NPS AM Report

Ray with a report from below the Subway

Zion National Park (UT) Injured German Visitor Rescued From Canyon

On August 16th, Deterich Bolck, a 77-year-old German national, hiked into the lower end of the Left Fork route, intending to visit a formation about four-and-a-half miles from the trailhead. Late in the day, Bolck slipped on a rock and injured his knee. To avoid cramps and stay warm, he slowly hiked in circles through the night. On the morning of the 17th, Bolck encountered some hikers who sent a text message to relatives requesting assistance from the park. Ranger Nick Wood hiked to Bolck’s location about two-and-a-half miles from the trailhead and found that he was able to walk slowly. Bolck believed that he could hike to the trailhead, so he and Wood slowly began making their way out of the canyon. Over the next six hours, Bolck and Wood hiked one mile. An ascent of a steep 500 foot slope is required about a half mile from the Left Fork trailhead; although hikers travel up and down the slope on a well-used social trail, a litter carry up the slope would be challenging and hazardous to rescuers. As dark approached, Bolck still had not reached the bottom of the ascent. A ranger spent that night in the canyon with him. After a good night’s sleep, Bolck’s mobility had not improved. Rangers discussed options for carrying him up the hill, including a direct carry up the difficult route, a 700 foot guiding line, or a helicopter short haul operation. Based on available resources, the non-critical nature of Bolck’s injuries, and the lowest overall risk to rescuers, the decision was made to construct a guiding line up the steep slope. The guiding line consisted of a main line and a belay line with a track line that could be slackened or tightened to move Bolck and an attendant away from a talus slope and the rock fall zone. Fifteen park employees and members of the Kane County SAR team constructed the guiding line on the morning of August 18th. After hauling Bolck to the top of the steep ascent, he was carried by litter to the trailhead, where he arrived at 2:30 p.m. [Submitted by Ray O’Neil, Operations Chief]

heard that the fella fell 30 feet, awoke and then fell the rest of the way. Yikes!

Grand Canyon National Park (AZ) Man Killed In 600 Foot Fall From South Rim

The park received a report of a man over the edge at Pipe Creek Vista on the South Rim early on Tuesday afternoon. Witnesses told arriving rangers that they’d seen a man fall over the edge. They were unable to see anything from the rim, so rappelled down and found the man’s body 600 feet below. The body was recovered and transferred to the county medical examiner. An investigation into the death is underway. [Submitted by Shannan Marcak, Public Affairs Specialist]

More hikinks

Zion National Park (UT) Classic Car Consumed In Fire In Tunnel

A 1964 Cobra sports car valued at $800,000 was completely consumed in a fire in the Zion Mount Carmel tunnel on the afternoon of Monday, May 21st. The fire was reported to the park just after 5 p.m. and the park’s structural fire engine company responded along with the Springdale/Rockville fire department and two wildland fire engines. A Type Six engine with a 250 gallon tank and a pump capacity of 150 gallons per minute entered the tunnel with two firefighters wearing SCBAs. A second Type Six engine, two Type One engines, and the wildland engines provided backup for the initial attack engine. Firefighters with the initial attack engine were able to successfully contain and extinguish the fully engulfed sports car. The two occupants of the car had found relatively safe refuge in two of the tunnel’s gallery windows. All other vehicles and people exited the tunnel prior to initial attack efforts. The two occupants were transported by ambulance to a local hospital. The tunnel and road were closed for two-and-a-half hours. The insurance value of the sports car was reported to be $800,000. Construction of the tunnel, which is just over a mile long, began in the late 1920’s and was completed in 1930. At the time the tunnel was dedicated, it was the longest tunnel of its type in the United States. In addition to concerns with the potential for multiple vehicles and people trapped inside the tunnel, responders were aware that wooden timbers provide structural support and prevent rock fall in the interior of the tunnel. The NPS engine company conducts yearly training sessions in the tunnel and had determined that a smaller engine would provide better access and egress from the tunnel in the event of a vehicle fire. Firefighters were also aware that afternoon winds would likely vent smoke away from them as they approached. A protective coating along the walls in the area of the fire protected the tunnel’s wood timbers. [Submitted by Ray O’Neil, Incident Commander]

back in the news

Grand Canyon National Park (AZ) Court Sentences Man Who Threatened Ranger

In December 2011, a man threatened a park protection ranger as a result of the ranger’s performance of his official duties. The threat was emailed and involved the ranger being placed on suspect’s “death list.” The ranger contacted special agents with the Investigative Services Branch and an investigation was begun that revealed that the threat had come from Gary Palmer, who’d previously been convicted for threatening the same ranger in 2009, A criminal complaint was filed and an arrest warrant was issued, and the arrest warrant was entered into NCIC’s wanted person files. A Coconino County deputy contacted Palmer in the early morning hours outside of Flagstaff, Arizona, for sleeping in a picnic area; when Palmer’s name was run through NCIC, the wanted person notice was discovered. Palmer was arrested on the outstanding warrant. On April 26th, Palmer pled guilty to one count of threatening a federal officer and four days later was sentenced to credit for time served in custody and one year of unsupervised probation. [Submitted by Dionne K. Pegeder, Special Agent]

Ugh!

