Story of missing hiker in Joshua Tree NP

[adamghost]

BTW, just updated my own pages about Bill to correct the "10 second" misinformation and also the implication that Bill flew out to be in JT for just one day (according to his fiancé he was flying back on July 1). I notice that more and more people are becoming interesting in this case...God knows I don't need to add to the confusion. If anyone catches anything else, please let me know.

[Ric Capucho]

BTW, just updated my own pages about Bill to correct the "10 second" misinformation and also the implication that Bill flew out to be in JT for just one day (according to his fiancé he was flying back on July 1). I notice that more and more people are becoming interesting in this case...God knows I don't need to add to the confusion. If anyone catches anything else, please let me know.

Hi Adam,

Is the "one day" a typo? Bill flew in on Wednesday 23rd June, and (I think you're right) intended to fly back out on Thursday 1st July, so, assuming no hiking on the arrival or departure days, that would have given him seven full days of hiking in and around JTNP.

Ric

[adamghost]

It wasn't a typo so much as bad writing. I was putting down a lot of thoughts, partly not to waste Tom's website time on them and partly just to have them there for other people to use if they wanted them, and I wasn't clear on the point myself. Since then one or two people have picked up on that line and if they're using anything on my website as a reference I don't want to put bad information out there. So as I said if anyone catches any other errors, please let me know.

[David W]

Subscribed...cuz I wanna hear about it when he's found.

[RichardK]

I apologize for adding yet another post to this already too long, too speculative thread. However, I came cross a trip report where four guys hiked to Corridor Canyon in Death Valley in hot weather and ran into serious trouble with dehydration. I believe that their experience offers insights into Bill's possible state of mind since he attempted to do two hot weather hikes in Joshua Tree with only a pair of water bottles.

If you hike much in Death Valley, you are likely familiar with Steve Hall's excellent web site http://www.panamintcity.com. Steve is documenting every last hike in Death Valley with maps, photos, and trip reports. His site puts all other guidebooks to shame. I am going to quote his account of what happened when he and three friends hiked to Corridor Canyon in hot weather. To summarize, the group became separated. One guy was hallucinating, but managed to return to the vehicle. Another guy sat down and prepared to die. While we will never know Bill's state of mind on that Thursday afternoon, the experience of this group shows just how fast dehydration can hit both body and mind. I am sorry that this quote is long, but I believe that it is worth reading not only for insight into Bill's fate, but also as a cautionary tale for desert hikers.

To reach this great destination, Chase, Joe Silva, Lowell & I camped the night before at Homestake Dry Camp at the end of The Racetrack. The next day we woke up, drove about 10 miles, and parked near the Ubehebe Lead Mine. We filled up our packs with water bottles as it was a really hot day, and began the walk down through the wash. We encountered lots of cactus and flowers that were in full bloom. All four of us stuck together and ended up passing through the beautiful narrows of the lower canyon, which dropped us right into The Corridor. Entering right in the middle was quite breathtaking to say the least. I dropped my pack there and headed down to the lower section of The Corridor to examine the walls and get some photographs. Meanwhile, Chase and Lowell rested for a while and then made an unwise decision-- they decided to hike back out to the truck on their own, Lowell doing so with no water. Keep in mind that the day was really hot and they are not experienced hikers or navigators. I was surprised when Joe told me that they had decided to do this, but thought it would be alright since they were hiking out together. Joe then headed down towards the lower section and I went to the upper section of The Corridor to check it out. The upper section was pretty cool, but my progress was stopped by a huge dry fall that turned to the west. I scrambled up some rocks to take a closer look and see if I could find a way around the high falls, but ultimately decided to stick with my policy of not taking any chances and came back down. When I got back to the main junction of The Corridor, Joe was nowhere to be found, so I grabbed my pack and headed back up towards the truck. The whole time I was actually worried about everyone else, because hiking back up I noticed that there were canyon splits where an inexperienced hiker could easily get lost. When I got to the truck about 1 1/2 hours and 3 miles later, I found Lowell at the truck resting. I asked him where Chase was and Lowell told me that he and Chase had split up and he hadn't seen him in over an hour. He also had no idea where Joe was and hadn't seen him since being in The Corridor. This really started to worry me, because there were about 3 to 5 places that you could easily take the wrong turn when hiking back out of Corridor Canyon if you're not paying close attention. And with limited water, really hot weather, and no experience hiking, it had the potential to be a deadly combination. Lowell and I decided to wait it out for about an hour to see if Joe would arrive, because we had assumed that he was hiking up the trail behind me somewhere. Sure enough, Joe did arrive after about an hour, but not on the trail. He was climbing down the ridge of Ubehebe Lead Mine.

When he got down, Joe rushed to the back of the truck to get some water. He explained that he had gotten lost because he had taken a wrong turn. And when things seemed unfamiliar and he began getting seriously dehydrated, he decided to climb up a ridge to try and get his bearings. When he did this, he spotted one of wooden tramway posts of Ubehebe Lead Mine about three ridges over from where he was. Joe added that the heat had taken a devastating toll on him and he had even seen a false mirage of Lowell waving to him standing next to his truck. But when he looked closer, he realized he was just looking at a large rock and that it didn't seem real to him because the sides of the mirage were white and blurry. Then Joe told us something that really got us worried. He said that about 1/2 way up Corridor Canyon he had ran into Chase running down towards him, screaming and crying. Chase was running out of a wrong turn he had taken into a wrong canyon, and he seemed to be in a terrible mental state. Joe told Chase to stay put in the shade, while Joe hiked out to get some more water and find out where everyone else was. When I heard this, we loaded up water in our packs and headed back down Corridor Canyon to find him, hoping that he had stayed in the same place, and not tried to find his way out. Sure enough, about 30 minutes later, we found Chase laying down in the shade. He told us that he had just said his final prayer and didn't know if he was going to make it. After drinking some water and resting up a bit, we all hiked out together. I personally am not so sure Chase would have survived the day if he had tried to find his own way out and not stayed in one place. In the end, everyone was okay. But I learned a valuable lesson that I need to keep a close eye on people that are hiking with me and make sure that they always use good judgment.

