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Postby CowboySlim on Thu May 29, 2003 10:15 pm

Well, Spazmogen, check this:

Last Wednesday, shortly after noon, we left Page, Az. on a four wheel drive trip into the canyons and mesas of the Grand Staircase of the Escalante National Monument. It was about 100 deg F with bright sunshine in the desert of southern Utah. About 15 miles from the end of the pavement, we came upon a Jeep Grand Cherokee stopped on the side of the trail. With it was a young, German tourist couple who had rented the Jeep up in San Francisco to tour the American southwest. The left front tire was completely gone as they had attempted to drive a number of miles after it went flat. (Later, we found chunks of it miles up the trail.) Obviously, the male portion didn't attempt to change the flat tire as he had continued to drive on the flat. Probably because he didn't know how; however, it didn't matter as the rental had no jack that we could find. They tried to continue driving on the rim and had broken that also. To complicate matters, the right front tire had also been punctured and was half flat.

Well, we carry jacks, repair tools and that gunky stuff that will seal a small puncture. So we put the spare on the left front, sealed up the right front and sent them off.

After we left them, we continued driving deeper into the canyons and never saw another vehicle that afternoon. If not for us do you think that they would have been rescued? Could they have walked 15 miles through the desert during the 100 deg heat of the day?

Slim
Number of Lives Saved in 2003: Two
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Postby BuddhaTB on Thu May 29, 2003 11:40 pm

Very Nice Job Slim.

Walking 15 miles through 100 degree weather is a very tough task without water to hydrate your body. They would have most likely passed out from heat stroke if they tried to walk the entire 15 miles. With death being very likely if your passed out in the dessert.
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Postby CDRecorder on Thu May 29, 2003 11:55 pm

That's wonderful, Slim! I am glad that you were in the right place at the right time with the right tools to help these people!
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Postby Spazmogen on Fri May 30, 2003 2:48 pm

Well done Slim!

I wonder if the "gravity of the situation" had occurred to them?
I doubt they even had a gallon of water and a compass/map with them.

Even the kid I helped save back in January was done remotely. I'm a dispatcher, not an officer. I co-ordinated the rescue to some extent, but never anything hands on.

I'm never suprised by how many people will go boating without life jackets or marine radio (but take a cell phone and case of beer). Or go for a winter drive without a blanket & candle in the car (Try as you might, that cell phone won't keep you warm, neither will the beer).

Or in this case, go for a drive in the middle of butf*ck nowhere, with no spare or jack or water. The real answer would be to stay with the Jeep, then walk at night when its cooler out. Much like on the water, the desert is dangerous once you leave your vehicle. The search will start from where they find the jeep. If you stay with the jeep, you're found quickly. If you walk away...welcome to the food chain.

Much the same as on the water... stay with the boat/canoe if possible. Leave the boat and you've entered the food chain. At least you can tie yourself to a capsized boat and float beside it as long as you're wearing a life jacket.
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Postby CowboySlim on Fri May 30, 2003 3:30 pm

Actually, they did have a spare, but without a jack, it didn't matter (until we got there). They did have some water - about a liter bottle from a store, nowhere near enough.

There are three laws of remote, desert travel:
1. If you see a vehicle stopped with people in it or nearby, stop to see if they ar OK.
2. If they need help, give them all the help that you can.
3. If they offer money, refuse it.

Slim
Who will try to post the photos this W/E.
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Postby CowboySlim on Sat May 31, 2003 12:43 am

Here's some pics:

With me on the left, German girl in the blue hat and German guy in the white ballcap and white shirt.http://home.att.net/~cowboyslim/DSCN2330.jpg

Another:http://home.att.net/~cowboyslim/DSCN2331.jpg

Last one:
http://home.att.net/~cowboyslim/DSCN2332.jpg

That Jeep was kind of a mess, huh?

Slim
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Postby BuddhaTB on Sat May 31, 2003 12:49 am

CowboySlim wrote:That Jeep was kind of a mess, huh?

I think mess is an understatement. What the heck happened to the front bumper? Good thing you guys were there at the right place and at the right time.


Slim, which camera was used to take those pics?
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Postby CowboySlim on Sat May 31, 2003 10:53 am

After the tire was punctured, he continued to drive and the tire just shredded and took out the bumber and the left front fender. Just like in those NASCAR races. After we left him, we saw chunks of tire about five miles up the trail before we turned off onto another.

My friend's camera. I'll ask him what make and model and get back.

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Postby CowboySlim on Sat May 31, 2003 2:15 pm

BuddhaTB,

From my friend:
It's about 2 1/2 years old, ancient in today's technology,
Nikon CoolPix 880 - as with most digital cameras, one can adjust the
quality, ie size of the file, and I'm sure Lindsey left it on Normal, higher
quality is possible.
The one thing I don't like about the camera, is it doesn't have "museum
mode", I don't think we can keep it from flashing, a problem when trying to capture performances etc.

Slim
Number of people rescued in 2003: Two
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