CA - Jonathan Gerrish, Ellen Chung, daughter, 1 & dog, suspicious death hiking area, Aug 2021 #6

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sfinkz said:
The initial statement by the sheriff over two months ago of the family being “well prepared” is in glaring contrast to the 85 oz water capacity in a single carrier with no filtration equipment. The lack of hats paired with tank tops is also troublesome.

Given that, I would have to perhaps question the other part of the sheriff’s original statement concerning the near-completion of the loop because to do that hike on that day equipped in that fashion is unfathomable. (Were definitive tracking details offered at the presser?).
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jmo, (respectfully) but investigations are fluid. He has now corrected that statement by giving the facts of what was found in the investigation. They weren’t well-prepared, imo. Unless one day someone finds bottles or something that they can tie to the family (as in the Death Valley Germans’ case).

A reporter asked about tracking, and they were tracked around the loop. (That’s what I heard, I think we’ll have a transcript up soon.)
 
IceIce9 said:
I feel like the family was dressed and prepared for a much shorter hike that day. Did they take a wrong turn and hike farther than planned? Or were they feeling overconfident and decided to hike longer?
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Or did they think Hite Cove OHV was open and originally plan to take their truck down it. Once hiking down there, thought road was too steep to take back.

But Sheriff did mention JG did do some research on hike, but did not go into detail.
 
IceIce9 said:
Hoping everyone will accept the results of this extremely thorough investigation and the debate can finally be put to rest.
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The video was very helpful in understanding the elevation gain between where they were found and their truck. The ruggedness of the terrain is significant. The map of the hiked loop and indications of changes in elevation was also helpful.

The Chuck Stone anecdote was striking in that he and his wife and dogs also had a close call in Devil's Gulch coming up SL, in slightly cooler temps, despite his experience with heat as a CALFIRE chief (see Mariposa Sheriff FB page). Devil's Gulch seems to really hold and radiate heat, perhaps the origin of the name. MOO. Hopefully this story might spur greater knowledge about the dangers of heat and of exercise in extreme heat.
 
Sheriff Briese said something like -- the terrain and altitude you see (in the video) is nothing like what may be found on an app or map. ( Sorry for poor transcription.) I think his point is a powerful one. Many of us have discussed that here. I found the helicopter footage almost shocking.

Also a question was asked if maybe the GC's being new to the area may have affected the outcome, and the Sheriff said yes.
 
Kingsley said:
Very, very sad.

I am wondering though, what would be an adequate amount of water for such a hike? It's been said that this was quite inadequate. Does anyone know? I'm guessing this would be 2-3 hours? I'm not sure that I would've brought more than a liter a person. Thanks in advance to anyone more knowledgeable.
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Hydration Basics

MOO

I’d think that this fell into the ‘strenuous hiking in high heat’ category, so 2 to 3 per person might be more appropriate, plus enough for the dog. Or more—maybe ‘very strenuous and very high heat, considering that they were hiking uphill carrying a baby.

Note that for all the other hikers in the area, the hike fell into the ‘don’t do it at all category, as shown by the fact that for two days, no one hiked the trail to find their bodies.

MOO
 
wary said:
Hydration Basics

MOO

I’d think that this fell into the ‘strenuous hiking in high heat’ category, so 2 to 3 per person might be more appropriate, plus enough for the dog. Or more—maybe ‘very strenuous and very high heat, considering that they were hiking uphill carrying a baby.

Note that for all the other hikers in the area, the hike fell into the ‘don’t do it at all category, as shown by the fact that for two days, no one hiked the trail to find their bodies.

MOO
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Thank you. I've never done strenuous, high heat hiking. I appreciate the information.
 
IceIce9 said:
I feel like the family was dressed and prepared for a much shorter hike that day. Did they take a wrong turn and hike farther than planned? Or were they feeling overconfident and decided to hike longer?
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I am an avid trail runner and long distance hiker. Nonetheless I have found myself in precarious situations less than a handful of times but it has happened. Setting out to run a couple of miles and make a wrong turn and then end up running 10+ On a city street it can be simple to backtrack but not necessarily in a forested area. I went on a run during the summer -17 miles and ended up running out of water the last 1.5 down from the summit. I was toasted and passed out in some shade. Overconfident in my abilities for sure.
 
Kingsley said:
Thank you. I've never done strenuous, high heat hiking. I appreciate the information.
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You’re welcome. I think my comment actually underestimated what would be needed. Specially if they were tracked around the loop, I think that they’d need more time to get that far.

This whole situation has reminded me of my childhood, in a climate similar to this in rural California, when, 50 years ago, my mother always insisted that we take several gallons of water with us when we drove into town. We weren’t planning to do any hiking, but what if the car broke down, she said.
 
The amount of water they had was obviously not enough, but I don’t think it was crazily inadequate. I don’t drink a ton when hiking b/c I don’t want to have to pee all the time. I do think it’s kinda weird they were all supposed to drink out of the same bladder? Especially the dog. How was the dog supposed to drink from a camelback? If they had a bottle of water I would say they were pouring it in the dog’s mouth—I do that (but also have a bowl). But no water bottles, right?
I actually think no amount of water would have been enough to save them in 109 degrees for hours uphill. Heat stroke is not dehydration.
 
wary said:
Hydration Basics

MOO

I’d think that this fell into the ‘strenuous hiking in high heat’ category, so 2 to 3 per person might be more appropriate, plus enough for the dog. Or more—maybe ‘very strenuous and very high heat, considering that they were hiking uphill carrying a baby.

Note that for all the other hikers in the area, the hike fell into the ‘don’t do it at all category, as shown by the fact that for two days, no one hiked the trail to find their bodies.

MOO
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The heat was too high period, but especially for a baby and a dog. I doubt for them, more water would have made a difference. So horrible to think how they suffered. :cry:
 
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