Zion National Park (UT) Woman Seriously Injured In Canyoneering Accident

On November 15th, a 26-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman completed the Jolly Gulch canyoneering route, a seldom visited route on the east side of the park. The route involves two rappels, one of 160 feet and the other of 100 feet. After completing the rappels, most canyoneers then hike a mile and a half through the canyon to a road. Instead, the pair attempted to free climb up the side of the canyon with the goal of reaching the canyon rim. The woman fell 60 feet from a small ledge to the ground and suffered shoulder and ankle fractures as well as lacerations to her spleen and liver. The man and woman worked at a local resort and made contact with the resort front desk by family radio. The National Park Service response was delayed due to confusion amongst the resort staff, who initially believed resort employees could resolve the incident without assistance. When a Kane County deputy arrived on scene, he requested an immediate response from the Zion SAR team due to the patient’s deteriorating condition. Ranger/medics Ryan McDonald-O’Lear and Brandon Torres responded and stabilized the hypotensive patient. Ranger Therese Picard was the incident operations chief and led the rope raising operation, which was conducted entirely in the dark. Members of the Kane County Search and Rescue Team assisted with the operation and coordinated the medical helicopter evacuation. The woman survived and is currently in stable condition. The man was cited for failing to obtain a required canyoneering wilderness permit. [Submitted by Ray O’Neil, Plateau District Ranger]

Grand Canyon National Park (AZ) One Killed, Five Injured By Lightning Strike

Park dispatch began receiving numerous calls for emergency assistance from visitors near Mojave Point early yesterday afternoon. When rangers arrived on scene, they found that six people had been injured in a lightning strike and that CPR was in progress on one of the victims, a woman who’d collapsed after the bolt hit very close to the party. Rangers took over CPR and moved their lifesaving efforts to an ambulance, as lightning continued to pose a threat to those who were outdoors. At the same time, the injured members of her party were transported to the park’s Emergency Operations Center to get them out of the lightning. Their injuries were assessed at the center and basic first aid was provided. Emergency medical responders were never able to revive the woman who had collapsed, a 64-year-old German national who was part of a visiting tour group. [Submitted by Shannan Marcak, Public Affairs Specialist]

Grand Canyon National Park (AZ) Overdue Hiker Found On North Rim

Late on the evening of Wednesday, June 15th, rangers received notification that 64-year old Billy Driscoll of Fredonia, Arizona, had not returned from a backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon. The reporting party, a friend of Driscoll’s, said that he had been expected back no later than Tuesday. Driscoll had provided his friends with a detailed itinerary of his planned hiking route, which helped the agencies focus their search on the Sowats Point/Fishtail Mesa/Indian Hollow area, about 30 miles northwest of the North Rim developed area. Driscoll had planned to enter the park at Indian Hollow, then find a route down to Hualapai Spring, cross to Kwagunt, and come back up and exit near Sowats Point at the Jumpup-Naile trailhead. On Thursday morning, once Coconino County Sheriff’s Officers located Driscoll’s car and confirmed that he had not yet left the area, the park helicopter flew two search patterns over his planned route with no success. On Thursday night, a DPS helicopter equipped with FLIR (forward looking infrared) technology, which detects variations in heat signature, also flew Driscoll’s planned route with no success. On Friday, search operations expanded, adding teams to ground search the area between Fishtail Mesa and Indian Hollow. Late on Friday afternoon, a Forest Service officer on routine patrol found Driscoll at the junction of two roads that were significantly north and east of his planned exit point. According to Driscoll, he had hiked his planned itinerary and stayed at Kwagunt on Monday night. On Tuesday, though, he was unable to locate the route up to Sowats Point, a route he had never hiked before. After spending a second night at Kwagunt, Driscoll decided to hike out via Jumpup Canyon, a route he had traveled before, camping at Mountain Sheep Springs on Wednesday night and at a cabin near the top of Jumpup Canyon on Thursday night. Driscoll was reported as being tired and unable to eat much, but otherwise in good condition and high spirits. The National Park Service credits Driscoll with making sure friends knew when to expect him out of the backcountry, providing them with a detailed description of his planned route, and carrying extra food and supplies in case he was in the backcountry longer than expected. In addition, he did not panic when he could not find his route. Instead, he stayed near water and familiar terrain as he searched for his route and contemplated his options. [Submitted by Shannan Marcak, Public Affairs Officer]

Not directly canyoning, but compelling nevertheless

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (CA) Woman Rescued After Three Hours Caught In Park Stream

On Tuesday, a 52-year-old woman headed out from the Farewell Gap trailhead on a solo day hike as part of her training for an ultra-marathon. She hiked up Farewell Canyon, crossing Franklin Creek on a snow bridge. On her return trip, the snow bridge collapsed underneath her and she fell into the creek. She was swept downstream under the snow for 30 to 40 feet before being able to stop herself. She stood up in the creek under the snow, but had no access to the surface. Using her hands, she dug through about five feet of snow and created a small hole, then threw her backpack out of the hole. It was seen there by other visitors, who went to examine the pack and found the woman under the snow nearby. By that time, she’d been trapped in the creek under snow for over three hours and was hypothermic and incoherent. One person pulled her out while another went back to the trailhead to summon help; the other members of the group helped warm her. Rangers and a park helicopter with a medic on board were dispatched to the scene. When the rangers arrived, the woman declined either evacuation or medical assistance. The rangers helped her return to the trailhead. [Submitted by Dana Dierkes, Public Affairs Officer]