hiker found 9/5/01

O'Brien, missing in woods, found alive and wellMedia descends on area to cover search for Boston radio personalityJoshua WilliamsA Boston radio broadcaster who was lost in the woods found himself the subject of the news yesterday, as media outlets from across New England descended on Diana's Bath trailhead on West Side Road.Donald "Ted" O'Brien had spent two nights lost off Moat Mountain Trail. He was found alive and well around 9:30 a.m. yesterday, one mile up the trail, by a N.H. Fish and Game officer and volunteer searchers. O'Brien said he became lost when he tried to bushwhack back to the parking lot. He spent all Monday trying to find the trail, and said he was surprised when he found the trail yesterday morning. When a search party came upon him, he said, "You wouldn't be looking for Ted O'Brien, would you?"The Diana's Bath parking lot was filled with satellite news trucks and law enforcement vehicles yesterday. Camera crews and broadcasters bustled about and listened to O'Brien's tale in a press conference held shortly after he was found. Curious motorists stopped to ask what was going on. Many recognized O'Brien's name from his broadcasts.O'Brien was missing since Sunday afternoon, when he failed to call his wife and arrange to be picked up in Bartlett. He hoped to connect from Moat Mountain Trail to Attitash Trail, a nine-and-a-half mile trek over Attitash and Table Mountain.O'Brien expected the hike to take about six hours, but Fish and Game said the hike would have taken at least 11 hours. Portions of the trails are in rough shape, with blown-down trees from ice storms littering the trails, and hikers can easily lose the path, Fish and Game said.Although O'Brien is in good shape, and appeared to be in good condition at the press conference, he was ill-equipped for the challenging hike. He wore jeans and hiking sandals, and carried a tote bag with peanut butter sandwiches and a bottle of water. He was not wearing his glasses, and did not have a compass or matches.He still had half a sandwich and a piece of cheese left over from his rations, and he had found running water to drink. With temperatures dropping into the 40s at night, O'Brien would pull his sweatshirt over his head to stay warm. A popular Boston broadcaster for more than 25 years, O'Brien is a mid-day anchor, producer and host of "World of Ideas" on WBUR, Boston's National Public Radio affiliate. He has also been a newscaster at Boston TV stations, and has won three individual Emmys.About 30 Fish and Game officers with dogs began the search for O'Brien Monday. State police helicopters were brought in. About 100 volunteers helped in yesterday's search. Volunteers were divided into groups to cover a wide range of ground.Bill Aughton, a senior instructor at SOLO, a Conway wilderness rescue school, went with 10 of his students yesterday morning to assist with the search. Aughton has been involved in mountain rescue for 25 years.Aughton said he was thrilled that O'Brien was found alive and well. Aughton added that the trail is tricky to follow and not often traveled in the direction O'Brien was going. "He did well," Aughton said, in the decisions O'Brien made to survive the conditions.Was Aughton surprised to see all the media attention? "Yes and no," he said. "I saw all the trucks and thought it was the electric company repairing wires. It's a personality, and this was a two-day search. The media came to see things."The recent intensive search for a hiker lost in Franconia Notch, and eventually found dead, brought similar media attention, Aughton added.