Lost British backpacker says he was 'total idiot'

[Robb]

Source: AP

ADELAIDE, Australia — A British teenager who was found dehydrated and freezing after 12 wintry days lost in Australia's wilderness said he wrote farewell notes to his family and expected to die of starvation.

Jamie Neale, 19, told Australia's "60 Minutes" television program Sunday that he was "a total idiot" to venture unprepared into the Blue Mountains, 60 miles (100 kilometers) west of Sydney.

(snip)

"I had overconfidence and I didn't respect the seriousness of the situation, and I made mistakes," Neale acknowledged to the program, which paid him 200,000 Australian dollars ($160,600) for his story.

Temperatures in the Blue Mountains were about 55 Fahrenheit (13 Celsius) during the day and fell to nearly 32 F (0 C) at night while Neale was lost.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g5TnF40SerrvSubcKgTEF_-U6sIAD99HJNEG0

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...And yet he lands a US$160K payday. :D

[LeftishBrit]

1. He's very lucky to be alive!

[madmom]

2. yes, but that could be a good thing.....

"Cass has said that any money earned would be donated to the searchers."

If he stands by his word.

[Lagomorph]

3. After he secures...

every emergency preparedness item he can think of, LOL!

[Synicus Maximus]

4. It's hard to argue with his assessment.

[havocmom]

5. If he got lost in CO or MT

he'd be bear bait.

Why do people wander off thinking wilderness is a walk in the park?

[Bucky]

6. Stupid? He just got paid $160k for being stupid. I'd like to be stupid like that.

Shit, I'm walking out into the closest wilderness I can find right now. Hmmm... Sam Houston Park is only an hour's drive away from here...

Stupid money, here I come!

[csziggy]

7. Yes, but if he were in NH he could get a bill: "Teen fined $25,000 for cost of NH mountain rescue"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=166&topic_id=1720&mesg_id=1720


Source: Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. – A Massachusetts teenager who spent three nights alone on Mount Washington in April after he sprained an ankle and veered off marked trails has been fined more than $25,000 for the cost of his rescue.

Scott Mason had been praised for utilizing his Eagle Scout skills — sleeping in the crevice of a boulder and jump-starting fires with hand sanitzer gel. But authorities say he wasn't prepared for the conditions he encountered and shouldn't have set out on such an ambitious hike.

"Yes, he'd been out there in July when you could step across the brooks. And people have been out there in winter in hard-packed snow. But with these spring conditions, it was soft snow, it was deep snow," said Fish and Game Maj. Tim Acerno.
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_hiker_fined