Hiker missing in Rainier park found dead(ZZ)

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http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/91458.html



A Minnesota hiker missing since Friday in Mount Rainier National Park has been found dead, park officials said Tuesday.

Jeff Graves, 47, a software engineer and experienced hiker, apparently fell after wandering from a trail in rugged terrain near Eagle Peak Trail, ranger Kevin Bacher said.

A helicopter crew, part of a large search effort for the missing man, spotted a body in the trail area about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. Ground searchers later determined the body was that of Graves.

Search teams recovered the body and brought it back to Longmire later in the day. Family members were informed after the body was identified.

Graves was an employee of Stratasys Inc. in Eden Prairie, Minn.

Andy Yee, a longtime friend of Graves, told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that he didn’t believe Graves would have climbed beyond the trail.

“I don’t think he was equipped to get to the peak,” Yee told the Star-Tribune. “It’s more of a family camping trip than anything else.”

Graves’ mom, Ruth Graves, works as a volunteer at Longmire. His wife, Randi, and his 7-year-old son, Connor, arrived at the park after Graves started his hike.

If Graves lost the trail during his hike, he wouldn’t have been the first.

Park climbing ranger Mike Gauthier lives in Longmire and uses the steep trail regularly as a workout.

“When there is snow on the trail it can be really easy to lose your boot path on the way down,” Gauthier said. “And when you get off the trail you can get into cliff bands and some pretty rugged terrain.”

Gauthier knows of several people who’ve lost the trail and hiked out one of the peak’s drainages.

Eagle Peak trail is a popular access route to the Tatoosh Range south of Rainier. The challenging hike starts near Longmire and climbs almost 3,000 feet in 3.6 miles to the saddle between Eagle and Chutla peaks.

“It is 100 percent uphill,” Gauthier said, “and it gradually gets steeper. You are lifting your knees pretty high all the way up.”

While the trail ends at the saddle, an elevation of about 5,800 feet, a social trail often lures hikers to continue along the ridge.

This is the third incident on Eagle Peak since 2004. In 2004, McChord airman Ryan Dean broke his leg when he fell from a ledge. Later that year, 16-year-old Vasiliy Kozorezov fell more than 65 feet to his death trying to climb a scree slope on the peak, far from the trail.

Aaron Henderson, a former Backpacker’s Supply employee, told The News Tribune in 2004 that Eagle Peak has some of the most rugged terrain in Washington.

“You can see the tops of the peaks and it looks so easy to get there,” Henderson said. “It’s very easy and very tempting to get off trail, but then you get in some trouble. There are some hazards out there.”

Craig Hill: 253-597-8497

craig.hill@thenewstribune.com Staff writers Jeffrey P. Mayor and Steve Maynard contributed to this report.