CA - Jonathan Gerrish, Ellen Chung, daughter, 1 & dog, suspicious death hiking area, Aug 2021 #5

[Pumphouse363]

Are you saying the loop map attached to above post has no trail thru Devil Gulch? When I view that area on Google Earth, it looks like there might be. Surely they wouldn't have bushwhacked up to the SL trail?
Hmmmmm....
MOO

Yes - I’m saying there is no ‘loop’ and little or no reviews or discussions about the SL Trail anywhere on the internet. There’s loads of reviews and stuff about HC trail. There is no sense or reason to them deciding to do the so-called ‘loop’ with a baby and a dog. Maybe if it was just a couple of avid hikers yes - but it’s not a family outing in my opinion. MOO

 

[Yvettea]

Yes - I’m saying there is no ‘loop’ and little or no reviews or discussions about the SL Trail anywhere on the internet. There’s loads of reviews and stuff about HC trail. There is no sense or reason to them deciding to do the so-called ‘loop’ with a baby and a dog. Maybe if it was just a couple of avid hikers yes - but it’s not a family outing in my opinion. MOO

Who would be responsible for the decision to make the hike and take the family in your opinion?

 

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Here's the link for the AllTrails description for Hite(s) Cove Road. This is the road near the GC family home. As a hike, It sounds wonderful. Perfect really. family-friendly, dog-friendly, forest. Note it's a road, not a trail. https://www.alltrails.com/explore/t...e-road?mobileMap=false&ref=sidebar-static-map

If Jon downloaded this AllTrails map to his phone or if he studied it, he can see two trails heading down to the river. As @RedHaus has shown us one is the tail-end of the Hite's Cove Trail. The other trail, also unmarked, is Savage Lundy. I'm not sure at this point Jon was planning a loop hike, although the map shows a loop is possible. On the description and map, the only hike is Hites Cove Road, although the other two trails are shown.

So the family parks and heads down to the river. Once there, I believe, they were hot, tired, spooked. It was much harder than they anticipated. The river is a relief, if only because there is more vegetation there. If Jon downloaded the map (or working from memory), he knows there are 3 choices. Long trail to the highway. Back the way they came. Or hug the river south to the next trail. THAT trail looks a wee bit shorter. The switchbacks appear easier. AND it's shown as a shade greener on the map. They can store energy near the river, then make a push for it up. And hopefully, the up will be less steep than the way they came down. At this point, I believe they were unaware of how debilitating the heat was. Just uncomfortable.

Jon had no information about the burnt-out, south-facing SavageLundy Trail. All he had, if he had anything, I imagine, was this map. And they took a gamble. I would have done the same thing. I have done the same thing! Thought I was making a smart decision even though I didn't have all the facts. It's what problem-solvers do all the time.

Look at the map from AllTrails for the Hites Cove Road (big red line), and see what you think. markings are mine.

 

[Yvettea]

If they parked nearest the SLT trailhead they likely planned to return by SLT. I’m not sure that’s what they did or maybe they parked as close as they could to HC.

HC doesn’t look like a lovely trail to me. OP have said it also burned and it’s used by ATV. It may be rutted, loud if in use and possibly a distraction to the dog or upsetting to the baby (if travelled that day).

 

[RickshawFan]

I don't know.
Every "experienced hiker" has downloaded offline maps like OSM.
And GPS is different compared to a satellite phone. There are so many GPS satellites that GPS works reasonably well almost everywhere.

The issue is it's not possible to lock onto enough satellites in that canyon.
Some hikers get classified as "experienced" when there's very little real backcountry experience, familiarity with 10 essentials, non-guided trips etc. You can be a thru hiker on the AT and not have enough experience to address issues in backcountry Yosemite, too.
I generally have to drill down to the details to determine whether a hiker is "experienced".

Pro tip: when your newish to backcountry hiking or upping your standards, go out with a mountaineering group of old-timers. You will learn from their skills, and you will benefit from their stories. There would be little or no cost associated with a trip like this (they are not the same as commercial-grade outings).

 

[RickshawFan]

Here's the link for the AllTrails description for Hite(s) Cove Road. This is the road near the GC family home. As a hike, It sounds wonderful. Perfect really. family-friendly, dog-friendly, forest. Note it's a road, not a trail. https://www.alltrails.com/explore/t...e-road?mobileMap=false&ref=sidebar-static-map

If Jon downloaded this AllTrails map to his phone or if he studied it, he can see two trails heading down to the river. As @RedHaus has shown us one is the tail-end of the Hite's Cove Trail. The other trail, also unmarked, is Savage Lundy. I'm not sure at this point Jon was planning a loop hike, although the map shows a loop is possible. On the description and map, the only hike is Hites Cove Road, although the other two trails are shown.

