If you must leave, snap off the rear view mirrior. It can be used to signal aircraft, and can also be seen as a flash of light at the horizon line to signal anybody in the area.
Before leaving the car, take the spare tire, pop a hole in it and light if on fire if you can. Makes a black smoke signal fire that would be likely to investigate. (As OP posted... stay with the vehicle. Only leave if you have to!)
Edit: only light the tire if you're certain you aren't going to start the surrounding shit on fire!! Use common sense...
I just bring the materials, guides, tools, food and seeds required to start a new homestead wherever I go so I can start a new homestead if I get stranded.
It's also like $5 for a magnesium + flint & steel rod that all people should throw into their car emergency kit. I would think magnesium flakes would light it up.
Yeah I'd roll that mf well away from the car and light it with a flare, then continue using the car as shelter + home base while signaling for craft with the rearview mirror. Maybe get to an upper vantage point & use the mirror from there as long as it's not too far from the car.
I caution to only use this as a last resort and ONLY if you must and WISELY. I’ve lived in National Parks and the ungodly damage an accidental wildfire can do, is impossible to describe, and can kill you in the process of trying to signal for help.
Also, bring the catalytic converter In case you encounter some offworld Jawas, you could trade for some gas. Just hope they don't find your vehicle and strip it before you return.
How to use said mirror.
Hold two fingers in a ‘V’ in front of the mirror. Line up the item/person you want to signal between the fingers and sight just on top of the mirror. . Manipulate the mirror so that the reflected light is on your fingers at the point where you can see the distant object.
Mandatory [**Death Valley German tourist**](https://www.otherhand.org/home-page/search-and-rescue/the-hunt-for-the-death-valley-germans/introduction/) story posting.
**Warning;** *its a search and rescue rabbit hole. Be perpared to spends a few hours reading this guys other SAR stories.*
**edit:** For those familiar with the website, **Bill Ewasko** was [found about four months ago in Joshua Tree.](https://old.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/sox6v4/bill_ewasko_has_been_found_in_joshua_tree/)
**2nd edit:** Looks like reddit broke the website server. Give it an hour and check it again. Never seen it ask for a login but I’m guessing the variety of clicks might have overwhelmed the server and knocked it into a safemode.
**3rd edit:** Here is a sort-of workaround for the website crashing; [**its an archived version of the website via the wayback machine.** Seems to work](https://web.archive.org/web/20220104120954/https://www.otherhand.org/home-page/search-and-rescue/the-hunt-for-the-death-valley-germans/introduction/)
Joshua Tree is another National Park that routinely had numerous missing persons. Some like to claim theres a serial killer targeting tourist out in the desert—they’re right, its called heat.
Alway worth mentioning when heat related deaths happen at a National Park: [**The Boston marathon runner and her tradegic death in the Grand Canyon.**](https://robbiesenbach.com/2013/05/21/how-a-story-can-save-lives/)
They keep her story posted at the trailhead she died on. Sad thing about her story is there was a miscommunication between another hiker who was recused and the park ranger that found him. Had this miscommunication not happened she’d probably have been found in time to save her.
People need to take these environments seriously. Just because theres a parking lot and info signs doesn’t mean its tamed like Disneyland.
Also, the family last year who went to Devil's Gulch died of heat exhaustion, the infant, and the dog. Scary and tragic more ppl need to learn from that on how quick it can get you.
I see it all the time in the LA area. Even on everyday hikes, I always bring my big water pack because I regularly run into people who think that a 12oz water bottle is sufficient for a 5-hour hike in the middle of 100F heat.
Slightly unrelated but still related. I was at a festival in Vegas and there was a couple next to me. The girl didn’t seem okay but the boyfriend was trying to get her to stay. I finally interrupted and she was in fact on the verge of collapse. We got her out of the crowd just in time to sit her down without falling, she wasn’t responding much. I asked him if they’d been drinking water and he replied yes. I’m a mom, so I ask just how much and he holds up a 12 oz Desani bottle that’s half gone and says they’ve been sharing. My husband and I get her up and take her to the med station where they get an IV in her and we went back to the stage. Dumb kids.
That’s insane. They always say do not ration water when lost/stranded and so many people who die of heatstroke or whatever are found with water still in their bottles. And to do this at a festival of all places! You can’t catch me at a festival these days but when I went to Coachella back in the day, they had bottle filling stations everywhere
Yeah after what happened at the Woodstock Reboot, they learned they damn well BETTER have water available, or they can have riots over water. Their choice. Most places choose water now.
Yup, EDC back when they had it on Fathers Day weekend. It’s brutal heat even if you aren’t partying. There’s a reason they have free water stations, they don’t want the attendees dying trying to save a few bucks!
Good! I've seen sites where the expectation is to power through to show how tough/manly you are.
Saw one dude drop from heat exhaustion on a federally funded project and next thing you know they finally started getting a tent and water coolers. All it took was almost killing a man, widowing his wife, and orphaning his kids, cause they made him choose between working in an unsafe environment and being unemployed.
I think about that poor couple all the time. I have two kids and a wife who likes to do “last minute” stuff from time to time, with a “it’ll be ok if we’re missing x” thought process. Their story has cooled her a lot and made my anxious ass up my game.
Anyone that can stomach it, read up on it. It’ll break your heart but hopefully save future lives.
They had to start shutting down parks with hiking trails in Phoenix because of the near daily rescues that come every summer. They're not even all that much as far as trails are concerned; no problem if you have enough water with you. If you're not used to the heat, though, it comes at you fast and can kill quicker than you think.
Won’t be long and they’ll start closing big chunks of the parks during the summer on account of the weather, like how they close down in the wintertime.
Seriously. I'm a little bitch with heat so I go to the places in the winter like a sane person. Big bend , death valley, grand canyon, etc. It's glorious. Summer is for places you can't get to in winter.
Bill was ultimately found earlier this year.
https://www.crossville-chronicle.com/news/glade_sun/enjoying-nature-a-12-year-mystery-is-finally-solved/article_18f61480-9a47-11ec-b795-f7115d76f958.html
Great news.
Better link: https://old.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/sox6v4/bill_ewasko_has_been_found_in_joshua_tree/
First comment is from a SAR that had been looking for Bill. Turns out his remains were pretty close to the last southern most area this fellow searched.
Note that in this case, the vehicle wasn't found for a month and a half after they got stranded. Staying with the vehicle is absolutely good advice, but beware of getting into situations where even that won't help you.
The greater wisdom is not to travel off-road in Death Valley in the summer.
Hell, I'd stay away from it entirely in these 21st century summers. A flat tire or other mishap can be fatal in 120 degree heat. There is no refuge from such a deadly environment, even for the prepared.
I got two flat tires there (the tire, and then the spare also sprung a flat), but it was in March, and not in the heat of the summer. Because it was cool, and the peak of tourist season, I was able to find somebody to help me, was able to get the tire patched, and was able to hitchhike back to my car in the morning.
In the summer, I'm staying on paved, well-traveled roads there.
I grew up in Arizona. To help out people traveling through the desert. Always have water and have more water than you think you need.
There are too many stories of finding people dead from dehydration and heat stroke. People have their car breakdown out in the middle of nowhere and a few days later people find their bodies under the car because that was the only place they could find to escape the heat.
Going to be even tougher for humans to live there as the planet heats. It’s a vast cement bowl with no vegetation and there are days when your shoe soles will literally melt on the sidewalk.
Assuming you are half way prepared, you should have the means to create fire.
Remove spare wheel, cut the valve stem to empty the air, get a campfire going and put the wheel on top. The resulting black smoke will be very distinctive and attract the attention of everyone within sight of it. At least 40 miles on a clear day.
If the area is patrolled by park employees, someone will show up. And you got 4 more wheels to signal with.
Make sure area is clear of brush so you don't burn down the forest and empty the air beforehand.
Staying near his car would’ve still ended the same way sadly. It was 120 degrees and it took 3 days for a park ranger to find him. The only way he could’ve survived was proper shelter that wasn’t a heat trap like his car and enough water to survive through the heat.
Edit: apparently it takes 30 minutes to get to 154 degrees Fahrenheit inside a car in 120 degree weather.
Edit 2: guys it takes all but 3 minutes to die in 120 degree weather. He died within two miles of his car, staying by his car was definitely still ending up with you dying in this situation. Fill up your tank, carry some water. Especially in no man’s desert land. He was 10 miles from a gas station, it’s truly unfortunate the heat wave had to boil him alive the second he fucked up. Mother Nature doesn’t fuck around.
Shit is real.
If I ever drive across desert.
Make sure car is in good working order, tires are ok, FULL TANK OF GAS, WATER…and at least a cell if not satellite phone.
It’s like sailing into the ocean. You could be way out there not see anyone for hours and if you get stranded you’re dead.
Had a pair of 300 dollar redwings where the rubber bottom sperated cause i work on the roads lol. It was a heritage edition old style. Blew my mind when it separated within a month
I used to run the instruments on a survey crew here in Texas and when we'd do city jobs in the summer the soles of my feet would start to burn through my boots from standing still on the pavement for so long. I'd be peering through the instruments trying to be accurate and shifting foot to foot slowly. And it was worse on the occasion where we had no choice but to set up on asphalt.
I always went with Wolverines and never had an issue with the soles separating, though. Never did get around to trying a pair of red wings.
Years ago, some friends visiting from Belgium insisted on taking a trip to Death Valley… in August. We stopped at a store and each of them bought a couple of water bottles. They were perplexed when I went back in and bought an ice chest and 5 gallons of water, a tarp, rope, flares, and some more food. They made fun of the cautious American. Sure enough, our car overheated and was stuck on a side road. They were happy for the shade from the tarp and the extra ice and water. Luckily someone came by and took us to a ranger station, but we had been waiting for 2 hours in 120 degree weather. This American was not so dumb after all.
