Poet versus the Volcano

[Taro Toporific]

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University of Wyoming Professor Missing In Japan
NPR - All Things Considered, April 30, 2009 · Poet and professor Craig Arnold went missing on a Japanese island three days ago where he had gone to see a local active volcano...

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via Find Craig Arnold | Facebook
Our dear friend and an exceptionally talented poet, Craig Arnold, whom some of you know, has gone missing on the small volcanic island of Kuchino-erabu-shima [Kagoshima Pref] while on a creative exchange fellowship. AS OF 4/30 the authorities are on the fourth day of searching for Craig, and are scouring the small island (of only 160 inhabitants) with dogs and helicopters. We have not confirmed how long the authorities will continue the search. We can not let there be a lag in this search while finding Craig alive is still a real possibility. WE NEED YOUR HELP TO FIND HIM.
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Craig Arnold - Wikipedia

[Taro Toporific]

[L S]

Perhaps the North Koreans are looking for better English language teacher talent?

[Mike Oxlong]

His plan was to stay only one night and leave the next day. (Craig has visited many volcanoes around the world in recent years as is very experienced with visiting them.)

He immediately left his 3 bags at the inn and departed around 3 pm on foot to the next village, taking only his walking sticks. He was wearing black or dark colors: long pants, a dark hat, a nylon jacket. His Japanese iPhone was on his person but has not been reachable due to inconsistent reception on the island. The exclusive provider of IPhone service, Softbank, has been contacted by the police in an attempt to utilize the built-in GPS capabilities of the phone.

At the village, someone with a car drove him to the entrance to the path leading up the mountain to the volcano. There are 4 paths to the volcano which are obvious and in good condition. He was taken to the entrance of a path next to a dam where evidence collected by the police suggests he ascended. His footprints have been found. The police have not found evidence of a return trip along that path. The area is densely forested until reaching the summit area, caldera, of the volcano where there is little vegetation.

An "experienced" hiker/volcano explorer leaves his accomodation at three in the afternoon, hitches a ride to the trailhead, and sets out sometime in late afternoon to ascend the volcano?! Right, real experienced...

Even with relatively low peaks of 500-700 metres, in heavily forested areas with rough ground, going can be pretty slow.

[Taro Toporific]

[Taro Toporific]

[INDENT]"...not expected this to be so easy. In less than an hour you have found the road that circles the base of the volcano. All that remains is to walk around to the south face where, judging by the map, another road squiggles its way up the crater....
...This seems like an opportune moment to reconsider your plans for the morning. Luckily there is another road down, and you take it. The metal guardrails have been eaten half-away, and they twist off easily in your hand...."[/INDENT]
via [SIZE="4"]Volcano Pilgrim[/SIZE] Five months in Japan as a wandering poet -- Craig Arnold

[Taro Toporific]

[Samurai_Jerk]

[Mike Oxlong]

Yeah, if I was lost on a volcano spewing sulfurous gas and partially covered in heavy jungle, when I finally got phone reception I'd go and check my Facebook page...

[Taro Toporific]

Yeah, if I was lost on a volcano spewing sulfurous gas and partially covered in heavy jungle, when I finally got phone reception I'd go and check my Facebook page...

Well actually, few times day when my iTouch is just able to get momentary reception way out in boonies in Shikoku, it automatically sends out my twitter posts in the queue (which in turn could be set up to also access/post to facebook). Later, when I am back at a real computer I am always confused by my posts made at 3pm when I was driving a skid-loader down the mountainside after cutting trees all day.

However, I gotta agree with SJ that most likely this is just a case of someone going to Facebook on a computer where Arnold's account was permanently logged on.

[Marked Trail]

The wags at The ButtFudge Report are having a field day with the news of this...:confused:
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American Poet Disappears at Japanese Volcano
Saturday, May 02, 2009 -- The Drudge Report
An American poet, Craig Arnold, has been missing for five days after he disappeared while hiking at a remote dormant volcano in Japan. Arnold has been writing about his trip on his weblog Volcano Pilgrim, subtitled "Five months in Japan as a wandering poet."

Posted by yougothurt at 2009-05-02 09:32 PM
I'm a wandering poet, wanting to babble on about life as I know and **POOOF** discovered the place where they're building an army of giant fucking robots.

Posted by ZombieHunter at 2009-05-02 11:31 PM |
Craig Arnold's last poem:

Oh nature I walk on you without a care

I walk on your volcanic mountain

Hey what is that over there?