So the family parks and heads down to the river. Once there, I believe, they were hot, tired, spooked. It was much harder than they anticipated. The river is a relief, if only because there is more vegetation there. If Jon downloaded the map (or working from memory), he knows there are 3 choices. Long trail to the highway. Back the way they came. Or hug the river south to the next trail. THAT trail looks a wee bit shorter. The switchbacks appear easier. AND it's shown as a shade greener on the map. They can store energy near the river, then make a push for it up. And hopefully, the up will be less steep than the way they came down. At this point, I believe they were unaware of how debilitating the heat was. Just uncomfortable.

Jon had no information about the burnt-out, south-facing SavageLundy Trail. All he had, if he had anything, I imagine, was this map. And they took a gamble. I would have done the same thing. I have done the same thing! Thought I was making a smart decision even though I didn't have all the facts. It's what problem-solvers do all the time.

Look at the map from AllTrails for the Hites Cove Road (big red line), and see what you think. markings are mine.

I agree with part, and here's my space....
They might only have planned on the HC Trail. They may not have intended to do a loop. They might not have had a bigger map than just that trail. They might not have researched any others. They might have glanced vaguely over the area on a map and registered more trails, but got the location wrong... This would explain why no one can imagine why they'd choose to do a loop. IMO that wasn't the plan. They decided when they got to the bottom of HC to do something different, but they didn't have the necessary map to make informed decisions. They followed their noses to the "wrong" trail.
IMO they got to the bottom of HC trail and maybe thought it was too dangerous/hot? to go back up.

 

[MrsEmmaPeel]

If they parked nearest the SLT trailhead they likely planned to return by SLT. I’m not sure that’s what they did or maybe they parked as close as they could to HC. .

From maps, SL and HC trailends meet at same spot.

 

[Pumphouse363]

Here's the link for the AllTrails description for Hite(s) Cove Road. This is the road near the GC family home. As a hike, It sounds wonderful. Perfect really. family-friendly, dog-friendly, forest. Note it's a road, not a trail. https://www.alltrails.com/explore/t...e-road?mobileMap=false&ref=sidebar-static-map

If Jon downloaded this AllTrails map to his phone or if he studied it, he can see two trails heading down to the river. As @RedHaus has shown us one is the tail-end of the Hite's Cove Trail. The other trail, also unmarked, is Savage Lundy. I'm not sure at this point Jon was planning a loop hike, although the map shows a loop is possible. On the description and map, the only hike is Hites Cove Road, although the other two trails are shown.

So the family parks and heads down to the river. Once there, I believe, they were hot, tired, spooked. It was much harder than they anticipated. The river is a relief, if only because there is more vegetation there. If Jon downloaded the map (or working from memory), he knows there are 3 choices. Long trail to the highway. Back the way they came. Or hug the river south to the next trail. THAT trail looks a wee bit shorter. The switchbacks appear easier. AND it's shown as a shade greener on the map. They can store energy near the river, then make a push for it up. And hopefully, the up will be less steep than the way they came down. At this point, I believe they were unaware of how debilitating the heat was. Just uncomfortable.

Jon had no information about the burnt-out, south-facing SavageLundy Trail. All he had, if he had anything, I imagine, was this map. And they took a gamble. I would have done the same thing. I have done the same thing! Thought I was making a smart decision even though I didn't have all the facts. It's what problem-solvers do all the time.

Look at the map from AllTrails for the Hites Cove Road (big red line), and see what you think. markings are mine.

Yes thank you - I see exactly what you are saying. What I am saying is there is no viable trail along the river from the direction of Hite Cove down towards the Savage Lundy. I don’t believe they would do that - nor would I do that. MOO

 

[Pumphouse363]

I agree with part, and here's my space....
They might only have planned on the HC Trail. They may not have intended to do a loop. They might not have had a bigger map than just that trail. They might not have researched any others. They might have glanced vaguely over the area on a map and registered more trails, but got the location wrong... This would explain why no one can imagine why they'd choose to do a loop. IMO that wasn't the plan. They decided when they got to the bottom of HC to do something different, but they didn't have the necessary map to make informed decisions. They followed their noses to the "wrong" trail.
IMO they got to the bottom of HC trail and maybe thought it was too dangerous/hot? to go back up.

I don’t believe they would take those risks with Miju and Oski in those circumstances.

 

[Pumphouse363]

Here's the link for the AllTrails description for Hite(s) Cove Road. This is the road near the GC family home. As a hike, It sounds wonderful. Perfect really. family-friendly, dog-friendly, forest. Note it's a road, not a trail. https://www.alltrails.com/explore/t...e-road?mobileMap=false&ref=sidebar-static-map

If Jon downloaded this AllTrails map to his phone or if he studied it, he can see two trails heading down to the river. As @RedHaus has shown us one is the tail-end of the Hite's Cove Trail. The other trail, also unmarked, is Savage Lundy. I'm not sure at this point Jon was planning a loop hike, although the map shows a loop is possible. On the description and map, the only hike is Hites Cove Road, although the other two trails are shown.

