A Rescuer Tale

A Day in the Life of Search and Rescue

I wrote this a couple years back, and thought it might be an interesting read for some of you.

We started the weekend late Friday night with a fun hike.  One of our members is a professor teaching a NASAR (National Association of Search and Rescue) class for those committed to a team or simply interested in Search and Rescue.  The plan was to hike to Garden Valley, the location for the following days class, and plant clues for the students to find, mark and use in locating a search subject.  We have a great team who enjoys training and the fun hikes as well as serious work on missions.  Minor amounts of alcohol were involved - drunk on the previous day - and the bottles remaining were planted as clues with notes in each bottle to identify it as a clue.  All was successful and we returned to the trailhead.  GPS coordinates were taken so all clues could be retrieved should the class not locate them.  

Saturday team members and the class were to travel to Garden Valley and work on search skills and methods in the field.  The sessions typically culminate in a surprise mock search scenario.  A rescuer playing the part of the reporting party comes to camp and describes how their friend was lost.  The students are expected to organize into a search group, form a plan, and locate the victim.  As the SAR members assisting were on the way later in the afternoon, the call came.  

A woman in her 40’s hiking with her young son took a day hike to the top of the Flat Iron in the Supersititions.  She fell - easily done while hiking in road running shoes - and fractured her lower leg.  Both mom and son described the snap heard as she fell.  There were no other injuries and both were in reasonable good spirits.  All team members were diverted to the trailhead to assist.  A good small group of medically trained searchers formed a hasty team and quickly moved up the mountain.  Mom’s injury was stabilized while Ranger, the DPS helicopter, was en route.

Carrying mom out in a stokes basket from the site of her injury typically takes 5 hours or more.  The decision to short-haul while chasing daylight turns a 5-6 hour hazardous carry into a more hazardous, 5 minute flight.  And they are fun.  Really fun.  Mom was up for it as well.  

A one-skid insertion dropped me on a flat, tilted boulder with a twenty foot drop off three feet from the moving skid.  Now the race to the trail.  This boulder was deep in the wash and fifty feet below the trail.  I  ran, climbing up and tripping down the trail.  The ground team was amazing.  They treated her injury and as a group moved her into position.  They reassured her about the process and took care of son.  The trail was blocked to avoid hazards to bystanders.  Everything was done perfectly.  Mom put on the screamer seat, a vest with a long tail pulled up between the subjects legs, fastened with three loops to a carabiner on my harness.  The rescue ball drops from the helicopter on the end of a 125 foot line, and I attach that to another carabiner on my harness.  A wide wave signals the helo that we are ready to raise, and away we go.  

On the ground the rotor wash is loud and raises clouds of dust.  Directions are shouted as each team mate does their part.  Then in a moment it is silent.  I suppose there is wind noise, but you cannot really hear that.  Mom is a bit wide-eyed - understandable as you do not take this kind of ride everyday.  She relaxes a bit, and takes in the view.  I notice she looks out and up, but not down.  I am just happy she does not throw up on me.  I hate that. 

The ground team is ready.  The helo pilot really gunned it moving down and we swing wide arcs over the road.  Soon it settles down.  20 feet, then 10, then down.  The ground team grabs me so I do not fall on the patient.  We detach, and they carry her to the waiting ambulance.  It was a good day, followed by dinner together.  We all went home to grab some sleep.

Not for long.  2 hours later the phone rang.  I could barely move.  We were out again to find a 60 something woman who separated from her husband and hiking partner hours from the trailhead.  Another long night, and another story.  But it ended well 6 hours later.

Finally, Yellowstone

Finally, Yellowstone National Park.  The first feature to catch my eye was this beautiful falls, Lewis Falls. Lewis and Clark never entered the Yellowstone region, but a scout from their expedition named John Colter did. He returned with what most considered fantastical tales of smoking sulfurous pits and steam fountains shooting from the ground. Other trappers and mountain men including Jim Bridger followed and began calling the area "Colter's Hell." For a good history of Yellowstone read Empire of Shadows by George Black.                                                                              

I love waterfalls, probably as a result of living in the desert. Lewis River drains from the glacially created Lewis Lake upstream. The falls were created as the water flowed over older granitic rocks carving down through rhyolite flows at the Yellowstone caldera rim.  All that aside, this was a beautiful spot.

Until a few years ago the park only reported 50 or so waterfalls. Three local hikers and explorers didn't accept this notion and set out to find every fall they could. As a result close to 300 waterfalls are now documented throughout the park.  These guys did an amazing job. It is always a good reminder that modern explorers still exist and make substantial contributions to our knowledge of remote areas.

The West Thumb geyser basin is one of my favorites. While most of the geysers are dormant, the pools and location at the edge of the lake are spectacular. Here there are features within features. The surrounding area is the Yellowstone Caldera and the West Thumb of Yellowstone lake is another smaller caldera. It mostly consists of small hot pools varying in size, temperature and depth.

This feature has a nice outline of thermophiles surrounding the main pool. The mixture of bacteria and other organisms thrive in this environment. There is an economic use as well since rangers reported these organisms are used in isolating DNA for testing. There is no thermophile mining in the park of course, though that is a theme in the C.J. Box novel Free Fire.

Thermal features continue into the lake as deposits of sinter, the whitish silica-rich mineral deposited from the action of the hot water, build up around the outflows of these cauldrons.

Reportedly trappers would catch fish in the lake then drop them into these pools to cook.  I like to think it was true and wanted to try it but was afraid of getting caught. Sigh.

