Oftentimes, when tragedies occur, there are few easy answers. But this weekend’s local tragi-ledger offered up two cases with seemingly clear-cut solutions.The first situation involved a 22-year-old Eagle Scout, Mark Albrecht, who went missing for several days after embarking upon a solo hike in the North Cascades. Usually when hikers disappear, they’re hiking alone. And usually, the way tragedy could have been averted can be explained as simply as “don’t go on solo hikes.” Fortunately, however, Albrecht ultimately emerged safely (if a little hungry) from the wilderness, saying he’d encountered a thick blanket of low fog after inadvertently veering off course. Had he been hiking with a companion, perhaps he’d have stayed on-trail, but the fog would still have been an issue. So Albrecht’s situation ended up not being as open and shut as presumed.But as for the guy who was killed by a train at Carkeek Park Saturday night, the answer for how this accident might have been avoided is simple: People should never, ever loiter on train tracks. Aside from the self-evident stupidity involved in such an act, it’s illegal.”Besides a violation of the law, it’s just not a good idea,” says Seattle Police Department spokesperson Mark Jamieson. “If we were to cite somebody, it would likely be for criminal trespass.”Burlington Northern Santa Fe, which owns the tracks in question, maintains its own private security force, which also issues trespassing citations and regularly patrols company property, says BNSF spokesperson Gus Melonas. “Trains can move on any track, at any time, in any direction,” he adds.
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