2021-06-21, 05:23 PM
The one thing that I found strange about the Willow couple was that they had left a note on their vehicle saying they had 3 days of water. I was out there that week, sleeping at SPW and hiking above 7K feet most days in the Panamints, because it was HOT! As in, up to 100 on the FC thermometer. Hot as in a gallon a day hot. So they were not carrying 3 days of water, and if they thought they were, they were not experienced in those conditions. (But I thought that at least one of the couple was from southern AZ, so would certainly have better awareness).
The video of the road is nice - and in fact there are vids of most of the back country roads, which are a good source of info if you want to know a bit more about where you are going. Flats are unexpected though, double flats a real bummer. But I could see in some of that vid, as the valley went down and toward the west, with the snowy Panamints in the distance - although there was hardly any snow left this past April - and the attraction of the paved road down there how it could just suck you in.
But again, the same deal. Plan, to go down. Hope there is water, as there are springs up high, and (don't know if they knew it) flowing water down low. Canyon is technical. It gets harder and harder. But they are following their plan until... they are in over their heads with no exit back out. But if they looked at a topo map, it looks so tempting. Springs even in the canyon. Easy mistake. Sad.
The video of the road is nice - and in fact there are vids of most of the back country roads, which are a good source of info if you want to know a bit more about where you are going. Flats are unexpected though, double flats a real bummer. But I could see in some of that vid, as the valley went down and toward the west, with the snowy Panamints in the distance - although there was hardly any snow left this past April - and the attraction of the paved road down there how it could just suck you in.
But again, the same deal. Plan, to go down. Hope there is water, as there are springs up high, and (don't know if they knew it) flowing water down low. Canyon is technical. It gets harder and harder. But they are following their plan until... they are in over their heads with no exit back out. But if they looked at a topo map, it looks so tempting. Springs even in the canyon. Easy mistake. Sad.