Every time someone dies out in the wilderness I find myself wondering what could have been done to prevent it.
I can guess the following components of the disaster:
1) The guy was alone and tired. His judgment probably was not ideal. Sometimes another person can really help in weighting different options.
2) The guy was alone. It means that he was thinking only about his own survival. When I 'wheel with my wife I am
much more cautious than when I 'wheel alone.
3) The Jeep did not have the doors and the full metal body. It may not be very important, but it might affected his decisions.
4) The guy probably was not in a good physical condition. May be he had a cold or else. Dieing after the 3-miles hike on the road seems kinda extreme for me. I usually use the following rules:
- when I go 'wheeling in cold conditions, I never go when I have a cold. I take lots of warm stuff anyway, and I always have various medications with me, just in case.
- when I 'wheel in hot weather (like in a desert in summer time), I prepare myself for the wheeling. For example, I am biking in the middle of the hot days in summer, for couple weeks before the trip, at least. After that preparation, I can withstand the summer desert temperatures easily. I take lots of water with me, too.
Why couldn't he start a fire?
difficult to say. Plenty of wood is available along that road. He had the gasoline, too, to ignite the wood.
Why didn't he stay with his truck?
no metal body ? He did not feel safe ? I do not know.
At all times I have fire, water, power bars, tools, rain ponchos, foil blankets. ETC in my truck. The truck itself is an ideal shelter with more potential of being seen from rescuers. If he had to find a place for a fire then a note left at the truck with direction you traveled would help.
This is true.
I usually plan any trip (even a one-day excursion) so that I can survive on my own for several days.
