Rescue and a casualty in Death Valley

[MarinBlaine]

I was saddened to read this article this morning:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/arizona-m...134818508.html

I handed the iPad to my wife and asked her to read it too, reminded her we don’t want to be this couple.

Let this be a cautionary tale for all of us when going out deep in the wilderness with only one vehicle. Lucky for the wife that they had left some sort of trip itinerary; we often head out on a big road trip and figure out our side trips on the way...need to start letting people know where we are going.

Saw a recent video on a Garmin gps with satellite connectivity for emergencies, I think I’m in.

Condolences to the families.

Blaine

[1der]

Very sad story.

Personal Locator Beacon would be a good add for anyone getting off the beaten path, even if in a group.

Decision making is sooooooooooo critical in stressful life threatening situations and it is very easy to have a single decision become the beginning of a fatal outcome.

It would be great if one of our super experienced SAR members could give us a list of best practices to help them find us in the event of an emergency such as this.

Condolences to the families, RIP to the young man.

[arctictraveller]

Staying with your vehicle is normally the first bit of advice offered by rescue folks. Their car was found long before they were, and had they remained with it, there may have been a very different outcome. Two weeks ago, we came across a couple in Death Valley that were stuck with a dead battery, far off the paved road. They were not in a life or death situation YET, but had they decided to hike out 20 plus miles to get help things could have taken a turn for the worse. As Ray said, a simple, inexpensive PLB would probably have saved a life. So sad and avoidable.........

[Steve C]

My wife purchased an InReach device shortly after I purchased my SMB. My particular model and plan allows unlimited pre-selected texts and 10 free unique texts per month. There is a handy SOS function that will trigger emergency assistance and link texting with the monitoring org. The unit allows the ability to send locations to whomever you want via text messages at whatever frequency you set up. I’ve used mine from the North Slope of the Alaskan range as well as all over Idaho. I’ve only noticed a lack of coverage in a few steep sided canyons.

The original cost was approximately $350 and my monthly subscription is $12.95. Now that I have it, I don’t usually wonder far without it. My wife seems to worry much less when she gets at least an evening and morning check-in when I’m out solo...

[marret]

Sad indeed. I too have carried an Inreach SE for years, including a trip to AK, with texting/emails, tracking, and SOS. Easy to text with the Earthmate app.

Like most here, also carry a tire repair kit and compressor.

[MarinBlaine]

Originally Posted by marret

Sad indeed. I too have carried an Inreach SE for years, including a trip to AK, with texting/emails, tracking, and SOS. Easy to text with the Earthmate app.

Like most here, also carry a tire repair kit and compressor.

I have a compressor to air up and air down, but am ashamed to say I don't have any idea about a tire repair kit (other than on my bike), is this something a normal civilian can utilize?



I did read the thread a bit ago about the guy who was stranded deep on the baja coast and fixed his tire after some horrible ordeal...but it looked like an intimidating prospect.



Seeing the big machines that take tires off the rims, I have no idea what that would look like out in the wild??

[JonBertsch]

Sad to see this in the news, hope the wife makes it. I was over in DV a couple of weeks ago and it was pretty hot during the day even then.

For anything off the main roads or even just hiking a Garmin In Reach mini (or another brand such as SPOT) is the way to go. You can check in every day or at specific times to confirm you're ok, you can signal SOS if necessary. For $350 and a monthly fee it's worth it for added security.
The recommendation is usually to stay with your car, rescuers can see a car from the air easily and it's going to be on/near a road. Carry food and water so you can wait it out.


Hope this doesn't happen to anyone on the forum while out exploring.


Jon

[marret]

Originally Posted by MarinBlaine

I have a compressor to air up and air down, but am ashamed to say I don't have any idea about a tire repair kit (other than on my bike), is this something a normal civilian can utilize?

I am talking about plugging a puncture, not hard. Could also patch. If a tire is shredded, probably would need a tube to try and limp out. Duct tape might help. One could break a tire bead in the field using a jack.

Most won’t be able to remove a tire in the field. Very difficult with hand tools.

Safety Seal is a high quality repair plug kit and instructions:
https://safetyseal.com

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by MarinBlaine

I have a compressor to air up and air down, but am ashamed to say I don't have any idea about a tire repair kit (other than on my bike), is this something a normal civilian can utilize?

I also have a Safety Seal which works for punctures. For the more extreme tire issues, some people are very skilled at implementing a temporary fix (I'm not one of them). See this thread:

https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/fo...ica-25157.html


Herb

[ctb]

That is sad and panic does make you make bad decisions...We carry a satellite phone whenever we are out. We are most always by ourselves and having the phone makes us feel much safer...the phone might have cost us $300+ years ago, but you only have to purchase minutes when needed...we usually purchase 60min for around $60 good for that month (30 days)...we have tested it on/from the Dempster in NW Territories to nowhere places in Montana and Utah, it has always gone through...maybe both the beacon and the Sat phone to be super safe