“Quicksand is not normally a problem at Zion, but it does happen if conditions are right,” said Alyssa Baltrus, a spokeswoman for the park. “We have been unusually wet here this winter. The weather was most likely a contributing factor.”Osmun was hiking the "Subway" trail and his companion, Jessika McNeill "tripped, landing in quicksand." I'm inferring that the quicksand wasn't part of the trail. This is the Park Service's photograph of where Osmun was rescued, where he got stuck rescuing her:
Despite what Hollywood would have you think, a 2005 study by researchers at the University of Amsterdam showed that it is not possible for a person to sink entirely into quicksand, because they are too buoyant.....
“The water was so cold I thought for sure I’d lose my leg because there was no way she was going to be able to get there fast enough to have people come get me out,” [Ryan] Osmun told ABC News.
They had no cell phone service, and as WaPo puts it:
It was like a scene out of an old-fashioned horror movie: two hikers, alone in the frigid wilderness with no cell reception, suddenly stumbled into a pool of quicksand.No. In old horror movies, the issue of "no cell reception" doesn't come up.
Anyway, the woman hiked for hours to get to the point where she could call for help, and it was hours more until the search-and-rescue team found him, and longer still to complete the rescue.
I'm reading about the Subway Trail here (from the bottom) here (top-down route), and it looks challenging and watery. You need a wilderness pass. For the easier of the 2 hikes, it says, "Strenuous non-technical day hike in a wet canyon with many obstacles."
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27 comments:
Toss her a rope or a tree branch.
We had Westerns to teach us. They had Glee.
At least they weren’t attacked by a mountain lion.
I always thought the “old movies” were tropical jungle adventures, and all that was left was a pith helmet resting on top of the quicksand.
"At least they weren’t attacked by a mountain lion."
Or snakes.
It's been a long time since I backpacked. Do they do rental emergency phones, that link to satellites?
A real adventurer would have cut their legs off with a pocket knife to escape.
We actually run into quicksand on the beach pretty regularly. If a stream get stranded above the beach and forms a pool, the water seeps through the sand towards the bay and makes it "quick". Step on what looks like a perfectly fine strand of beach, and you'll sink to your knees. It's usually firm below that, so no real threat, but very annoying.
You have to use a tree branch to push under the person’s feet to break the suction. I learned that in Boy Scouts, but there’s no more Boy Scouts thanks to SJWs.
This brings to mind the Christian hymn that starts" My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ, my righteousness." The chorus repeats after each verse , "On Christ the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand."
Seek solid rock.
Wasn’t there an over hanging vine that he could grab and pull himself out with ? Or was he pulled down by a RUS*?
*Rodent of Unusual Size
At least they wouldn’t starve on the Subway trail (assuming they had $5)
"there’s no more Boy Scouts thanks to SJWs."
At least we still have suction. We'll have to console ourselves with that.
"I always thought the “old movies” were tropical jungle adventures, and all that was left was a pith helmet resting on top of the quicksand."
You learned your quicksand lessons from a master, Gary Larson. His pit wasn't in the jungle and the hat is more like a Marine Corp DI hat, but,
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/17/ce/50/17ce5089a0e6fccf49d42b50d0fa9bc0.jpg
Most farm kids learn about the dangers of grain entrapment. And the ones who don't, don't typically live long enough to go rappelling in national parks at age 34.
I got so friggin' drunk once, I had to be rescued from regular sand.
Sometimes bad shit happens in remote areas of the earth like mountains, forests, and the open ocean. Wise people know this and prepare accordingly before venturing into these places. Not these jamokes. They're lucky to be alive.
I call BS on this story. He would have succumbed to hypothermia way before help arrived.
Was Jussie Smollett there too....?
Was the "quicksand" wearing a MAGA hat....?
Can’t stop thinking about Bowie’s “Quicksand.”
....and I ain’t got the power anymore.
Was Jussie Smollett there too....?
he's there now, metaphorically.
The more you struggle, the deeper you sink.
More toxic masculinity.
Zion, like Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and, oh Hell, the outdoors generally, is full of poorly understood dangers. It’s a wonder that the droves of oblivious European and urban Asian tourists aren’t dying like flies.
The Park Service exists more to babysit the ignorant, than to protect our parks.
Hey. Here is a big muddy hole that all this melting snow has been draining into. Not really sure how deep this hole is or what is at the bottom of it. It is not on the actual trail. We don't have any survival equipment with us (HINT: cell phones are NOT survival equipment) We are miles from anywhere.
I know!! Let's tromp through this mud. What could happen anyway?
If these guys had watched either Tarzan movies or the series they would have known to summon their animal buddy the elephant with a mighty jungle cry & the elephant would have pulled them out of the quicksand with its trunk.
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What?!
That trail looks awesome. I'll have to try it next time I'm in Zion.
gspencer said...
You learned your quicksand lessons from a master, Gary Larson. His pit wasn't in the jungle and the hat is more like a Marine Corp DI hat, but...
One second thought, more likely it was Gilligan's Island.
Other than drowning in a flash flood in Zion's narrow canyons, slipping off the side of the Angel's Landing hike is sure thing.
I read a NY Daily News story in which the victim was quoted as saying:
“I really wouldn't change anything or go back and change anything,” he said. “It was just a freak accident that my leg hit this hole of sand.”
Which is incredibly stupid. He learned nothing from his brush with death other than that he could rely on others to save his sorry ass? Won't even pack a folding shovel to help dig himself out? Dumbass.
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