Lost in the Grand Canyon (Part One) | A Short Documentary | Fascinating Horror

"On the 21st of June, 1990, Paul Stryker and his wife Karen Stryker set out on a hike along a scenic trail in the Grand Canyon National Park..."

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SOCIAL MEDIA:

CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro
00:37 - Background
03:26 - Lost in the Grand Canyon
08:56 - The Aftermath

MUSIC:
► "Glass Pond" by Public Memory
► "Nocturnally" by Amulets

SOURCES:

​​​​​​​#Documentary​​​​ #History​​​​​​​​​ #TrueStories​

[jacob_tung]

These events mirror closely an incident at the Grand Canyon in 2019. I was a ranger there at the time, and I managed the search for a married couple who were hiking a similar route: the New Hance Trail to the Tonto Trail and out on the Grandview Trail. They too ran out of water and unsuccessfully attempted to reach the river off-trail to refill their supply. Thankfully, unlike Paul and Karen, several factors were in their favor. First, they were backpacking in the fall in much cooler weather. Second, they had shared their itinerary with their adult children before departing, who then became concerned and notified us when their parents failed to return home on time. Additionally, once they realized they were in trouble, they hunkered down and waited for help to arrive rather than continuing to exert themselves. We found them alive and well on the first night of the search and flew them out on the park helicopter the following morning.

[korbell]

They may have thought they were experienced hikers but hiking in the Rockies is World's apart from hiking in the desert. Going into the Grand Canyon in the Summer on a multi-day hike with only 3ltrs of water shows how clueless they were to the dangers of the desert.

[gemfyre]

I read Death In The Grand Canyon a few years ago (which would have contained this story), and just shook my head in disbelief at the multiple tales of folks deciding to do a rim to rim hike, in the middle of summer, starting at 10am, and only taking a small bottle of water with them and no hat. I'm from Australia and I won't even start walking in the bush without a hat and 1L of water. When you stated that this couple only had 3L EACH for a 25km trek my jaw just dropped. That's maybe enough for half a day. I was recently working in the Pilbara and was shocked to find I was severely dehydrated when I thought I was drinking plenty of water, and I was drinking 4-5 litres per day!

[jacekatalakis]

You could do a whole series on people who got lost while hiking without enough supplies

[parmathrond]

Last year I walked the South Rim and stopped at most of the viewing points, and saw many, many people taking insane risks for a selfie. “…between 1 and 4 people each year do still fall from viewing points into the canyon itself” is a dreadful statistic, and these tragedies are entirely avoidable.

[stephanieferguson]

I am from Utah and grew up in desert heat- its not something to mess with. In my 20's my husband and I and another couple hiked the grand canyon rim to rim (north to south). We planned everything and arranged to stay at the campsites and made the journey over 4 days. It was spectacularly beautiful but also very demanding. We packed tons of water and extra dehydrated food packets. We refilled our water at taps in the campgrounds and ended up eating some of our extra food because of the physical toll of the hike. Its an experience i will never forget and am grateful to have- but i wouldnt recommend it for most people. You have to plan and reserve the campsites months in advance and you ABSOLUTELY MUST BE PREPARED.

[ingridfong-daley]

When i was first learning photography, a friend and i (artists not athletes) took a day-trip expedition to Sam's Point preserve in upstate New York to shoot the autumn colours. We were hiking with a guide map but couldn't figure why the numbers seemed 'off'--we were following a trail that we read as '8 miles', but it turned out the markings weren't length measured in miles, but calculations for hour markings. We were hours late getting back to the car--the rangers had to wait for us and i felt terrible about it, but i swear it never occurred to me that they'd map distances in 'time' rather than actual trail length.
It was a scary lesson to learn.

[nathanholton]

I was shocked to learn that there are a surprising number of bodies that are left in the Grand Canyon, mostly due to how hot and inaccessible many of it's areas are in the remote areas off the travelers' paths. Even with helicopters and volunteers, it's a huge and dangerous, undertaking to recover many of the deceased down there. Imagine the inverse of Mount Everest, but with more human remains in it, because unlike that mountain, you don't have to be rich or a pro to go hiking there, so many more people can visit it, and as a sad consequence, many more corpses are left or buried there, primarily due to dehydration &/or heatstroke.

[tofutuesday]

As someone who lives in Phoenix Arizona, I knew right away that they likely didn't take enough water. We have so many mountain rescues here in Phoenix alone due to hikers, usually from out of town, not taking enough water. People severely underestimate the heat and the dry climate.

A good rule is, when your water is halfway gone, turn around

[ingridfong-daley]

If you don't want to carry the weight of extra water, you can always boil what you find and use purification tablets... I'm baffled by their choice to completely pass over refilling when they knew they'd packed lightly.

[susansage]

How extremely sad for her, I can’t imagine how alone she must have felt after he died. But he did sacrifice himself for her by making sure she had the water.

[ThrashMetallix]

My Grand Canyon Experience:
A couple years ago, my dad and I hiked from the North Rim to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. For those unfamiliar, that involves starting from one side, hiking all the way down, crossing the river, then going back up the other side. Dad and I have many times gone hiking in desert terrain, and had been to the Grand Canyon once before, and both of us knew this was going to be the most challenging hike of our lives. We managed to complete the hike in three days, but looking back, we both agree that we should have taken an extra day's rest in one of the campgrounds we passed up.

