What happened to this California family?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Incredibly sad. And while I certainly understand questioning their judgement I will say that this sort of thing can really creep up on you.

We went out to Big Bend a year ago and both my daughter and I ended up with heat exhaustion. We had enough water - had water left, but the lack of shade and an unexpectedly hot day really took it out of us. We were .6 miles from the trailhead when we were able to drag ourselves to a picnic area with shade. It's hard to describe the feeling of simply struggling to put one foot in front of the other and the sun just beating down. And there's a point when water is only part of the equation.

It was completely avoidable - they started the trail at 7:44AM. Looks like they realized they were in trouble and overheating around 10:29AM. Their last communication was 12:30PM.

This is tragic, but at the very least they should have expected this to kill the dog.

The dog would have survived on its own by making its way to the nearby river if they had unhooked the lead line.

[Anonymous]

They made frantic calls for a half hour from where they were found. Why didn’t one of the adults leave the other two and run to the car for supplies or to drive it back in the trail? Why did neither fill their water bottles when they were basically following the river for hours?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They made frantic calls for a half hour from where they were found. Why didn’t one of the adults leave the other two and run to the car for supplies or to drive it back in the trail? Why did neither fill their water bottles when they were basically following the river for hours?

Because in those temperatures without shade, with an uphill return climb ahead, and no trees to give cover even by the river, no amount of water (except maybe buckets of ICE water) would have helped. Their bodies reached a point where they could no longer sweat enough to cool off sufficiently, hence their organs began to shut down.

Judgment goes first. Nevertheless, in a delirious and weakened state, it seems the mom DID try what you suggested — to leave the others and run to the car/cell reception. But she only made it fifteen feet up the embankment.

This is incredibly tragic. The text shared in the above article breaks my heart.

On hot shadeless days, it is disturbingly easy not to realize the danger you’re in until you’re already past the point of no return.

[Anonymous]

It’s tragic, but was entirely preventable as discussed so many times in this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s tragic, but was entirely preventable as discussed so many times in this thread.

Agree. They just did not adequately prepare for a hike with a baby. They did not appreciate the additional risks.

[Anonymous]

If you have young kids or an old dog, you really need to think twice about hiking in July and August. Particularly on an unfamiliar trail. That’s just the way it is.

[Anonymous]

Were they unaware of how far they were getting from their car? It’s hard to believe they planned to be out for that long with a dog and a baby, especially in intense heat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s tragic, but was entirely preventable as discussed so many times in this thread.

Agree. They just did not adequately prepare for a hike with a baby. They did not appreciate the additional risks.

DP. I believe this was mentioned way up this long, long thread, but I recall reading that another contributing factor was that the area where they went to hike had had more trees (not a lot, but more) in the past, and had lost trees in recent years. So outdated websites or maps could have given a wrong impression concerning how exposed the area really was at the time. Even with tree cover, though, temperatures of 109 would still be too intense even in shade.

Another article mentioned that weather apps often are not accurate with much detail, and that NOAA has weather information that can pinpoint small areas much better than most commercial weather apps that people tend to use. No way to know if the family used any weather app at all, or ever searched re: tree cover etc., but those things are factors for us all to think about if we go out on any trail.

If anything good comes from these very sad deaths, maybe it will be a heightened awareness of conditions for hiking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Were they unaware of how far they were getting from their car? It’s hard to believe they planned to be out for that long with a dog and a baby, especially in intense heat.

I think they underestimated the difficulty of the terrain, especially when they got towards the end of the loop and faced the steep switchbacks.

[Anonymous]

What a horrible way to die. This is heart wrenching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Were they unaware of how far they were getting from their car? It’s hard to believe they planned to be out for that long with a dog and a baby, especially in intense heat.

It was a loop trail - you park at the highest elevation, walk along a nice ridge (maintain high elevation), drop down the valley to the river, hike along the river, then climb back up a long hill via switchbacks with southern exposure back to the trailhead/parking area.

In the past, they had only done the ridge portion of the trail and then came doubled-back the same way to their car.

On the hike where they died, they decided to do the full loop. They were not familiar with the hill hike on the return portion, which had recently lost its tree cover due to forest fires. So they were very exposed to full sun on the hard portion of the hike.

Another tip: don’t end your hike with a long climb. Getting your climb done early, when you still have plenty of energy and it’s cooler outside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Incredibly sad. And while I certainly understand questioning their judgement I will say that this sort of thing can really creep up on you.

We went out to Big Bend a year ago and both my daughter and I ended up with heat exhaustion. We had enough water - had water left, but the lack of shade and an unexpectedly hot day really took it out of us. We were .6 miles from the trailhead when we were able to drag ourselves to a picnic area with shade. It's hard to describe the feeling of simply struggling to put one foot in front of the other and the sun just beating down. And there's a point when water is only part of the equation.

It was completely avoidable - they started the trail at 7:44AM. Looks like they realized they were in trouble and overheating around 10:29AM. Their last communication was 12:30PM.

This is tragic, but at the very least they should have expected this to kill the dog.

The dog would have survived on its own by making its way to the nearby river if they had unhooked the lead line.

Agree - dogs are smarter than people. Also who takes a dog on a long hike in that weather. He was literally wearing a fur coat!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What a horrible way to die. This is heart wrenching.

+100. The final texts make it painfully clear the family was fully aware of what was happening to them, and I cannot imagine a more terrible way to go. I guess I was hoping for their sake that delirium had set in before they were able to appreciate what dire straights they had put themselves, their child, and their beloved pet in. RIP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a horrible way to die. This is heart wrenching.

+100. The final texts make it painfully clear the family was fully aware of what was happening to them, and I cannot imagine a more terrible way to go. I guess I was hoping for their sake that delirium had set in before they were able to appreciate what dire straights they had put themselves, their child, and their beloved pet in. RIP.

So sad. Good job by the investigators

[Anonymous]

Heartbreaking to see the panicked text and calls I’ll be honest I also sometimes forget water or just bring some for baby and assume we’ll be back. Just heartbreaking they were a beautiful family.