Safety Check
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August 10, 2019 Round Valley 2019-044 |
Written by Michael George
Well, my exciting night started out as a search for two women lost on the way back from the peak. Blake, Glenn, Cameron and I responded to the tram that evening. Cameron, having gotten there 20 minutes earlier, had decided to catch the tram that was departing within minutes of his arrival. He made it to the top just as Blake Glenn and I arrived at the bottom. With Glenn’s ok he headed out on his way to the peak. By the time the three of us got to the top Cameron was well on his way. It was decided that Blake and I stay back until Cameron contacted the girls.
In the meantime, knowing it would be a long night, Glenn has us bed down for a couple hours. He had no idea how right he was. Just as soon as Blake and I got our bags down, Glenn cane over and told us to pack up. Apparently, a woman called the Sheriff Dept staying she was concerned about her husband and their 5-year-old son spending the night in Round Valley campground. She felt he might be suffering from altitude sickness for reasons unestablished. So, we were being asked to perform a welfare check close to the area that the two women were reported to be in. Blake and I immediately packed up and headed out.
After about 25 minutes of hiking we saw the lost women’s headlamps up on the southern hill of Miller’s Peak. Not where they said they were and not close to Cameron. We directed him to their lights. As we continued hiking in for the welfare check, Cameron established contact with the women. They were cold, dehydrated and suffering slightly from the altitude themselves. I believe it ended up due to not really eating properly during the hike. Glenn decided that the women took precedent at moment and Blake and I headed over to Cameron to assist. When we got there one of them was shivering and immobile. It took a while to get her to eat, warm her up and get her moving.
At this point we were about 25 min past where the turnoff for the father and son were. So, we hiked back to that junction where we decided that I would go look for the father and son, in nearby camp sites in Round Valley. By this time, it was 1 am. Long night, right Glenn.
I headed over to the campsites surrounding Round Valley Meadows. While I did this Blake and Cameron escorted our two women back to the tram, apparently stopping quite a few times for the women to recharge. I searched high and low around the meadow in and among 20 campsites looking for a red and white tent, with a father and son for 2 1/2 hours. Never found a clue to where they were. By this time, it was close to 4 in the morning. I decided to investigate a couple more campsites before heading back. Still no sign of them, so I headed back to the tram. By the time I arrived back at the tram it was 5:20. Glenn, said welcome back, you’re just in time for the first tram car down. Well so much for laying down for a bit. As we were all getting ready to head down, I found out Blake, Cameron and the 2 women had only gotten in an hour before hand. So, we all had a long night. As we were preparing to get on the tram the sun crested the horizon, creating a beautiful sunrise. Welcoming us to a brand-new day.
RMRU Members Involved: Cameron Dickinson, Blake Douglas, Michael George, and Glenn Henderson.