Yet another gps tragedy averted

I admit to an obsession with maps and map study preceding any trip into a new area. But I find it incredible that anybody would rely solely on a digital map without some sort of study of the route, either digitally or on paper maps, before hitting the road. They're fortunate to have been quickly located and moreso that the weather was mild.

Foy
 
This could have been so much worse. Like Foy I cannot understand how people can have so little situational awareness to not be prepared for winter conditions, or to use forest service roads in the dead of winter, or to have maps and know how to use them. Glad they made it safe.
 
AWG_Pics said:
This could have been so much worse. Like Foy I cannot understand how people can have so little situational awareness to not be prepared for winter conditions, or to use forest service roads in the dead of winter, or to have maps and know how to use them. Glad they made it safe.
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3X-sometimes it's hard for those of us who live and or play in the "wild back country" on a regular basis to understand how many people have not had those same experiences and have an understanding or awareness how to do it and survive.

Smoke
 
Its not even using the gps, its the failure to turn around when the route turns into an unplowed road. Hmmm, snowy road but the gps says go so even though I have a two wheel drive vehicle with street tires and no emergency supplies I'll continue on. That boggles me.
 
I asked my lovely wife, who taught K-8 for over 20 years in the Portland public school system, if map reading was a part of the curricula. She said yes, and went into great detail about how young ones are taught cardinal directions, then shown where the schools was in relation the their home and all the other classmates homes. Then walks to demonstrate what on the ground was like compared to the map. How to read topo lines, etc. I guess not every school district does this.

I was raised using maps, then going to school to learn geology more or less cemented that knowledge. But Craig is right -- why drive a 2 WD pickup into unplowed FS roads, and keep on going? Stubborn I suppose.
 
AWG_Pics said:
She said yes, and went into great detail about how young ones are taught cardinal directions, then shown where the schools was in relation the their home and all the other classmates homes. Then walks to demonstrate what on the ground was like compared to the map. How to read topo lines, etc. I guess not every school district does this.
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I don't remember any of that, only "the mountains are to the North" which was locally useful. I do remember the school to home walks part tho :cautious:. If you wanted to go somewhere you and or your friends figured it out using a transit layout map or whatever. Parents driving while you were plugged in / zoned out wasn't really an option.

I'm thinking the family in the story should have just stuck to main roads (CO 145 ?)

I do like that they stuck together. Hate reading one being rescued while the other was taking that long nap in a snow bank after wandering in circles trying to find help. I know sometimes one has to go while the other stays put but hope we are never in that situation.

Happy ending in this case.
 
Then there were those for whom maps and GPS were not needed because they knew the area-been wondering out there for ever and never needed no maps to get to where they were going :oops: (And one of my favorite stories) ! A while back there was a dude type ranch west of Gerlach Nevada, and as part of their " Western Adventure " package, would take a bunch of their guests on a real live cattle drive through the high desert country (sort of SW of the Black Rock Desert/High Rock Country). Since most of the country out there is public land (with some pvt mixed in) they needed to get a permit from us (the BLM) to get a safe route for the drive. Anyway, they got their permit and as sort of a public out reach we said we would meet then out there that first night and give them a show and tell about the area.

So our crew headed out to the camp site. They waited and waited and it was getting late and where were they? They knew where they were going -right-,been punching cows and running cattle here for ever. Well, of course they got lost, took the wrong turn somewhere and we had a lost cattle drive out there somewhere. We found them, no lost cows, no hurt greenhorns, an embarrassed trail boss and fun was had by all ; however we had some interesting radio calls asking "has anyone seen a lost cattle herd out there". They were lucky because things could have turned out so much worse. So just because you have been out there in that country for ever, doesn't mean you still can't get lost. "Ya just take a left at the second water hole and go a couple of miles down that canyon-'Ya can't Miss it'."

Smoke
 
Smoke, great cattle drive story! Someday, in person, remember to ask me about the arrowhead water 18 wheel tanker that missed a turn going to the spring upcountry from us Arrowhead filled all those little bottles with. Yup, he kept going and going, the roads finally turned to two tracks. He kept going. It was his first and last trip up into the mountains. He finally got smart and stopped. Well not really smart, he couldn't go forward any longer. Backing up or turning around was lost as a option a few miles back. He walked out a day later. It took almost a month to find the tanker. No way could the driver remember where he left it. Do you know how much a rig like that costs? The first two days of the search arrowhead had a helicopter in the air. Do you know how much that costs?

The search was ended. Around a month later a guy I know was working a timber project. He gave a radio call to dispatch, "What in the hell is a giant shiny tanker doing out here?" He never paid attention to memos, notices, or bolo.

Smoke, I guess I went ahead and told the story.
 
Many keep a BOB...bug out bag. We’ve adopted a STB...sit tight box. Food, blankets, warm clothing, extra water (kept separately). We make sure to carry this, especially in the winter. The TV news is on in the background as I type this...video of Hwy 14 and I-5 closed with stranded cars due to snow and ice. Hopefully I’m still sharp enough not to follow SIRI onto FS roads in the winter.

Pro tip: if you’re concerned about your emergency water freezing overnight in your vehicle you can always carry a couple of cans of dehydrated water.
 
Sit tight box. Made me think. A lot of elderly people use a gps during the early stages of dementia. An STB might be the difference between life and death in such a case. Not sure I could make my dad carry one though. At 90 he still insists he isn't elderly. He's still pretty sharp but getting lost was the first sign of alzheimers we noticed in my mom.
 
trikebubble said:
A similar story with a completely different and tragic outcome happened to a local couple from my town in 2011.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/body-of-missing-b-c-man-albert-chretien-found-in-nevada-1.1209874

I never travel anywhere in the back country without my InReach, whether hiking, driving, snowshoeing, etc. And even though we tend to travel fairly well prepared, I always bring it for on highway journeys now too, especially in the winter.
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When you mentioned Penticton as your hometown the first thing I thought of was the Chretien's tragic trip. I was at that time planning a trip into northern Nevada, including right where they were marooned. As a result I had followed the story closely including the discovery of Albert's remains some 18 months later. Theirs was the worst case of "death by GPS" I'd ever followed. RIP Albert Chretien.
 
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