Thermal features have been detected under the lake. These have been photographed using unmanned subs and are said to look just like the features seen in the deep ocean.

Here's some information on budget travel. Don't be afraid to venture out.  I knew this trip would require six tanks of gas.  I have a National Parks multi-agency annual pass for entrance in all areas.  Camping in the park cost $16.00 per night and was free in all other national forest and BLM lands. I have all my own camping and backpacking gear and brought my own food or purchased food to cook locally.  The expenses can be kept to a minimum for a trip of a lifetime.

On the Road, Wyoming

The best thing to remember when on the road is to enjoy the journey. Here are some unexpected things found along the way. The Oregon Trail! I did not realize this cut across my path.  First rule of road travel: stop at roadside markers since you might learn something.









And here it is. The actual Oregon Trail. And I stood on it. American history is amazing, and it was inspiring to think this trail saw the largest internal emigration of settlers in our history. Folks moved west to provide a better life for their families. Including some of yours. Click here for a brief historical description. Francis Parkman's first person account of his journey on the Oregon Trail is a classic. Ponder this fact: these ruts were laid down on this Wyoming, high desert prairie over 100 years ago but are still distinct.

You know you have made a transition from the southwest to the north when the rivers you cross have water in them. Some waters have more significance than others. So when I saw the road sign with this river's name I spun around quickly to get a closer look. This is the Green River, approximately 50 miles from it's headwaters in the Wind River Range. It winds through Wyoming to Utah where it joins the Colorado River. Find more information on the Green and it's importance here.

The Teton's! I knew they were nearby but did not realize the road passed right by them. This is a future destination, and I think I can climb these. Exum Mountain Guides has a long and proud history of first ascents as well as training for and leading summit attempts. There have been many notable rescues here as well. Here is a brief account of a famous rescue needed when a climbing party of 12 suffered a lightning strike near the summit. Side note: I heard numerous easterners calling these "the Teatins," with the emphasis on "Tea." Hmm.

 Here is my gratuitous buffalo shot. They are big and they are everywhere. Why is there so much haze in this, and most, of these pictures? Since you asked...

Fires. Wildfires and more wildfires. Smoke from lightning-caused wildfires was in the air from central Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and western Utah. As of this writing there are reportedly over 40 active fires being worked. While returning home I actually saw one begin - a nearby hillside was struck by lightning about 60 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.

Yellowstone is not immune. This sunset shot was taken 100 yards from my camp on Yellowstone Lake. This 200 acre fire is burning on the south side of the lake and is working it's way north. Wildland firefighters are monitoring it but letting it burn.









While I gravitate towards scenic shots, I did meet people on this trip as well.  Two 20 somethings in a coffee shop in Blanding traveling the west trying to figure out their lives. It was not going so well, but they will figure it out.  A retired lady in the Yellowstone campground whose husband had suffered a heart attack the day before and was airlifted to Idaho Falls. She was worried because, while his stent surgery was successful, he never let her drive the truck they were in before. She, and he, are fine now. A guy from Bozeman on a solo road trip whose job it was to collect bugs and send them to labs for research. Huh; a professional bug hunter. Three kids from Albuquerque about to bungee jump off Navajo Bridge (426 feet,) but who were more interested in wandering around the Colorado River at Lee's Ferry and the Paria, while talking about Edward Abbey and hiking in the Grand Canyon.  These kids were the best. I met quite a few people with interesting stories, but will continue to concentrate on the outdoor images.

Day 2, continued....

Today was a drive made long by numerous road construction projects throughout Utah.  It doesn't appear that any road in Utah is ever complete.  Still, it was a good day and I finally made it to Wyoming.

Utah is doing something interesting along the highways; they are posting the formations and what kind of fossils are found in them.

Tonight I'm in Green River, at a motel for the shower, internet and included breakfast.  Tomorrow I should be in Yellowstone.  Internet access there is next to non-existent, and cell service is not much better.  I will try to post what I can when I can.

Day 2

Stopped at Edge of the Cedars museum just because I could. Fantastic collection of artifacts from Archaic through Pueblo IV.  Crown jewel is this macaw piece found in Canyonlands.

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There's also a partially reconstructed ruin & kiva, which you can enter.

Blanding is interesting. A Mormon settlement close to Cedar & Comb Ridges, artifact hunting was a town sport. Pots were so plentiful ordinary gray ware was used for target practice.

Many families were devastated when these activities were made illegal. There were numerous arrests & a few suicides.Now the exhibits that could be seen in gas stations & small shops are hidden. 

The looting by professional collectors for the overseas market continues.  Still plenty to find by everyday explorers if you take the time to look.

Day 1, traveling

Today was a driving day. Got a late start since I dropped off the dog, but the scenery never gets old. Every thing was pretty green coming out of Flagstaff & onto the res.

Moving through Monument Valley is always special, but here is the view from my camp along the San Juan River and Mexican Hat.

And here  I sit, watching the sunset beneath the actual Mexican Hat. Good night all! 

Random Encounters

Yesterday I was driving some dirt roads just east of Picketpost looking for access to an area I want to explore on foot. No one around except an occasional ranch truck hauling water.  

Cowhand stops as they do, & we chat for a minute through the driver's side windows. All of a sudden he says "Do you pan? You should pan." Then he jumps out of the truck, grabs this pan out from under a hay bale & hands it to me.

I have no idea what to do with it and am in no way interested in being a Dutch hunter. No gold fever here. But it did make for an interesting day.