Death in the desert

thought this might interest a lot of the people here on the forum, Know your limits. low on gas, low on water and unable to call for help.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20080928-9999-1c28tannerm.html.


Coordinates for the Clapp Spring area are:

N 33.41092 W 114.85603

A very desolate area, not much out there.

What 'survival equipment?' In the desert, my 10 essentials list is:
1.water
2.water
3.water
4.water
5.water
6.water
7.water
8.water
9.water
10.water

I don't think this was a case of all brawn and no brains. And I think it was more then simply not carrying enough water. I think this is a case of a person looking for a survival situation. He was looking for a challenge, and he was possibly depressed. He was a driven man who had lost a title fight and a come back fight. He also sounds from the article like someone too proud to ask for help. Its a sad story of a person who had many of the traits need to survive (unwilling to give up) but still lost the mental battle for survival.

"Pride only hurts it never helps." -Winston Marseilles, Pulp Fiction

It also sounds to me like depression or something like it was a complicating factor.

But also, it is possible that he thought that his strength/determination/will would allow him to overcome dehydration. It won't.

Sad and a waste.

Dehydration (and hypothermia) really don't care very much how strong or determined you are. They will still kill you quickly.

Already discussed in great detail with some good insights here.

Am I the only one who sees the irony in calling someone else stupid when you don't even know all the details of what happened?

i had my first look at the SW US last August..i sent a post to the site from a hotel to the effect that now i could see why so many of you made a big deal out of storeing and carrying water--there is none out there..being from the Land of 10,000 lakes and having the Mississippi River roll thru a gorge at the end of my street water was a ho-hum subject..when i got out of the car to get some photos the 100 something temps just about dropped me..my thoughts were that you could not carry enought water to last a day out in that heat..that story about those old desert rats out looking for gold and knowing where every seep and spring was must be true scoop--

We get people down in SWFL (either as 'Snow Birds or tourists) and when someone ultimately calls 911 for a 'heat illness', they are stunned to find out that in the tropics/sub tropics, they can sweat 4 litres in 1 hour! I usually tell them this after they have answered the question...Have you been drinking water throughout (what ever it is they said they were doing)? Oh yes they tell me...I've had 3 glasses since I began to (work) in the heat 3 hours ago......! It is at this point that they realize just how far behind the 8 ball they really are.

Judgment is the first thing to go in both heat illnesses and hypothermia. You need to watch out for your companions and make sure they are educated on the dangers and watching out for you. Going solo is taking a risk, even on a day hike.

And people under-estimate the risk. One can suffer heat exhaustion doing winter activities....

It wasn't that long ago that an SAS candidate got lost and died of hypothermia in a cross-country training exercise.

He didn't seem like the brightest guy out there. If your not prepared, you die...a pretty simple theory. I'll let people like him try to disprove it, but I regard that as a fact.

'“Any failure of my equipment, might cost me my life.”'

Other things that can cause you to lose your life: emphasis on equipment rather than knowledge; lack of common sense; allowing yourself to depend on ephemeral things like desert water sources in summer.

I thought he had a dirt bike or something... taking a quarter ton+ Harley into the desert??? Talk about equipment failure...

Sue

Hi Susan,



According to the photo in the story, it looks like he had a dirt bike, not the Harley.



Most folks would just find a petrol station, purchase a petrol can and some petrol and return to the Harley and fill it up. Even more strange is that he seems to have repeated the same mistake and run out of petrol for his dirt bike just a few weeks later.



Even stranger. Sounds like he did something daft which cost him his life.

Survival is an attitude. This statement showed an attitude that proved self-fulfilling. When he had an equipment failure, he may have assumed he was going to die and gave up, rather than struggling to come up with a solution. But this is just speculation.

From the article - and this could explain how it happened"

"Rescue crews found his camp, where he still had several pouches filled with water, that Sunday."

and further on:

"Police suspect Tanner may have been hiking to or from Clapp Spring, which is described on the Bureau of Land Management's Web site as a palm oasis and permanent water source for wildlife. Locals say Clapp Spring is little more than a muddy patch that supports a few palm trees but does not have enough water to drink."

So Tanner may have been acting on bad information. He left his encampment, leaving behind some of his water, as he headed to what he believed to be an "Oasis" to get more water. Finding little water there, he tried to get back to camp but didn't make it due to dehydration.

"Going solo is taking a risk, even on a day hike."

I concur with Doug's comments he took a big risk by travelling solo and not have a proper emergency plan in place. Its odd up here we teach drinking 4 to 6 litres of water each day in the wilderness and that you will need more in hot dry areas like the southern US. Its a sad day when a someone takes a chair with him on his motorbike and leaves out enough water to survive.