Ok.....sort of a trip report?!
I'm an Osprey dealer so I really don't have to win a pack, but I'll try anyway.
A little while back I would recieve calls from "anonymous".....yep, we'll keep it at that. He was wanting info. about secluded backcountry stuff in Zion for an upcoming vacation, and was putting a very aggressive, but awesome sounding 10 day "off the beaten path" backcountry trip in ZNP! Well...over the course of a couple months I supplied him with as much info. as I knew covering the intended route.
(Fast Forward). I recieved a call at 10PM from ZNP Dispatch that they'd been informed from Wa. DC on a hit from an ACR emergency beacon located in ZNP. ZNP Dispatch asked if I was avail. for a search in the morn. and I replied "Yes, what time do you want me?". Response was 6AM. I always get a bit antsy so headed up early and arrived at dispatch at 5AM, and asked to see on a map where the Emergency Beacon Hit was located? Well...I knew exactly where it was (had been there numerous times). As soon as I.C. arrived at around 6 I told him that I knew where it was, and he said, "You and 3 rangers have 3 hours to locate the distressed hiker(s) and a chopper will be launched at 9. Well...we piled into a cruiser and headed up, got on the trail 45 minutes later and at 15 minutes before 9 I heard a noise. I called out and the response that came back was, "Bo, is that you?" Oh hell I thought...he knows me! We walked around a corner and low and behold here are two hikers filtering water. We asked if they'd pushed the panic button on an ACR, and yes it was them.
(Fast Forward again). They'd been way-layed on their flight into Vegas which threw their itinerary off by several hours and just 7 hours into the hike (2.8 miles!?) they'd decided that dehydration was severe. They sat the night out on a ledge, drinking their own urine!?, believing that death was knocking. Well...we said we're hiking you out, so the rangers and I unloaded the heavy stuff from their packs; large bag of lemons, stainless cookware capable of cooking for a catering job, and other misc stuff I'd have never associated with backpacking! They'd left most of the edible food 1/4 mile down a steep ramp the night before.
(FF again) On the long hike out (2.8 miles) I counted 7 water sources. OK....7 hours and 2.8 miles...severe dehydration, so severe that drinking your own urine?....hmmmmmm??????? NOT!
Moral of the story: If you call me wanting beta for an adventure, I'll tell you all I know, but my name is Harvey.
