2024-08-21, 09:54 AM
Thanks for the post, Beardilocks. I generally can't take the chatter on the FB regional hiking group pages so tune out. It is always useful to hear a first person account of a rescue situation.
The story begins nicely, but why trudge across the valley (I am guessing from PSR?) with that much water when you could drive to the place where the Big Four Mine road takes that 90 degree turn towards the mountains? Or, of you want to walk, maybe don't have a vehicle, get someone to take you there to leave a water cache?
That west side approach is awful but people do it. Way beyond my pay grade but... Coming down an unknown canyon based only on a read of topo maps is ill advised, unless you're really clear that you can back out. Just looking at the contour intervals is inadequate; not enough resolution. I use caltopo's "slope angle shading" which is based on a different set of higher precision data at high intervals and it is very useful. I was just out in the Sierra and there's many places where the topo suggests you can walk from A to B, but the slope angle shows a purple (very steep face) line blocking your way. But going down in heat with perhaps limited quantity of water...
If the author did the CDT they are seriously competent, but the wild desert poses different challenges from an established route that others have traveled. If the canyon is bolted, there is likely an entry on the rope wiki - always a good resource.
Anyway, good thing the author had what was needed to survive. Back before we had the sat comm tech, he may have been a goner. Sobering tale.
The story begins nicely, but why trudge across the valley (I am guessing from PSR?) with that much water when you could drive to the place where the Big Four Mine road takes that 90 degree turn towards the mountains? Or, of you want to walk, maybe don't have a vehicle, get someone to take you there to leave a water cache?
That west side approach is awful but people do it. Way beyond my pay grade but... Coming down an unknown canyon based only on a read of topo maps is ill advised, unless you're really clear that you can back out. Just looking at the contour intervals is inadequate; not enough resolution. I use caltopo's "slope angle shading" which is based on a different set of higher precision data at high intervals and it is very useful. I was just out in the Sierra and there's many places where the topo suggests you can walk from A to B, but the slope angle shows a purple (very steep face) line blocking your way. But going down in heat with perhaps limited quantity of water...
If the author did the CDT they are seriously competent, but the wild desert poses different challenges from an established route that others have traveled. If the canyon is bolted, there is likely an entry on the rope wiki - always a good resource.
Anyway, good thing the author had what was needed to survive. Back before we had the sat comm tech, he may have been a goner. Sobering tale.