall) I like your idea though that a sign showing people the proper way to look over the edge might be a good idea. 

Six feet, that could be problematic on Katahdin's knife edge."

The original warning sign is about 1/10th of a mile from the cliff.  This is where the additional signs could be, although it would make more sense to just have one big sign.

I understand that, especially along mountain routes, there may be little room for the 6-foot rule, but there is plenty room along the cliffs of Mount Higby.

In the end, I suppose that no matter how many precautions are taken, there will still be those that end up doing something stupid and reaping the consequences.


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