Right choices saved the lives of lost hikers

[Dschur]

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Decisions made by pair lead to happy ending

Alan Humphrey and his wife, Iris Faraklas, quietly held hands as they talked to reporters, reflecting the cornerstone of the plan that probably saved their lives: "Stick together."

Family members reported the couple as overdue on Sunday, May 25. Late on May 26, with additional information from friends, rangers were able to determine that the couple had been issued a permit to backpack the Royal Arch Route in the Inner Canyon backcountry from May 17-May 23, and that their vehicle was still parked at the entry point for the route - the South Bass Trailhead.

By May 28, five days after the couple were expected to complete their trip, multiple ground crews were searching high-probability areas on foot, helicopter flight crews were searching drainages and rim areas increasingly distant from the couple's anticipated route, a technical team from Zion National Park was searching the lower Royal Arch Drainage using canyoneering techniques and family members were starting to fear the worst.


Yet, at about 5 p.m. that day, a ground search team found the couple - tired, hungry, but otherwise in good condition - near the South Bass Trail in the Royal Arch route area.

"We couldn't believe it," said Patrick Gamman, a member of the team that located the couple. "After all of these days, we had been so worried!"

Less than an hour later, Alan Humphrey was being hugged by his father.

"There was a real sense of elation," he said. "It felt amazing to see my father and his friend right there at the helipad!"

Personnel working on the incident, and the couple themselves, attribute the fortunate outcome to being prepared and making good decisions. Humphrey and Faraklas had backpacked at the Grand Canyon before and were familiar with the rugged nature of the terrain and the changeable weather conditions.

In the 11 days they spent in the Canyon, conditions ranged from "temperatures in the 90s to hail and freezing," according to Faraklas.

While they had never hiked the Royal Arch route, they had done research on the trail and had sought the advice of others who had done the route before.

They set specific dates when they would be meeting people after their hike and they made sure that at least one person knew what they planned to do while they were at the Grand Canyon.

In spite of all of their preparations, on the last leg of their trip, the couple overshot their exit route and attempted to reach the Rim in the wrong side-canyon.

Eventually, they realized they were lost, and to a degree stuck, but they didn't panic. Instead, they assessed their situation, developed a plan and made a commitment to stick with that plan no matter what.

First, they decided to be prepared for up to a week on their own and rationed their one day of remaining food accordingly. Then, they found water and a source of shade and decided to stay put until help arrived or their meager supplies started to run out. Above all they made a decision to stick together.

These decisions, it is believed, are a big part of why they are here today. They shared the burden of decision making. They kept track of each other's condition physically, mentally and emotionally. They kept each other on track. They stuck to the plan.

Finally, as their rations began to run out, forcing a last ditch attempt to seek aid at the river, searchers and a resourceful pair of lost backpackers found each other.

Few make it out of such an ordeal needing little more than a meal and good night's sleep; but today, a healthy, injury-free couple is alive today because they made a commitment to stick together, to bring each other through no matter what.

Their message was simple: it can happen to anyone. And if it happens to you, stay put...make a plan...stick together.

[big_load]

What good would a compass do if they are in the wrong side canyon? The tonto runs east and west, the side canyons run north and south.

Getting into the wrong side canyon is one of the easiest mistakes to make and (I concede) can be tricky to work out with a compass, but I've done it. You need to take bearings off any feature you can possibly think of, down to the orientation of twists and turns or subsidiary side canyons, and relate them back to your hypothesized position. If you measured carefully and you're where you think you are, you'll have a match. When something doesn't line up right, you have to form a new hypothesis. I've also verified (and ruled out) a position by estimating the relative slope of walls at various points compared to the map.

[PaleoRob]

I don't understand how somebody can embark on a multi-day backpack trip without a GPS (and an extra set of batteries).

Simple. You just leave them at home or in your truck or don't even own one. GPS is a great tool, but it isn't perfect for everyone. I think everyone can agree here (it seems to be the case) that navigational devices and orienteering skills are essential for backcountry hiking. I think that what form those devices take is up to the individual hiker; map, gps, compass, any of the above. Whatever works for you in your hiking situation, as long as you know how to properly use it, should get the job done. There's no reason for anyone, either GPS or map/compass camp, to try and push their particular method of self-orienting on others - its an un-winnable proposition. People who like maps and compasses are unlikely to switch, and GPSers are equally unlikely to revert to map/compass hikers.

[Grasshopper]

There's no reason for anyone, either GPS or map/compass camp, to try and push their particular method of self-orienting on others - its an un-winnable proposition. People who like maps and compasses are unlikely to switch, and GPSers are equally unlikely to revert to map/compass hikers.

In my case, I originally learned with map(7.5 purchased topo) and a compass. While living In southern CALIF I would take refresher orienting courses every 2 years. This was a number of years ago. Now I can't remember when the last time I purchased a 7.5 topo to use for the area I was planning to hike.. I think mainly due to the now increased costs and the lack of local, convenient availability of topo's. I still always take various maps and my compass on all my dayhikes- remote and otherwise, but in all honesty I really question how much they will help me in a dire situation due to my present "rusty" orienting skills and not having an official 7.5 topo to orient-ire on. Since hiking in AZ over the past four years, I can think of at least 3-4 remote dayhikes I have been on that were turning bad (due too loss of trail, route finding problems, loss of daylight, etc..). In all these cases, my hiking partners GPS unit with my maps got us out safely later that day/night.

For me, I have decided that my maps, a new GPS unit (and a commitment to learn how to use it correctly), and a compass will now be part of my essential backcountry hiking. I took the plunge last night and purchased that new Garmin 60CSx GPS unit with accessories. In my mind, the more safety devices the better.. things can and do go wrong in the wilderness: "never say never & never assume anything"!!

[nonot]

Having a compass only helps so much if the forest service maps are so horrible that they would have you go in the wrong direction. A perfect example is the hike we went on today. I printed out and brought the FS map. Both my compass and my GPS said we were going in a different direction than the map. Thankfully I don't trust all maps I didn't produce myself

[big_load]

Yeah, those FS maps can be really frustrating. I find them more useful for knowing the numbers of FS road. Note that I didn't say useful for planning travel on FS roads, because they don't generally distinguish well between jeep tracks and smooth gravel roads.

[PaleoRob]

Yeah, those FS maps can be really frustrating. I find them more useful for knowing the numbers of FS road. Note that I didn't say useful for planning travel on FS roads, because they don't generally distinguish well between jeep tracks and smooth gravel roads.

That's if you're lucky enough to have the road you're traveling on even listed. All my FS maps have my own additions and corrections on them.

[Jeffshadows]

A couple of folks said it, but it can't be overstated: Learn land navigation and keep those skill sharp!!

This is especially true of you're going out on multi-day, remote hikes without the assistance of technology. Trip planning is critical, too. Breaking longer hikes into legs with prominent "milestones" and way-points sets you up for success. It looks like they pretty much set themselves up for failure...