So the family parks and heads down to the river. Once there, I believe, they were hot, tired, spooked. It was much harder than they anticipated. The river is a relief, if only because there is more vegetation there. If Jon downloaded the map (or working from memory), he knows there are 3 choices. Long trail to the highway. Back the way they came. Or hug the river south to the next trail. THAT trail looks a wee bit shorter. The switchbacks appear easier. AND it's shown as a shade greener on the map. They can store energy near the river, then make a push for it up. And hopefully, the up will be less steep than the way they came down. At this point, I believe they were unaware of how debilitating the heat was. Just uncomfortable.

Jon had no information about the burnt-out, south-facing SavageLundy Trail. All he had, if he had anything, I imagine, was this map. And they took a gamble. I would have done the same thing. I have done the same thing! Thought I was making a smart decision even though I didn't have all the facts. It's what problem-solvers do all the time.

Look at the map from AllTrails for the Hites Cove Road (big red line), and see what you think. markings are mine.

Yes thank you - I see exactly what you are saying. What I am saying is there is no viable trail along the river from the direction of Hite Cove down towards the Savage Lundy. I don’t believe they would do that - nor would I do that. MOO

Also - if you look at your map you can see the dotted line that denotes the trail. It is quite some distance from the river where you say they may have decided to go down to. So that suggests they left the trail with the dog and the baby to climb down to the river?

 

[MrsEmmaPeel]

My point about the AllTrails entry, is that the only entries for his area are Hite(s) Cove Road and Hites Cove Trail.

The map for Hites Cove Road ends at the junction for Hites Cove Road Trail and Savage Lundy, both ways down to the river. The trails are shown but not described or indicated for hiking.

The entry for Hites Cove Trail shows trail starting at CA 140 and ending far upriver from where the GC family was. It is is a one-way trail, as well.

How many times in my life have I steered a husband on a "scenic shortcut" I see on the map which turns out to be a nightmare? more times than you can imagine.

 

[Yvettea]

If you hiked down SLT in 2015 this is the trail marker you would see near the river. I believe markers like this are usual at trail junctures. The first trail on the lower sign clearly shows South Fork trail plus the others. Likely a sign like this is placed at the junction between HC and South Fork trail downstream.

If the family fled upstream unplanned IMO it was by necessity not accident; otherwise it would be their plan to go at least to the river. Nothing so far convinces me this hike was unplanned.

 

[RedHaus]

Yes thank you - I see exactly what you are saying. What I am saying is there is no viable trail along the river from the direction of Hite Cove down towards the Savage Lundy. I don’t believe they would do that - nor would I do that. MOO

That is a very good question, @Pumphouse363. Many of us, if not all (I need to be careful assuming what Lurkers think, so sorry if I don't know since you guys don't say anything, ) have assumed the "loop" LE initially considered the family did, entails some road / trail along the river that we now realize is NOT part of either the Hite Cove OHV Trail (the one that starts up at Hite Cove Road and continues down towards Route 140) or the Savage Lundy Trail.

Has anyone been there to tell us what's there along the river between the 2 trails, or have access to any detailed mapping software to inform us or pictures from hikers?

 

[RedHaus]

If you hiked down SLT in 2015 this is the trail marker you would see near the river. I believe markers like this are usual at trail junctures. The first trail on the lower sign clearly shows South Fork trail plus the others. Likely a sign like this is placed at the junction between HC and South Fork trail downstream.

If the family fled upstream unplanned IMO it was by necessity not accident; otherwise it would be their plan to go at least to the river. Nothing so far convinces me this hike was unplanned.

That picture is AWESOME, @Han. That is what we need to solve the question -

Is there a trail, and what is the name of the trail along the river, between HC OHV Trail and S-L Trail?

SOUTH FORK TRAIL!

(see the top line on that sign, with the <-> indicating it goes both ways... and you say this was a the bottom of the S-L Trail.)

ETA to add annotated picture of South Fork Trail from:
Hite's Cove Trail

 

[Yvettea]

That picture is AWESOME, @Han. That is what we need to solve the question -

Is there a trail, and what is the name of the trail along the river, between HC OHV Trail and S-L Trail?

SOUTH FORK TRAIL!

(see the top line on that sign, with the <-> indicating it goes both ways... and you say this was a the bottom of the S-L Trail.)

Yes, that picture comes from this article: Hiking on the Savage Lundy Trail | Sierra News Online

In 2015 the couple hiked down SLT, upstream to toward Peachtree bar, spent some time relaxing by the river and then hiked back downstream and out on SLT. That’s a 7.9 mile hike, in March without baby or dog. In the article she states her impression that this would be an undesirable hike in the heat.

