SAUK MOUNTAIN TRAGEDY

First off, this is a terrible tragedy.
I feel badly for the hiker and her friends and family. I feel badly for the young hunter who probably will suffer for many long years.
The loss of life of a hiker and the long lasting effect on a young hunter has already brought about blather on the local radio station about having an age limit on hunting and requiring hikers to wear orange during hunting seasons etc. I'm sure I can find other examples of piousness in other venues too. But I really want to avoid that.

I originally started writing about this right after it happened and found myself preaching about spotting your target first through binoculars and not through your scope, and by the time I was done I discovered that I had pretty much summarized portions of the Hunters safety course.
I found myself pontificating about why hikers should wear orange during hunting season.

Which hunting season?
Deer?
Elk?
Ducks?
Bear?
Cougar?
how about Coyote? 365 days a year, etc.
How many folks know the safety requirements for these seasons?
Then it dawned on me... I was NOT there nor did I know the conditions.

I erased it. Now here I am starting over, and all I can say is that I wasn't there. I don't know the light conditions during the tragedy, I know the terrain and that there is different vegitation in different areas.

Age limitations are not going to prevent this tragedy, as this is a rare occurrence and older hunters have made the same tragic error.

A few seasons ago, I spotted a fine looking black bear, looked at it through the binoculars and told my 14 year old kid to take the shot. He said it was a no go.
I asked why not? there was a clear shot, perfect backstop of hillside, and no brush in the way.
He told me that "She" had 2 cubs. I kept looking for them and couldn't see them. ( I hate to admit that he saw them with his naked eyes.) After a few minutes, I finally saw them in the shadows of a pile of stumps.

Had my son not been with me, I probably would have been responsible for harvesting a mom with cubs. Not (big fine) illegal, but highly unethical.

New Regulations won't prevent this tragedy in the future, but many will use it as an excuse to campaign for new rules, regs and laws, as sure as local folks who were not present will continue to blather on about how to solve or prevent these events from occurring.

Me, I'm going to reread my Hunters Safety Manual.
Even though I hunt on Private Lands by permission, each year I run into trespassers, and I hunt on public lands and come across legitimate hikers. Divergent User Groups are everywhere.

Nothing I can say will make the young Hunter feel better, nor will it bring back the hiker to her friends and family.

Normally I don't mind sounding a little ignorant, or putting my foot in my mouth.
All I can really say is that I feel bad for all involved.

UPDATE:08 13 08 It appears that the Skagit County Prosecutor has filed charges against the young Hunter for First Degree Manslaughter. I'm not surprised, nor should the young hunter be surprised.

With Individual Liberty comes Individual Responsibility.
If you're a hiker, make yourself visible.
If you're a hunter, Spot with your binoculars, and not your scope.
Again, I wasn't there, but these are my best guesses as to went wrong.