Evan Tanner dies in the desert

By Jeff Cain, Ken Pishna, and Tom Hamlin/MMAWeekly.com


Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion Evan Tanner was found dead near Palo Verde, Calif. on Monday. He was 37.

Tanner had trekked into the desert on a journey to “cleanse” himself, according to Douglas Vincitorio of Tanner’s management team. “He went out to the desert to do a ‘cleansing’ as he called it. Kind of like ‘Survivorman.’” These short trips were not new to Tanner, said Vincitorio. It is something that he has done numerous times over the years.

“What we were told is that (Sheriff’s officials who found Tanner) believe his motorcycle had run out of gas, so he went to walk out in like 115- to 118-degree heat,” Vincitorio said. “He was miles away from his camp. That’s where the helicopter found him. Right now, they just think that he succumbed to the heat.”

Tanner had apparently told friends before he left that if they hadn’t heard from him in a couple of days, they should contact officials, which is what happened. When he stopped responding to text messages, friends waited a couple of days and then notified officials at the Imperial County Sherrif’s Department on Friday.

A search ensued and Tanner’s body was found Monday.

On Aug. 10, Tanner wrote a blog on Spike TV’s website, proclaiming his desire to start an adventure in the desert east of his new home in Oceanside, Calif. An avid outdoorsman and wandering spirit, he wanted to escape civilization for a while.

“I’m not just going out into the desert, I’m going out into the desert to hunt for lost treasure,” he wrote. “I’m going on a pilgrimage of sorts, a journey to solitude, to do some thinking, and to pay my respects to the great mysteries.”

On Aug. 16, Tanner wrote about collecting supplies for his journey, and wrote about the dangers he might face.

“I plan on going so deep into the desert, that any failure of my equipment, could cost me my life,” he said. “I’ve been doing a great deal of research and study. I want to know all I can about where I’m going, and I want to make sure I have the best equipment.”

Of course, this led followers of his blog to fear for his safety, as they often did when Tanner reported his frequent by-the-seat-of-his-pants adventures. In a blog dated Aug. 27, Tanner tried to calm his audience.

“This isn’t a version of ‘Into the Wild,’” he wrote. “I’m not going out into the desert with a pair of shorts and a bowie knife, to try to live off the land. I’m going fully geared up, and I’m planning on having some fun.”

But he also affirmed that things could go wrong if his equipment wasn’t up to snuff.

“I do plan on going back pretty far, so I did mention in one of my posts that I wanted to make sure to have good quality gear,” he said. “Any failure of gear out in the desert could cause a problem.”

On Sept. 2, Tanner wrote his final blog entry, documenting a training session at a facility in Oceanside.

The Amarillo, Texas native was a high school wrestling stand out who won the state championships his junior and senior years despite only getting into the sport as a sophomore. He entered mixed martial arts in 1997 encouraged by friends.

Tanner rose to the top of the mixed martial arts world by winning the UFC middleweight title over David Terrell at UFC 51: “Super Saturday” Feb. 5, 2005. He lost the title later in the year to Rich Franklin. Tanner, who had a career MMA record of 32-8 last competed in the UFC on June 21 losing to Kendall Grove by split decision.

“He will obviously be sorely missed,” said Vincitorio. Adding, “I think that Evan would want to be remembered as a very complex man with many layers, not just a fighter.”

Tanner was surely a unique personality. He’s eclectic spirit and competitive nature will be sorely missed in the MMA community.

I would be interested in knowing exactly what he had with him.

No PLB or kit is going to save you if you start race-walking in the desert sun. I'd like to know more about what happened.

By all means people post additional threads.

PLEASE, if you see a posting thats been up 6 hours DO NOT post another article repeating the same information right below it.
#1 it can be construed as copyright infringement and #2 takes up bandwidth.Just post a link, preferably to the earlier thread.

Sorry, I didn't notice there was another thread about this until after I already posted this one. Perhaps the title of the other thread was too vague.

A noble sentiment (I guess), but not if your life is lost doing it, you'll never have the opportunity for another pilgrimage. Sad story.

Lots of things can happen out there. Maybe that is exactly what he wanted.

Its seems (operative word here) that he had some experience in the back county and ran out of gas. Its a classic situation that any of us could find ourselves in.

