On May 17th of this year my friend Joe died in Washington County Utah while on a back country trip. He was the husband of my wife’s goddaughter, father of two young girls and one of the nicest, smartest guys you could ever want as a friend, a co-worker or member of your family.

Details as to the circumstances around the tragedy and the actual cause of death are still pending. What I know is that he was with a group of nine others doing a weekend of mountain biking in triple digit temperatures. He became separated from the group and after the group noticed his absence it took them four hours to locate him. At that point he was still alive but all attempts to revive him failed and he died on scene. The death has been ruled accidental.

The reason I bring this to your attention is that this event happened to an experienced biker with 20 years of experience, traveling with a group on a frequently used trail. I have no idea of why he became separated nor does anyone else but that seems to be the key issue.

Some things to ponder and hopefully help us all focus on the small mistakes in planning and execution that can have significant impacts on the outcome of back country excursions:

He and the others had been sure to enable GPS locating on their cell phones, but he had left his phone in his car. Had he thought he was covered by the fact that others took theirs?

He was with a good friend and eight strangers to him. His friend was a front rider; he liked to ride in the back. Did the fact that he was not well known to the others contribute to the time gap between his separation from the group and their realization of that fact?

He came from the east coast where we’ve had a cool and rainy spring to the hot dry Utah mountains. Was there enough of an acclimatization period for him to adjust to the local conditions? He had no known health issues and was in good condition for riding.

He carried water is his pack, but they never found it. Did the heat cause delirium and he took it off for some reason? They found him lying next to some kind of a pool of water, far from his bike. Did he find that too late?

Would a PLB have saved him? Probably, as the rescue helo took less than 30 minutes to reach the group once a 911 call was placed. That’s a subject I wish to God I had brought to his attention.

This is not a case of Darwin striking, so please don’t go down that road. Joe was a professional, held a Master’s in his field and was not a reckless person. But I think he got caught in a maelstrom of bad circumstances and unfortunate decisions. And now a wife and two daughters are without their husband and father. And I’m without another friend. If there’s a lesson here, in my opinion, it’s that you can’t take things for granted anytime, anywhere. Preparation is not only the gathering of stuff but asking all the ‘what if” questions you can and having answers for all of them. Maybe that decreases the fun and spontaneity of doing whatever it is you like to do. But then I’ve never agreed with the concept of “dying doing the thing he loved”. I’d much rather do something I liked and live longer.

As mark of how well respected and loved Joe was his funeral cortege stretched for over a mile.

Thanks,

Andy