Posted on 04/13/2021 11:27:28 PM PDT by blueplum
The dirt roads in Death Valley are not that difficult. There are some sandy bits and some parts that are rocky, but nothing like what you see in the YouTube videos of Moab, etc.
If they drove down Gold Valley Road, they should have walked back out that way, but it looks like they tried to climb down the cliffs into the valley. If that's the case, then that was the real bad decision they made.
Personal locator beacons are around 200 bucks. Pop the satellite antenna, press the distress button. Wait for the SAR to arrive. There’s no excuse these days. You can even rent them.
He dies now, or later.
No great loss. Bad times are coming.
This reminds me of the story I read over at Chaos Manor over 22 years ago...
https://www.jerrypournelle.com/chaosreports/deathvalley.html
Saturday, November 21, 1998
I’m alive.
That may not sound like a lot but when you see the pictures of the Bronco you’ll see why I find it a minor miracle. I lost a tire at 35 or so on a desert road in Death Valley. There’s a berm—a steep embankment made of the material thrown up when they graded the road— on the side of the road, and I went up that sideways enough to roll, and we rolled at least twice. I came to rest with the truck lying on the driver’s side, on the opposite side of the road and facing 180 degrees from the direction I’d been driving. Doors wouldn’t open. The big glass rear window on the passenger side (now the up side) was broken, and I climbed up out of that. Fast, because the way to find out about a fire is from 40 feet away. I got some wicked cuts on the palms of my hands on the residual of broken glass on that window, but I was out fast.
No fire. No nothing, but I was 23 miles from a paved road in Death Valley National Monument, the lowest place in the United States, and not a popular area in November. It was late afternoon. Clear skies. Wind coming up. It would be very cold. I had plenty of liquids.
I was bleeding like crazy, great drops of blood running down my face. I didn’t feel hurt, and head wounds bleed a lot. I poked around with my fingers and found I didn’t have any great lumps or soft spots on my head, so I tied an old tee shirt around my head to catch the blood and let things clot. It took care of the job, but now I looked like the character in Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage. Like I’d been in a war. I inspected for other injuries. Cuts on my hands from glass in getting out. Nothing else. Amazing.
Found all my stuff, got it out of the truck and made a pile secure against wind. Located all the liquids. Found my glasses on the driver’s window, which was on the ground. Actually they were on the ground, since that window had been open. Found the map.
The Compaq Armada had been on the passenger seat with the Delorme GPS tracking receiver on the dash. I found the Armada in the dirt about 30 feet from the Bronco. It had apparently been thrown clear although how I am not sure. The GPS receiver was torn loose at the port connector — if it had not been screwed into place it might have still been working— and next to the car.
The Armada was working enough that I could see on the screen the exact position on the road where the Delorme GPS tracker had been displaying a vector and became a stationary round ball. I was about 23 miles from the paved road to the south. Over 40 to anything at all in the north. The cell phone was working, in that lights came on, but it wasn’t connected to anything. I had a brief thought about fastening a cellular phone relay to one of the circling vultures. Of course I had no cell phone relay, although I might have caught a buzzard by lying still enough. It would be a neat trick to play on the buzzard. That wasn’t likely to work.
Nothing for it but to hike out, so I did, and it was cold at night, no moon. Of course I was on a road, so I couldn’t get lost. Only I did. Because the truck was on the right side of the road, but 180 degrees from the way I had been headed, I started walking north. I had been headed south and it never came to me that we’d done a 180. I walked almost an hour when I realized I was going north INTO Death Valley. That’s why the sunset was on my left. And stars were rising on my right. Walking into Death Valley.
Not smart. Nothing for it but to turn back, so I didn’t really leave Bronc until 6:30 PM, having wasted two hours of walk. Bah. I left a note at the car in case anyone came along, although no one had in 3 hours and it was clear no one would, and off I went with water and Seven-up bottles and a Microsoft WinHec backpack which I thought had a jacket and sweater in it.
I guess I was more confused than I thought because I discovered that I’d left the jacket and sweater ready to be packed in, but they weren’t in the pack. Instead I had a second polo shirt, a light cotton sleeved shirt, and a pair of pants. And a Boy Scout bandana. For a while I used the spare pants as gloves. I had a plastic bag of the grocery store variety with bottles of 7 up, which I had to carry along.