This just reaffirms my desire to buy a MicroFix as soon as I can spare the $700. Thankfully I have no trips on the planner till next summer where I can't use my already established 'coconut telegraph' (ie: also travel with a group, leave a detailed plan with tight deadlines, cell phone, etc).

Problem there is that it ruins the whole idea of "a journey to solitude."

I would bet that he had no equipment on him or on the bike with him. It's no good to him if it's back at camp.

It is hard to say without further information. I'm far from an expert in desert survival, but I would imagine the 115-118 degree heat they were mentioning to be the same kind of exposure hazard that subzero temps up here in the north bring, ie just being outside is a survival situation, and you need planning, safety, and emergency gear for just about all outdoor activities. He is described as an "experienced" outdoorsman, but if so, he seems to have pushed risk over the edge. In anycase, RIP.

Walking once a week for 10 years on a local trail with a bird guide and binnoculars makes you an experienced walker and birdwatcher. Walk # 101 and break a leg, have no whistle or warm clothing and die of shock and exposure overnight.

Local searchteams find you and in the obituary it is mentioned you were an experienced hiker.

Experience isn't everything; sometimes, it isn't anything.

Jeff

Evan Tanner was a good guy with lots of problems. He battled chronic alcoholism and depression. I don't think this can be overlooked when determining the root cause of his reckless actions that caused his eventual demise.

"The local coroner determined that Tanner died of heat exposure between late night Sept. 4 and the morning of Sept. 5"

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/09/marine_UFC_091008w/

Jeff

Standard Disclaimer: Not trying to jump on the band wagon because we just don't know enough about this particular case.

Sometimes so-called experience is a bad thing. It "teaches" us that we can get away with things. I've run into a number of people that have done ignorant things multiple times and escaped unscathed. I never fail to find at least one person doing something exceptionally ignorant every time I'm hiking the corridor trails at Grand Canyon NP. I think the term we're looking for is "non-event feedback".

Thanks for posting that link. There's some other information in there that changes this whole story. His motorcycle didn't run out of gas. He left it at his camp to go hiking. He ran out of water while hiking. The story also says he had more provisions at camp.

This opens up the possibility that he simply misjudged how far he could hike with the water he could carry. A miscalculation that could happen to anyone.

Sept 3- arrives at campsite
Sept 4- in morning strikes out for Clapp Spring, 5 miles away; he reaches it by afternoon and texts a friend that he ran out of water and will travel by night back to his campsite.

Body found 1.2 miles from campsite. He either died after 3.8 miles of hiking or he got lost at night and dehydration caught up with him.

Odd that the tune playing on his myspace page is "Into the Wild" by Eddie Vedder

Clapp Spring is also listed as a permanent watering hole, yet he texted a friend from the Spring saying he was out of water, so it sounds to me like the Spring dried up, and he was counting on refilling his water (if indeed he brought any) from the spring.

A strong focus on equipment. Gear is required, and good gear is a good thing, but it is at the bottom of the priority list:

1. mindset ( = attitude)
2. tactics ( = knowing what to do in a given situation)
3. skill ( = being able to do it)
4. equipment ( = tools to assist with #3)

Many people burn too much effort on #4 without due regard for #1-#3.

http://www.spike.com/blog/treasure-hunting-in/67570

The entire post that is being quoted is here.

And, of course, I get the "done, with errors" thingy in the lower left corner of my screen, little boxes with red X's in them instead of pictures, and can't read beyond page one. $%^&*()(*&^%^&*(&^&*() computers!!!

"done, with errors" is an internet explorer specific error. You shouldn't be using internet explorer anymore, the internet is too dangerous for it.

So, being computer illiterate, what should I be using???

Try Firefox.

-john

Or try Opera, which is much much faster than IE and with a good text to speech built in. Clever Norwegians.

PLB. Worth it.

Thanks. PM sent...

http://www.desertusa.com/mag07/mar07/tubeagate.html

"Reflecting the amount of rainfall during the preceding several years, the main pool at the spring varies from a few inches to five feet in diameter and from three to nine inches deep. It is located in the heart of the oasis, at the base of a palm. Except during and a few years after a serious drought, there may be several additional seeps and smaller pools of water in shallow holes dug by wild burros."

A few inches in diameter and a few inches deep. I would not depend on that as my water source.

"...my water source..."

And gungy looking water it would be too...