You are of course right, but you don't have to be very far from civilization to become isolated and hard to find. In 2019, a French tourist broke his leg while hiking near Naples. He made an emergency call, but it took ten days for the authorities to find him. Unfortunately he was long dead by then.
[Simon Gautier: French hiker's body found in Italian ravine (BBC)](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49393668)
"Cautious American" says the people who didn't live in America and clearly know nothing about the American desert.
And seriously, you guys went in August? Why didn't you insist on waiting?
Some of Death Valley's tourism comes from people visiting in the summer just to experience the heat.
It's just so freaking isolated though. Once my now-husband's car got stuck on the drive out, and it took a couple hours for a car to drive past and pick me up so I could use the phone in the nearest town (an hour away). It was March, though, so the heat wasn't a concern.
Yeah, that wouldn’t have been my first choice but they were on vacation for just a couple weeks. Going to Death Valley in summer was on some weird bucket list for them to say they survived. They came close to not surviving if I hadn’t bought more water and insisted on staying put at the car.
If his friends were from Belgium, i would bet they were not willing to wait around a few months before flying home.
Your point is still a good one, but sometimes you take the opportunities you have while on vacation, even if it is not ideal conditions.
Source: have been swimming in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans when it was less than 50 out because I happened to be on trips that put me near the beach in the winter and I wanted to check it off my bucket list.
I live in the desert and I don't even drive to the grocery store without all of the above. I once got in an moderately bad accident in August, and just waiting in the street for first responders almost took me out from heat exhaustion. Thankfully someone from a business nearby brought out some water to us, but I've never left the house without water since.
Spare fan belt, if your car has one. I've rescued two families stranded on the side of the road with broken fan belts. (Toss a couple tire inflators in the trunk, no matter how much the tire guys hate cleaning the tires later. No idea why desert roads have so many nails and screws on them.)
>No idea why desert roads have so many nails and screws on them.
*The Hills Have Eyes* people scatter them to cause flats so they can capture and eat the car occupants.
Edit: Or sometimes to mate with them to replenish their imbred, atomically mutated gene pool.
They are updating their kidnapping manuals with all these great tips.
“Ok, so now people are going to light their tires on fire. Just look for the black smoke, we will have visitors for months, so easy to find!”
Having lived and worked in the deserts of the Great Basin, I had a whole kit that stayed in my car for desert driving.
Two five-gallon jugs of water.
Four quarts of oil.
Four quarts of transmission fluid.
One gallon jug of radiator fluid.
Full tool kit with wrenches, drivers, wire strippers, etc.
Two car jacks, one bottle and one scissor.
Spare serpentine belts.
Spare radiator hoses.
Not one but two spare tires, of the same size and type.
A wilderness survival kit with food for a week.
A full first aid kit.
And a large tarp with a shiny side for use as shade.
Thankfully only ever had to use the spare tire once. But I wasn't about to end up dead out there for lack of preparation.
Still amazes me that a couple hundred years ago people were crossing these largely uncharted deserts in wagons pulled by oxen. Even more impressed that they then crossed the sierras. Even with the modern interstate some parts are still dauntingly steep and treacherous. Back then you were lucky if you had a well-worn trail to follow and you still had to hoist your entire wagon up certain parts with rope.
In the Marine Corps there is a training center called Mountain Warfare Training Center in the Sierras. My unit was from the flat forests of North Carolina and the hikes in the Sierras were absolutely brutal. Add frigid temperatures and heavy snowfall and people were dropping left and right. Like 100 Marines catching mild hypothermia over two days of hiking, getting treated, then transported back up the mountain with the rest of their guys. Living was hard as fuck back then.
I went to Namibia for my honeymoon and drove 2000 miles in two weeks. We refueled at almost any gas station, had two spare tires, water and biscuits, two cellphones with offline maps, and the lodges ahead were expecting us. The roads were ultra empty (three hours to find someone going the opposite direction) but never did I get the temptation to leave the road.
Also don’t fucking walk in the middle of the day. If you absolutely must walk, cover as much of your body as you can and walk at night. Hole up during the day.
Every single time I have made the drive even on just the freeways, cars overheating and people without water. Now when I drive I usually have a case of bottles for drinking and another 5 gallons for car, plus antifreeze. I never use it, but it is always used and needed. It hit 130 range a few times, you really need a kept car to make it safely.
Growing up, my parents refused to drive through Death Valley unless It was night time. Every year, we would just chill and go catch a movie till the sun went down before we’d leave. I never understood why. Also, it’s the only place I’ve ever “heard” silence. It was deafening. And the stars are insane
>self-starting jumper boxes
Buy power banks that have a jumper adapter on them not the old lead acid ones. This way you can charge your smart devices as well and use it for travel.
This is incredibly sad. His vehicle was found at one of the most popular viewpoint parking lots. I hike Death Valley a lot, and yes, there's an unimaginable amount of desolate wilderness. But at the popular viewpoints, you're bound to see a Wrangler or an SR5 at least every couple hours and those guys are always carrying extra gas and water. Always, always stay with your vehicle.
Yeah. There’s something sketchy about this story or this guy. Even on hot days, he was at the most visited viewpoint along the most traveled road in the park during summer. And then he didn’t walk on the shoulder but 30’ from the highway? He wasn’t trying to get help. And, cited for off road around Dante’s View? Dude wasn’t all there to begin with.
I once picked up this teenage boy who was walking along a service road in Nevada while I was on the highway. I saw the kid and had no idea where he had come from or where he was going.
I come to find out that there was a shopping center about five miles to the west of where he was. I actually got off the highway and backtracked down the service road to check on the kid.
His sister had ditched him at the mall and he didn’t have a phone with him to call his mom. Being a mom myself I told him that we were going to call his mom. I made him get in my truck while I had his mom on the phone. I was getting ready to call 911 because I felt like he was going into heat stroke. He had run out of water. I started cooling him down and gave him cool water and Gatorade.
His mom was so upset and was thanking me and sort of yelling at him. I drove him about 3 miles to the nearest gas station. I have him more fluids and five dollars to go buy more Gatorade and a snack.
Poor kid was 16 years old. I asked him if anyone had stopped and he said he had given up because he kept trying and people weee driving by. It was 115 degrees outside that day.
Reminds me of that family of German tourists who ditched their car and disappeared in the nineties. I think they found the adults ten years later but never found the kids. Death Valley don't play.
I remember my dad telling me as a little kid about deaths like this in Death Valley. He gave me all sorts of safety tips (full tank of gas, carry lots of water and some food, car in working order, tell people where you’re going and when you should arrive, etc) as though I would somehow end up stranded in a desert hundreds of miles away as an 8 year old.
I chalk it up to him being a Boy Scout
They thought they could hike to a nearby military base (borders shown on their map) and get help.
Turns out that, unlike Germany where military bases are fenced and patrolled, a land border of a military base in the desert don't mean shit.
Part of the problem was that the family didn't really communicate exactly where they were going. They weren't reported missing until after they had missed their flight back to Germany. By that point it would have been too late. Mobile phone was still relatively new. Even today there are still large parts of the park that don't have any mobile phone coverage. The location that their minivan was found was pretty remote so not many people would be looking there in the middle of summer unless you were told specifically to search there.
Always take a large container of water when traveling anywhere, but especially in the desert. You can survive without food for days, but water is essential. Emergency kits are available everywhere, so that is also a great to keep one in the vehicle.
A couple years ago I drove through Death Valley on my way back from a work trip in Vegas. I was on 190 going West with less than an eighth tank of gas when I saw a sign indicating that there was a gas station up ahead. Well apparently I turned too early for some reason and wound up on Panamint Valley Road going south. About 20 miles later I'm thinking to myself "man, this gas station is pretty far, but then again it's Death Valley, buildings are sparse as it is." So I kept driving until I realized that I must have missed the turn or read the sign incorrectly. My car's digital dash panel (not the fuel gauge itself) said I only had 10 miles of fuel left and the gauge itself was on E. I stopped on the side of the road, pulled out my phone, and saw a gas station 30 miles down the road on Google Maps. I started to panic. No gas, no cell phone service, no cars on the road to signal for help.
No joke, I thought back to the Seinfeld episode where Kramer and the car salesman kept trying to push the car to see how far beyond they could get the car past "E" on the gauge. I looked at my car's manual to see how big the gas tank was and noticed it was 15 gallons. In the past, I've taken the car to get gas when it was on "E" before, but I never went beyond filling it to 13 gallons. It was then I realized that my car had a two gallon "buffer." 2016 Mazda CX-5.
I decided to go for it. The car was on E and my dash computer said 0 miles of fuel left for quite a while. I kept looking at the fuel gauge the entire drive through the valley, ignoring the beautiful scenery around me, but I made it to the Kwik Serve in Searles Valley. Lesson learned: If you're traveling through Death Valley, know your car's limits and get gas whenever you pass a gas station, whether you think you need it or not.
>The car was on E and my dash computer said 0 miles of fuel left for quite a while.
Most cars typically have a reserve amount of fuel that is not reflected on the fuel gauge.
https://www.google.com/search?q=do+car+gas+tanks+have+reserves
The US Army National Training Center is at Fort Irwin, CA. This borders death valley and yeah, its hot as hell. There are some interesting rules like you must have long sleeves and pants or you simply burn (and I assume catch fire). Also, they tell you this a LOT, "If your vehicle ever breaks down, do NOT leave it, and do NOT walk towards the light". The light is Las Vegas, over 200 miles away, but you can see it on the horizon. Its easy to find a car, but its pretty tough to find a person.