Awe-inspiring it looks like a fountain

So over I walk and bend over to see

It's red, it's red and it's stunning

Why hot lava it must really be

The beauty of nature...oh God I slipped into the molten fucking lava...AAAAAAAAAAAhhhhhh...bur
ning my flesh...mother of a that is holy...aaaaahhhh...pleeeasse..
.aahhhhhhh...gurgle...gurgle..

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[Taro Toporific]

Search for US poet in Japan to be scaled down
Tue, May 5, 2009 10:23:16 PM -- TOKYO (AP) --The weeklong search for an award-winning U.S. poet who disappeared while hiking up a volcano on a remote Japanese island has yielded no clues and authorities will scale down the search, a police official said Tuesday.
University of Wyoming professor Craig Arnold, 41, was reported missing April 27 after he failed to return from a hike on the tiny island of Kuchinoerabu-jima, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) off the coast of Japan's southern Kyushu island.
"We have not found anything, including his belongings," local police official Yoshiyuki Kuzuhara said...more...

[wuchan]

Japanese poetry in English!!!!!!!!:




sorry, I just had to.

[TennoChinko]

Can anyone tell me why the level of official cooperation from both the Japanese authorities and the US military & gov't seems to be at a significantly higher level for Craig Arnold than the average 'American gone missing'?
For example, we have the official three-day maximum by the Japanese government extended for another three days, plus the multiple searches by US helicopters from Kadena. His father is apparently a retired USAF officer and Dr Arnold grew up here in Japan on a US military base, but other than that, he does not seem to have any extraordinary background.

Don't get me wrong, I hope the guy gets found alive. However, it seems like he is some kind of stealth V.I.P. I would like to hope that if I or any of my fellow Americans were in a similar predicament, we get the same focused treatment by our government.

[Doctor Stop]

Don't get me wrong, I hope the guy gets found alive. However, it seems like he is some kind of stealth V.I.P. I would like to hope that if I or any of my fellow Americans were in a similar predicament, we get the same focused treatment by our government.

Are you a poet? If not, fuck off.

[Mulboyne]

AP: Trackers find trail of missing US poet in Japan

A team of American trackers found the footprints Wednesday of an award-winning U.S. poet who went missing on a remote Japanese island while hiking up a volcano. University of Wyoming assistant professor Craig Arnold, 41, was reported missing April 27 after he failed to return from a hike on the tiny island of Kuchinoerabu-jima, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) off the coast of Japan's southern Kyushu island. Japanese authorities scaled down their search because their efforts yielded no clues for more than a week. But a four-person team of American trackers arrived in Japan on Tuesday and picked up Arnold's trail Wednesday, according to David Kovar, founder of the California-based 1st Special Response Group. Searchers found what they believed were Arnold's footprints near a volcanic crater at the top of the volcano. They judged them from a photo Arnold once took of his own footprints in volcanic mud. The searchers followed the footprints to an area with deep ravines but couldn't be sure whether Arnold entered them, Kovar said. By that point, it was getting dark and the search was suspended for the day...more...

[waruta]

Are you a poet? If not, fuck off.

Ouch. kinda harsh isn't it?

[Doctor Stop]

Ouch. kinda harsh isn't it?

Yes, but only poets deserve to be treated as VIPs.

[Taro Toporific]

The family has posted this on facebook today.

THANK YOU.

Our dear friends and family,

Though Craig himself has not been recovered, the amazing expert trackers of 1SRG have been able to make themselves and us certain of what has become of Craig. His trail indicates that after sustaining a leg injury, Craig fell from a very high and very dangerous cliff and there is virtually no possibility that Craig could have survived that fall. Chris will pursue what he can about getting specialists to go down into the place we know Craig is so we can bring him home, but it is very, very dangerous and we are not yet completely certain what that will require. The only relief in this news is that we do know exactly what befell Craig, and we can be fairly certain that it was very quick, and that he did not wait or wonder or suffer.

I cannot express again the profound gratitude I feel to everyone who has loved and honored Craig with their goodwill, their immense efforts and energy, and their overwhelming generosity. I believe that where he is, Craig knows.

There will be further occasion to celebrate Craig, and when I know more I will post it.

For my part, I love Craig beyond the telling of it and will always love him as immeasurably, as enduringly, as steadfastly and as unconditionally as I do now and have done these past six years. In leaving our family Craig, in a manner absolutely characteristic of his own vast generosity and capacity to inspire, brought us all closer together than we perhaps have ever been. I feel his presence, loving and understanding and funny and deeply feeling, at all times. I hope you do, too.

With love,
R.