Eventually I was down to one Seven-up bottle and it was cold and the bag ripped so the bag went on under my shirt for insulation. By then I had on three shirts, to wit: a polo shirt, a light cotton long sleeved shirt, and another polo shirt, in that order. It got colder so the AAA map got wound around my body inside the outer polo shirt, and the trousers went on as a hood with the legs around my neck as a muffler. Not bad. And as John Muir said about staying out on the desert without a fire one night, keep moving. It will keep you warm despite that -450 F radiation environment that sucks heat right out... Of course I did have a hat, and over the hat the trousers as a hood, so I wasn’t naked to the sky.
You get a lot to think about walking in the desert at night. There were no lights at all. There was a loom of light over the mountain to the south, which had to be the town of Baker about 40 miles away. Nothing to do but keep walking. It was cold enough that I didn’t really dare sit down to rest, so for rest I would walk slow ten minutes and hour, then pick up the pace. So about 2:30 AM after 8 hours of walking in the right direction (and 2 in the wrong!) I got to a paved road.
There weren’t any cars. Finally one came. Then half an hour later another. And about twenty minutes after that, another. Nobody would stop, but about 4:30 a big 18 wheeler driven by two Mexicans who spoke very little English stopped, and they took me to Baker, where I shivered my way to the Bun Boy motel. I checked in and called home to tell them I was all right, then called AAA from the room, then got a quick shower so I didn’t look like the walking dead, and about an hour nap. Then the AAA tow truck came. AAA took me back out to get the dead truck and all my luggage and computers. I went back to bed for a couple of hours, and Alex came to Baker to take me home, and here I am.
Needless to say I did not make the Hackers conference where I was supposed to tell about the death of BYTE.
USAA insurance is taking care of everything from here. Kaiser looked at me last night and gave me a big course of anti-biotics and a tetanus shot, but that’s mostly preventive rather than needed. I’ve got multiple bruises and contusions and scrapes, and a good story, and I’ll have some pictures of my poor dead Bronco later on.
Wear your seat belts. They sure saved my life. No air bags so my glasses were not broken either.
Three days later I found I had an infection in my leg, and they put in an IV shunt in my arm, and I have been getting IV infusions of antibiotics. As of December 7 I am still on them, but I feel all right now, and the swelling is about gone; I’ll recover.
I’m fine. Now I have to look for another 4 wheel drive vehicle. Given that I walked away from this one, I’d buy another Bronco II but they don’t make them any more. Probably an Explorer. Something with rear seat windows that open: the one problem with Bronc was that Sasha the Husky insists on sitting with his head out the window, and since the rear windows can’t open in a Bronco II, he ends up in the lap of the passenger. Seventy five pounds of Husky is a bit much. He can be ordered into the back, but then he complains. A lot. So my next truck will have openable rear windows. Explorer is probably going to be it. There’s a great Ford agency here that likes 4-wheel vehicles. But we’ll see. Anyway I am alive.
What I want is a Toyota Land Cruiser, but they are very expensive, costing more than the Mercedes M Class 4 wheel. I’m still dithering. But I’ll find one. Now I have deadlines. Thanks to all who have written to wish me well.
Don’t go.
Dirt roads are still roads. They just require more caution and attention to possible hazards.
You can drive slowly and carefully on flats a long way.....I did it 25 miles in the Everglades
I think he must have fallen......
Strange decision making....
Good suggestions. Mumber 1 is the best. Have a float plan with a reliable party.
I have worked S&R cases where we were looking for a party miles away from where they were because some(the only one with info) “thought” that they went to X when the party actually went to Y.
As someone who has spent most of my life outdoors and decades on search and rescue teams...that’s and excellent list. Especially #1.
Forget Fix-a-Flat. Not reliable. Get plugs and a GOOD compressor.
Don’t have time to type it out now. My Death Valley experience almost killed me. Changed a whole lot about my approach to off-roading.
A satellite communicator of some sort. They have ones that will send a distress signal or even text messages for not a lot of $
Number = Number
Off to bed........
