The Alaska search and rescue thin line

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/10/couple-lost-in-corn-maze-call-911.html

Here’s another article about a recent storm on Half Dome and hikers’ misguided expectations for SAR.

Some of the best quotes:

“People are pushing their luck, trying to beat the weather, and their backup plan is to call for a rescue,” said Mark Marschall, project manager for the Half Dome interim permit program. “They’re not understanding what that means. We can’t fly in that kind of weather. They’re on their own.”

…
Some callers tell the dispatcher they want to use their platinum credit card for the free helicopter ride some companies guarantee in an emergency. Park officials don’t charge for rescues — nearly 1,000 rescues cost more than $2.5 million between 2007 and 2010 — but neither do they fly in dangerous weather.

…

“We have to decide `Can we really expose rescuers to the risk that is present?'” Marschall said. “Can we commit a helicopter in the middle of a rainstorm with the potential of lightning? The answer is typically no.”

I’m definitely in the camp that believes sometimes good people make stupid decisions and shouldn’t be punished for those mistakes with death, but it does bug me a little bit that there’s not even a nominal fee for rescue in Yosemite. I guess it would be too hard and controversial to make a ranger decide who got into trouble through no real fault of their own and who got into trouble because they were being idiots.

>>I guess it would be too hard and controversial to make a ranger decide who got into trouble through no real fault of their own and who got into trouble because they were being idiots."<<

Maybe it should be a professional panel or something.

Interviews and gear/ skills review to determine the level of repayment, if any.

thanks for that post

as they say … getting up is optional, getting down is not …

i think that all these fancy devices and the rescue footage on TV has more people thinking that all they need to do is press the little red button and someone will come to save em

the reality is you better be ready to either get out yourself … or in the best case spend hours or longer in poor conditions waiting for the weather to clear before someone come and saves you

shiet happens, but then some people cause their own shiet before even leaving the ground

just a reflection on the "just press the big red button" syndrome IMO … not to say corn mazes arent deadly wilderness habitats with hungry rabid bears waiting to eat you …

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/10/couple-lost-in-corn-maze-call-911.html

Getting lost in a corn maze is supposed to be fun.

A call to Connors Farm was not returned by deadline.

>>backup plan is to call for a rescue

No comment…

>>Husband: I see lights over there at the place, but we can't get there, we're smack right in the middle of the corn field.

Um, walk towards the lights? It's cornstalks, not greenbriar and poison oak.

Honestly.

ETA: The whole thread was an enlightening read. I don't mean to make light of what is a serious problem for SAR teams, and in general I try to be understanding b/c as someone said above, even experienced people can make bad decisions or just plain hit bad luck. I'm just flabbergasted is all.

Next, that lost couple will probably file a lawsuit against the farm for false imprisonment.

–B.G.–

I actually have some sympathy for the family lost in the corn maze. First I don't know if the couple knew this, but apparently the local 911 agency had publicized that it was always willing to help.

Secondly, being able to see lights is not the same as being able to get to said lights. Corn isn't as tough as briars to navigate through, but it's still no picnic–the leaves are sharp, the stalks are typically very close together, and the baby probably would have been scratched rather badly. The man could have gone by himself, but if there were no markers (such as you are in row 9, section C), how would the rescuers find the woman and child? They could cut their way back with machetes I suppose, but still, I think calling 911 wasn't such a bad idea given that they were: truly lost, had an infant with them, and were becoming benighted. They probably didn't have lights they could wave, signal flares, or a way to start a controlled fire and send smoke signals. And probably no firearm to give off the three quick shots that signal the need for help.

Over 4th of July weekend, my boyfriend decided he wanted to hike Section C of the Pacific Crest Trail. Section C starts in the desert below Mt. San Jacinto and goes up into the San Gorgonio mountains.

We arrived at the trailhead at 8pm and it was 102 degrees. He really likes hot weather so he wanted to go for it. I hiked with him for an hour and we camped under the stars in the blazing nighttime heat. In the morning I said good-bye and drove home to Santa Barbara and took a long nap.

At some point I thought maybe I should check my phone messages and make sure everything was okay. There was a message. His voice sounded awful. He sounded like he was going to die. He said it was just too hot out there and he was going to turn back. It had taken me 3.5 hours to drive home that morning. I hoped he wasn't stuck out in the desert dying in the sun wondering where I was. I quickly set off to go get him.

I kept trying to call him but I only got his messages. I got a hotel room and cranked up the air waiting for him to let me know he was ready to be picked up. He never called. I couldn't decide what to do. Do I risk embarrassing him and call for SAR? I really had to force myself to be patient.

I finally got a call late around sunset. His voice sounded so much better. The signal was really bad so I couldn't hear what he was saying but it sounded like he was okay and would call me in the morning.

