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

[neesaki]

I literally cried.

Same.

 

[rahod1]

The problem is 3 liters of water in those conditions wouldn't have been enough even for an hour's walk.
I'm almost crying at the errors here... No water, no hats, no sleeves, no dog bowl...

BBM
(I would say "woefully inadequate water supply)
That says it ALL to me and confirms what I have suspected all along. These are things that even a novice hiker would consider, terrain and heat not withstanding. It's hard to wrap my mind around overlooking these very BASIC items. MOO

 

[RickshawFan]

Wonder if a dog bowl could have been dropped or left along the trail somewhere? So odd that they didn’t have a dog bowl.

Now that I think about it, I'm wondering if there wasn't a folding, fabric, one...

 

[rahod1]

Now that I think about it, I'm wondering if there wasn't a folding, fabric, one...

The sheriff stated no dog bowl and I assume they would be able to identify one that folds. MOO

 

[RickshawFan]

So they basically only had adequate water for one person?

It wouldn't have been enough even for one person. One person could drink all that in, like, 90-120 minutes with all that exertion. And the heat is a whole 'nother dimension.

 

[sfinkz]

Really, IMO, the pertinent information pinpointed by the Sheriff was the lack of carried water (less than 3L for the party) and the extreme heat (sustained 107+F/42C).

The heat/water confirmations tie in perfectly with a hyperthermia/dehydration COD

 

[Lex Parsimoniae]

I missed parts of the news conference. I’m stunned by this.

Here it is in detail, from the transcript of Sheriff Briese's remarks:
"Jonathan, his wife, Ellen, their 1-year-old daughter, Miju, who was riding in a backpack style child carrier, and the family dog Oski, left on foot from the Hites Cove Road / Trail head. The family walked 2.2 miles down Hites Cove Road/Trail to the US Forest Service Trail 20E01.4, the elevation at the trail intersection is approximately 1930ft and the approximate temperatures were between 92-99 degrees. They continued walking along 20E01.4 trail which parallels the South Fork of the Merced River for approximately 1.9 miles towards the Savage Lundy Trail intersection. At the Savage Lundy Trail intersection, the elevation is approximately 1800 ft and the temperature was approximately 99-103 degrees.
Jonathan, Ellen, Miju and Oski then began the steep incline section of the Savage Lundy trail. This section of the trail is a south/southeast facing slope exposing the trail to constant sunlight. There is very little shade along this section of trail due to the Ferguson Fire of 2018. The temperatures along that section of trail ranged between 107-109 degrees from 12:50pm -2:50pm cooling slightly from 4:50pm to 8:50pm from 105-89 degrees. The family hiked approximately 2 miles up the Savage Lundy trail."

 

[Speculaytor]

I cannot believe how far they walked in direct sun, in 100+ temperature. I took a walk with my dog the other day at 76 degrees, in full sun, no wind, 48% humidity. It was the constant sun on us that started to get real uncomfortable. I tried to imagine being in 99 degrees, and I couldn't. Then add the elevation and switchbacks. Such a tragedy. Horrible.

Sheriff says family on California hike died of extreme heat

 

[RickshawFan]

But they weren't new to the area, from information available earlier. They'd had a house in the area for at least a couple of years, which they used as a vacation home while they were living in SF. They used it as a hiking base in the area. More recently they became "new" permanent residents to the area, but they were not unfamiliar with the general area and its terrain. That's what makes this so mystifying. They'd hiked there in previous summers. And according to their friends, many times that same summer.

Maybe they were just lucky before? And maybe that made them overly casual about the conditions in general and in this instance specifically?

 

[Kittybunny]

It's been a long wait, an agonizing one for sure for the friends and family. I commend the thoroughness of the investigation. I'm not at all surprised but it makes it no less of an absolutely heartbreaking tragedy. I can't allow myself to think too much about what they went through but I hope they are at peace and together in whatever afterlife they may have believed in.

 

[TTF14]

So very sad . I hope that something good can come from this for future uneducated hikers.

 

[Satchie]

Maybe they were just lucky before? And maybe that made them overly casual about the conditions in general and in this instance specifically?

I recall the case of extreme runner Michael Popov, he was famous for the length of trails he'd run with no pack, a little water, etc. But then, on a whim he decided to cross Death Valley in summer (only a 6 mile run), and he died of heat stroke.

So maybe the couple were quite tough and fast, and conditioned to drinking before and after, rather than during the hike, etc. Perhaps they kept pushing boundaries of what they could do, and this particular hike defeated them.

JMO

 

[Lex Parsimoniae]

Maybe they were just lucky before? And maybe that made them overly casual about the conditions in general and in this instance specifically?

I think that makes sense. If they had done a hike that finished with a long, steep climb in hot weather, they would have learned not to do that.

 

[RickshawFan]

I'm actually shocked how far they got in those conditions, lack of water, and dressed the way they were.... I'm surprised heat exhaustion/stroke didn't set in within 3 miles or so.

 

[IceIce9]

The problem is 3 liters of water in those conditions wouldn't have been enough even for an hour's walk.
I'm almost crying at the errors here... No water, no hats, no sleeves, no dog bowl...

This is what makes me think they only planned a short hike, maybe just to try out the new baby carrier.

 

[RickshawFan]

I think that makes sense. If they had done a hike that finished with a long, steep climb in hot weather, they would have learned not to do that.

I guess they hadn't learned there are some conditions that are not for hiking in.

Pro Tip: if you're a newbie hiker, your best bet is to tag along with "old timers". Yep, the old folks who have been hiking for several decades. This is how you find out what not to do and/or how to react in situations you haven't experienced. Humility will be an asset in this learning process.
The best way to soak up this kind of "experience", is to go out with your local mountaineering club. Be sure it's well-stocked with old timers. There are also other groups like the Sierra Club, AMC, GMC, etc.
It's not possible to get this kind of experience IMO just by hiking a few times and gradually increasing distance. You won't know what you don't know.

 

[LifeIsAMystery]

What did the Sheriff say about the location of the car keys?

Nothing. That theory appears to have been baseless in this instance. MOO.

 

[Lex Parsimoniae]

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.

Your mom was smart.

Devils Gulch temp 107F @ 3:00 pm
Cooled to 85F @ 5:00 pm ( with three hours of light), the Sheriff said.

The transcript of the sheriff's remarks says: "The temperatures along that section of trail ranged between 107-109 degrees from 12:50pm -2:50pm cooling slightly from 4:50pm to 8:50pm from 105-89 degrees." So it dropped to 89F at 8:50 pm, sunset was at ~8 pm. It wasn't 85F at 5 pm, it was well over 100F.

 

[Yvettea]

What did the Sheriff say about the location of the car keys?

As I recall, the Sheriff took a question about the keys and said they were found on the trail between JG and EC.

 

[Lex Parsimoniae]

Nothing. That theory appears to have been baseless in this instance. MOO.

I wondered about that. The audio was terrible, I couldn't make out a lot of the questions and I wondered if I missed that. Did anyone hear it? Can you give the time in the video it is mentioned?