Three Hikers Rescued from Heaps Canyon in Zion National Park

Bo Beck, one of our very own forum members and member of Zion SAR participated in this rescue. Nice job SAR.

Three Hikers Rescued from Heaps Canyon in Zion National Park

June 02, 2006

Three overdue hikers, canyoneering in the backcountry of Zion National Park, were located and rescued by park search and rescue teams. The three hikers, Nolan Porter, Ogden, Utah; Nathan Cresswell, Woods Cross, Utah; and Ray Miller, Salt Lake City, Utah were successfully rescued from Heaps Canyon on Friday, June 2, 2006. The hikers apparently entered the wrong canyon when they relied upon Global Positioning Units to find their location instead of maps. They then became stranded when the equipment they had was not sufficient to complete the required rappels. There were no injuries to the rescued hikers.

The three hikers obtained a permit for canyoneering in Behunin Canyon on Wednesday, May 31. They were reported overdue late Wednesday and a hasty search was conducted without locating the hikers. The following day a search team traveled the length of Behunin Canyon but did not locate the three hikers. A Bureau of Land Management helicopter then joined the search and the search area was expanded to include Heaps Canyon to the west of Behunin Canyon. One of the hikers was located in Heaps Canyon and a pack containing food, water, a park radio and a sleeping bag was lowered to him. Through radio conversations, the hiker confirmed that he was uninjured and did not require immediate assistance.

The remaining two hikers were located farther down Heaps Canyon and supplies were also lowered to them. With darkness approaching, search and rescue operations were suspended for the night but resumed on Friday morning. Through radio conversations, the two hikers indicated they wanted to complete the canyoneering route. Additional rope and climbing gear were lowered to them and they successfully completed their descent into the Upper Emerald Pools area on Friday morning.

A park ranger reached the remaining hiker and took him to a location where the helicopter could land. He was then transported by helicopter to Zion Canyon. None of the hikers required medical attention.

Visitors are reminded that hiking, canyoneering, and climbing in the park can be dangerous and should not be underestimated. Good planning, proper equipment, and sound judgment are essential for a safe and successful trip. Hikers should check in with a park ranger about all backcountry routes, leave a good itinerary and contact information in case of emergency, and notify family or friends of their plans and expected completion time. Permits are required for all overnight climbs or hikes in the park, as well as all technical canyoneering routes.

:popcorn:

Interesting. Next time I'm in a canyon and I found I have forgotten something, I'm just gonna sit down and wait for the BLM helicopter to air-drop it to me.
:roll:

Relying purely on GPS coords in country like that? :nono: We've found the GPS to be quite useful, but there have been more than a few times where we've known exactly where we were lost at and the topo has come out. Can't beat a good topo map to ease your mind. GPS + Topo, now that is power.

At first my reaction was "What? They wanted gear to finish the route? How selfish!" But then realized that that by sucking it up and completing the route (I highly doubt they really felt like it after what must have been a very cold bivy), they were saving the SAR guys a huge headache, the alternative being a costly and difficult lift or rope ascent out of a big ole' canyon.

I was impressed that the guys sucked it up and finished. I agree they probably didn't feel like it and the copter ride out would certainly have been easier. The Gunsight entrance to heaps and the Behunin entrance are actually pretty close to each other. I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that the GPS waypoint they used was given in WGS84 and the GPS was set to NAD27 (or vice versa). This would pretty much account for the navigation error using a GPS.

It would be interesting to hear from these guys if anyone knows them. I would love to hear this epic.

:popcorn:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Iceaxe

I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that the GPS waypoint they used was given in WGS84 and the GPS was set to NAD27 (or vice versa). This would pretty much account for the navigation error using a GPS.

---

Well I bet they were using the beta from Climb-Utah.com. That site sucks. :lol8:

James
:bootyshake:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by James_B_Wads2000

Well I bet they were using the beta from Climb-Utah.com. That site sucks. :lol8:

---

Hey..... if ya read my website I make it perfectly clear Behunin is a complete waste of a good day.....

"Behunin is a tacky, shoddy, inferior Zion Canyon. If your time is limited I suggest choosing a different canyon. The reason I include a guide to Behunin is that it is extremely popular and most canyoneers want to tick it off their list. This route has no section that I would consider a slot canyon."

http://climb-utah.com/Zion/behunin.htm

:haha:

Quote:

---

Hey..... if ya read my website I make it perfectly clear Behunin is a complete waste of a good day.....

---

So you do them all a favor by "accidentally" sending them into Heaps (a much better canyon) instead, by using "mistakingly" altered GPS coordinates . Good plan. :roflol:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Scott Patterson

So you "accidentally" send them into Heaps instead with "mistakingly" altered GPS coordinates . Good plan. :roflol:

---

Yeah.... except I call it the West Fork of Behunin.... :lol8:

NPS Morning Report

Zion National Park (UT)
Trio Rescued from Heaps Canyon

On May 31st, three men set out to traverse Behunin Canyon, a venture that requires eight rappels of up to 150 feet. They used a GPS unit as their primary means for locating the head of the canyon. The canyon that they found and entered, though, was Heaps Canyon. The heads of the two canyons are separated by a quarter mile, and the differences between the two routes would have been apparent if the men had used a map or a detailed route description. The Heaps Canyon route is a multi-day trip that includes swims through numerous potholes with water temperatures in the 40s and many rappels, including one of 300 feet. The men discussed discontinuing their trip when they failed to find anchors at the first cliff band, but they instead created an anchor and forged ahead. Once they realized their mistake, they were unable to return to the canyon rim. On the morning of June 1st, one of the men decided that he'd had enough of swimming through the frigid pools and climbed to a nearby knoll to await rescue. The other two continued into the narrowest section of the canyon. The three men were reported overdue on the evening of May 31st. A ranger patrol began a hasty search of Behunin Canyon the next morning, but determined by that afternoon that the men were not in that canyon. A helicopter search was then begun. All three men were located and equipment, clothes and radios were lowered to them. On the morning of June 2nd, additional equipment was lowered to the pair in the canyon, and they were able to complete the passage under their own power. The third man was flown out in the helicopter. Rangers are surprised that the two men who continued on down the canyon did not succumb to hypothermia. Thick wetsuits or drysuits are typically used to traverse the route.
[Submitted by Ray O'Neil, Plateau District Ranger]

sounds like gandolf's zion canyoneering guide could have come in handyl. i'll be sure to consut it for next time.

I just had to look at this on a good map again. The drop in points for the two routes are 0.20 miles apart or about 380 yards.... and for kelsey fans... thats about 350 meters....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by James_B_Wads2000

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Iceaxe

I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that the GPS waypoint they used was given in WGS84 and the GPS was set to NAD27 (or vice versa). This would pretty much account for the navigation error using a GPS.

---

Well I bet they were using the beta from Climb-Utah.com. That site sucks. :lol8:

James
:bootyshake:

---

Nathan picked the coordinates off the map himself. I am not sure what technology he used, so the same error could have happened.

Tom

I just tried mixing up the WGS84 and NAD27 coordinate systems to see what would happen. I moves the waypoint about 100 yards off target but it should not have resulted in dropping into the wrong canyon if good navigation skills were used.

If they were using one of the Kelsey chicken scratch maps for a base and trying to pick a waypoint from that they could easily have got a big error.

:nod:

Zion National Park News Release
June 2 , 2006
David Eaker 435-772-7811

Three Hikers Rescued from Heaps Canyon in Zion National Park

Three overdue hikers, canyoneering in the backcountry of Zion National Park, were located and rescued by park search and rescue teams. The three hikers, Nolan Porter, Ogden, Utah; Nathan Cresswell, Woods Cross, Utah; and Ray Miller, Salt Lake City, Utah were successfully rescued from Heaps Canyon on Friday, June 2, 2006. The hikers apparently entered the wrong canyon when they relied upon Global Positioning Units to find their location instead of maps. They then became stranded when the equipment they had was not sufficient to complete the required rappels. There were no injuries to the rescued hikers.

The three hikers obtained a permit for canyoneering in Behunin Canyon on Wednesday, May 31. They were reported overdue late Wednesday and a hasty search was conducted without locating the hikers. The following day a search team traveled the length of Behunin Canyon but did not locate the three hikers. A Bureau of Land Management helicopter then joined the search and the search area was expanded to include Heaps Canyon to the west of Behunin Canyon . One of the hikers was located in Heaps Canyon and a pack containing food, water, a park radio and a sleeping bag was lowered to him. Through radio conversations, the hiker confirmed that he was uninjured and did not require immediate assistance.

The remaining two hikers were located farther down Heaps Canyon and supplies were also lowered to them. With darkness approaching, search and rescue operations were suspended for the night but resumed on Friday morning. Through radio conversations, the two hikers indicated they wanted to complete the canyoneering route. Additional rope and climbing gear were lowered to them and they successfully completed their descent into the Upper Emerald Pools area on Friday morning.
A park ranger reached the remaining hiker and took him to a location where the helicopter could land. He was then transported by helicopter to Zion Canyon . None of the hikers required medical attention.

Visitors are reminded that hiking, canyoneering, and climbing in the park can be dangerous and should not be underestimated. Good planning, proper equipment, and sound judgment are essential for a safe and successful trip. Hikers should check in with a park ranger about all backcountry routes, leave a good itinerary and contact information in case of emergency, and notify family or friends of their plans and expected completion time. Permits are required for all overnight climbs or hikes in the park, as well as all technical canyoneering routes.

-NPS Press Release-



Heaps of Fun

(from an interview with Nathan Cresswell, July 2006, by Tom Jones)

Nathan and Ray headed down to Zion for a casual weekend of canyons, Behunin and Spry the likely suspects. Nathan hadn't been out for quite some time, and this would be his first time really leading the canyon, so he researched both canyons and printed out maps from the internet. He used both Kelsey's book and Tom's online guide, and had picked out GPS points on the map himself.

In the permit line, they ran into Nolan, a friend of a friend who was going to solo Pine Creek or something. "Come with us" they said. "OK" said Nolan. They headed up the trail, and got to talking, and before they knew it, were at the West Rim Spring. Nathan pulled out the map and the GPS, and they continued on up the Rim Trail. The GPS points weren't really close, but they kinda made sense. They cut down a ridge and could see the big streaked wall they remembered from the website