The Need for a Safety Group

RESCUE AT RED ROCK CANYON

(LAS VEGAS, NEVADA) On the afternoon of April 25, 2019 Las Vegas Metro Police dispatched helicopters and four Police SUV’s in a Search and Rescue Operation at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

A female caller made a desperate plea to 911 regarding a missing middle-aged solo male hiker in the Red Rock Canyon. The temperatures in Las Vegas were about 100 degrees and she was frantic with the approach of nightfall.

Police asked if the hiker was experienced, yes. How much water did he have? The caller didn’t know, but that he was long over due from the initial scheduled completion time. The caller sent a picture for identification purposes, but could not identify the clothing. Metro Police were provided with the track that the hiker planned pinpointing his last known location.

Cell phone coverage in the area was hit or miss. The hiker, at last contact, relayed that he had lost the trail, could not find a way down in the steep and rough terrain, and the cell phone along with GPS Map was dying. He was abandoning the planned loop and turning around. It would be another 4 to 5 hours to return.

Roger Jenkins was rescued 2 blocks from his vehicle at approximately 6PM some 11 hours after beginning his hike that was scheduled for about 4 hours.

Really Mom? You sent the Mounties? Seriously? I felt bad that these hard working Officers with air and ground crews were spending their valuable time and resources because my Mom was worried. The good natured Officer smiled and said that they are out there twice a week searching for people, and obviously things can and have often gone bad in this extreme environment with hazardous drop offs and dangerous temperatures.

If I send a message that I am badly injured, please send help. If I am out lost overnight please send rescue. But, if I message from a mountain top and say I am delayed because the terrain is slow going… then call further delaying my arrival because the GPS map and the trail are sketchy, and even say that I cannot be expected for another 4-5 hours because I am being cautious and I am turning around… I notify that I am low on water, and that I am taking breaks in the shade, so as not to get overheated… I indicate due to the poor trail, there was an unexpected overuse of my iPhone and the GPS Map App and now it is dying, and thus there would be no further contact… then PLEASE do not bother these hard working men and women in an all out search effort that is not needed nor have I requested.

If I was expected at noon and it was now late in the day, and no one had heard from me with an explanation, then perhaps that is cause for concern, but not Search and Rescue. You heard from me, with an explanation. I wasn’t even overdue. I arrived pretty much around the time I said I would during my final notification.

I love you too Mom.

My phone, and thus my GPS, died. I couldn’t find a way down, so I turned around backtracking. This time without the aid of any navigation in the form of a GPS map. I was dealing with an area that didn’t really have a trail. There were a couple canyons, which I was pretty sure both went through, however it was difficult to find the way. In my mind I pondered, what if this is not the same canyon that I came in on? It could be much longer. It was hot. I was low on water by that time. I was tired, and thus made a a decision not to take any chances.

At that point I headed toward where I know people would be. I hiked out a few miles to the scenic drive that would have car loads of tourists enjoying the magnificence of Red Rock Canyon from the comfort of their air-conditioned automobiles.

Once on the scenic drive it was three miles on the road to the Visitor Center where I know I could get water. I was around people and should I have an issue I could ask for assistance. Upon arrival at the Visitor Center I was able to replenish my water supply, which by then I had exhausted. Unfortunately the Center was closed by that time, so I didn’t have a landline with which to reach my Safety Group, which of course included my Mother.

By the way, anyone searching for me could not know that I was taking this more extended, but safer course and I was no longer where they might be searching.

From the Visitor Center I took a shortcut, that probably saved me a couple miles, rather than continue to follow the roadways. I had water, so I was good and I wanted to get back to my car quickly. There was a steep trail that was not easy, but it wasn’t dangerous. Finally I made it back to Calico Basin near where I had parked at the trailhead. I had now traveled between 12-15 tough miles, in heat, instead of the intended 5 miles that would have ended before it got too hot.

I looked up and saw a helicopter fly straight from Vegas and over the parking lot where my car was and it banked hard and made several loops, then it went over part of the trail and returned. I was thinking, ”No, no, no, no, no…”

As the chopper hovered stationary in the blue desert sky with the red canyon behind it, a white Police SUV passed me and then stopped. The dark tinted window rolled down. I walked over, in view of my car, and stuck my head in the window. ”Your not looking for me are you?” ”Are you Roger?”

My dear Mother is no longer part of my Safety Group. My Sister and her Husband, both avid hikers and backpackers, told her that she should hold off calling 911, but she was determined and was not deterred when they told her that they could charge more than $10,000.00. She simply replied that she didn’t care about the money this was her only son.

The moral of the story is it is better to be safe then sorry. I could have tried to force my way down a crevice which may have been able to get me down and back on track, but that wasn’t safe. I could have tried to take the canyon chute, that most likely would have gotten me back once I had decided to turn around, but with the heat and no water that didn’t seem like a good idea. So, I went a longer, safer route, one that I knew I could get help at.

Safety Group

A Safety Group, in my mind, is as essential as good boots, compass, first-aid kit and other hiking/backpacking equipment for going on any hike where you might not be around other people or has any difficulty to it. Regardless of difficulty, it is just a good idea for someone to know that you are out there. A Safety Group is the next level of protection.

My Safety Group is made up of several friends or family that have an interest in hiking or backpacking, (if possible), so that they have some idea what is going on and what you might be encountering. My Safety Group can track me through my GPS Hiking App, that is if I have cell coverage, otherwise it will provide the last location where I did have coverage.

Obviously there is the option of getting a Satellite Tracking Device, but those can be expensive as can the coverage. I figure that I don’t really do too much dangerous stuff and generally I am around other people. Now if I was at the bottom of a cliff all broken and bruised should I have spent the big bucks for the equipment and the best coverage package? Yep…

Information a Safety Group Should Have:

• Your Physical Description
• Recent Picture
• Description of the Clothing You are Wearing
• Experience
• If You Have Appropriate Food and Water
• If You Have Appropriate Clothing for the Conditions
• Any Medical Concerns
• Description of Vehicle and License Plate Number
• Where Your Hike Started and Should End
• Route You Took with Map
• When the Hike Started and When You Were Expected to Return
• Last Known Location

Ash Canyon where the missing hiker started his trek. This is more of a rock scramble than a hike with no clear defined trail.

It is slow going in such an area where there is more than one way to move through and none of them easy.

Physical exertion especially coupled with high temperatures make such an undertaking difficult.

Once through Ash Canyon travel is through washes and across rock again with no clear path.

The trek becomes more difficult past Calico Tanks, a popular hike, that is well traveled, with a clear trail to follow. Past Calico Tanks is where the going gets tough with steep terrain and long drop offs. This is the last know location of the missing hiker.

Las Vegas Metro Police dispatched units to assist in the search.

Here is some of the terrain in the area of the missing hiker.

A picture of the crevices that the hiker was faced with when trying to find his way down.

“You will find the adventure or the adventure will find you..”  -Tolkien 

Thanks for joining me for ‘Rescue at Red Rock, an illustration of why a Safety Group might be a good idea. Hopefully this will give you some ideas how you might want to set up something like this when you find yourself ’Pursing Balance Through Adventure’. If you found this article beneficial then we would appreciate a LIKE, COMMENT, FOLLOW and SHARE. During my ordeal I was decked out in Adventure Wear from PBTA SHOP APPAREL.  If you checkout the menu above you will find some ideas where you might test out your own Safety Group and go for a hike. Each location is a separate website and thus needs to be FOLLOWED independently. 

Happy Trails-

Roger Jenkins

Pursuing Balance Through Adventure