[A Subaru Forester]
Yikes
My brain trust son got a new truck and took it out for some fun in the sand there. Three flat tires later and out of range of a cell tower, he and his best bud were rescued by three friends with a similar truck and their spare tires. Marines. They made a video of their misfortune. It was hilarious.
Why does the family need a Go Fund Me?
Aren’t staffers covered by insurance for federal emoloyees?
In addition to extra ammo and a snake-bite kit, I always packed a satellite phone and a six-gallon can of gas and six gallon-jugs of distilled water and a loaf of bread and a big jar of peanut butter...
My camel had to have those peanut butter sandwiches or he’d get really nasty...
Death Valley Days Season 1 Episode 1 How Death Valley Got Its Name
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m70yWelM3W
more tips:
1. buy/rent a personal locator beacon before you go off grid
2. Take flashlights/headlamps and extra batteries. Download a compass app onto your cellphone or take a handheld
3. watch for unmarked mine shafts. It’s not unheard of for atvs to drive into them or kids to fall. You don’t want to fall into a mine shaft.
4. Wear long pants and loosefitting clothes. The wind will deydrate you as fast as the sun.
5. Clear your perimeter before you sit. Look at the ground before you get out of your vehicle and before your approach your vehicle. if you see a roadrunner foraging, he’s probably looking for a tasty rattler - be cautious.
6. Know where you’re going and let others know
7. purchase airlift insurance if you don’t already have that as a policy benefit. Depending on where you are, if you’re snakebit or your chainsaw slips, you’ll be airlifted to Vegas or Riverside and it’s not cheap out of pocket. The first airlift will pay for itself.
8. If you take kids or dogs out to the desert, they’re going to want to chase lizards. Don’t let them - that lizard may run under a bush where a rattler is napping. The landscape may look empty but it comes to life at the most unexpected moments. Kids need to know that the desert isn’t a city park, it’s a very dangerous and unforgiving place to be and that’s what makes it so special. Be aware that kids and dogs can dehydrate faster than adults and it’s more serious. Dogs will also be tempted to ‘play’ by coyotes who will kill them - keep them on a leash and inside at night. You do not want to be chasing a dog across terrain.
9. Rattler safety. Know your snakes so you can tell first responders what kind of snake bit you. Don’t assume rattlers will know you’re coming and move out of your way - some are not so inclined.
First, a ‘friendly’ snake: the Desert Rosy Boa
(slim head, striped, the slowest moving snake in the US I think) eats rats, mice, baby rabbits and best of all, baby gophers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be6wlTPKWhw
Here are the devils of the desert and why you want to stay on roads. Stay off game trails where snakes hang out.
Mohave green rattler - This is a shorter snake, about 3 foot. It can get into just about any crack and crevice. (Hint: use a rake to pull wood off your woodpile). Typical rattler habitat of Joshua trees, sage, creosote bushes. I’ve seen one out in the open at dusk, near a gas station in Apple Valley. Like ALL rattlers, doesn’t always warn first.
video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js6msOFNp9U&t=11s
photo:
https://www.nps.gov/para/learn/nature/mojave-green-rattlesnake.htm
Speckled Rattler:
https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/BIG/259651.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Crotalus_mitchelli_(Marshal_Hedin).jpg
Panamint Rattler:
http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/c.stephensi.html
Red Diamond back - black and white “racoon” tail - had one of these in my front pasture last summer and two on my front steps in 10 years. Rattlers will strike grazing livestock on the nose and face as well as the legs. Rubber or stiff aquarium tubing can keep their noses open if they’re struck in the face (talk to your vet):
video:
notice how little of the body is left on the ground in strikestance as this red prepares to launch itself forward (also notice how it blends right into the landscape while it’s coiled and resting):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRW1-q1SU5U
photo:
http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/c.ruber.html
An old prospector’s tale says a rattler will probably miss the first person that walks by but will strike the second. Don’t bet your life on it. Prospectors weren’t that smart to begin with. Here’s a whole lot of good tips:
https://patch.com/california/banning-beaumont/beaumont-be-rattlesnake-safe
10. desert homesteaders might find these links useful:
https://www.coyotehunting101.com/coyote-hunting-california/
https://www.ehuntr.com/coyote-hunting-californias-year-round-secret/
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