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As someone who lives nearby part of the year, I really think this story has taken on a life of its own. It's true that there is some gross algae in the South Fo
by smhinsey 5y ago
As someone who lives nearby part of the year, I really think this story has taken on a life of its own. It's true that there is some gross algae in the South Fork Merced but from all of the public info, they didn't even make it that far. If you look at where they started and where they were recovered, you'll see that in between is a fully exposed descent down a series of switchbacks. It was extremely hot that day. They probably died of heat exhaustion. It's unusual for it to get the dog too, but if they didn't have water for themselves, they probably didn't for the dog. It's not hard to imagine getting to the bottom and realizing you're in serious trouble.
This family closely mirrors mine, so I've followed the story closely, and it seems like they just made a grievous error in judgment in an area they weren't familiar with.
- encoderer 5y agoWouldn’t it have been obvious that they had no water with them? Did I miss that detail somewhere?
- hellbannedguy 5y agoI am not familiar with that area, but when hiking, I try to map out natural springs. You won't need them going in, but it's coming back. I once went through a gallon of water on a hot day, and that spring I found earlier saved me. (I haven't been on a long hike since that day though.)
- NelsonMinar 5y agoI hope you bring purification equipment too. Giardia blows.
- ArchOversight 5y agoBetter than being dead.
- Scoundreller 5y ago“ Symptoms usually begin 1 to 3 weeks after exposure” Water now will let you get to treatment next week.
- r2_pilot 5y agoI second this; a couple of years back I went hiking with a buddy, we had water but planned for a day hike that extended overnight, and we had to drink water from some streams. While I worried about illness, having water then meant we were able to get back to civilization, where if we got sick we could seek medical attention.
- daveslash 5y agoPurify when you can, absolutely - but if you have to choose between a stream and a spring, take the spring. Not guaranteed to be safe, but if it's popping up out of the ground, it's more likely to be safe than flowing surface water. Also, always consider what's up-stream.
- atatatat 5y agoThis is counterintuitive to what I've learned about sediment filtration — any insight for a layperson?
- carabiner 5y agoThe hazard of which is greatly overstated. You are probably fine drinking the vast majority of alpine springs if there aren't livestock grazing nearby. I rarely bring purification and I've never gotten sick.
- ransom1538 5y agoGrew up in northern California. What is suspicious was the death of the dog. The dog can live 2-3 days without water - and most likely would have found some. (They smell water).
- datenarsch 5y agoMaybe they just had the dog on leash so it wouldn't run off.
- autokad 5y agoit seems highly unlikely the mother, father, and dog all died of heat exhaustion at the same time, unless the dog died/passed out and they were carrying it. Even then, I would have suspected the mother/daughter taking cover and the dad going ahead.
- carabiner 5y agoIncredibly rare. Huge numbers of people hike the PCT in the desert every year, and some years 1 or 2 people die of heat exhaustion. It's never big groups of people at the same time. Same with heat-related deaths at Grand Canyon, Death Valley etc.
- truculent 5y agoThe article says that they were avid hikers. I’m not familiar with the area, but carrying plenty of water seems like a relatively fundamental bit of prep. Am I missing something?
- par 5y agoactually, the most avid hikers i know usually are overconfident, and underestimate their water needs. I always carry excess water, even after years on the trail, and always have to give some to my even more well traveled companions.
- spacemark 5y agoBack when I flew gliders, every educated pilot knew that the intermediate (aka "avid") pilots killed themselves the most. This is well established statistically. Overconfidence, complaisance with risk, etc.
- Wistar 5y agoNormalization of Deviance "… [Y]ou could make it to a high level of expertise but then succumb to the complacency fed by your successful experiences, you could be beaten by the ever-present need to accomplish objectives (save time, save money, achieve schedules), or you might rebel against unrealistic SOPs and burdensome regulations. Either way, you are living on borrowed time. Fortunately, you can change things." http://www.aviationchief.com/normalization-of-deviance.html http://www.aviationchief.com/normalization-of-deviance.html
- spacemark 5y agoBingo, great read. Thanks for linking!
- nate_meurer 5y agoGood article, thanks. I just listened to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6wuzm8p16M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6wuzm8p16M - The Rangers deployed to find Marcus Luttrell | Tony Brooks, Ranger | Ep. 107 Tony says Rangers are notorious for going out on missions without a safe amount of water or food. He said they nearly took casualties on that rescue mission due to dehydration, and that if he did it again he'd take less ammo and more water. Also, see Aaron Ralston, the guy who disappeared for a week because he got his arm stuck under a rock in a slot canyon. He says his biggest mistake was not going out alone, but rather neglecting to tell anyone else about his plans and schedule. This kind of thing is super common among experienced outdoorsmen and women.
- eplanit 5y agoThey seem too well-educated to not be aware of toxic algae (very common throughout northern CA), and would know to not drink the water -- and certainly not give it to the child. Dogs do often tragically die every summer from drinking from streams, though. Similarly, it's odd for a responsible couple with a child and dog to not know to bring water, etc. Heat or alage aren't impossible, but it sure does seem odd.
- robbrown451 5y agoIf it was an ascent rather than a descent that seems more likely, since they'd be exerting far more. It just seems really weird for all three of them to die pretty much at the same time. (the baby of course could have died hours later of exposure) I'm still betting on some kind of toxin. Really tragic, they seemed like a really happy family.
- smhinsey 5y agoYou’d be surprised how much of an effort it takes to safely descend a steep slope with poor traffic. Definitely harder going up but if you check it out on google earth you can get an idea of the grade.
- robbrown451 5y agoYes but there is still the fact that they all died together. The initial autopsy didn't provide clues (which they would be looking for heatstroke which has a particular signature)