So I went back to Ewasko's saddle today. I wanted to go yesterday but there was still enough snow on the ground to make looking for things a challenge. Today, just a few small patches remained in the shade. It will all be gone by tomorrow.
The point of today's exercise was to hike in to the junction of Smithwater and Quail Wash and walk Bill's likely final path. Sort of try to get into what he was thinking and why he chose to go the way he did. It was very educational and I'm still mulling over stuff I noted. There were a couple places where if he had just checked out low saddles to his right, he would have easily escaped the area. So damn close to getting away.
One thing that blew me away was the quality of the backcountry trail markings. Etched metal map plates at all trail junctions, with "You are here" marked, and metal posts with arrows along the trail. In the past the backcountry trails were more like unmarked paths and a real challenge to follow. Now they are marked really well. Judging from the amount of footprints, this enhanced marking/signage has greatly increased the trail use. Not sure how I feel about that. I am confident that had this level of guidance been in place when Bill was there, he would have got out.
I am going to guess that someone from the park reads this website. Because when I arrived this time, the place had been really cleaned up. Some of the stuff left included a flagged bone fragment of bone. However after I scoured the area for a while and found nothing, I'd say they did a good job this time. There's now nothing there. They even attempted to brush away most of the indentations made by the landing of the Huey. But I could still see them because I knew just where to look.
Since the area has now been cleansed and no "souvenirs" remain, I have no qualms about posting the coordinates:
34.062286°, -116.248650°
These coords are for the center of the saddle. I'm not sure of Bill's true position on the saddle, but it's a small area. I'm certain he climbed to the saddle out of the wash to the west and south of the spot, due to the presence of some personal stuff down that slope which has now been removed. But it provided his direction of travel.
Here are some pics of the site:
A general view of the saddle with my red pack in the center. The copter landed just beyond and to the left of my pack.
The view looking back at the way he came in.A view of the road from the saddle, at the base of the rocky hills. That's only 1.1 miles away.
As I said, this site is VERY accessible. Although I took a very roundabout way to get there, via the mouth of Smithwater, once I left and returned directly to my vehicle on Park Road, it took exactly 30 minutes to get back.
As I was leaving the park, I got a nice taste of the "new" JTNP. On a Friday, late morning, I measured the backup of cars waiting to get into the park at 2/3s of a mile. I don't think I'm going back....