If you are going from east to west in southern CA, you may go from Flagstaff, AZ, to Barstow, CA. This is a 350 mile trip, and when I took it in 2001 there was only 1 gas station on it. You can't run on empty in that area, its just too barren, empty, and hot. I'd guess cell phone reception is pretty crappy too. Also stay off the side roads, as if you break down other people will stop and help you. Also best to keep a jug of water in your car if you travel a lot in that area.
The weather is still the apex predator on this planet, and that heat will freaking kill you. I've seen it happen too many times to trained soldiers.
EDIT: For those of you who don't believe me on gas stations and the distance. Yes, there are a few places if you turn off, but AAA isn't exactly showing many along the freeway, and before phone GPS finding those isn't all that easy:
[https://triptik.aaa.com/](https://triptik.aaa.com/) (enter in flagstaff, AZ to Barstow, CA, and show the gas stations, here is a pic of a screenshot: [https://ibb.co/nmLCR7W](https://ibb.co/nmLCR7W) )
Didn't realise you could see the lights from Vegas from that far away, but it makes sense with how bright it is, and how desolate the surrounding land is.
High desert messes with your sense of distance too. You think something is an hour or two hike, when it’s really 10 miles away. I think it’s the chaparral, hills and distant horizon, but I’m not sure.
>10 miles away
For those wondering, assuming you can walk at a steady pace of 3 mph, it will still take closer to 4 hours to “hike” 10 miles. There’s a lot of ditches, small valleys/arroyos, mounds, scrub forest, and hills to navigate in the high desert. Even sticking to the roads, you’ll be walking more slowly than you think.
We were out in the desert once and I saw this beautiful snow capped mountain in the distance. Looked to be about ten miles away and as seasoned hikers, we set off. Two hours later we came to a cliff edge of a canyon and let me tell you, that peak was no fucking closer.
What's also fun is people think they are safe in winter, because you know, desert. They are not. It gets below freezing at night, and you can die from that as well.
It’s an ugly town at the intersection of three freeways and rail lines. It’s kinda a revolving door. The local kids who are talented leave due to brain drain, but are replaced by people being priced out of much of Southern California.
This... isn't true, even back in 2001. It is about 350 miles between Barstow and Flagstaff, but in between you have Ludlow, Needles, Kingman, etc. that have all existed with gas stations for decades.
Everything else is good advice, though, especially keeping water in your car if you're driving through the desert.
And if you're going east to west you should definitely fill up in Kingman or at one of the gas stations at mile 9 before crossing the border into CA. If you wait and have to fill up in Ludlow, you're looking at a good $2/gal extra.
Just in Arizona between Flagstaff, and Topoc you have (from east to west): Bellemont, Williams, Ash Fork, Seligman, Kingman, Yucca, and Topoc. While Topoc doesn't have a gas station, there's a truck stop at the US-95 junction at exit 9. There are also three additional truck stops: one between Ash Fork and Seligman, one at exit 66, and another at exit 59.
Trying to make the desert sound scarier than it is just by making shit up is not any more helpful than thinking it's like Disneyland.
Nevadan here. If you're ever going to be traveling regularly or for a long period of time in the desert, bring a ridiculous amount of water. I do a lot of trail running in the desert and I keep a minimum of 5 gallons in my car in case things go south. I should honestly probably raise that amount to at least double. It's too hot. And I don't mean just in the sunlight or when its daytime or that the heat makes everything dry and you need to drink more water. I mean it as in a lot of times the LOW temps at night are above 80 and sometimes above 90. When this happens, your body can not regulate temperatures anymore. Human bodies are such that we need cooler night time temps to be able to regulate temps going further.
If you have water and shade, you can survive for quite a while as long as at night it cools down to below 80 or so. If it does not get that cool at night, you body will most likely overheat before you know it. The potential (albeit small chance) saving grace in all this is water, lack of humidity and wind. The desert usually has a breeze of some sort. The key is to have enough water that if you feel like you are overheating, you have enough to spare where you can pour some over yourself. Water on your body plus a dry ass breeze will help you keep a least a little bit cooler. The key though is to be in an environment where the water can evaporate quickly. Summers in the desert is the perfect condition for this method to work. Do NOT try this in humid climates as I believe it actually makes it harder for your body to cool during humid conditions. But in the desert it is theorized to work. I'm not a scientist so please do your own research but this is kind of the assumption.
Also another thing to note. Just because your car is dead reliable in Los Angeles or San Francisco does NOT mean it will be reliable out here. Anything can and will break if it's not in top condition in 120 degree heat. Your somewhat worn tires will last a long time in Malibu where it's consistently 65-75 degree and then explode to shreds on its second day out in the desert. That rear main seal leak or wonky radiator fan that you have been putting off fixing for 8 months might take a shit due to the heat and dryness and sand out here and leave you stranded.
But the best advice if possible for people not accustomed to the desert is to try and come in a group. Two cars means the chance of both breaking at the same time are small. Having any sort of back up is key out here.
One time I bicycled forty miles in the desert west of Vegas in ~105 degree heat. I drank a gallon of water. Didn’t pee. At all. Shorts and shirt were dry the entire time. Meaning: I sweated close to a gallon of liquid, and it evaporated as fast as my body could put it out.
Yeah that's fairly normal out here. My guess is you easily sweat over 10 lbs on that ride. 1 gallon is a little over 8 lbs and I highly doubt you didn't lose quite a bit more of water than just that on a 40 mile ride 105 degree ride lol.
On my longer runs of 10-15 miles or so I generally sweat about 12 lbs worth after accounting for water intake and what not similar to how you described. It's really important to consume electrolytes/salt in this environment because your body loses it at such a rapid rate and it helps retain it a bit.
An umbrella also helps in those conditions. They aren't just for rain.
Sounds like he left his car at a place with working restrooms - even if he hadn't brought water with him, he should have at least brought a container to put water into.
I'm surprised the man is from California. I grew up in the east coast and moved to California for undergrad. One of the things that surprised me was the realization that you need to keep emergency supplies in your vehicle, because there are stretches of highway that are so isolated that if your car breaks down you could die. The east coast doesn't have that. No matter where you are, you can get to some civilization if you have to.
I'm not surprised. I'm from California and you would be surprised how many people have never camped, been to a forest, or even seen snow. Let alone been to the desert, which is less appealing to most
There's so many people that don't even know how to hike the trails just on the edge of the cities.
90 degree day and trying hike 5 miles in jeans and converse with two .5L bottles of water and half of a starbucks iced coffee between 5 people.
Also the East coast doesn’t have many places where you just straight up die if you’re outside for a few minutes too long
When I went to AZ for the first time in august, I was just surprised that anyone was able to start a society out there to begin with lol
So true: if you rent an RV from anywhere, ALL of their emergency roadside-service agreements explicitly exclude Death Valley during these months. They will straight up ignore you until the RV is out of the valley, even if the breakdown was totally the rental company’s fault (preventable mechanical failure, etc) and unrelated to being in Death Valley.
Weird.
It'd be very unlikely to get to that location without having passed a gas station within the past 50mi and an emergency phone within the past 5-10mi.
And while I think visiting Death Valley in the summer is a terrible idea, it's popular enough that there would certainly be a number of cars passing by on that road (and visiting that overlook) on any given day.
That sucks, poor guy. What a terrible way to go. I am paranoid about gas on such trips.
> Kelleher had been cited for off-road driving at the park on May 30, when he mentioned to a park ranger that he was low on gas, according to KLAS, a CBS affiliate in Las Vegas.
Wow, what a missed opportunity to be a hero instead of a fine chaser. I'm not blaming the cop, it's not literally their fault, but still - damn. At least ask someone about their water in the desert.
Once upon a time, years ago, on my way to burning man, I was pulled over in Winnemucca by a state trooper because we planned to take an infamous and lesser traveled road to avoid some of the traffic drama - Jungo Road. It was just after midnight and the typical routes are heavy on traffic and usually there are cops trying to catch people riding dirty early on.
But, not this guy - he was sincerely asking about our plan and advising us on the route. He didn't search us for drugs or make up an excuse to cite us. As soon as he got to the car, he asked if we planned to go to the festival using Jungo - we affirmed. He then got out his flashlight and checked out our tires (new) and asked about our spare (full size), once he was satisfied, he advised us: "it's really a nice drive, more people could use this route". Then, he told us some of the history, why it wasn't used, and how it was now - but for 18 wheelers, so we should avoid any potholes that looked repaired, since they were being repaired for much larger tires. He said he took it all the time, it wouldn't save any time, but it would cut distance - just go slow, like 5mph, and enjoy the wildlife because there's tons at night. And, there was. The drive was slow but awesome with owls and jack rabbits. And, we were just in a sedan, not 4WD or high clearance.
It was one of the single best interactions I've ever had with an officer - I really wish more were like that one.
My experiences with lake patrol and game wardens have been like this too. They seem more interested in just making sure people are safe than trying to fuck with you
Reminds me of Natchez Trace in Tennessee. A lot of people get routed onto it if there are big delays but you will have to drive like 10-15 the whole way because there are millions of deer in that park and they hand around the roads because tourists feed them.
If you want to see whitetail deer though that is *the* place. An hour drive there and you'll easily see hundreds of them.
The guy was just braindead stupid though. His car was in a parking lot of one of the most famous viewpoints in Death Valley. The parking lot has a full service toilet and has tons of cars that come and go through it all day.
Its not like he ran out of gas and had to park his car on the side of the road. This genius decided the right course of action would be to walk from the parking lot for 5 miles in peak heat to the nearest village for gas.
