The obituary of Ernest M. Dickerman, age 87, considered the granddad of the Eastern wilderness by the Sierra Club, said he committed suicide at his cabin in the mountains of Buffalo Gap, Virginia:

He was 87. He was found under a cherry tree behind his cabin, having shot himself, police said. In a note to his family, Mr. Dickerman said he took his own life as he had long planned to do after the infirmities of age left him unable to "master my own fate in the wilds of this wild country."