Everything turned out okay. It had been 125 degrees. He retreated to Whitewater creek and set up a sun shelter and alternated between soaking in the freezing water and sitting in the shade. I was really glad I didn't call 911. It was difficult to resist. Would others have made a different choice? What if he had died of heat stroke because I hadn't called 911? Pushing the big red button is so easy. NOT pushing it is much harder.

thats a hard one … at the end of the day you have to assume that the person is experienced enough and prepared enough that they would get through short of a calamity IMO unless you know otherwise

i suspect that people calling because they worry about loved ones are quite common … one does hope it isnt something like the person forgot to press OK on their spot once

resources are limited .. peoples worries are unlimited

Piper,

Before I comment please be aware that I often come across as critical and a curmudgeon, and I am not really either… well I will own up to being a curmudgeon :) — so my comments here are only meant to be helpful.

Your situation was really a difficult one to call. There is no right or wrong, but often it is best to err on the side of safety.

I think you should have called. You knew there might have been a problem and given the weather conditions no one would have been critical of you, including the Riverside County Rescue Team.

Here in the desert people die in the summer from heat exhaustion hiking on local trails, and sometimes they die in a single day. The heat is nothing to fool around with if you are not acclimized to it, or even if you are. He was lucky Whitewater is still flowing this year. Some years it is dry by July. Since I have lived in this desert for over 30 years, I would have been fine just sitting under a tarp, but many people would not. I am glad it turned out well for both of you.

Just as a point of reference for your boyfriend in planning future trips: July 3rd was the hottest day in July this year. The official high in Palm Springs was 115F, and it was probably a little cooler on Section C. Maybe 110F – 112F. On July 4th the official temperature dropped down to 103F. This maybe helpful information for planning trips in the future.

Actually the highest temperature ever recorded here is 123F, which has happened a few times. We are trying to hit 125F, but Rog says the earth is cooling :)

Another interesting one is our record low temperature of 105.1 F in July of 1985. That was a fun week, as I was a mechanic in a shop that did not have air conditioning. The record low temperature ever recorded was 107.1 F in Khassab, Oman.

"We are trying to hit 125F, but Rog says the earth is cooling :)"

Try to tell that to the folks who live at Furnace Creek (Death Valley National Park).

–B.G.–

Well it has been almost a 100 years since they set high temp record. And it has been almost a 100 years since the set their record of 43 consecutive days with a high of 120F (or higher.

Usually when I am there in the summer it is a balmy 115F – 120F.

Yes. That's not all that is balmy.

Nobody in their right mind lives in heat like that by choice.

–B.G.–

"Nobody in their right mind lives in heat like that by choice."

If my wife would let me, I would live in Desert Center, CA. Still close to where I like to hike, high temps in summer close to 120F and a total population of 204 people. The last statistic is my favorite. For emergencies it is close to I-10. Pretty much no one goes there unless they are lost or their car breaks down on the freeway. The closest cities with lights are Palm Springs (70 miles west) and Blythe (50 miles east) there is no air pollution or light pollution which makes for excellent telescope activities.

There is a trail near my house called the Desert Skyline. It is 10 miles long and 8,000 feet elevation. At times the trailhead high temperature can be close to 100F and the top of the trail will have several feed of snow and lots of ice. The last 1,000 ft of elevation gain is a real butt kicker. And in snow/ice an ice ax and crampons are necessary, because a slip can be fatal. When the snow melts, temps along the lower section of the trail are often over 100F. There are several warning signs along the trail that there is no water and it is a dangerous trail.

So what happens a lot in winter is hikers leave the bottom in tee shirts and blue jeans/shorts with no back up clothing and the weather is nice. The get to 7,000 feet elevation and a blizzard rolls in, they get in trouble due to weather and the snow and ice that is already on the ground.

What often happens the other 6 months of the year is many hikers don't take enough water and then run out of water after 6,000 elevation gain and/or they are not in physical condition go any higher… so they turn around and try to hike back without water. Sometimes the turn-around hikers become statistics as the heat turns this into their last hike ever.

The trail was built in the 1930s by the CCC and has not been maintained by any agency for decades. Some of the local hikers do trail maintenance. The trail is not on any map I know about. But information on the trail is easy to find. The San Jacinto message board is full of up-to-date information about the trail. I rarely visit this board, but the members are very responsible, and often discourage hikers to hike the trail if temperature, weather or other conditions make it dangerous. But many who are told to stay off it go anyway. There are many rescues each year. Some are winter weather related and others are heat related. Heat stroke deaths are not uncommon. The rescues increase every year now that cell phones work on most parts of the trail. Almost all rescues are from ill-prepared hikers and some rescues are just people who don't want to hike any more.

The trail crosses a small piece of private land, which the owner allows access. The rest is owned by the BLM and State of Calif. Many in the city of Palm Springs want the trail closed. The BLM is considering trading part of their holdings for some private sections of land. Part of the trade proposal is due to all the rescues.

