Safe and Found - An Amazing Study

Wow. Let me say that again, Wow. The most authoritative source for restaurants, attractions, & cabin rentals in the Smoky Mountains produced a beautiful, interactive report that is a must read. 

"Millions of people go hiking in the National Parks, forests, and wilderness areas of the US and Canada every year. And while most come back with happy memories and photos of the beautiful scenery, others return home with stories of survival. We analyzed over 100 news reports to discover how people get lost in the wild, and the lengths they go to in order to come back alive."

It has five sections: Introduction, Getting Lost, How to Survive, Back to Safety, What You Should Do, and Explore the Data. Here it is at SmokyMountains.com. It starts with the most common reasons people get lost. The stats are backed up by very personal stories of survival. What will surprise is just how prepared and capable many of these people were. It is not only novices that encounter challenges and near-death experiences.

Some are shocking including the tale of Marco Lavoie, an experienced survivalist. Lavoie, 44, was in trouble 500 miles outside of Montreal. His odyssey was three months long and involved personal tragedy. A bear destroyed his canoe and food supply. His German shepherd chased the bear away but Lavoie was forced to kill the dog three days later for food.

Hats off to this tourism promotion group for keeping it real. The stories and lessons in this absorbing report will help keep people safe.