Be Careful Out There

[Oldgator73]

Camper dies, wife rescued in Death Valley National Park

An Arizona tourist died and his wife was rescued Friday after their vehicle got two flat tires and they went missing in Death Valley National Park in California. Alexander Lofgren, 32, and Emily Henkel, 27, were found on a steep ledge near Willow Creek in the desert park, but Lofgren was dead...

www.yahoo.com

 

[SargeW]

Even when you think you are prepared, you may not be. The desert can be brutal for the unprepared.

 

[SeilerBird]

They don't call it Death Valley for no reason.

 

[John From Detroit]

They don't call it Death Valley for no reason.

There is a book where the hero (A ham radio operator) goes to Death Valley.

That's one of the reasons I take radio wherever I go. Now I'll admit your range from the bottom of Death Valley is not as great as from the top of a mountain, (Generally) but the odds of your being able to reach someone.. Rather good.

 

[jackiemac]

There is a book where the hero (A ham radio operator) goes to Death Valley.

That's one of the reasons I take radio wherever I go. Now I'll admit your range from the bottom of Death Valley is not as great as from the top of a mountain, (Generally) but the odds of your being able to reach someone.. Rather good.

Satellite phones are useful although pricey i believe.

Very sad. It just shows the importance of being over prepared.

 

[Old_Crow]

I hate to sound callous, but this is just another example of "they should have stayed with the car".
Note that the vehicle was found first.
Also, if you're not moving around, you can stretch your water supply longer.
This is preached over and over, and still people don't listen. Tom's right, they don't call it Death Valley for nothing.

 

[UTTransplant]

Yes, they should have stayed with the car. The park rangers say that in all their written materials and in person. It is much easier to see a vehicle than a human in that huge landscape. I haven’t seen anyone say what the man died of, but they were in terrain so steep rescuers had to rappel to them. A fall might have contributed.

 

[johnhicks]

I've read that they had three days of food and water, and of course should have stayed with the vehicle rather than wandering across apparently-unknown terrain towards a road four miles away.

 

[PJ Stough]

I wonder why they abandoned the car just because it had two flat tires?

 

[UTTransplant]

I wonder why they abandoned the car just because it had two flat tires?

We spend at least 2 weeks in Death Valley every year. We never go off the main park roads without lots of food and water, a tire plug kit, an air compressor, and a spare tire. Maybe they had all the gear, but they blew out their side walls on rocks. Going solo definitely has its risks. So sorry for the families involved.

 

[PJ Stough]

A car will go on flat tires. I think I would have kept driving the car. I have driven several miles with a flat tire.

 

[Ex-Calif]

Satellite phones are useful although pricey i believe.

Very sad. It just shows the importance of being over prepared.

Sat phones are nowhere near as pricey as they used to be. A cheaper solution is a handheld air band radio. Technically you need a license to use it but it beats dying of exposure.

On the emergency frequency you could get a message relayed.

 

[jackiemac]

Sat phones are nowhere near as pricey as they used to be. A cheaper solution is a handheld air band radio. Technically you need a license to use it but it beats dying of exposure.

On the emergency frequency you could get a message relayed.

We usually have radios in the truck which were used here in the UK but are probably illegal in US. We use them for backing up and if on hikes where we might be apart.

 

[Oldgator73]

We usually have radios in the truck which were used here in the UK but are probably illegal in US. We use them for backing up and if on hikes where we might be apart.

I don’t know why they would be illegal here.

 

[jackiemac]

I don’t know why they would be illegal here.

Cause we don't have a license to use them

 

[Larry N.]

I don’t know why they would be illegal here.

Jackie's right, if the freqs they use require licensing. FRS and CB don't need licensing here in the U.S., though there are certain specs they have to meet, including FCC type-approval and power and antenna limitations, but most radios need some sort of license to transmit. So it depends on what freqs they use, and some other factors.

 

[Oldgator73]

Okay.

 

[Viajeros]

146.52 on a 2 meter ham handy will go a long way with a little altitude. Of course, some one has to be listening.

 

[Larry N.]

146.52 on a 2 meter ham handy will go a long way with a little altitude. Of course, some one has to be listening.

And it helps to have an amateur license and to have the radio installed in your vehicle -- an HT might not have enough reach, unless maybe on a mountain.

 

[Rene T]

And it helps to have an amateur license and to have the radio installed in your vehicle -- an HT might not have enough reach, unless maybe on a mountain.

What’s a HT? Ham Transmitter?