Story of missing hiker in Joshua Tree NP

Southern California and far-away places. Hiking, wildlife, cycling etc.

Re: Story of missing hiker in Joshua Tree NP

Postby jdclifford » Tue Mar 31, 2020 6:57 pm

Hey guys. I'll be going on a yearlong sabbatical from TV, movies, podcasts, and non-school related internet sites starting tomorrow (not April Fool's, simply a coincidence). I'm just going to be reading books for entertainment between work and school. It's a bit of an experiment, but I think it will lead to a more fulfilled and fruitful existence. Hopefully, once this pandemic relents a bit, it will allow me to spend even more time outside and also to further refine my pool game. I'll definitely be going back to Joshua Tree next year. If earlier in 2021, catching up on this forum will be an exception to my rule.

I'm a veritable idiot when it comes to technology, so I'm not quite sure if my tracks are available to everybody yet. Tom, definitely reach out to me if not so that I can send you them. I know we already communicated via email, but just in case: shootingforthemoon12345@gmail.com. I will still be checking my email fairly regularly.

Here's to a better 2020 than we've already had, and I'll touch base here again in due time. In the meantime, good luck to all who venture out there to find Bill.
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Re: Story of missing hiker in Joshua Tree NP

Postby adamghost » Thu May 21, 2020 11:46 pm

I came back to the states in March to move out and got stuck here via COVID.

Planning to head to JTNP this weekend (my first road trip since returning) and meander around. No great expectations, I just want to take a fresh look from a new perspective, not searching just absorbing. And get out of my house, finally. Looks to be hot after Saturday so I'd better go while I can.

Incredible work by the people that have been searching. Kudos to all. I dreamed one day maybe I'd camp out for an extended period and look around and dang, there's folks that are really doing it and planning to do it again. That's really awesome.
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Re: Story of missing hiker in Joshua Tree NP

Postby Perry » Wed Jul 22, 2020 10:58 am

It's been a decade now. I'm surprised nobody mentioned it yet. I wonder if Bill imagined a pandemic, protests, smartphones with mapping apps, and Trump as president. He probably heard about Polio and maybe 1918 flu from relatives, remembered the civil rights movement, knew how to use the Internet for maps, but that last one was probably beyond anyone's expectation in 2010. It was laughable back then. Although people probably said the same about Reagan when he was an actor.
Counting the days until October...
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Re: Story of missing hiker in Joshua Tree NP

Postby Ric Capucho » Wed Jul 22, 2020 3:20 pm

Thank you Perry, amongst others, I also forgot to mark the date.

Right now, JD is carrying one of the torches so a big nod to him.

Massive respect to Tom, for the numerous (too numerous!) trips he’s done over the years. Amazing really. My hero, no irony.

Ric

p.s. Who the hell am I to comment. Always felt like I turned up to a (Bill search) gunfight with a penknife. Stay safe, anyone who (erm) fancies walking in Bill’s footsteps.
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Re: Story of missing hiker in Joshua Tree NP

Postby RichardK » Sun Jul 26, 2020 5:35 am

It doesn't seem like 10 years. Time flies. The Paul Miller case shows how hard it is to find someone in JT who goes off trail and runs into trouble.
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Re: Story of missing hiker in Joshua Tree NP

Postby jdclifford » Mon Aug 10, 2020 6:05 pm

Hi guys! Last I was on here I was talking about taking a yearlong sabbatical from just about everything except for books. That was a bit idealistic for myself, but I definitely spend my time more wisely and feel much more fulfilled all around. No more surfing on the internet and wasting away my hours. This website, however, must be an exception for me.

In June, I came out to Joshua Tree to do some hiking for a few days in hopes of finding Bill. I knew it would be quite the task given the weather, but I definitely wanted to fully experience what kind of conditions Bill was faced with 10 years before (less than a week short of the very day). Sure, I could have done this where I live in SW New Mexico, but I wanted to hike from the same spot he had parked and try to get inside his mind a bit. I carried two types of GPS, more water than I needed, and a sun-reflecting umbrella. I hiked somewhere above 11 miles and that was, not surprisingly, an absolute brute. The heat and exertion had such an affect that I decided to not hike again on that trip. Whereas my prior hikes had simply made me physically sore, the affect of the sun made me feel depressed the next day. I still view the trip as successful (though not the ultimate success) because it helped better inform me because those were the conditions Bill was faced with.

As for future trips, COVID has made prospects look somewhat bleak. I am restarting my internship as a substance abuse counselor (which will last 3 semesters) next week and the agency is pretty strict on pandemic precautions and I must respect that. An early January trip (between semesters) is still almost certain. Time will tell if I am able to take more, because I'm certainly not coming in the summer again. When I do come back, my area of focus will be from Quail Mountain to Tom's well-searched areas of Smith Water Canyon. Just fill in gaps and keep chipping away at it! In the meantime, I am just enjoying hiking for hiking's sake and will also take on some lost hiker searches within SW NM and SE AZ.
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Re: Story of missing hiker in Joshua Tree NP

Postby bretpct » Tue Aug 11, 2020 8:23 pm

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Re: Story of missing hiker in Joshua Tree NP

Postby jdclifford » Mon Aug 24, 2020 5:42 am

bretpct wrote:JD, I thought you might be this guy: 'Did I Miss Anything?’: A Man Emerges From a 75-Day Silent Retreat


Haha! Might as well be.
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Re: Story of missing hiker in Joshua Tree NP

Postby jdclifford » Sat Sep 12, 2020 6:27 pm

Greg Mendoza was, of course, the hiker who had parked at the Juniper Flats parking lot the day Bill went on his fateful hike. He reported seeing boot tracks heading westerly on Juniper Flats Road. It's probably a shot in the dark, but does anybody know just how far from the parking lot he first spotted Bill's supposed boot tracks?
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Re: Story of missing hiker in Joshua Tree NP

Postby RichardK » Tue Sep 15, 2020 8:24 am

Only OtherHand would know for sure. The point at which Mendoza first saw Bill's boot tracks has not been identified in any published documents. I would think if Bill's tracks went as far as where the trail to the base of Quail Mountain splits off the Stubbe Springs Trail, then we would have heard about it. I would also think if the tracks showed that Bill left the Stubbe Springs Trail early, we would have heard about that too. Since they apparently stopped short due to the ground getting harder, I don't know if it makes much difference.
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