[Hikin_Jim]

A worthwhile quote -- and a cautionary tale.

Thanks, Richard.

HJ

[AZeagle]

Otherhand & others, this is all very fascinating to follow, thanks for the effort. This is an outside perspective with no experience in Joshua Tree.

I took all of the points of interest from Bill’s itinerary that were near Quail Mountain. These are plotted as the yellow stars in the picture. Indian Cove is a spot I had not paid attention to, but when you include it on the plot, you notice a large ring around Park Blvd. Juniper Flats is in the middle, more southerly and closer to some than others.

My theory: Bill started up Boy Scout Trail after a surprisingly quick and easy 10 mile hike from the parking lot. After the trail turns east toward Indian Cove, Bill turns back. Maybe he misses the turn south, or maybe he intentionally heads west for help. The West Entrance station is due west of this turn and JTNP maps indicate it has running water. There is also a medical facility marked on some park maps, and the Panorama Heights residential area within a couple miles of this trail. For any of these reasons, Bill moves west over rocky terrain and into the range of Serin. Parts of North View trail are 10.6 miles from Serin, and everything west of that trail is in range. Boy Scout trails is only about 1-1.5 miles out of range.

How he got there: It's day one of a solo trip with a lot of targets in mind. It's too late to start Quail, so Bill decided on a casual hike that will let him maximize the views and help decide where he will go the rest of the week. He has the option to explore some areas in depth or keep moving. His plan is to follow the ring of spots counter-clockwise (immediately crosses Park to CRHT) until he gets tired, at which point he can quickly get back to Park Blvd and follow it to his car. Maybe this idea is even plan B after he saw how late it was to attempt Quail. The flat terrain away from the mountains increases the distance he can cover in a day compared to the trails that have been searched. It would take a 17-20 mile hike to do loop from JFPL through Ryan campground, up to the base of Boy Scout trail, and some way back through Hidden Valley or backtracking. But it would be easy and flat, and offer lots of opportunities to turn back or hail a car in an emergency.

The chosen parking location is a huge hurdle for making this location possible. There are more central lots, and Juniper Flats doesn't really give him access to Crown Prince, Lost Horse, or Keys View. Maybe he just got tired of being in the car and picked the closest one. Is it less logical than some of the motivations he would need to move west of Quail Mountain? I think it's debatable. After thinking through this scenario, the strongest arguments in its favor are that it puts Bill close to an area of interest on his itinerary, with a logical reason to move into the cell radius, and lost in an area that has hardly been searched.

[adamghost]

Hi Azeagle, Adam Marsland here posting from Manila airport (Philippines) of all places.

Would it be possible for you to post a map with an overlay showing your theorized route for Bill to have traveled?

[RichardK]

AZ - With all due respect, I find your theory to be rather far fetched.

It's too late to start Quail, so Bill decided on a casual hike...

So, Bill decides he doesn't have time for the 12 mile round trip to Quail. Instead, he hikes 10 miles to another trailhead to start hiking from there? Really? Maybe that 10 miles is flat, but 8 of the 12 miles to Quail are also flat. Read Otherhand's account of his 3rd anniversary hike JT53.

I decided it would have to warm up and started down the closed dirt road that heads to Juniper Flat. I just zoned out and 1:35 later I found myself in the middle of Juniper Flat. Well THAT was certainly quick!

Remember that Bill set out with only 2 bottles of water and some snacks. Those of us who have done desert hiking are horrified that Bill didn't bring more water. Two bottles isn't enough for Quail, much less a "17-20 mile hike". Even someone who didn't know squat about hiking would bring more than 2 bottles for something that long.

Bill's itinerary plainly has Lost Horse/Quail as an objective. His late arrival at the Juniper Flats trailhead is logically explained by his having hiked Lost Horse first. He did what he said he was going to do. He got to Quail Mountain and something went bad wrong.

[MidwestArmchair]

The water bottle issue is an interesting one. Even in the Midwest, let alone hot Georgia, hikers don't take just two bottles of water with them. I usually take 5-6 regular size bottles for an eight hour hike in 50-degree spring/winter weather, and I'm very amateur. Ewasko was an experienced hiker and had reportedly (IIRC) hiked JTNP previously; I literally can't/don't believe that he had two bottles of water to his name on a desert summer day. Those two bottles are a very big clue, that, IMO, leads to one of two options: either he had more than two bottles with him, or he (thought he) had a water cache near Quail (and the two bottles were just for Lost Horse).

If there was a cache, it may explain the location of the bandanna: that's where he left the trail to go get the water, and it was a marker for his return. If he left Quail going toward Upper Covington Flat (there's plenty of cell coverage the other way), that might also explain why the backpack remains (JT66), the receipt (JT68), and the stickpile (JT48) were all found there--right by the ping radius. I know it's a big leap/assumption, but two water bottles don't make a lick of sense, not even to this non-desert-exploring person. All said, I really wish we knew where he had previously hiked in JTNP.