What was presented as something highly mysterious turned out to be utterly ordinary.
October 22, 2021
"Had it been a lightning strike? A release of carbon monoxide or other gases from nearby abandoned mines? Exposure to cyanide? Suicide?"
"One by one, all of these theories were ruled out.
For two months, the deaths remained a mystery.
But on Thursday, sheriff’s deputies in Mariposa, a small mountain town east of San Jose that serves as a gateway to the Sierra National Forest and Yosemite National Park, announced they had finally identified the cause: heat."
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35 comments:
Headline writers earned their pay. Again.
That explanation is lacking and the article doesn’t give any more clues. In fact the Sheriff statement sounds more like a working hypothesis than definitive answer. The dog is what I’m puzzled by. Even if their theory about hyperthermia and/or dehydration is correct for the humans the dog could have and should have survived by drinking river water. Usually the dog goes for help. Weird story. That’s the theme today. Weird deaths: real, accidental and fictional.
What was presented as something highly mysterious turned out to be utterly ordinary.
IF you believe their Crap, i Don't
To reverse what was supposedly a Stalin quote: 50,000 deaths is a statistic, one is a tragedy.
I think we can up that to three deaths here, even by simple hyperthermia.
Last fall I went hiking with some friends in the Smokies. I saw several young couples with infants in carriers strapped to their backs. Some of the trails were pretty rough and there was the possibility of falling, possibly backwards into rocks or streams or streams filled with rocks. I thought it was irresponsible. I also saw a lot of people hiking long trails, 8 miles and longer, with no water. Dehydration, even in the Smokies in the fall, is a danger on long hikes. I see from the article that they were considered experienced hikers, but 85 oz of water split between two adults and a dog isn't that much if it is really hot and I don't think babies should be taken on hikes at all.
It's not the heat, it's the stupidity.
did they not have enough water?
This trope of presenting something ordinary as mysterious seems to be new formula for some Discovery Channel shows, such as "What on Earth". "What on Earth" basically scans Google Earth, finds something halfway interesting on the landscape. They then bring in several celebrity "scientists' (some seem more celebrity than scientist) to make a wild hypothesis as to what it could be, if you were ignorant or perhaps pretending to see this object on another planet. After 15 minutes of self-destruction of the celebrity scientist's credibility, it is "revealed" that the mystery of the newly formed lake in remote northern Canada wasn't a volcano or asteroid crater lake or a hydro-electric dam covering a evil villain's secret lair. It is just a beaver dam.
The more interesting reveal is how little money it takes to get these scientists to destroy their credibility.
Even if their theory about hyperthermia and/or dehydration is correct for the humans the dog could have and should have survived by drinking river water.
The article says there wasn't much shade, I'm thinking they got heat stroke trying to get back to the trail head during the heat of the day. A symptom of heat stroke is:
"Altered mental state such as confusion, agitation, irritability, disorientation, delirium"
The dog was loyal and stayed with them and got heat stroke as well. Probably what they should have done was gotten into the river to stay cool and as temperature dropped then start back to the trail head.
They always say dehydration when aliens dispose of the bodies.
Ok, I checked out the guide online:
https://www.yosemitehikes.com/not-yosemite/hite-cove/hite-cove.htm
Its rated as moderate, but it also says that after May it gets to hot. Actually, it says "much to hot."
racisit disparity shows that Blacks don't hike in National Parks in numbers. They kill babies and children in other ways
calling Charles Murray for answers
All at the same time in the same place? That sounds like they just had to say something. The scene was very weird and I honestly don't believe they'd all die of heat in the same spot at the same time, including the dog
@Ton Winkleheimer, +1
“Officials also considered the possibility the family had been killed by toxic algae after water sources in the area tested positive for it.”
"When the family first set out, temperatures were already in the 70s, but as they descended in elevation the temperature rose accordingly, climbing to a peak of 107 to 109 degrees Fahrenheit."
You shouldn't hike when it's that hot! And with a baby! Just taking a dog out in that heat seems like inexcusable cruelty.
I happened to be in Needles, CA one January. They think 38% humidity is muggy. I hung around the motel while the other folks took care of business. When we went for dinner, I had the usual glass of water and then slammed the entire pitcher. Couldn't stop. I had gotten dangerously dehydrated hanging around a motel in January.
Had a friend who's an experienced hiker. Told me about setting off in the Grand Canyon, seeing a father and son, each with a half-consumed Big Gulp or something similar.
If you're from back east, this is unfamiliar and if you're not paying attention to current circumstances, you end up dead.
I have done some hiking in that general area, many years ago. In those days we had a single canteen of water each, and salt pills. We drank from streams we crossed because, we believed they were safe enough. If the day started out cool (like for this family) we still expected it to get hot. No one died of heat, if it became too unpleasant, you found some shade and waited. You are on a hike, it’s fun. No pressure. This “hyperthermia” cause of death doesn’t pass my smell test. The dog died right along with them? Why? When dogs get overheated, they generally lie in the shade and pant. You don’t drag a dog along a trail. The baby died, but it wasn’t hiking. I have three children, when It got hot, they complained, loudly. A hot and irritable baby makes for a swift “time to head back” decision. The mother was found “some distance up the hill”? What? That needs an explanation also. What about the cell phone records? The FBI hasn’t released them? Oh really? Why might that be? The family should hire it’s own investigator, this is very fishy.
