...Rescue this past Saturday?????? the 30th ??

[THETRACK]

I heard that someone had to be airlifted off Skyline Saturday afternnon.I heard the party was about one hour from the top and then someone broke down.....any body have any updates???....thanks...THETRACK

[Cy Kaicener]

So far there is no news in the Desert Sun or on rmru.org. I cant believe these people. I bet they had a late start to still be hiking in the afternoon. I hope it wasnt a regular that I know, though I kinda doubt it. On July 4th the high in Palm Springs should reach 119 degrees.
PS - One hour from the top should put them in the first shade after Flatrock.

[Hikin_Jim]

It's interesting to me that inexperienced people would try Skyline. I guess maybe they're in good shape (thus willing to take something like Skyline on) but not experienced hikers. Hiking in steep terrain generates a lot of heat. Combine that with high air temperature and the sun beating down on you, and you've got a dangerous situation, one in which the body cannot shed excess heat fast enough. One can become dangerously overheated, and it's dang hard to shed that heat once it builds up. Resting in the shade (IF you can find some!) and drinking water usually just isn't enough. I think most experienced hikers know (first hand!) the dangers of heat and just how debilitating it can be. The inexperienced look at the hike "on paper" perhaps not incorporating the heat factor into the equation. At least this is my best theory to explain such a dumbfounding phenomenon.

I saw a middle aged (early 50's?) English couple on the east side trail to Strawberry Peak (San Gabriel Mtns -- fun class 3 route from the west) on Saturday. They were wearing sandals and had no discernable gear (other than a camera). They asked, "does the shade get any better further on?"

Nice folks, but a bit scary. They did not seem to really know what they were getting into. Southern California chapparal in ~100 degree heat w/o gear. Not good. My friend and I were exiting (this was about noon), having started at 6:30. They were only ~45 min. into the hike. I just can't comprehend late starts in heat. Heat turns an enjoyable hike into misery.

Hopefully that couple is OK. They were debating turning around.

[THETRACK]

Hikin_Jim...you are so correct....I understand that the gentleman lives in PS, runs 10ks and Marathons....and as done portions of CtoCl's but has never done the entire route.....Group started at 630am !!!!!! and the individual involved had no "sticks" and galloped out at a fast clip. Cy was correct; they had to carry him 800 feet DOWN in order for Heli to pick him up.....I heard he went staright to Hospital. No other news as of yet.....THETRACK

[cynthia23]

OMG, what (another) story! A 6.30 am start on a day on which the temps were forecast for 113 degrees! I am really getting fed up with this level of foolishness and sheer egotism. I am starting to get how the rangers and rescue personnel can start to get burned-out and misanthropic. Somebody here was talking about "culling the herd" and brutal as that sounds, I think there's something to it--some people just aren't meant to live and reproduce! Maybe the helicopters should just take the day off!

But seriously, I do also think that some of this foolish, arrogant behavior gets back to our culture as a whole, which is increasingly disconnected from physical reality. People drive around in air-conditioned cars, go to their air-conditioned houses, and watch seven hours of TV a day (the national average.) Of course we're screwed up and stupid. Many people seem to have an attitude that the wilderness is a kind of giant "theme park" which (a wholly imaginary) "they" have engineered so that no real harm can possibly come to you. I keep coming back to the photo of those grinning Gen Y idiots who were so clueless about being rescued from the north end of Mt. San Jac. The reality that we are existentially alone in a sometimes hostile or at least uncaring world, and must rely on ourselves to survive, is absent from these people's minds. Instead, people are infantilized and think that even halfway up a mountain, some imaginary Big Barney is behind the scenes magically whisking rattlers and heat stroke out of your way. At the most basic level, fewer and fewer people spend any time outdoors as children, and they seem to lack even a basic "wilderness instinct"--the fundamental understanding that it's a cold/hot world out there, baby, and you gotta take care of yourself ....as the Bible says, IN FEAR IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM .....maybe this is what we should post at the bottom of Skyline!

[AlanK]

I was on Baldy Saturday. We got to the summig at around 8:45 and it was already 80. That's pretty tolerable, but I would not have wanted to be out on Skyline at the same time!

[Hikin_Jim]

Maybe we should put up a sign by the museum. I wrote something up in another post recently, but maybe the most important part of that post is:

Experienced people die on this route, particularly young, fit males who press on when they should turn back. Do not underestimate the heat. Start times of 2:00AM - 3:00AM are normal. 5:00AM is a late start.

[magikwalt]

Come on Cynthia tells us how you really feel about these folks running up there in the heat of summer! Don't hold back and cherry coat it for them.

[zippetydude]

This is a fun forum. You folks always bring a smile to my face. One might even say miles of smiles.

Incidentally, dont' be too tough on the guy for the 6:30 start. I generally start at about 5:00 during the summer. I know that sounds too late, but if you do the math and plot the temperature curve created by the adiabatic lapse rate you'll find that it actually places me in the the lowest temperatures for the entire route as long as I hold a 4 hour pace. This guy is a marathoner, and he may have been thinking along those lines. That being said, I still agree with all of you that 6:30 was too late. Clearly so, or he wouldn't be in the hospital, and he wouldn't have had to be rescued.

Hey, up at the Kern River, they always have posted a relatively current number of people who have died in the river. Makes you think twice. Can anybody come up with a number of people who had to be rescued in the past, say, 10 years? That might make a good, simple sign that would speak for itself.

z

[TRumble24]

The more press Skyline gets, the more people read about it, the more they analyze it on paper, the more they underestimate it (I still have a hard time grasping how that happens, all you have to do is stand anywhere in the valley and look at the damn mountain and it becomes readily aparent that it's gonna kick your ass if your not 100% prepared), the more people get rescued or injured. Those of us who respect the mountain, the trail, the wilderness, are the ones who deserve to be on the trail. Those who have to be rescued because of negligence should have to pay for it, and also possibly face extra fines (i.e. the yahoos Cynthia refers to from awhile back.). Just the same as those who start wildfires are billed for the fire fighting operations. Once cash is on the line people might be a little more motivated to assess their ability to complete the trail. I agree a nice sign with some facts about injuries/deaths on the trail would be good. Sometimes the only way to get through to some people is to scare them.