Very sad story...a pair of missing hikers, a father and son, were found dead in Carlsbad Caverns. From the story:

The extraordinary heat wave gripping the western United States has so far been blamed for at least four deaths, authorities said Wednesday.

The bodies of Robert Stuart Pluta, 57, and his son Bobby, 21, of Corpus Christi, Texas, were discovered Monday and Tuesday respectively, in Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, where daily high temperatures have topped 100 degrees for almost a week, New Mexico State Police said Wednesday.

The Plutas, both of whom were experienced hikers, had been on a hiking trip since Wednesday of last week but hadn't been heard from since they checked into their hotel, NBC station KRIS of Corpus Christi reported. A parkwide search was launched on Monday.



Apparently they took a father-son trip over Father's Day and had been out of contact for a couple of days. Not a lot of details but presumably lack of water and heat combined to kill them. It's a sad case but a reminder to everyone to be especially careful in extremely hot weather.

The Arizona Daily Sun posted this story today:

Four rescues in 2 days - - Coconimo County, AZ

In three of the four cases, the rescuee was in trouble due to injury ( 2 falls, one medical emergency (details unstated)). In the fourth case, the rescuee lost the trail.

In two of the four cases, it wasn't clear how the rescuers were alerted - in the other two, it seems it was by cell phone.

New Book: The Donner Party’s Deadly Fork in the Road

The Donner Party spurned the advice of a mountain man they met, who told them to stick to the trail west and avoid an alternative route. David A. Price reviews “The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny” by Michael Wallis.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-donner-partys-deadly-fork-in-the-road-1496702248

Or search Google for: WSJ Donner

the park i'll be going into next week for a two week solo canoe trip had a search and rescue in the last few days.
from what I gather they were lost and overdue for four days.
they got turned around in the maze of lakes and creeks in the wilderness park.
http://www.twincities.com/2017/06/01/search-underway-for-overdue-group-in-boundary-waters/
the link gives the full story and I promise that this year i'll take the advice I got here on ETS and carry my PLB on my person at all times!

Based on Doug's recommendation, I purchased an Oware tarp. I notice that in the Aviation survival kit, there's this item:

DR Special Instructions For Use of Tarp - waterproof

Is it possible to get a copy of that so I best know how to use my tarp?

Thanks!