Posted on 12/24/2016 10:52:28 PM PST by nickcarraway
A woman who has been missing since Thursday near the Grand Canyon was found alive early Saturday morning, according to the Coconino County Sheriff's Office.
Searchers found 47-year-old Karen Klein shortly after midnight at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Klein had walked approximately 26 miles since Thursday afternoon in search of help after getting stranded with her husband and son in a rental car.
The car got stuck on a forest service road.
Searchers said Klein was conscious, communicating and suffering from the cold weather.
She was treated on scene by rescuers and transported to Kane County Hospital in Kanab, Utah.
She is expected to be transferred to the hospital in St. George, Utah for further treatment.
Searchers on snowmobiles tracked remnants of Klein's tracks to a guard shack at a gate to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon that was closed for the winter.
On Friday afternoon, Klein's husband, Eric, and 10-year-old son had been able to hike to an area where they had cell service to call for help. Both received treatment for cold exposure, including frostbite.
The family is from Pennsylvania.
They rented a car in Las Vegas and drove to visit southern Utah.
They were following their GPS system in an attempt to visit the Grand Canyon.
However, State Route 67 to the North Rim is closed for the winter season.
The GPS system detoured them through forest service roads which were receiving heavy snow.
Klein left the vehicle to walk to State Route 67 to get help.
She had some food and water and was dressed in several layers of clothing.
You never...ever, leave the group. She’s lucky to be alive.
They are all out of date.
Wonder what would happen if you went into a gas station and asked for a map? Do they still give them out.
Merry Christmas!
The south rim has the facilities and people to view the Grand Canyon particularly at this time of year when snow is on the ground. The north rim is if you want a less touristy experience. Well they got that in spades.
Like I always say, it’s not an adventure until something goes wrong.
In my area all of the 24 hr convenience stores have a rack of state maps for a price. They are up to date and GPS friendly.
I am not sure that most of the younger generation would think to equip their vehicles with a map until after they realize they need it.
That said, most smart phones don’t rely on cell service to locate your position. That comes from satellites and if you can see the sky you can usually get a reading.
And a safety tip for those who think the conditions ‘back east’ are not as harsh as out west, I agree only to the frequency, not the severity.
The AP story in local paper said the mother was a marathoner and triathlete. The family agreed she had the best chance of getting help. She has serious frost/hypothermia damage to her hand(s).
Local sheriff said:
“Google Maps shows there’s a way — but it’s impassable,” he said, adding. “This is a problem we’ve had numerous times.”
https://www.abqjournal.com/915300/searchers-rescue-family-stranded-in-snow-near-grand-canyon.html
Best mapping software out there. I still use it too. To complement my GPS. I have it on my laptop, and I also print maps and directions when making a trip. I will use these if I don't like what my GPS is trying to make me do. Then the GPS has to recalculate according to my wishes.
Many years ago, when stationed at Ft Knox, some of us did a lot of 'Spelunking'. We had detailed maps (Corps of Engineers or Coast and Geodetic Survey Maps) which located many wild caves in Kentucky. We visited many of them with flashlights and carbide lamps.
There’s places in the East Mountains where GPS will lead you astray.
At least she didn’t have to walk 26 miles across the sea.
“Santa Catalina is a waitin’ for me.”...
Maybe it was my training to navigate without even a compass that I can almost instantly know where north is, night or day. It still astounds me with the infinite amount of variables that Polaris is what it is. Divine.
I probably would have left the safety of the car also... it’s a Type A flaw that many of us have. Totally understandable that she went for help.
As far as being .2 miles short of a marathon, looks like she has done many.
If it were me, I would have asked the ambulance to drive along side me for another 1100 feet as I hobbled along, maybe with an IV plugged into my arm to reach 26.2
Maps work use them.
I had an experience in 1994 that I will eventually write a short story about. In a nutshell, my wife and small children went to Disneyland with the mother-in-law.
The mother-in-law is why I chose not to go with them.
Instead, I decided to take a day hike in New Hampshire on a 24-mile loop trail. I rented an apartment at a ski lodge for the weekend with hot tub and all. My plan was to do the hike on Saturday and sit in the hot tub with champagne and snacks on Sunday while watching NFL football. Then a steak dinner. The perfect weekend for a guy.
While driving up there Friday night, there was talk of a snowstorm later on Saturday afternoon. I decided to take the hike anyway and after an early morning diner breakfast of eggs and bacon, I was at the trailhead at 6am as dawn was just starting to break.
At the halfway point, I'm looking out into the valley and see literally a wall of snow approaching me. The storm was moving in early. I scoffed down my lunch of peanut butter sandwiches and apple cider and started back to the trailhead. The storm came over me almost immediately and within a few miles, I was no longer able to see the trail markers on the trees as it was a wet snow.
I got off the trail but fortunately had my compass and knew I had to move east. Eventually I hit the road but did not know if I was north or south of the trailhead. I took a gamble and headed north. By then, it was almost pitch dark and the snow was flying. About six inches on the ground already. I was starting to get slightly frostbit.
I was just about to give up and head south again when I saw the lump of my car off the side of the road at the trailhead. I got into the car and started it up but it was a two wheel drive so I was not able to get onto the road. I was stuck! I had no snow shovel in the trunk. Major mistake!
A snowplow was coming down the road with the yellow lights flashing and I ran out onto the road to try and flag it down but it did not see me and kept on heading south. But I kept my wits about me. I pulled the floor mats out of my car and put them behind the tires. I was able to pull out and gain enough momentum to make the just plowed road. I scrambled to grab my floor mats and headed south to where my ski resort lodge was.
I will never forget the blissful feeling of sitting by the fire in the common area of the ski lodge, thawing myself out and sipping brandy. The next day, I sat in the hot tub watching the NFL playoff games and sipping on champagne with cheese and crackers and all kinds of other food. Later that night, I went down to the restaurant and had a thick steak with a bottle of very red, tannic wine. I almost died that weekend but it is what made all the food and drink taste so much better.
So Merry Christmas you dumb-ass Easterners who got lost by the Grand Canyon! I hope your food and drink taste very good today!
“In basic training, one of the items on the bivouac week was to navigate a specific route given to us with the only directions a map, some landmarks and compass azimuths. Each of us individually had to navigate that course in a time limited test.”
Had similar training in the Army. I was on a night navigation course and got run over by a Whitetail Doe, LOL! We were both OK.
I can find my way around fine in the woods; but if there’s a way to take a WRONG turn when I’m driving somewhere, I WILL take it!
Don’t own a GPS, wouldn’t know how to read one anyway.
Have DeLorme maps for all the lower 48 and with western Canada and Alaska thrown in just in case.
Use USGS maps for all western United States.
Side compartment on truck has one shelf just for maps.
20 years ago I was in an unfamiliar subdivision at night and took a left turn onto a twisty, skinny road with no houses but had a great looking lawn along the whole way.
When I got to a tee sign I realized my mistake and I didn’t even have a GPS.
So the husband found his way to safety and then forgot where he left his wife or what?
.
Get a map and get a brain.
F__ GPS!
.
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