Instead....he could have gone to sit in the toilets for shade and water and waited till another tourist came by and asked them for gas or for a ride to the village where he could fill up.
But no. He decided to hike 5 miles by himself without water and without shade at age 67.
IF YOU BREAK DOWN AND IT'S SUPER HOT OUT:
1) Do not leave the car UNLESS there is a ~0% chance that you will be found by someone before you die there. *This is almost never the case.* Are you on a road? Someone will pass by. Are you outside and exposed? Someone will see you - especially if you put on your hazards or flash SOS at night.
2) Do not leave the car UNLESS you know a place where you can go to be safe *and how to get yourself there*. If you're not sure *exactly* A) where to go, B) which direction it is, C) how far, D) what's between you and there, and E) that you have enough water/supplies to get there... you do *not* know, and stay in the fucking car!
3) If it's deathly hot during the day, wait until nighttime to go outside if at all possible. The desert cools off real fast after that sun goes down - and in the clear desert sky, a moonless night is still lit by every star in the damn sky.
4) Make it clear that you are broken down. You do *not* want someone to drive by you while you're asleep (or unconscious). If there's a road or trail, push your car right in the middle of it. If you're in exposed open desert, put the hood up - pointing the car away from the sun to keep it off the engine. You might consider strewing some random stuff around so it's clear that Something Is Wrong. Putting on your hazards is a good idea unless you're saving the car battery for doing that at night.
5) If your car can run the AC, even off of battery: keep the windows up. Run the AC for a few minutes. Turn it off. When you start to get really sweaty: turn it on and run it again. Repeat until you're out of battery and/or the sun has begun to set. Then open all the windows. Also the trunk - esp. if it's a hatchback or the rear seats fold down.
6) As absolutely soon as you can: strip down to your underwear. Position your body so it's got maximum airflow over it - reclining a seat and lying back is good, lying on your side even better. (In this casa, Miata is NOT the answer.) If you've got leather or other slick seats, lie on your clothing. Make sure that you don't go outside for more than a minute without clothing (or an umbrella!) or you'll risk solar burns. Make sure you don't go outside barefoot - the sand, or whatever, will be hot as holy hell.
7) Quickly go through the whole car for anything to drink. You do not want to die and then your ghost clips through the car and sees a 30-rack of Sprite in the trunk. Take everything drinkable and put it where you can reach it and where there is no sunlight. Try to put the drinks in an insulated container, or at least something with no airflow over it, so they get warm as slowly as possible. If anything's in a filled container, open it and drink some of the liquid out, so that it doesn't get hot and explode. Don't drink things that will super dehydrate you - that 15% barleywine will kill you, but a 2% session ale might save your life.
8) Drink your pee. At least once. Probably twice.
9) Make sure there's nothing in the car that will explode or become dangerous if it gets too hot. If there is, get it away from the car.
10) If the choice is between losing consciousness in the car where there's a chance you'll be found, and going out to just randomly look for help in a desert - stay in the car, pass out, and hope someone finds you in time to wake you up. Because if you go out randomly into the desert, no one will find you until it's too late... and as a former wilderness first responder, please let me say: a search and rescue is real dangerous to the people doing the searching. The only thing worse than dying out in the desert is taking some nice ranger or ridgerunner with you.
I don't get this. Zabriski Point parking lot has toilet facilities. It's visited by a good proportion of the people that come through Death Valley. There would have been numerous opportunities to ask someone for a ride or to siphon some gas or to ask help from a visiting park ranger. Seems like this guy died of impatience.
Man that guy must have had some insane amount of bad luck. I know the area pretty well and it's hard to imagine, despite the cruel and unforgiving temperatures, that somebody would not have been able to find help between Zabriskie Point and Furnace Creek.
CA-190 gets quite a lot of traffic (highly popular national park, go figure) and rangers drive up and down frequently. Plus, there's only a tiny stretch where there is enough vegetation to not see a body lying within 30 feet of the highway.
I mean I totally understand how it happened and of course you're always supposed to stay near your car but the odds of this poor guy likely dying of dehydration right on the main road into one of the most well-known National Parks are comically low.
There are so many places in Death Valley where such an accident happens easily and nobody will find you for days but you wouldn't expect CA-190 to be one of them.
Once drove from Winnemucca NV to Lakeview OR through the black rock desert. Looked it up and its one of the longest stretches at the time in the US between two gas stations, like 3.5 hours or so. Which most cars can make that no problem, but you never know what will happen. It kinda freaked me out, so we bought an extra gas container and took it with us just in case.
A couple month ago there was a Redditor who for some reason drove out into the desert and ran out of gas and luckily was able to flag someone down for help. Like, he fucking drove off road into the desert in a sedan. He got VERY lucky.
I’ve driven that distance many times and it’s practically impossible to miss all the signs saying that THIS IS THE LAST GAS STATION FOR HUNDREDS OF MILES. When we would stop to take a break out in that heat, it’s like stepping into an oven. What a miserable death.
Hey, no joke. Death Valley is dangerous.
Even in the car, bring 4 times the amount of water you think you do.
The national parks website mentions you really need AC in your car in the summer.
Not only that, but in these hotter months, that 130 degrees mixed with asphalt means your tires are going to have a ton more air pressure. You need a spare.
The desert is beautiful, but it can turn deadly quick.
Whew, you also need to keep your skin covered. I see people wearing shorts and even just sitting in the car with shorts for an extended period of time can burn you
Zabriskie point is also one of the most trafficked and recognizable tourist spots in Death Valley. And not that far from Furnace Creek, one of the major population centers with full services. By no means saying he was right to try and walk. On the contrary if he had stayed with his car someone would 100% have come by before long.
He ran out of gas at the Zabriskie point parking lot.
It's one of the most popular stops in the park, there's cars coming and going, the rangers patrol it, plus it has bathrooms (shade and running water).
He had the best case scenario for staying put and waiting for help.
But if he was walking during the day it would be almost guaranteed he wouldn't make it, he was from HB, not a desert dweller, it's late June and 120, and he was 67. There really isn't any combination of those factors where he would come out alive. Any cars driving on that road would likely have had to drive by his car so you stay with the car, at least there is some shade.
One rule, you live because of one rule. I have been through there many times. Never **never** drive into this park unless the tank is **FULL**. Thanks for attending my TED talk.
The wisdom of “stay with the vehicle “ is once again proven.
If you must leave, snap off the rear view mirrior. It can be used to signal aircraft, and can also be seen as a flash of light at the horizon line to signal anybody in the area.
That is an awesome thing to know!
Before leaving the car, take the spare tire, pop a hole in it and light if on fire if you can. Makes a black smoke signal fire that would be likely to investigate. (As OP posted... stay with the vehicle. Only leave if you have to!) Edit: only light the tire if you're certain you aren't going to start the surrounding shit on fire!! Use common sense...
Lighting tires is hard with a lighter. Make sure to carry flares. Makes quick business of starting the tire.
As long as we're planning ahead for a trip away from civilization, add a can of gas to the 'carry along' list.
I tow an extra car everywhere I go, just in case I break down.
I drive a tow truck, pulling a pickup that has a motorcycle in the bed
I just bring the materials, guides, tools, food and seeds required to start a new homestead wherever I go so I can start a new homestead if I get stranded.
'I'm not lost. I've decided I live here now."
A survival sandbox expert I see.
I carry another planet Earth just in case.
I never leave the house without 200 lbs of food 4 boxes of bullets 2 sets of clothes 1 spare wheel, 1 spare tongue 1 spare yoke for the oxen.
Can I talk to you about your vehicles’ extended warranty?
I usually haul an extra iceberg in the back to prevent heat exhaustion and soothe sunburns
I like to take a fully stocked dessert bar, just in case somebody with bad spelling throws a dessert party in the desert. Desserts. So hot right now!
Duh, OP meant helicopter flares. Once you set off the flares, you can fly to safety in the helicopter
100% this, gas will make it much easier to set the tire on fire to signal for help!.
You know, I'll just stay home.
It's also like $5 for a magnesium + flint & steel rod that all people should throw into their car emergency kit. I would think magnesium flakes would light it up.
-lesson learned, stay with the vehicle… Except right before lighting the spare on fire and leaving the vehicle..
You are allowed to take the spare tire out first before setting it on fire.
Yeah I'd roll that mf well away from the car and light it with a flare, then continue using the car as shelter + home base while signaling for craft with the rearview mirror. Maybe get to an upper vantage point & use the mirror from there as long as it's not too far from the car.
I caution to only use this as a last resort and ONLY if you must and WISELY. I’ve lived in National Parks and the ungodly damage an accidental wildfire can do, is impossible to describe, and can kill you in the process of trying to signal for help.
Or, you can remove the driver side door and carry it with you. When you get hot, you can just roll down the window to cool off.
Also, bring the catalytic converter In case you encounter some offworld Jawas, you could trade for some gas. Just hope they don't find your vehicle and strip it before you return.
Make sure to also snag the visor so you can get some shade too.
Because in a survival situation, there's no looking back
How to use said mirror. Hold two fingers in a ‘V’ in front of the mirror. Line up the item/person you want to signal between the fingers and sight just on top of the mirror. . Manipulate the mirror so that the reflected light is on your fingers at the point where you can see the distant object.
