by guest » Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:27 pm
Thanks for the post Cy,
Don't want to 2nd guess anyone, but if they made the tram, and called for help 1/2 way back down at 9:30pm, makes one wonder, what time they started, (seeing as how it's still summer here in the desert)? The 4,500 ft. area is one of the few where someone could go north or south, quite a ways off the trail. There's also a bunch of short cuts & false trails, (including the one that stays on top of the ridge, after the Orange Hill, (where Mars gutter & spanky short-cut are), that make it confusing, especially in the dark. Above that and the Ribbonwood is thick, (on never-ending slope, before Flat rock). Below that, and lots more secondary trails.
Let's see, stay home with the family and watch a movie, or, get called on a SAR's mission to hike 1/2 way up Skyline in 80-90f weather with 40+ lbs.?
Those folks must have been whooped by the time they hit PS.
ss