Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A nameless hiker and the case the internet can’t crack

wired.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 359 posts

Re: A nameless hiker and the case the internet can’t crack

#141

Post by Hnrobert42 »

almog wrote: post #116

I love how sometimes worlds collide and thruhiking related stories make it to HN. It is however sad for it to be in this context. If anyone reading this consider getting into long distance hiking, I'd encourage you to do so. While it is always best to avoid getting into dangerous situations rather than finding your way out of there, getting yourself either: 1. A subscription based satellite messenger (Garmin Mini is…

I travel abroad a lot. I always wear my roadid bracelet. It is stylish enough that folks think it is for looks, but cheap enough that it won’t get stolen off my body (like a wallet might).

Re: A nameless hiker and the case the internet can’t crack

#143

Post by Sangama34 »

0x1F8B wrote: post #67

> IN APRIL 2017, a man started hiking in a state park just north of New York City. He wanted to get away, maybe from something and maybe from everything. > Everyone who goes into the woods is trying to get away from something. > Everyone, at some point, has wanted to put their phone in a garbage can and head off with a fake name and a wad of cash. Since you are here I want to mention how off-putting this rhetoric is…

But if I ever go on a hike that is mostly the reason. As a reader it resonated with me.

Re: A nameless hiker and the case the internet can’t crack

#144

Post by jack_riminton »

pulse7 wrote: post #127
anonAndOn wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Foraging in the wild for food or water can have deadly consequences. For example, McCandless ate the wrong kind of berries.[0] Or the time when three campers scooped up more than just water in their coffee pot.[1] And don't underestimate the effects of Giardia.[2] That ubiquitous parasite could easily weaken and lead to the demise of a solo-hiker. [0] https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/how-chris-mccand... [1…

He had foot and $3500 in the tent...

He’s getting back to nature, people don’t just eat wild food when their other food runs out

Re: A nameless hiker and the case the internet can’t crack

#145

Post by reaperducer »

paxys wrote: post #35

I wonder how long it will be before someone truly cannot be anonymous in this country (or the world). Whenever I come across a book/movie about someone traveling to the future and trying to blend in, my immediate thought is that they will instantly be flagged as suspicious by a hundred different automated systems (where is your advertising profile, credit history, location history, iris scan, microchip??) There proba…

I wonder how long it will be before someone truly cannot be anonymous in this country (or the world)

This is why my favorite Max Headroom character was Blank Reg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Headroom_(TV_series)#Blank...

I have several relatives who live off the grid in remote places. They're not survivalists or militia folk or anything like that. They just like to maximize their privacy.

The keys to survival appear to be: Generate your own power (so you aren't beholden to a utility company), have a well drilled for water, have a boss who will cash your paycheck for you on payday, and live near a town where paying by cash isn't considered strange.

They still pay taxes, though, so they can't be totally anonymous.

One goes a step farther. He builds his own motorcycles to get around. According to him, the law in his state says that if your conveyance is home-built to a certain percentage (51%, maybe?), then you don't have to register it with the state. I have no idea if that's true, but to my knowledge he hasn't had any trouble with it in the 20 years I've known him.

Re: A nameless hiker and the case the internet can’t crack

#146

Post by breck »

nxthompson2 wrote: post #3

I'm the author of the piece. I think the best clues are that the mystery hiker told people he was from Louisiana, and that he worked in the tech industry in NY. I suspect someone here might recognize him. I'm reachable at nxthompson at protonmail.

$5,000 and 5 months? Why in the world is the DNA matching going so slow?

My cousin mailed fifty bucks and some spit in an envelope on Monday and Wednesday I get an email from 23andMe saying "Hey! We think this is your cousin's spit!". And neither of us is missing!

Re: A nameless hiker and the case the internet can’t crack

#147

Post by newguysofly »

Pretty sure I found him in like ten seconds. I just searched NAMUS for people matching his characteristics, and I found a Joseph Wayne McCartan from Louisiana. MH claimed to be from there. They also look strikingly similar. Further, JWC was suspected to have been a cancer survivor. This could explain the large abdominal scar—and, if the cancer recurred, the wasting. Check this reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/MostlyHarmlessHiker/comments/jnixu7...

Re: A nameless hiker and the case the internet can’t crack

#149

Post by koheripbal »

0x1F8B wrote: post #67

> IN APRIL 2017, a man started hiking in a state park just north of New York City. He wanted to get away, maybe from something and maybe from everything. > Everyone who goes into the woods is trying to get away from something. > Everyone, at some point, has wanted to put their phone in a garbage can and head off with a fake name and a wad of cash. Since you are here I want to mention how off-putting this rhetoric is…

> I want to mention how off-putting this rhetoric is to me

I'm not sure your emotions are important to others. Maybe it would be better to address what you think is the flaw in the characterization rather than leading with how it impacts your personal emotional state.

Re: A nameless hiker and the case the internet can’t crack

#150

Post by eganist »

phreack wrote: post #83
nxthompson2 wrote: post #3

I'm the author of the piece. I think the best clues are that the mystery hiker told people he was from Louisiana, and that he worked in the tech industry in NY. I suspect someone here might recognize him. I'm reachable at nxthompson at protonmail.

I just wanted to thank you for writing an engaging long form article that doesn't meander telling parallel stories jumbled together. I could draw a straight timeline from the first paragraph to the last and that's oddly something I don't see too often in this format anymore!

Perhaps some unexpected context: at least some authors of long-form pieces write with the objective of selling the rights to their works in mind. The more it feels like a screenplay, the more likely it is to attract a buyer who feels it has potential as one.

I don't have numbers from you, just that bit of context and some supporting quotes off the record.

Qualification: I tech-consult producers and writers on screenplays.

Post reply on HN