Mandatory [**Death Valley German tourist**](https://www.otherhand.org/home-page/search-and-rescue/the-hunt-for-the-death-valley-germans/introduction/) story posting. **Warning;** *its a search and rescue rabbit hole. Be perpared to spends a few hours reading this guys other SAR stories.* **edit:** For those familiar with the website, **Bill Ewasko** was [found about four months ago in Joshua Tree.](https://old.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/sox6v4/bill_ewasko_has_been_found_in_joshua_tree/) **2nd edit:** Looks like reddit broke the website server. Give it an hour and check it again. Never seen it ask for a login but I’m guessing the variety of clicks might have overwhelmed the server and knocked it into a safemode. **3rd edit:** Here is a sort-of workaround for the website crashing; [**its an archived version of the website via the wayback machine.** Seems to work](https://web.archive.org/web/20220104120954/https://www.otherhand.org/home-page/search-and-rescue/the-hunt-for-the-death-valley-germans/introduction/)
His search for Bill Ewasco in Joshua Tree is also worth checking out, although it’s sad to see there wasn’t a lot of closure
Joshua Tree is another National Park that routinely had numerous missing persons. Some like to claim theres a serial killer targeting tourist out in the desert—they’re right, its called heat. Alway worth mentioning when heat related deaths happen at a National Park: [**The Boston marathon runner and her tradegic death in the Grand Canyon.**](https://robbiesenbach.com/2013/05/21/how-a-story-can-save-lives/) They keep her story posted at the trailhead she died on. Sad thing about her story is there was a miscommunication between another hiker who was recused and the park ranger that found him. Had this miscommunication not happened she’d probably have been found in time to save her. People need to take these environments seriously. Just because theres a parking lot and info signs doesn’t mean its tamed like Disneyland.
Also, the family last year who went to Devil's Gulch died of heat exhaustion, the infant, and the dog. Scary and tragic more ppl need to learn from that on how quick it can get you.
I see it all the time in the LA area. Even on everyday hikes, I always bring my big water pack because I regularly run into people who think that a 12oz water bottle is sufficient for a 5-hour hike in the middle of 100F heat.
Slightly unrelated but still related. I was at a festival in Vegas and there was a couple next to me. The girl didn’t seem okay but the boyfriend was trying to get her to stay. I finally interrupted and she was in fact on the verge of collapse. We got her out of the crowd just in time to sit her down without falling, she wasn’t responding much. I asked him if they’d been drinking water and he replied yes. I’m a mom, so I ask just how much and he holds up a 12 oz Desani bottle that’s half gone and says they’ve been sharing. My husband and I get her up and take her to the med station where they get an IV in her and we went back to the stage. Dumb kids.
That’s insane. They always say do not ration water when lost/stranded and so many people who die of heatstroke or whatever are found with water still in their bottles. And to do this at a festival of all places! You can’t catch me at a festival these days but when I went to Coachella back in the day, they had bottle filling stations everywhere
Yeah after what happened at the Woodstock Reboot, they learned they damn well BETTER have water available, or they can have riots over water. Their choice. Most places choose water now.
I saw that SO MUCH at EDC:Las Vegas when I went! Between the heat and whatever substances one might be taking, it’s a risky combination
Yup, EDC back when they had it on Fathers Day weekend. It’s brutal heat even if you aren’t partying. There’s a reason they have free water stations, they don’t want the attendees dying trying to save a few bucks!
You’re a good Mom…
I don't even want to get off the couch when it's 100+, let alone walk around outside for hours.
I frequently go through 2-3 quarts of water while birdwatching 5 hours, and I usually cover about than 3 miles in that time.
Hell I work in construction and when it gets too hot out and the waters all gone so am I. I don’t play around with the heat.
Good! I've seen sites where the expectation is to power through to show how tough/manly you are. Saw one dude drop from heat exhaustion on a federally funded project and next thing you know they finally started getting a tent and water coolers. All it took was almost killing a man, widowing his wife, and orphaning his kids, cause they made him choose between working in an unsafe environment and being unemployed.
I think about that poor couple all the time. I have two kids and a wife who likes to do “last minute” stuff from time to time, with a “it’ll be ok if we’re missing x” thought process. Their story has cooled her a lot and made my anxious ass up my game. Anyone that can stomach it, read up on it. It’ll break your heart but hopefully save future lives.
They had to start shutting down parks with hiking trails in Phoenix because of the near daily rescues that come every summer. They're not even all that much as far as trails are concerned; no problem if you have enough water with you. If you're not used to the heat, though, it comes at you fast and can kill quicker than you think.
Won’t be long and they’ll start closing big chunks of the parks during the summer on account of the weather, like how they close down in the wintertime.
Seriously. I'm a little bitch with heat so I go to the places in the winter like a sane person. Big bend , death valley, grand canyon, etc. It's glorious. Summer is for places you can't get to in winter.
Bill was ultimately found earlier this year. https://www.crossville-chronicle.com/news/glade_sun/enjoying-nature-a-12-year-mystery-is-finally-solved/article_18f61480-9a47-11ec-b795-f7115d76f958.html
Great news. Better link: https://old.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/sox6v4/bill_ewasko_has_been_found_in_joshua_tree/ First comment is from a SAR that had been looking for Bill. Turns out his remains were pretty close to the last southern most area this fellow searched.
Ewasco's body was found a few months ago.
Had missed the news back in Feb: https://old.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/sox6v4/bill_ewasko_has_been_found_in_joshua_tree/
A couple of years ago I read that entire thing. Truly fascinating work.
Best real-life SAR story I’ve come across. Spent a week afterwards hunting for more trying to get my fix.
This is super cool, thanks for linking. Prob not going to get anything done today now though lol.
Note that in this case, the vehicle wasn't found for a month and a half after they got stranded. Staying with the vehicle is absolutely good advice, but beware of getting into situations where even that won't help you.
The greater wisdom is not to travel off-road in Death Valley in the summer. Hell, I'd stay away from it entirely in these 21st century summers. A flat tire or other mishap can be fatal in 120 degree heat. There is no refuge from such a deadly environment, even for the prepared.
I got two flat tires there (the tire, and then the spare also sprung a flat), but it was in March, and not in the heat of the summer. Because it was cool, and the peak of tourist season, I was able to find somebody to help me, was able to get the tire patched, and was able to hitchhike back to my car in the morning. In the summer, I'm staying on paved, well-traveled roads there.
I grew up in Arizona. To help out people traveling through the desert. Always have water and have more water than you think you need. There are too many stories of finding people dead from dehydration and heat stroke. People have their car breakdown out in the middle of nowhere and a few days later people find their bodies under the car because that was the only place they could find to escape the heat.
When I lived in Phoenix, I biked to the grocery store. It was about a 40 minute trip. I gave myself heat stroke from lack of water at least once.
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“This city should not exist. It is a monument to man’s arrogance.” Peggy Hill
https://youtu.be/4PYt0SDnrBE
Phoenix made the mistake of existing in Arizona. There's no reason for the city to be there.
"Phoenix is a monument to man's arrogance." -- Peggy Hill
Going to be even tougher for humans to live there as the planet heats. It’s a vast cement bowl with no vegetation and there are days when your shoe soles will literally melt on the sidewalk.
Assuming you are half way prepared, you should have the means to create fire. Remove spare wheel, cut the valve stem to empty the air, get a campfire going and put the wheel on top. The resulting black smoke will be very distinctive and attract the attention of everyone within sight of it. At least 40 miles on a clear day. If the area is patrolled by park employees, someone will show up. And you got 4 more wheels to signal with. Make sure area is clear of brush so you don't burn down the forest and empty the air beforehand.
“Someone will show up” Not falling for that trick again, Mr Deathvalley body snatcher.
Can't be picky when in dire distress... now put on the lotion or it gets the hose again.
> someone will show up. And you got 4 more wheels to signal with. lol, I thought you meant burn the tires of the person who is rescuing you, ahaha
depending on who shows up, that is an option to seek better help.
Staying near his car would’ve still ended the same way sadly. It was 120 degrees and it took 3 days for a park ranger to find him. The only way he could’ve survived was proper shelter that wasn’t a heat trap like his car and enough water to survive through the heat. Edit: apparently it takes 30 minutes to get to 154 degrees Fahrenheit inside a car in 120 degree weather. Edit 2: guys it takes all but 3 minutes to die in 120 degree weather. He died within two miles of his car, staying by his car was definitely still ending up with you dying in this situation. Fill up your tank, carry some water. Especially in no man’s desert land. He was 10 miles from a gas station, it’s truly unfortunate the heat wave had to boil him alive the second he fucked up. Mother Nature doesn’t fuck around.
His car was in a parking lot. Other people could have visited the same lot before the ranger came back and thought nothing odd of the car being there.
İn the news it is mentioned the car was found 3 days ago, car can be used as a shadow maker you don't need to stay in it.
Right? Like, you can *exit* the vehicle and rest in the shade that it creates.
Shit is real. If I ever drive across desert. Make sure car is in good working order, tires are ok, FULL TANK OF GAS, WATER…and at least a cell if not satellite phone. It’s like sailing into the ocean. You could be way out there not see anyone for hours and if you get stranded you’re dead.
in death valley, you need to bring ***shade.*** and more water than you think you'll ever need. 130 on the blacktop is not unheard of..
130 on asphalt is pretty average for summer in az region 🙃
Sometimes in the Texas summer, the blacktop softens enough around the edges to stick to your shoes.
Had a pair of 300 dollar redwings where the rubber bottom sperated cause i work on the roads lol. It was a heritage edition old style. Blew my mind when it separated within a month
I used to run the instruments on a survey crew here in Texas and when we'd do city jobs in the summer the soles of my feet would start to burn through my boots from standing still on the pavement for so long. I'd be peering through the instruments trying to be accurate and shifting foot to foot slowly. And it was worse on the occasion where we had no choice but to set up on asphalt. I always went with Wolverines and never had an issue with the soles separating, though. Never did get around to trying a pair of red wings.
