"You're only as good as your plan"

"You're only as good as your plan,"

Rescuers find near-death hiker who ran out of food, water

This guy only had a plan to hike. He seemed to carry his provisions but couldn't provide for himself after they ran out. Proving once again- water is key to survival.

 

Yup. And water is heavy.

 

No tactical cat in evidence?

 

the man started hiking less than two weeks ago
I do wonder how much water he had on him or if the trail had a real dry stretch.

 

Important thing to remember: temperature does not define a desert, nor does "availability" of water. Annual rainfall defines a desert (typically less than 10 in and evaporation exceeds rainfall). Parts of the ocean are technically desert as is the Grand Canyon which has a river flowing through it.

 

Pretty confusing where he was hiking. Yeah we got he was south of the GC. But they mention Payson, Flagstaff, and Phoenix. Big difference between Flagstaff and Phoenix. I take it it was more Payson. I don't have any experience there.

Love the desert. But you better have your $h1t in one sock. Plan your hike and hike your plan. Sounds like he tried. Fail.

Here is my thought. He planned on getting water from a source that was crucial to his success. It was dry. Trouble in a very short time.

 

In this June 2, 2015 photo provided by the Arizona Department of Public Safety, a hiker who was lost and spent three days without food and water is assisted by an Arizona Department of Public Safety rescuer near Payson, Ariz. He was released from a Payson hospital Wednesday. (Arizona Department of Public Safety via AP) (The Associated Press)



So I am assuming this is a picture of the hiker. Unsure if the tarp was his or provided by the rescuers. I have read that you can dig a hole and place a plastic piece suspended over it and water (little) will gather. I read it in a book but never tried it.

How to Make Water in the Desert: 15 Steps (with Pictures)

 

Yes works. However, "any" plant in the hole is not. You aren't going to get much out of oak leaves. You will out of sea grapes.

I'll see if I can dig up some pics of some successes.

 

dig the hole place a can/ container in the center... cut foliage place around the container... cover and place a small pebble in the center over the container... I have had one instructor also recommend urinating around or the foliage but I'm not sure it would be that beneficial... the apparatus is called a solar still...

 

As one who lived in the desert for a while, afoot this time of year you had better know your area and be conscious from day one of the need to find water. Solar stills with the limited vegetation available can supplement, but not provide survival levels in that temp.

 

Bad things can happen quickly and in places like that can become deadly. Why was he hiking by himself, who did he tell of his route, and why did he not have alternate plans? Stupid usually hurts---in his case he put hundreds of people looking for him

 

The tarp was placed with the dark side up.
This would cause more heat gain.

 

Lived down on the border in Arizona for a few years.. They find dead hiker's every year.. You do not go ANY WHERE out there without a lot of water on hand.. A quick trip out to the reservoir can turn into an emergency real quick if the truck/car breaks down. Had it happen to me , however I had the water on hand and it was a long wait till someone came along.. Oh, you don't go walking off either..

 

Good catch @HK_User I wonder who placed it that way. The guy has a blood pressure cuff on so maybe the rescuers did it. No one probably thought of what way the tarp should be- the only thought was shade and cool him.

 

A good question is how did he get lost? Even if all he had was a stick and the sun, and a general idea of where he was, he would have known which way to go.

 

Read about a guy in the Superstition Mountains. Went in looking for a few lost gold mines. Had a map to a spring. Followed the map, couldn't find the spring. Hunted for days. Died of thirst 75 feet from the spring. He'd been walking right around it the whole time. It just wasn't quite obvious enough. Maybe he was expecting greenery and there wasn't any.

 

People read books but don't realize that real life can be really unforgiving.

 

BTW, one of the smartest things you can do when you run out of water in the desert is slap a pair of storm goggles on your face and leave them there. As you dehydrate, you eyes will get dry. Grit won't wash out. It's agonizingly painful, and can effectively blind you long before you lose the ability to walk.

In the words of a guy who tried to walk out of the Sahara after a bomber crash in WWII, one of his last journal entries: "Eyes very bad now."