RMRU rescue in Carumba

[Ellen]

Howdy All

Another great save by the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit and an excellent write up of the mission by Matt Jordan

http://www.rmru.org/missions/2016/2016-015.html

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[Ed]

Three mountain lions and four people? I think that makes the humans outmatched.

I have a dark view of starting fires, for either signaling or warmth. It doesn't help that my house burned down in the 2003 Cedar Fire, started by a hunter's signal fire, and worse yet about 14 people died the first night. But I was opposed to them long before that. If it is cold and wet, it is quite difficult to start a fire and keep it going. If it is dry, it is dangerous. Personally, I think matches and fire starting material should be dropped from the 10 essentials, it encourages people to believe it is a proper thing to do. Better to carry some warm clothing.

[Hikin_Jim]

Nice write up by Matt.

HJ

[cynthia23]

Wow, a dramatic and well-done write-up. Really engaging. I can only imagine how creepy the tram station would be late at night! (some here though already know!)

I think I might have to come down on Ed's side about the lost man starting a fire--unless I felt I was about to perish from hypothermia, I don't think I would ever risk starting a fire on Mt San J. In our hyper-dry forests it's just too dangerous. You are literally playing with fire. I'd rather freeze to death than be burned up in a forest fire.

Thank you RMRU members for all you give and do. You are heroes.

[zippetydude]

From the write-up it sounds like the person acted responsibly. In particular it mentions that he had only a small fire, so I think he was probably handling the situation pretty well. As long as it's not windy, in which case the fire would be a terrible idea, I think the chances of a little fire getting out of control are close to zero. BTW, I may just have bad judgment, but I've seen mountain lions on 6 different occasions, always miles away from the nearest help, but never have they seemed scary to me. Fascinating, beautiful, yes...aggressive and frightening, well, not yet!

I thought the writing style added a lot to the enjoyment of the report as well. Nice job on that!

z

[Ed]

BTW, I may just have bad judgment, but I've seen mountain lions on 6 different occasions, always miles away from the nearest help, but never have they seemed scary to me. Fascinating, beautiful, yes...aggressive and frightening, well, not yet!

You are much braver than I am, Zip. Though It is the one you don't see that worries me. Below is a list of mountain lion attacks in California. If you want, you can take comfort from the fact that there are only six deaths. On the other hand, note that there were deaths in Southern California in 1994 (Cuyamaca Peak) and 2004 (Orange County). The woman who was killed on Cuyamaca Peak was attacked from behind. And it was on a Saturday morning, as I remember, in a well-hiked area.

http://tchester.org/sgm/lists/lion_attacks_ca.html

[zippetydude]

Yipes, that's pretty scary Ed! I had no idea...all the mountain lions I have encountered have fled immediately upon seeing me. Strange how there were no reported attacks for over 70 years and now there have been quite a few. It's not like there were no people here during those years...kind of a mystery.

z

[Ed]

Strange how there were no reported attacks for over 70 years and now there have been quite a few. It's not like there were no people here during those years...kind of a mystery.

Think it had something to do with when hunting them was outlawed.

I think the fires also make a difference. Reports of mountain lion sightings around here (east San Diego County) were much more frequent before the Cedar Fire in 2003. And they were very unafraid. My wife saw one next to our driveway. Fortunately, she was in the car. But it still tried to stare her down, while switching its tail around, before trotting away.