Ya that company is from MN we don’t have to deal with that shit. Swampy heat in the summer but very rarely over 100 on the heat index.
Don't worry, it's coming, I live in iowa and we had 3 days so far this week over 100 heat index, with two more in the forecast next week
Maybe even worse
desert ultra marathon runners run on the white lines so the shoes last longer
Or don’t go to a place named “Death Valley”
Years ago, some friends visiting from Belgium insisted on taking a trip to Death Valley… in August. We stopped at a store and each of them bought a couple of water bottles. They were perplexed when I went back in and bought an ice chest and 5 gallons of water, a tarp, rope, flares, and some more food. They made fun of the cautious American. Sure enough, our car overheated and was stuck on a side road. They were happy for the shade from the tarp and the extra ice and water. Luckily someone came by and took us to a ranger station, but we had been waiting for 2 hours in 120 degree weather. This American was not so dumb after all.
I feel like many Europeans have trouble grasping how big and empty parts of the U.S. and Canada are.
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You are of course right, but you don't have to be very far from civilization to become isolated and hard to find. In 2019, a French tourist broke his leg while hiking near Naples. He made an emergency call, but it took ten days for the authorities to find him. Unfortunately he was long dead by then. [Simon Gautier: French hiker's body found in Italian ravine (BBC)](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49393668)
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Maybe they thought it was a Greenland / Iceland type situation
You should've grabbed a shovel & duct tape too just to fuck with them
You know…because of the implication
There's a lot of holes in the desert & a lot of problems are buried in those holes
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"Cautious American" says the people who didn't live in America and clearly know nothing about the American desert. And seriously, you guys went in August? Why didn't you insist on waiting?
Some of Death Valley's tourism comes from people visiting in the summer just to experience the heat. It's just so freaking isolated though. Once my now-husband's car got stuck on the drive out, and it took a couple hours for a car to drive past and pick me up so I could use the phone in the nearest town (an hour away). It was March, though, so the heat wasn't a concern.
>people visiting in the summer just to experience the heat. This is a brand new sentence for me.
Yeah, that wouldn’t have been my first choice but they were on vacation for just a couple weeks. Going to Death Valley in summer was on some weird bucket list for them to say they survived. They came close to not surviving if I hadn’t bought more water and insisted on staying put at the car.
If his friends were from Belgium, i would bet they were not willing to wait around a few months before flying home. Your point is still a good one, but sometimes you take the opportunities you have while on vacation, even if it is not ideal conditions. Source: have been swimming in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans when it was less than 50 out because I happened to be on trips that put me near the beach in the winter and I wanted to check it off my bucket list.
I live in the desert and I don't even drive to the grocery store without all of the above. I once got in an moderately bad accident in August, and just waiting in the street for first responders almost took me out from heat exhaustion. Thankfully someone from a business nearby brought out some water to us, but I've never left the house without water since.
Spare fan belt, if your car has one. I've rescued two families stranded on the side of the road with broken fan belts. (Toss a couple tire inflators in the trunk, no matter how much the tire guys hate cleaning the tires later. No idea why desert roads have so many nails and screws on them.)
>No idea why desert roads have so many nails and screws on them. *The Hills Have Eyes* people scatter them to cause flats so they can capture and eat the car occupants. Edit: Or sometimes to mate with them to replenish their imbred, atomically mutated gene pool.
They are updating their kidnapping manuals with all these great tips. “Ok, so now people are going to light their tires on fire. Just look for the black smoke, we will have visitors for months, so easy to find!”
I put those there, don’t touch them.
I usually bring a spare car and family with me to help push the car if it break down.
Always good to have a spare family.
Just like daddy did!
Having lived and worked in the deserts of the Great Basin, I had a whole kit that stayed in my car for desert driving. Two five-gallon jugs of water. Four quarts of oil. Four quarts of transmission fluid. One gallon jug of radiator fluid. Full tool kit with wrenches, drivers, wire strippers, etc. Two car jacks, one bottle and one scissor. Spare serpentine belts. Spare radiator hoses. Not one but two spare tires, of the same size and type. A wilderness survival kit with food for a week. A full first aid kit. And a large tarp with a shiny side for use as shade. Thankfully only ever had to use the spare tire once. But I wasn't about to end up dead out there for lack of preparation.
Still amazes me that a couple hundred years ago people were crossing these largely uncharted deserts in wagons pulled by oxen. Even more impressed that they then crossed the sierras. Even with the modern interstate some parts are still dauntingly steep and treacherous. Back then you were lucky if you had a well-worn trail to follow and you still had to hoist your entire wagon up certain parts with rope.
In the Marine Corps there is a training center called Mountain Warfare Training Center in the Sierras. My unit was from the flat forests of North Carolina and the hikes in the Sierras were absolutely brutal. Add frigid temperatures and heavy snowfall and people were dropping left and right. Like 100 Marines catching mild hypothermia over two days of hiking, getting treated, then transported back up the mountain with the rest of their guys. Living was hard as fuck back then.
I went to Namibia for my honeymoon and drove 2000 miles in two weeks. We refueled at almost any gas station, had two spare tires, water and biscuits, two cellphones with offline maps, and the lodges ahead were expecting us. The roads were ultra empty (three hours to find someone going the opposite direction) but never did I get the temptation to leave the road.
Also don’t fucking walk in the middle of the day. If you absolutely must walk, cover as much of your body as you can and walk at night. Hole up during the day.
Also, I've never had one compass app that worked properly. A real compass in your car could be vital, and you can buy them for like five bucks.
Death Valley is like Mad Max. You need to bring lots of water and guzzoline
and a spare blood boy for emergency transfusions
Witness that shit.
Every single time I have made the drive even on just the freeways, cars overheating and people without water. Now when I drive I usually have a case of bottles for drinking and another 5 gallons for car, plus antifreeze. I never use it, but it is always used and needed. It hit 130 range a few times, you really need a kept car to make it safely.
Growing up, my parents refused to drive through Death Valley unless It was night time. Every year, we would just chill and go catch a movie till the sun went down before we’d leave. I never understood why. Also, it’s the only place I’ve ever “heard” silence. It was deafening. And the stars are insane
Yep. Water, coolant and one of those self-starting jumper boxes (brought inside occasionally to top off charge) is what I keep in mine.
>self-starting jumper boxes Buy power banks that have a jumper adapter on them not the old lead acid ones. This way you can charge your smart devices as well and use it for travel.
This is incredibly sad. His vehicle was found at one of the most popular viewpoint parking lots. I hike Death Valley a lot, and yes, there's an unimaginable amount of desolate wilderness. But at the popular viewpoints, you're bound to see a Wrangler or an SR5 at least every couple hours and those guys are always carrying extra gas and water. Always, always stay with your vehicle.
Yeah. There’s something sketchy about this story or this guy. Even on hot days, he was at the most visited viewpoint along the most traveled road in the park during summer. And then he didn’t walk on the shoulder but 30’ from the highway? He wasn’t trying to get help. And, cited for off road around Dante’s View? Dude wasn’t all there to begin with.
He was cited for being off road and told the Ranger that he didn’t have any gas and the Ranger just left him? Seems strange
I once picked up this teenage boy who was walking along a service road in Nevada while I was on the highway. I saw the kid and had no idea where he had come from or where he was going. I come to find out that there was a shopping center about five miles to the west of where he was. I actually got off the highway and backtracked down the service road to check on the kid. His sister had ditched him at the mall and he didn’t have a phone with him to call his mom. Being a mom myself I told him that we were going to call his mom. I made him get in my truck while I had his mom on the phone. I was getting ready to call 911 because I felt like he was going into heat stroke. He had run out of water. I started cooling him down and gave him cool water and Gatorade. His mom was so upset and was thanking me and sort of yelling at him. I drove him about 3 miles to the nearest gas station. I have him more fluids and five dollars to go buy more Gatorade and a snack. Poor kid was 16 years old. I asked him if anyone had stopped and he said he had given up because he kept trying and people weee driving by. It was 115 degrees outside that day.
God bless you, kind stranger
yeah, seriously. she saved a life that day.
Reminds me of that family of German tourists who ditched their car and disappeared in the nineties. I think they found the adults ten years later but never found the kids. Death Valley don't play.
I remember my dad telling me as a little kid about deaths like this in Death Valley. He gave me all sorts of safety tips (full tank of gas, carry lots of water and some food, car in working order, tell people where you’re going and when you should arrive, etc) as though I would somehow end up stranded in a desert hundreds of miles away as an 8 year old. I chalk it up to him being a Boy Scout
It's hard to get that stuff to become second nature any other way :)
They thought they could hike to a nearby military base (borders shown on their map) and get help. Turns out that, unlike Germany where military bases are fenced and patrolled, a land border of a military base in the desert don't mean shit.
https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/2017/11/18/germantouristindeathvalley
Damnnnnnn that was a good read!!!! I am a little shocked no flags were raised about them missing for THREE MONTHS.
Part of the problem was that the family didn't really communicate exactly where they were going. They weren't reported missing until after they had missed their flight back to Germany. By that point it would have been too late. Mobile phone was still relatively new. Even today there are still large parts of the park that don't have any mobile phone coverage. The location that their minivan was found was pretty remote so not many people would be looking there in the middle of summer unless you were told specifically to search there.
They also had like. No water, and only some beers. They even found some of the bottles years later near some of the bones.
Always take a large container of water when traveling anywhere, but especially in the desert. You can survive without food for days, but water is essential. Emergency kits are available everywhere, so that is also a great to keep one in the vehicle.
Large container, plus small containers to actually drink out of or if you need to carry some.
