2021-04-12, 09:13 PM
We were out there, did not see or here choppers, know of the incident only though intermittent connectivity. With respect to cell service, it was pretty horrible last week. That probably deserves a different post.
With respect to the SAR, with due respect for those who do the job, the 24 hour gap before they finally got to the by then dead person seems unfortunate. I can't account for it.
Although the hikers' note said they had "3 days of water" that was clearly not true. It was 100 on the valley floor for much of the week, and I doubt they were carrying 2+ gallons each. If they could reach Willow Spring, they would have gotten water, but that is known as a pretty technical canyon. So they probably did not know that, likely without much DV experience (though being from Tucson, they knew what hot meant) and thought it would be the easiest way to get out.
I've never tried to drive into Gold Valley - way beyond what even I would do in my rental sedans - but of course the wise move would have been to go back out to the Greenwater Valley road. But maybe they didn't realize that there is probably some traffic on that road every day. Or realize that the walk out could have been shortened by going in closer to straight lines than the roads showed. IF they had mapping / GPS ability.
Being ledged out and running out of water does not seem like a good way to go. Could have easily happened to me on one of my early trips, but my hiking buddy and I decided not to risk a down climb in a slot that we were not certain we could climb back up if we cliffed out. (These days I would likely have carried enough webbing that one person could have stayed and belayed the second back up if needed, but that's risky of fall). After spending most of a day doing most of a circle to return out the way we had come in, we walked up the canyon we'd been working down, just to see if we could have made it. Nope, about 200 feet of dryfall would have trapped us.
Sorry it had to end this way for these hikers.
With respect to the SAR, with due respect for those who do the job, the 24 hour gap before they finally got to the by then dead person seems unfortunate. I can't account for it.
Although the hikers' note said they had "3 days of water" that was clearly not true. It was 100 on the valley floor for much of the week, and I doubt they were carrying 2+ gallons each. If they could reach Willow Spring, they would have gotten water, but that is known as a pretty technical canyon. So they probably did not know that, likely without much DV experience (though being from Tucson, they knew what hot meant) and thought it would be the easiest way to get out.
I've never tried to drive into Gold Valley - way beyond what even I would do in my rental sedans - but of course the wise move would have been to go back out to the Greenwater Valley road. But maybe they didn't realize that there is probably some traffic on that road every day. Or realize that the walk out could have been shortened by going in closer to straight lines than the roads showed. IF they had mapping / GPS ability.
Being ledged out and running out of water does not seem like a good way to go. Could have easily happened to me on one of my early trips, but my hiking buddy and I decided not to risk a down climb in a slot that we were not certain we could climb back up if we cliffed out. (These days I would likely have carried enough webbing that one person could have stayed and belayed the second back up if needed, but that's risky of fall). After spending most of a day doing most of a circle to return out the way we had come in, we walked up the canyon we'd been working down, just to see if we could have made it. Nope, about 200 feet of dryfall would have trapped us.
Sorry it had to end this way for these hikers.