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If I remember correctly, they were all experienced hikers, but they were also all dayhikers coming down at night, alone.
Let us know if you find record of a missing or deceased hiker who was not reported as "experienced" by his or her friends. Guinness may want to know. But more seriously...
It wouldn't be surprising for campers descending from Trail Camp in daylight after a night's sleep to do better at trail finding that day hikers. A more interesting statistic might be the numbers of missing or deceased who started up the trail alone vs the number who split from their group along the trail when they got too tired or too sick to keep up.
Dale B. Dalrymple