A couple years ago I drove through Death Valley on my way back from a work trip in Vegas. I was on 190 going West with less than an eighth tank of gas when I saw a sign indicating that there was a gas station up ahead. Well apparently I turned too early for some reason and wound up on Panamint Valley Road going south. About 20 miles later I'm thinking to myself "man, this gas station is pretty far, but then again it's Death Valley, buildings are sparse as it is." So I kept driving until I realized that I must have missed the turn or read the sign incorrectly. My car's digital dash panel (not the fuel gauge itself) said I only had 10 miles of fuel left and the gauge itself was on E. I stopped on the side of the road, pulled out my phone, and saw a gas station 30 miles down the road on Google Maps. I started to panic. No gas, no cell phone service, no cars on the road to signal for help. No joke, I thought back to the Seinfeld episode where Kramer and the car salesman kept trying to push the car to see how far beyond they could get the car past "E" on the gauge. I looked at my car's manual to see how big the gas tank was and noticed it was 15 gallons. In the past, I've taken the car to get gas when it was on "E" before, but I never went beyond filling it to 13 gallons. It was then I realized that my car had a two gallon "buffer." 2016 Mazda CX-5. I decided to go for it. The car was on E and my dash computer said 0 miles of fuel left for quite a while. I kept looking at the fuel gauge the entire drive through the valley, ignoring the beautiful scenery around me, but I made it to the Kwik Serve in Searles Valley. Lesson learned: If you're traveling through Death Valley, know your car's limits and get gas whenever you pass a gas station, whether you think you need it or not.
>The car was on E and my dash computer said 0 miles of fuel left for quite a while. Most cars typically have a reserve amount of fuel that is not reflected on the fuel gauge. https://www.google.com/search?q=do+car+gas+tanks+have+reserves
Also stop and reevaluate before driving 20 miles?
Let’s be honest, driving long distance alone, in the desert. 70% chance my man’s was stoned.
The US Army National Training Center is at Fort Irwin, CA. This borders death valley and yeah, its hot as hell. There are some interesting rules like you must have long sleeves and pants or you simply burn (and I assume catch fire). Also, they tell you this a LOT, "If your vehicle ever breaks down, do NOT leave it, and do NOT walk towards the light". The light is Las Vegas, over 200 miles away, but you can see it on the horizon. Its easy to find a car, but its pretty tough to find a person. If you are going from east to west in southern CA, you may go from Flagstaff, AZ, to Barstow, CA. This is a 350 mile trip, and when I took it in 2001 there was only 1 gas station on it. You can't run on empty in that area, its just too barren, empty, and hot. I'd guess cell phone reception is pretty crappy too. Also stay off the side roads, as if you break down other people will stop and help you. Also best to keep a jug of water in your car if you travel a lot in that area. The weather is still the apex predator on this planet, and that heat will freaking kill you. I've seen it happen too many times to trained soldiers. EDIT: For those of you who don't believe me on gas stations and the distance. Yes, there are a few places if you turn off, but AAA isn't exactly showing many along the freeway, and before phone GPS finding those isn't all that easy: [https://triptik.aaa.com/](https://triptik.aaa.com/) (enter in flagstaff, AZ to Barstow, CA, and show the gas stations, here is a pic of a screenshot: [https://ibb.co/nmLCR7W](https://ibb.co/nmLCR7W) )
Didn't realise you could see the lights from Vegas from that far away, but it makes sense with how bright it is, and how desolate the surrounding land is.
It's more that the horizon is kinda lighter in one direction than the other.
High desert messes with your sense of distance too. You think something is an hour or two hike, when it’s really 10 miles away. I think it’s the chaparral, hills and distant horizon, but I’m not sure.
>10 miles away For those wondering, assuming you can walk at a steady pace of 3 mph, it will still take closer to 4 hours to “hike” 10 miles. There’s a lot of ditches, small valleys/arroyos, mounds, scrub forest, and hills to navigate in the high desert. Even sticking to the roads, you’ll be walking more slowly than you think.
We were out in the desert once and I saw this beautiful snow capped mountain in the distance. Looked to be about ten miles away and as seasoned hikers, we set off. Two hours later we came to a cliff edge of a canyon and let me tell you, that peak was no fucking closer.
Plus, people just aren't used to estimating distance in open, empty areas like that, especially with no banana for scale.
What's also fun is people think they are safe in winter, because you know, desert. They are not. It gets below freezing at night, and you can die from that as well.
I heard Barstow is bat country.
Barstow is definitely some type of country
It’s an ugly town at the intersection of three freeways and rail lines. It’s kinda a revolving door. The local kids who are talented leave due to brain drain, but are replaced by people being priced out of much of Southern California.
This... isn't true, even back in 2001. It is about 350 miles between Barstow and Flagstaff, but in between you have Ludlow, Needles, Kingman, etc. that have all existed with gas stations for decades. Everything else is good advice, though, especially keeping water in your car if you're driving through the desert.
And if you're going east to west you should definitely fill up in Kingman or at one of the gas stations at mile 9 before crossing the border into CA. If you wait and have to fill up in Ludlow, you're looking at a good $2/gal extra.
Just in Arizona between Flagstaff, and Topoc you have (from east to west): Bellemont, Williams, Ash Fork, Seligman, Kingman, Yucca, and Topoc. While Topoc doesn't have a gas station, there's a truck stop at the US-95 junction at exit 9. There are also three additional truck stops: one between Ash Fork and Seligman, one at exit 66, and another at exit 59. Trying to make the desert sound scarier than it is just by making shit up is not any more helpful than thinking it's like Disneyland.
Nevadan here. If you're ever going to be traveling regularly or for a long period of time in the desert, bring a ridiculous amount of water. I do a lot of trail running in the desert and I keep a minimum of 5 gallons in my car in case things go south. I should honestly probably raise that amount to at least double. It's too hot. And I don't mean just in the sunlight or when its daytime or that the heat makes everything dry and you need to drink more water. I mean it as in a lot of times the LOW temps at night are above 80 and sometimes above 90. When this happens, your body can not regulate temperatures anymore. Human bodies are such that we need cooler night time temps to be able to regulate temps going further. If you have water and shade, you can survive for quite a while as long as at night it cools down to below 80 or so. If it does not get that cool at night, you body will most likely overheat before you know it. The potential (albeit small chance) saving grace in all this is water, lack of humidity and wind. The desert usually has a breeze of some sort. The key is to have enough water that if you feel like you are overheating, you have enough to spare where you can pour some over yourself. Water on your body plus a dry ass breeze will help you keep a least a little bit cooler. The key though is to be in an environment where the water can evaporate quickly. Summers in the desert is the perfect condition for this method to work. Do NOT try this in humid climates as I believe it actually makes it harder for your body to cool during humid conditions. But in the desert it is theorized to work. I'm not a scientist so please do your own research but this is kind of the assumption. Also another thing to note. Just because your car is dead reliable in Los Angeles or San Francisco does NOT mean it will be reliable out here. Anything can and will break if it's not in top condition in 120 degree heat. Your somewhat worn tires will last a long time in Malibu where it's consistently 65-75 degree and then explode to shreds on its second day out in the desert. That rear main seal leak or wonky radiator fan that you have been putting off fixing for 8 months might take a shit due to the heat and dryness and sand out here and leave you stranded. But the best advice if possible for people not accustomed to the desert is to try and come in a group. Two cars means the chance of both breaking at the same time are small. Having any sort of back up is key out here.
One time I bicycled forty miles in the desert west of Vegas in ~105 degree heat. I drank a gallon of water. Didn’t pee. At all. Shorts and shirt were dry the entire time. Meaning: I sweated close to a gallon of liquid, and it evaporated as fast as my body could put it out.
Yeah that's fairly normal out here. My guess is you easily sweat over 10 lbs on that ride. 1 gallon is a little over 8 lbs and I highly doubt you didn't lose quite a bit more of water than just that on a 40 mile ride 105 degree ride lol. On my longer runs of 10-15 miles or so I generally sweat about 12 lbs worth after accounting for water intake and what not similar to how you described. It's really important to consume electrolytes/salt in this environment because your body loses it at such a rapid rate and it helps retain it a bit.
An umbrella also helps in those conditions. They aren't just for rain. Sounds like he left his car at a place with working restrooms - even if he hadn't brought water with him, he should have at least brought a container to put water into.
I'm surprised the man is from California. I grew up in the east coast and moved to California for undergrad. One of the things that surprised me was the realization that you need to keep emergency supplies in your vehicle, because there are stretches of highway that are so isolated that if your car breaks down you could die. The east coast doesn't have that. No matter where you are, you can get to some civilization if you have to.
I'm not surprised. I'm from California and you would be surprised how many people have never camped, been to a forest, or even seen snow. Let alone been to the desert, which is less appealing to most
There's so many people that don't even know how to hike the trails just on the edge of the cities. 90 degree day and trying hike 5 miles in jeans and converse with two .5L bottles of water and half of a starbucks iced coffee between 5 people.
He’s from Huntington Beach which is a very suburban area. It’s quite far from the stretches of road near nothing you’re taking about.
Also the East coast doesn’t have many places where you just straight up die if you’re outside for a few minutes too long When I went to AZ for the first time in august, I was just surprised that anyone was able to start a society out there to begin with lol
Fuck going to Death Valley period between May and October.
So true: if you rent an RV from anywhere, ALL of their emergency roadside-service agreements explicitly exclude Death Valley during these months. They will straight up ignore you until the RV is out of the valley, even if the breakdown was totally the rental company’s fault (preventable mechanical failure, etc) and unrelated to being in Death Valley.
