1 While I despise the "reality-star wannabes" as much as the next moron, I still blame the networks for taking the cheap route.

Few reality shows have good ratings compared to scripted television. They just cost so much less to produce that they can get away with crappy ratings.

2 As a side note... Hershey's carmel kisses taste like little bits of baby angel poop. mmmm

3

This is nothing new: at Niagara Falls, if you do something stupid enough that the Parks Rescue people have to fire up a helicopter or a river boat to rescue you, you get the bill for their time and fuel. Wanna try to scale the Gorge to show what a stud duck you are? Fine... just be prepared to be handed a $25K tab when someone spots you and the S&R choppers get called out.

Oddly enough, it was a cousin of mine who was responsible for that little rule being put into place...

4 In Colorado, S&R generally doesn't charge you unless a) you did something excessively stupid or 2) you have to be medically evacuated.  Medevac is an automatic bill to the consumer, and it's crazy expensive, so most people who end up needing S&R services try to walk out under their own power if they can.

Most areas have their own S&R groups that get reimbursed from the state through funds collected through various wildlife licenses and through people voluntarily purchasing CORSAR cards, which at $3 a year is a small price to pay if one goes tramping through the woods and is in need of rescue.    I've voluntarily carried a CORSAR card since I started hiking a couple of years ago, and so I take it personally that these fucktards chose to spend my small contribution by sending our local volunteers on a wild goose chase where they could have been injured or killed, at a time where they might have been needed somewhere else, at a cost that could run an S&R operation for someone who really needs it.