travel and rhum

Reading the story about the young woman whose boyfriend left her behind on the trail, and the aftermath, reminded me of an experience my wife and I had last year.

We are of retirement age, but active. We went out into the Nevada desert to see some petroglyphs in a pretty remote area. The trailhead was 25 mlles down a dirt road. Well out of cell phone range. The trail was just a mile loop, so no big deal, we would only be a few minutes , so we left the basics like maps, water, and our satellite communicator in the truck. I did bring my GPS with me to find the petroglyphs .We had our two dogs with us, a 2 yr old pup and a 12 year old.

The terrain was fairly rough – rocky outcroppings, boulders, craggy desert. A fair number of unmarked, but somewhat indefinite trails. This was late winter – daytime temps were mild, but gets cold at night.

We found the petroglyphs, then headed on along the loop, which would take us back to the trailhead. We found ourselves in a kind of bowl, an amphitheater, which we had to climb out of. My wife found a route, which included a 6 foot tall step, which she and the pup were able to scramble up. But the old dog, no way could she make it, nor could I lift a 65 lb Golden Retriever that high.

So we decided that she would wait there on the rim, and I would find another way up. Every spot I tried there was an obstacle – a narrow catwalk along a rock face here, a dry waterfall obstructed by boulders and thick vegetation there. Finally, probably 1/4 to 1/2 mile around the bowl I found a way to the top that the dog could negotiate. We got to the the rim, had to go around a couple big crags, and started to make our way back to where my wife was waiting.

But I couldn’t find her. The terrain looked very different up on top than down below. I appeared to be on the next ridge over from the rim, with a canyon in between. We called out to each other, and could hear each other in the distance, but no visual contact. And the crags made it hard to get a fix on direction of the calls.

Then – no more calls. No cell service. Becoming late afternoon, the light just starting to fade. At this time i decided to head for the truck, and would then go back out and find my wife from there. I had my GPS with a waypoint marking the trailhead, so I headed that way, and eventually picked up a trail heading that direction.

After 3/4 mile, the needle on the GPS had swung 90 degrees to the left, 1/2 mile to the waypoint and a 50’ tall ridge in between. We went up the ridge, and once on top, spotted wife and pup sitting near the truck.

So all ended well, but at least an hour had elapsed since we separated on the rim.

An hour was plenty of time for my wife to imagine all the bad things that could happen – me or the dog fall and break a leg, get carried off by coyotes or vultures, whatever. Turns out she was also making rescue plans herself, involving hiking 2.5 miles back to a camp we had passed on the way out to get help. She didn’t have a key to the truck.

Wow this got long. Thanks for sticking with me.

Reflecting on this, we came to some conclusions.

1. DONT SEPARATE
2. Bring water and maps and snacks even on a “one mile hike”
3. Make sure all members of the party have access to the vehicle. This is a no brainer for us, the truck can be unlocked with a code, with keys locked safely inside
4. Know the terrain before deciding to bring a dog who is up in years.
5. Satellite comm is of no use locked in the truck.
6. DONT SEPARATE

Hi fellow hikers!

So I took up hiking this summer and I’ve been hiking in Nike running shoes. I don’t seem to have any issues but was wondering how much hiking shoes would improve my adventures and if they’re actually worth it. Thanks in advance!