Article has previously been posted by another; my thanks to them.

ETA: revised for clarity and distance hiked

 

[sfinkz]

Yes - I’m saying there is no ‘loop’ and little or no reviews or discussions about the SL Trail anywhere on the internet. There’s loads of reviews and stuff about HC trail. There is no sense or reason to them deciding to do the so-called ‘loop’ with a baby and a dog. Maybe if it was just a couple of avid hikers yes - but it’s not a family outing in my opinion. MOO

It’s an obvious loop, it is not ‘so-called’. If it isn’t the first hit on an internet search, so much the better but does not invalidate its existence. Anyone familiar with the area would know this, particularly hikers living in the vicinity of the Jerseydale TH’s. In ideal conditions, its beauty would be the solitude, physical challenge and the fact that it is a ‘loop’, clearly delineated (in this case; down to the river, right upstream to S-L, right again to climb back to the top).

Most hikers to HC on the South Fork access it from the highway, at its mouth. Though it is a 7-mile hike downhill from where this family was parked high on the ridge to the main Highway 140 TH (not a loop) it is a roundabout 45-minute drive from TH to TH. (I was intrigued with the rideshare thought).

I have hiked the entire 20+ mile of the South Fork on an overnight downstream from Wawona. Much more recently I have made a handful of reluctant forays (you cultivate patience traveling with a photographer but not my favorite place as it reminds me of a giant serpentatrium but enough about my phobias) of various distances from the highway mouth. There is a trail from the bottom of HC to the bottom of SL. I have not hiked either of trails in question to the Jerseydale Ridge but can say they do exist and, in fact, are very straightforward.

 

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Hooray, @Han! Thanks for the name South Fork Trail and for the Sierra Club article. I really enjoyed it and loved getting the hiker-eye view of the SL Trail in 2015-- and those pines that need fire to reproduce. 2 questions: the hikers never made it to Peachtree Bar, I think. Sounds like they just hiked along the River some. I was disappointed. I know more about bars than hikes. Also, from start of article the hike is stated to be 7.9 mi. I assume that is round-trip but don't know for sure.

 

[Yvettea]

Hooray, @Han! Thanks for the name South Fork Trail and for the Sierra Club article. I really enjoyed it and loved getting the hiker-eye view of the SL Trail in 2015-- and those pines that need fire to reproduce. 2 questions: the hikers never made it to Peachtree Bar, I think. Sounds like they just hiked along the River some. I was disappointed. I know more about bars than hikes. Also, from start of article the hike is stated to be 7.9 mi. I assume that is round-trip but don't know for sure.

I was able to edit my post. 7.9 mi

 

[Lex Parsimoniae]

I don't know.
Every "experienced hiker" has downloaded offline maps like OSM.
And GPS is different compared to a satellite phone. There are so many GPS satellites that GPS works reasonably well almost everywhere.

Yes. I looked up satellite phones. Some use geostationary satellites, those require a view of the southern horizon, like SatTV dishes do. Others use a bunch of satellites whizzing overhead, like GPS does. Those should work most places, as GPS does.

 

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Interesting trail descriptions From MariposaTrails.org

- South Fork Trail between Hite Cove Road trail and Savage Lundy:
Hiking this trail from June through September, or when the temperature is hot (generally above 80-degrees Feirenhit), is NOT advised. Of the entire South Fork Trail, this segment was in the worst shape. Thanks to the work of a CCC crew in April/May 2021, this segment is now in great shape.

- Savage-Lundy Trail:
Hiking this trail from June through September, or when the temperature is hot (generally above 80-degrees Feirenhit (sic)), is NOT advised. This is a great foot trail with extensive vistas of Devil's Gulch and the South Fork Merced River drainages, especially after the 2018 Ferguson Fire striped the entire hillside of vegetation, making an incredibly stark landscape. In 2021, however, the vegetation came back- and then some, with chaparral growing extensively on the trail. Unless removed, this vegetation will completely impede travel by 2022.. The elevation change is steep; best to avoid the hot mid-day while climbing out of the canyon. In April 2021, the trail washout at the bottom was repaired, but the tread is very narrow. This trail needs immediate work. Contact Mariposa Trails if you'd like to help restore this trail. . . .In April 2021, the trail washout here was repaired, but it's narrow- unusable for equestrians. Cyclists will need to carry bikes through this 30-foot segment.

- Hites Cove Road (they label it an "access road")
Most light trucks and SIV's can travel on this dirt road. Passenger vehicles should not use this road. The road is frequently covered in snow during the winter.

So back to square one which is why choose the Road and, not as others above have asked, Savage-Lundy to start with?