It is such a problem that the Palm Springs Mountain Police SAR installed emergency boxes at 2,500 and 5,000 feet with water, flashlight, space blanket, sun umbrella and other supplies. There is also a cache of water that the local hikers try to maintain at around 6,000 feet. Most of the time when I hike the trail there is no water in the boxes or the cache even though the PS SAR and local hikers are constantly trying to re-supply them. There are signs on the trail that state you must have at least 1 gallon of water to hike the trail. Here is a story of what happened the weekend that 4 of use BPLers hiked the trail. We had 1 gallon of water each and are in good physical condition. Our water was just enough to make it. We were just about out of water when we got to the ranger station that has water available. That same weekend a guy starts out with just 2 liters of water in spite of the warnings. At 6,000 feet he has to turn back because of the heat. He runs out of water at 2,500 feet but lucky for him there is water in the emergency box. It takes a helicopter, ambulance, and hospital trip to save him. Good news is that he survived. But a lot of money was spent on something that should not have happened if he would just have read the signs.

So we may have a great trail closed because of this. And your favorite trail somewhere could end up with the same ending. Everywhere in our public lands people are overloading the SAR's time and limited funds. And kudos to those dedicated paid and volunteer SAR members!!

I really have no pity for those who get themselves into trouble because they are not prepared as to information, skill or equipment. For those who are properly prepared, I don't mind my tax or donation dollars being used to rescue them.

"Desert Center, CA"

I believe that there is a spot a few miles east of there aptly named H E L L.

–B.G.–

Bob,

You are funny but correct. The "town" no longer exists. There were a lot of funny newspapers stories years ago about it (actually in the 1950's). Some headlines or signs…

"LA's hotter than Hell," when the temperature in LA was higher than Hell, CA.

"It's a cold day in Hell," when is snowed there.

Some billboards along the way such as, "X miles of desert ahead right through Hell."

Ironwood State Prison maybe the new Hell, as it is close to the original Hell.

The reasons I did not call for a rescue for him were that I knew there was lots of water still at Whitewater creek. And I also knew that Mission Creek would be flowing. If he had been somewhere with no water, I definitely would have not even let him go. And he wouldn't have wanted to go.

We live in Southern California already so hot weather isn't completely foreign. My boyfriend has a crazy tendency to pick the hottest day of the year to do the craziest hikes.

The other reason I didn't call, and this is kinda shameful, is that earlier this year a bunch of Sierra Club hike leaders got in trouble for taking wilderness newbies out on a wilderness basics backpack trip. They got caught in flash flood conditions and became severely hypothermic trying to bushwhack out of the canyon. They were rescued by chance because someone happened to be driving by and saw their headlamps on a cliff where they were trapped. I really wanted to spare him the embarrassment after so much bad publicity from that experience in the spring, especially since he himself had been so critical about what the hike leaders should and shouldn't have done, including saying they should have canceled. Yeah, I wanted to spare his pride assuming that's what he would have wanted.

I sometimes get mad when people get all righteous about the use of public resources and all that. It makes it harder to use them when it's your turn. People eventually will probably die because they are scared to call and get in trouble.

"Secondly, being able to see lights is not the same as being able to get to said lights. Corn isn't as tough as briars to navigate through, but it's still no picnic–the leaves are sharp, the stalks are typically very close together, and the baby probably would have been scratched rather badly."

As a former farm kid who has spent countless hours running through corn fields, I emphatically disagree.

Here's a photo of the maze. http://cedarposts.blogspot.com/2011/10/corn-maze-911-call-sad-sign-of-horror.html There were no fences, only corn.

Wrap the baby in a blanket or a jacket and take 1 minute to walk towards the lights through the corn. Or give up and dial 911. By the way, I'd also expect them to go through a briar patch on their own if they needed to.

I have been volunteering with SAR for over 10 years now. Here in Canada ground SAR is the responsibility of the local police, which for rural Alberta is the RCMP (the "Mounties.") The usual way things work is that one or 2 RCMP officers are present, and everyone else is a volunteer. The RCMP officers are "in charge", however the volunteers are usually much more experienced at SAR, and as a result the volunteer search-master is usually the one making all the real decisions.
In this area, most places people actually go hiking/hunting/camping do not have cell phone coverage, so in some ways we're more insulated from the technology crutch listed in the article (PLBs and sat phones do work, however very few people have/carry them) Most of our searches are called in by family/friends after someone fails to return on time from a trip, or when someone gets separated from the group and they don't see them again. Most of the time the person/people that are the target of the search manage to walk out on their own before the searchers actually hit the woods, they may have had a complication in the trip delay them enough that loved ones panic, but they are fine, and walk out on their own.

In Alberta you do not pay for SAR… but if you are actually injured you DO pay for an ambulance (same if you're hurt in the city) unless you're injured badly enough that they don't send a ground ambulance at all, and you get a helicopter instead, in which case it's free again. I know, this sounds kind of backwards, but it's a byproduct of the way different organizations are run, as opposed to the intended functioning. (Police/volunteer SAR is free, the local air ambulance service is a charity which does not charge for their services, the government run ground ambulance service charges about $300-$400 drop charge, plus a fairly hefty mileage charge, from a remote area it can easily surpass $1000-$1500)

Of the real searches I've been on, the vast majority could have been avoided simply through proper preparation/planning, or even a little bit of thought after they got lost. The legitimate search for someone who did everything right but happened to get injured and really needs our help… I can't say I've ever actually had one of those (which is actually rather sad to be honest)