Mt. San Jacinto Outdoor Recreation

I think another hiker is missing... temperatures are more amenable so hopefully a happy ending.

The Maze Loop, again.

Ric

http://www.hidesertstar.com/news/article_a3cda876-2817-11e8-8cf1-e7ec038091d9.html

Ha! Found alive! Great.

Ric

https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2018/03/15/paul-hanks-missing-joshua-tree-hiker-found-alive/430801002/

Gosh, thank goodness this turned out well.

A 20-foot fall sounds pretty bad. I wonder if he was scrambling, or if a dry waterfall surprised him. JT isn't someplace where I venture off the flats if I'm all by myself. Just having another person around makes me more cautious actually, not less. I feel responsible for the safety of my companion.

Okay, wait a minute.

What rubbish reporting is this?

https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/east-county-attorney-found-head-injury-joshua-tree-national-park

His wife, Patti, reported him missing and traveled to Joshua Tree, where a massive search was mounted. Park spokesman George Land said Hanks’ truck was found at the Maze Loop trail, near where two other missing hikers were recently found dead after their vehicle plunged down a cliff, trapping them and seriously injuring one. The couple died of an apparent murder-suicide after searchers failed to find them and they ran out of food.

Insane, even by typical journalist standards. Sheesh.

Ric

Myth wrote:Gosh, thank goodness this turned out well.

A 20-foot fall sounds pretty bad. I wonder if he was scrambling, or if a dry waterfall surprised him. JT isn't someplace where I venture off the flats if I'm all by myself. Just having another person around makes me more cautious actually, not less. I feel responsible for the safety of my companion.

KESQ interviewed him, though they haven't posted the interview yet, maybe they'll update this page with interview soon. I was able to find it on the livestream.
EDIT: They've added the interview.

He was bouldering, which sounds like was something he did often. He also said that he buried himself under sand for warmth, drank his own urine, ate cactus, and thought he was going to die. Apparently, he was somewhat mobile after the accident, mentioning that eating the cactus and drinking some rain water gave him energy to move. I haven't found anything on where exactly he was found, and how far from the trail he was.