I blame global whatsit.
John Henry
I hiked up Mount Washburn in Yellowstone one hot August day in 2004- I was amazed at the numbers of people without any water at all. People do stupid things all the time, including taking their one year old daughter on a hiking trail that is a challenge for any adult to do who isn't carrying said child.
i suppose... i suppose i should TRY, to find Some Way, i could see this happening.
Let's start from the end
After all the people were dead/incapacitated, the dog stayed with their bodies; til he died
(good old dog! dogs ROCK!)
After the mom&pop were dead/incapacitated, naturally enough; the baby was a goner
After one of the adults were dead/incapacitated; the other just sat there with the body
First, one or the other of the adults were laid low (heat? thirst? muscle pull), and died
However, it STILL seems unlikely; 108 ain't That high (if you find shade/water)
I suppose, the heat exhaustion could have melted their brains, and made them stupid(er)
But, i STill think . . . DRUGS!!!!
note how i give the dog creds for staying (and dying) with his people...and ,
how i think the adult staying showed idiocy... That's the difference between people and dogs
BarrySanders20 said...
It's not the heat, it's the stupidity.
i see Barry nailed it!
God, that reminds me of when we drove Lily (then an infant) to the doctor. We were in an unairconditioned car during a 20-minute drive. She was strapped into her baby seat, with a screen over the window. We arrived there, went to get her out, and discovered her passed out from the direct heat. It took several long minutes in the shade, bathing her face, before she came around (this was 22 years ago, she's fine now).
I agree; taking an infant on a hike like that was inexcusable.
I will go with hyperthermia. Years ago when my children and their cousins were young--maybe 7 to 10, we started up Mt. Cuyamaca--a mountain in the San Diego back country. It was January, and there was snow on the ground (a big deal for city kids from San Diego). By the time we were halfway up I saw the signs of hypothermia in one of the kids, and we headed right back down the mountain. As a summer camp "hikemaster" (a nice summer gig if you can get it as a college student) I'd taken hundreds of kids to the top during the summer with no problem.
But unlike the climate that enviros are always nattering about, weather does care--and it can kill you.
It’s a sad story on so many levels. Was there any mention of evidence of “anal probing” found in the investigation? That stuff is often covered up.
do they do physical body autopsy on such cases?
what can they discover by doing ?
CO should show in blood?
This test looks for carboxyhemoglobin. This substance is made in your blood when hemoglobin combines with carbon monoxide instead of oxygen.
setting off in the Grand Canyon, seeing a father and son, each with a half-consumed Big Gulp or something similar. (sugary drink does not help to hydrate)
If you're from back east, this is unfamiliar
-----
what is this?
less brains where the sun shines <> more brains where it don't
per Charles Murray theory definitely not Darwin Award candidates but but but
this was just a backyard stroll for them ??
The Gerrish/Chung family was reported missing late on Aug. 16 after British-born Gerrish, a 45-year-old who’d previously worked as a software engineer at Google, failed to log on for his new job at Snapchat.
A nanny scheduled to look after Miju that day said nobody had answered the door.
Chung, 30, was a yoga instructor who was studying to be a therapist. The couple had moved from San Francisco to Mariposa last year during the pandemic to give their young family more space. They’d purchased multiple properties in the area, including one near the Hite Cove Trail from where they first set out.
You shouldn't hike when it's that hot! And with a baby! Just taking a dog out in that heat seems like inexcusable cruelty.
People send daughters to Loudoun County Public Schools.
One way to spot tourists here in the Sonoran Desert is that they are always wearing flip-flops, shorts and t-shirts and almost never carrying water.
I was told that there is an Arizona law that prohibits teachers, store owners and others from refusing to provide people water if they ask. The dry heat is nice, but you don't realize how much you have sweat.
Too Darn Hot - Ella Fitzgerald
narayanan
I've carried heavy loads in the hot sun. But none west of the Rockies. And so when I got to Needles...high desert...the speed with which I got dangerously dehydrated lying around one January day was a shock.
My father's division training at what is now Ft. Irwin, I believe, lost a couple of guys who died of dehydration just riding in a jeep for a couple of hours.
Just checked. Humidity in Needles is 9%. I just bought a dehumidifier to keep the house at 55%. So if you go on a hike, in Needles or similar places, where you will immediately be mouth breathing, your lungs will turn to leather pretty quick.
I find it hard to believe that a dog couldn't find water...
In May, 2018, I hiked Telescope Peak in Death Valley. It's the tallest peak at 11k feet. I'd been at below sea level in the valley, then drove to the trailhead at 6k feet. The hike itself was not strenuous but when you add in drastic temperature changes plus altitude symptoms, it was an unpleasant situation. Full camelbacks were drained halfway down on the return leg. I was glad to return to the Valley and air so thick you could cut it with a knife.
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