December 31st, 2014
Santa Ana Mountains/Ortega Highway, CA
Category Archives: Mountain
Rescue Near Horsethief Creek
January 1, 2013
RMRU write-up of rescue is here.
On New Year’s eve RMRU was called out to search for a hiker missing overnight in rain and snow storm east of Toro Peak in the area of Horsethief Creek. Two field teams (Les Walker, Ralph Hoetger, Lee Arnson, and Helene Lohr) spent most the night out in difficult conditions searching for the lost man. About 10 p.m. a CHP helicopter spotted the hiker, but could not effect a rescue.
On Location in Mount Baldy
In January, 2010, the TV show I Shouldn’t Be Alive aired a segment titled “Date From Hell,” about the experience of Gina Allen and Brandon Day getting lost in Long Vallet Canyon, and their subsequent rescue by RMRU. In early 2011, RMRU was contacted by the Cherie Sundae Productions about doing another story on the Allen-Day rescue for a pilot of a show called “Got Home Alive” on for The Travel Channel. I ended up working on the pilot, and subsequent on the show itself when it got picked up. My job varied by segment, but was always on outdoor location shoots. I was Safety, Rope Rigging, Medical, Rescue Consultant, or Mountain Expert at various times during the season.
Helicopter Rescue On Pacific Crest Trail
May 11th, 2011
At 2 p.m. the page went out for RMRU to respond to the Snow Creek trail head for a Pacific Crest Trail through-hiker who had been vomiting non-stop and was severely dehydrated. All my gear was in the garage drying off from Sunday night’s mission, but it was quickly in my truck and I was headed out to Snow Creek, where the PCT comes down out of the San Jacinto Mountains before heading up into the San Bernardino Mountains.
Hike To Captain Jinks Mine
Both Linda Green’s 1984 Historic Resources Report for Joshua Tree National Park and the 1961 California Department of Mines and Geology report for Riverside County listed several mines in the Hexie Mountains as being so remote they were never visited. That really intrigued me, as seldom-visited mines bring to mind relatively undisturbed sites. Google Earth showed small sections of what once had been a road, though the Jinks (sometimes spelled Jenks) mine was said to date back to the late 1800’s. The Ruby Lee and Combination mines had never really been much more than prospects, so held less interest. I emailed the DzrtGrls and when Jamie got back to me that this was even a bit too remote for them, I was hooked.
Helicopter Rescue on North Face of San Jacinto
November 9, 2007
This is my big claim to rescue fame (if not fortune). The hairiest rescue I’ve ever done. The text below is stolen directly from my write-up on RMRU’s website. See video below.
John Donovan Recovery
May 30, 2006
In April, 2005, John Donovan set out to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. Owing to the huge amount of snow that year, friends who had planned to hike with him urged to to postpone the trip by a few weeks, but he was intent on attending the annual PCT kickoff party at the Mexican border, so ended up hiking solo. On May 3rd he picked up a cache of food near Anza, intending to pick up his next cache on the other side of the San Jacinto Mountains near Cabazon.