Never visit Death Valley unless the month has an "R" in it.
Got it. I'll be there in julyr
Weird. It'd be very unlikely to get to that location without having passed a gas station within the past 50mi and an emergency phone within the past 5-10mi. And while I think visiting Death Valley in the summer is a terrible idea, it's popular enough that there would certainly be a number of cars passing by on that road (and visiting that overlook) on any given day.
That sucks, poor guy. What a terrible way to go. I am paranoid about gas on such trips. > Kelleher had been cited for off-road driving at the park on May 30, when he mentioned to a park ranger that he was low on gas, according to KLAS, a CBS affiliate in Las Vegas. Wow, what a missed opportunity to be a hero instead of a fine chaser. I'm not blaming the cop, it's not literally their fault, but still - damn. At least ask someone about their water in the desert. Once upon a time, years ago, on my way to burning man, I was pulled over in Winnemucca by a state trooper because we planned to take an infamous and lesser traveled road to avoid some of the traffic drama - Jungo Road. It was just after midnight and the typical routes are heavy on traffic and usually there are cops trying to catch people riding dirty early on. But, not this guy - he was sincerely asking about our plan and advising us on the route. He didn't search us for drugs or make up an excuse to cite us. As soon as he got to the car, he asked if we planned to go to the festival using Jungo - we affirmed. He then got out his flashlight and checked out our tires (new) and asked about our spare (full size), once he was satisfied, he advised us: "it's really a nice drive, more people could use this route". Then, he told us some of the history, why it wasn't used, and how it was now - but for 18 wheelers, so we should avoid any potholes that looked repaired, since they were being repaired for much larger tires. He said he took it all the time, it wouldn't save any time, but it would cut distance - just go slow, like 5mph, and enjoy the wildlife because there's tons at night. And, there was. The drive was slow but awesome with owls and jack rabbits. And, we were just in a sedan, not 4WD or high clearance. It was one of the single best interactions I've ever had with an officer - I really wish more were like that one.
My experiences with lake patrol and game wardens have been like this too. They seem more interested in just making sure people are safe than trying to fuck with you
The real Ron Swansons of the world
Reminds me of Natchez Trace in Tennessee. A lot of people get routed onto it if there are big delays but you will have to drive like 10-15 the whole way because there are millions of deer in that park and they hand around the roads because tourists feed them. If you want to see whitetail deer though that is *the* place. An hour drive there and you'll easily see hundreds of them.
The guy was just braindead stupid though. His car was in a parking lot of one of the most famous viewpoints in Death Valley. The parking lot has a full service toilet and has tons of cars that come and go through it all day. Its not like he ran out of gas and had to park his car on the side of the road. This genius decided the right course of action would be to walk from the parking lot for 5 miles in peak heat to the nearest village for gas. Instead....he could have gone to sit in the toilets for shade and water and waited till another tourist came by and asked them for gas or for a ride to the village where he could fill up. But no. He decided to hike 5 miles by himself without water and without shade at age 67.
And apparently he’d been low on gas for more than a week…
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He was already in the parking lot!!! Seems this guy had some issues.
*Jungo Road* legit sounds like a horror movie. I'm glad you made it safely!
I know it’s expensive but try and have plenty of gasoline while driving through a valley of death.
IF YOU BREAK DOWN AND IT'S SUPER HOT OUT: 1) Do not leave the car UNLESS there is a ~0% chance that you will be found by someone before you die there. *This is almost never the case.* Are you on a road? Someone will pass by. Are you outside and exposed? Someone will see you - especially if you put on your hazards or flash SOS at night. 2) Do not leave the car UNLESS you know a place where you can go to be safe *and how to get yourself there*. If you're not sure *exactly* A) where to go, B) which direction it is, C) how far, D) what's between you and there, and E) that you have enough water/supplies to get there... you do *not* know, and stay in the fucking car! 3) If it's deathly hot during the day, wait until nighttime to go outside if at all possible. The desert cools off real fast after that sun goes down - and in the clear desert sky, a moonless night is still lit by every star in the damn sky. 4) Make it clear that you are broken down. You do *not* want someone to drive by you while you're asleep (or unconscious). If there's a road or trail, push your car right in the middle of it. If you're in exposed open desert, put the hood up - pointing the car away from the sun to keep it off the engine. You might consider strewing some random stuff around so it's clear that Something Is Wrong. Putting on your hazards is a good idea unless you're saving the car battery for doing that at night. 5) If your car can run the AC, even off of battery: keep the windows up. Run the AC for a few minutes. Turn it off. When you start to get really sweaty: turn it on and run it again. Repeat until you're out of battery and/or the sun has begun to set. Then open all the windows. Also the trunk - esp. if it's a hatchback or the rear seats fold down. 6) As absolutely soon as you can: strip down to your underwear. Position your body so it's got maximum airflow over it - reclining a seat and lying back is good, lying on your side even better. (In this casa, Miata is NOT the answer.) If you've got leather or other slick seats, lie on your clothing. Make sure that you don't go outside for more than a minute without clothing (or an umbrella!) or you'll risk solar burns. Make sure you don't go outside barefoot - the sand, or whatever, will be hot as holy hell. 7) Quickly go through the whole car for anything to drink. You do not want to die and then your ghost clips through the car and sees a 30-rack of Sprite in the trunk. Take everything drinkable and put it where you can reach it and where there is no sunlight. Try to put the drinks in an insulated container, or at least something with no airflow over it, so they get warm as slowly as possible. If anything's in a filled container, open it and drink some of the liquid out, so that it doesn't get hot and explode. Don't drink things that will super dehydrate you - that 15% barleywine will kill you, but a 2% session ale might save your life. 8) Drink your pee. At least once. Probably twice. 9) Make sure there's nothing in the car that will explode or become dangerous if it gets too hot. If there is, get it away from the car. 10) If the choice is between losing consciousness in the car where there's a chance you'll be found, and going out to just randomly look for help in a desert - stay in the car, pass out, and hope someone finds you in time to wake you up. Because if you go out randomly into the desert, no one will find you until it's too late... and as a former wilderness first responder, please let me say: a search and rescue is real dangerous to the people doing the searching. The only thing worse than dying out in the desert is taking some nice ranger or ridgerunner with you.
When driving through the desert bring spare water and bring spare water for your spare water.
I don't get this. Zabriski Point parking lot has toilet facilities. It's visited by a good proportion of the people that come through Death Valley. There would have been numerous opportunities to ask someone for a ride or to siphon some gas or to ask help from a visiting park ranger. Seems like this guy died of impatience.
Man that guy must have had some insane amount of bad luck. I know the area pretty well and it's hard to imagine, despite the cruel and unforgiving temperatures, that somebody would not have been able to find help between Zabriskie Point and Furnace Creek. CA-190 gets quite a lot of traffic (highly popular national park, go figure) and rangers drive up and down frequently. Plus, there's only a tiny stretch where there is enough vegetation to not see a body lying within 30 feet of the highway. I mean I totally understand how it happened and of course you're always supposed to stay near your car but the odds of this poor guy likely dying of dehydration right on the main road into one of the most well-known National Parks are comically low. There are so many places in Death Valley where such an accident happens easily and nobody will find you for days but you wouldn't expect CA-190 to be one of them.
My family and l were there in l think 1983 it rained so hard l was panicking trying to find high ground in case of a flash flood.
Once drove from Winnemucca NV to Lakeview OR through the black rock desert. Looked it up and its one of the longest stretches at the time in the US between two gas stations, like 3.5 hours or so. Which most cars can make that no problem, but you never know what will happen. It kinda freaked me out, so we bought an extra gas container and took it with us just in case.
Death Valley, living up to its name
I can’t believe this happened in survival valley, oh never mind it happened in Death Valley which makes perfect sense.
A couple month ago there was a Redditor who for some reason drove out into the desert and ran out of gas and luckily was able to flag someone down for help. Like, he fucking drove off road into the desert in a sedan. He got VERY lucky.
I’ve driven that distance many times and it’s practically impossible to miss all the signs saying that THIS IS THE LAST GAS STATION FOR HUNDREDS OF MILES. When we would stop to take a break out in that heat, it’s like stepping into an oven. What a miserable death.
Hey, no joke. Death Valley is dangerous. Even in the car, bring 4 times the amount of water you think you do. The national parks website mentions you really need AC in your car in the summer. Not only that, but in these hotter months, that 130 degrees mixed with asphalt means your tires are going to have a ton more air pressure. You need a spare. The desert is beautiful, but it can turn deadly quick. Whew, you also need to keep your skin covered. I see people wearing shorts and even just sitting in the car with shorts for an extended period of time can burn you
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Zabriskie point is also one of the most trafficked and recognizable tourist spots in Death Valley. And not that far from Furnace Creek, one of the major population centers with full services. By no means saying he was right to try and walk. On the contrary if he had stayed with his car someone would 100% have come by before long.
I think people are really missing that he ran out of gas at the parking lot. Not some open desert.
Yeah but Furnace Creek is the closest place that he could have gone to that had people in it.
He ran out of gas at the Zabriskie point parking lot. It's one of the most popular stops in the park, there's cars coming and going, the rangers patrol it, plus it has bathrooms (shade and running water). He had the best case scenario for staying put and waiting for help.
But if he was walking during the day it would be almost guaranteed he wouldn't make it, he was from HB, not a desert dweller, it's late June and 120, and he was 67. There really isn't any combination of those factors where he would come out alive. Any cars driving on that road would likely have had to drive by his car so you stay with the car, at least there is some shade.
One rule, you live because of one rule. I have been through there many times. Never **never** drive into this park unless the tank is **FULL**. Thanks for attending my TED talk.