Yesterday, during one of the many meetings the CDC study folks have had, I finally got the full story of the mystery helicopter. As it turns out the park has had three fatalities in one week--all of which were preventable. I had really hoped that the mystery person down by three-mile rest house had gotten out ok, since the details were sparse.
It was a man hiking while on a business trip. He'd spent the day meandering on down to Phantom Ranch (bottom of the canyon. temp? close to oh, 105 degrees if not more) where he and a few coworkers and/or friends had a lemonade and hung out.
Phantom Ranch, from what I hear, is absolutely beautiful with a "canteen" to get food and drink and a pool to cool off. The man decided to hike back out in the early afternoon. The sun at 2:00 (ish) in the afternoon is directly overhead and beats down relentlessly on anyone who dares to be out in it. Your skin sizzles and your brain boils in such temperatures, especially because it's not just the sun--the canyon itself exudes heat, if you happen to be hiking by a rock wall, expect to literally bake. Like in an oven.
Dispatch began getting calls a few hours later by bystanders who witnessed a man stumbling with a bloody leg. It's hypothesized the man, suffering from heat-related illness, had stumbled along the trail. A short time later, the fatality was called.
What makes this all the more tragic is that his companions said the man had seen all the safety information, had actually been treated by a well-equipped ranger in Indian Gardens, who told the man to wait it out until it cooled off, and still decided to hike during peak heat hours up a 10-mile trail.
Why?
The man probably stood at the bottom of the canyon and looked at those massive rock walls, as we all do, and thought "wow, I really did it." He didn't plan on only making it 5 or 6 miles back up the trail--the rest of his life. So, why? Why did he think the information didn't apply to him? Why does a woman now no longer have a husband? And better yet... how? How can we change the signs around here to actually impact these people before something like this happens?
Another fatality happened two days ago. A man fell off the rim. It was another case of people crossing barriers to "get a better look." Ironically, they get a "look" that very, very few people ever see. It also happens to be the last thing they ever see.
I think maybe I should have picked a park with simpler problems... like road signs or bear problems.
Even in the shadow of all this, I went down that same fateful trail the businessman died on. One of the Washo folks decided to come on a hike with me down Bright Angel.
There's nothing quite like hiking with a professional athlete. I was pouring sweat, panting and in mild abdominal discomfort. She was breathing normally, and able to keep a conversation without the raspy "oh... yeah... this one... time..." effect. I both envied her and silently cursed myself. Why hadn't I tried harder to get in better shape before they came out here?! Sure, I've lost about 10 lbs since June, but I'm no athlete, that's for sure.
We did the easy 1.5 mile rest house hike and then walked up the rim trail a ways. She then decided to go on the Jr. Ranger Adventure Hike down Hermit Trail. Her total mileage today? More than six miles and 4,000 feet of elevation. Unreal.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Hi Canyon Girl,
My family and I were on holday from Australia and my 15 year son and I hiked to Plateau Point on this fateful afternoon. My son and I came upon this poor fellow (Andrei 40 years old and was Polish) about five minutes after the first 911/Dispatch call was made. I do not how long after his final stumble we got to him (we were not the first on the scene). No one had rendered him any assistance at all (that is another story), so I performed CPR on him with no success. I believe it was futile to begin with but I had to do something. My son made the last two calls to dispatch before the SAR Chopper and Paramedics arrived. I hope the account of the events at Indian Gardens that you received are true as we got the vague impression from dispatch that he was advised to hike out. Thankfully that appears to be incorrect. You cannot stop people doing stupid things short of restraining them - maybe it is worth considering giving the rangers this power. This man did not have a wedding ring or any sign that he had worn one so I pray that he did not have a wife or children.
At the time I was questioning my decision attempting this hike with my son, however I could not have been a prouder father of the way Ethan handled himself and the situation and talking with the dispatcher.
I'm sorry that happened. :( I agree with Craig--you can't stop stupid people from doing stupid things. You can prevent most of them, but someone will still think they are superhuman.
Trust me, you don't want a park with bear problems either. There's signs everywhere advertising a $1000 fine for leaving food out (even if a bear doesn't get to it) What do the people in the campsite across from ours do? Leave like half their food, their cooler, etc. out of the bear bin and go down to the beach. Really? REALLY? And the bears are real...I saw one like 10 feet away that was not very scared of my coworker who was trying to scare him off...
Craig,
What you and your son did for that man was heroic. You should be very proud of your own actions and that of your son. I can only imagine how he feels, at age 15, to have witnessed something like that. To be honest, by the time you came upon him, after a 911 call had been placed (indicating things had already progressed), there was little a fellow hiker could do. What he most likely needed were things that SAR carries--IV drips, AED--advanced life support aides.
He also could have been suffering from a preexisting medical condition and/or any heat-related illness, and even for some professionals, it can be hard to diagnose. The basic things one can do without advanced life support capabilities is simply stop, seek shade, and completely drench yourself with water to cool down. Even then, at advanced stages, this might be too late. The body also needs electrolyte and water replacement, but telling a dehydration symptom from a hyponutremia symptom can also be hard to tell without the proper training. In one case, water will help, in the other, water will be detrimental.
These are the risks that hikers in the canyon take when they decided to go to the bottom and back, especially during July when the heat is so extreme. I understand that, as did you and your son, but my question in general to all hikers is do they understand that? I believe that finding the answers to this question might help prevent these things from happening in the future.
Post a Comment