Winyah

FYI - A kid dies because of offroad unpreparedness. So sad. Just saw this news article today.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...l/6564484.html

RV3

How brutal does that have to be, to sit and watch your son pass right before your eyes. Tragic.

Area-51

Doesn't sound like they were totally unprepared, they did have 24 16 oz bottles of water and some food.

Never driven in the desert, so not going to claim to know the risks, but...The vehicle was found several miles off a dirt road in the middle of the desert and apparently got stuck when it drove over an underground coyote den and the soil collapsed

Seems to me this reinforces the "never drive off road alone" mantra home big time.

JIMBOX

That is truly tragic, here is some Nevada desert, 4wd REQUIRED, there are NO dirt roads, it's all sand and SOFT

I can't imagine trying even the Death Valley (appropriate name), in a car!!

JIMBO

gpb

Very very sad.

While I don't disagree with the above, there were other backcountry errors that contributed to this sad ending.

Always have old fashioned paper maps, mechanical compass, and knowledge of how to use them. They didn't (apparently) leave an itinerary with someone or didn't stick to the itinerary/route. They had some supplies, but not nearly enough to handle the situation; I'm no desert expert but 3 gallons of water between two people in Death Valley doesn't seem like much even for an overnight trip.

Perhaps through this tragedy others will learn to be better prepared and avoid a similar situation.

Winyah

I read this morning that the mom is blaming the gps. Also, the the jeep was a grand cherokee.

sharrko

I have been in death valley, and for very short time.
We arrived @ 7pm at the bottom of the road, and the temp was 117F.
When i stepped outside the vehicle, i couldn't stay for longer then 5-6 min because of the heat. And the ground was so hot, that i had to keep my head looking up. The heat radiating from the ground was so strong, that my eyes were burning every time i looked down.
Very deadly environment. Lots of miles of nothing but deadly heat.
It was stupid for them to go camping there, and most of all to count on GPS and cell phone.
Because of this stupidity someone is death now.
sad, very sad. I am surprised they lasted that long. And she survived!!! Knowing how hot it gets there i would last no longer then a few hours. Very few.

Deere_Jeep

Life's hard.. it's even harder when your stupid. Tragic tragic

Ike

I think even most well prepared off-highway groups schedule trips in the fall and spring to Death Valley. This is very sad, indeed. Your body needs 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water every day. In the desert or when working, this figure should be doubled.

TimmiT

It does sound odd. Also, why would she have left her wheel and tire behind? (assuming the one the ranger observed was hers)

Unfortunately, it may be true. In which case, I feel really bad for her. Similar to why I do not hit many trails - often no one to go with.