I am generally sympathetic for people that get caught out in an unfortunate situation, or for people that die during a freak occurence, but I've got absolutely nothing here.

According to statements that he made in his blog he had been studying and doing research for over a month, yet he dies from heat stroke/dehydration after walking 3.5 miles in the desert?

It kind of has me scratching my head wondering what kind of studying and research he was conducting, as carrying adequate water and having protection from the sun/heat are obviously two of the things that are pretty much at the top of the list for desert survival.

Jim

All I get from this episode is "death wish". I don't know what was in his mind or what he was looking for, but it seems he wanted to get close to death. The desert doesn't care.

Oh come on. We don't talk that way about mountain climbers or sky divers. Are they not risking their lives? So why talk that way about someone who wants a wilderness adventure?

Human beings evolved in the wilderness. But we have since become pussified. We're afraid to do anything anymore. I take my hat off to Evan Tanner. It's unfortunate that he died, but I respect the man for going for it.

I'm glad you explained who he was, I never heard of him before this. Nature is usually pretty fair, you break the rules, you pay the price, no matter who you are. Always self enforcing too.

I don't blame him for doing what he wanted, but it would be interesting to hear a good detailed after action report.

It is interesting how even well conditioned athletes can be done in fairly quickly. The Tarahumara Indians used to run literally hundreds of miles in high altitudes and deserts, you can bet they didn't carry enough water with them either. They must have known every single water hole, but still...

Much of what he did sounded sensible to me. He stayed and rested at Clapp Spring until night, and then travelled in the dark. He also informed a friend that he was in difficulty, and told him to raise the alarm if they didn't hear from him the next morning. They did so promptly (S&R found his tracks early the next morning) - the comment in the other thread about unreliable friends waiting for two days doesn't match the new report.

The body was difficult to find, so I wonder if he got lost in the night and ended up trying to travel during the morning. If so, then a GPS might have saved him. He was only 1.2 miles from his camp. I think his decision-making ability must have deteriorated rapidly leading him to make some bad choices towards the end.

Evan Tanner was one of my favorite Ultimate Fighter fighters. Despite his problems with alcoholism and depression(?), he was noted as one of the most intelligent and all-around respectable fighters in the business. Anyone who watched more than one of his UFC battles knows Tanner had more than just skill and ability, he fought with tenacity and heart. I just watched him fight about a month ago (he lost) and it was apparent he might just be getting a little over-the-hill in the sport, but he was still the strong, agressive fighter I always admired.

I understand that we all (me too) tend to armchair these survival events and tragedies, such as wondering how he could succumb to the heat and dehydration after only travelling 3.5(?) miles, but I've got a wandering theory: these fighters put their bodies through an ordeal as they prepare for their fights. They'll work out and sweat off several pounds just to make weight, then try to replenish what they've lost immediately thereafter. All they have to do is make it through a maximum of a 25 minute fight (no small feat - any of it), and they can rest, rehydrate, and replenish. Although they're elite athletes, I don;t think it's proper conditioning for arid desert survival.... rather, it's conditioning for fighting in the octagon.

While we don;t know yet exactly what happened, it's a good bet that Evan Tanner made some serious mistakes, as pointed out by everyone. I think it's a shame, it's saddening, and it's a loss to the mixed martial art "world".

Thanks for posting that news clip.

Even with experience, the desert in summer is dangerous.

What works for me (as taught by my grandfather who lived in the Mohave Desert)is to hike early, and plan to be near water by 10am. I plan on 2mph, and and extra hour for every 1,000ft elevation change. (I can normally walk 3mph, but only count on 2mph.) Before leaving camp, I drink as much as possible, often close to 1qt. I carry 1qt of water per hour of walking, and enough for a round trip. When half the water is gone, I turn back.

Many friends have made fun of my heavy pack (due to water) and my lack of "determination" in pressing onto the goal. For over forty years of desert travel, my grandfather's advice has served me well. Along with lots of water, and leaving an itinerary with a close friend, one must always remember that the desert will be there tomorrow. If you take the conservative approach, there will be another day to explore that desert.

Spud

Yeah Spud, you bring up a good point about experience and safety. When I am outdoors with my buddies, I do sometimes feel like I am a brake on the festivities because I won't push the extra miles or I am walking slower to stay cooler.

They see it as a macho thing to out gut the other (sometimes, I mean we are all competent adults)but I try to keep my safety first.