It cannot be overstated just how beautiful the area is. *Pictures absolutely do not do this place justice.* If you ever have a chance to visit, do it. You won't be disappointed.

However, if you're planning to hike into the Canyon, *even if it's only a short way, * please prepare yourself properly. This video doesn't even begin to scratch just how tumultuous the environment can be. As stated, the Canyon itself can be incredibly hot the further you venture into it. I was silly at the time, and thought that a Google forecast would be enough for me, and since the Grand Canyon Google forecast only had it in the mid-80s at the time of the hike, I figured we'd gotten lucky. What Google failed to tell me was that that was the temperature at the surface. Inside the Canyon, temperatures were easily exceeding triple digits, even in heavily shaded areas. Rangers provide a more accurate forecast at their stations for conditions inside the Canyon, and hang thermometers up at most campgrounds.

If you venture into the Canyon, rangers heavily advise you not to do heavy hiking between the hours of 10 AM to 4 PM, because that's when the heat is most extreme, and when most accidents tend to happen. Especially if you're trying to go back up the Canyon. There may be walking trails, but they can only do so much. If you're hiking up the Canyon, you're still essentially traversing a natural wall, and fighting gravity is its own battle outside the heat.

On our final day of hiking, I was kinda foolish and wanted to get out of the Canyon in time to reach a gift shop to pick up a souvenir for my then-girlfriend. And that meant hiking up the South Rim in blazing weather. My dad was more level-minded, stayed at a resting area until the heat had passed, and would rejoin me at the hotel we planned to stay in that night.

I really should have stayed with him. I love a challenge, and love hiking, but this hike was something I underestimated. The heat got to a point where I was so exhausted that it felt like for every five minutes of hiking, I had to find a shady spot, and sit for ten minutes to get my strength back. Now thankfully, I was well equipped with water, and salty food (a pair of other hikers even gave me more salty food near the top), so dehydration wasn't really on my mind. I was able to sustain myself there. What was more in my mind was the fact that I was carrying over 30-40 pounds of equipment, up a wall, and my pace was starting to take its toll on my body physically.

The nature of the trails at the Canyon made my muscles incredibly sore. After a day or two, I couldn't easily go downhill on a trail without my calves feeling incredibly sore, and I couldn't lift my knees up high without further muscle pain. Pair that with the heat, gravity, and whatnot, and one can probably tell that I was incredibly foolish for attempting to exit the Canyon as quick as I was.

Now I'm happy to say that both dad and I were successful in our hike. And after hiking to the Grand Canyon marketplace they have, I bought myself an ice cream cookie sandwich, and it was the best victory treat I've ever had. (That and having something sweet after three days of salty rehydrated meals, ice cream was just a godsend.) And I look back on that trip with nothing but love. But I definitely learned some lessons that trip.

My leg muscles would be incredibly sore for at least three weeks after the hike, and considering my relationship ended a few weeks after that trip, my initial goal was silly in the long run.

If I can pass down any advice to those wishing to take on the Grand Canyon, it would be this: respect the Canyon. Respect the hazards the area will bring. Do not push yourself unnecessarily. When you feel the need to rest, then don't think twice about it, just find a place to rest. And above all else, when the heat is getting to be too much, *YOU ARE NOT WASTING TIME WAITING FOR IT TO PASS.*

The Grand Canyon is easily one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to, and I'm happy to say I've done the hikes I have, and hope to return again in the future for more. But I will be wiser, and I will not repeat the same mistakes as I once did. Even if they were minor, in that environment, they can make a huge difference in the long run.

[purplecelery]

I read about the Strykers in the book: 'Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon'. (A fascinating read - just like this channel!) The other story that struck me from that book was the one about Margaret Bradley. She and her jogging companion were in a similar situation; hopelessly lost, and ran out of water. Margaret left him to get help, and the jogging companion was rescued by a ranger. Only, he just assumed Margaret made it to safely, and as a result never bothered to inform the ranger that she was out there!

[peepance]

Les Stroud pointed out that parasites take a few days or so to start making you sick and can be cured with a single pill. In this scenario absolutely refill your water, even if its stagnant because dehydration will kill you faster then a parasite.

[kspen]

As a cadet in the Girl Scouts, I hiked down to the Havasupai Indian reservation back in the early 80's. I remember stopping often to drink and have small snacks. It was a 12-13 mile hike.
It was an incredible trip I'll always remember.
So sad that this couple wasn't truly prepared even being experienced hikers.

[coloradohikertrash]

I did a Rim to Rim to Rim hike there in my 20s. Even as a person who was very in shape and with lifetime of outdoor experience it took everything I had mentally and physically. When I was there the bottom of the canyon got over 51C. This place is no joke

[alejandrolopez]

One of my biggest takeaways from having served in the Marines with regard to outdoor safety is to never underestimate the weather and conditions of new places. A lot of things that we did were physically strenuous, yet whenever we went somewhere with a notable difference in temperature or elevation we wouldn't be allowed to or compelled to do any physical exercises for at least a week, if not two until we were acclimated. On top of that during my time in 29 palms they would often have "black flag conditions" meaning that it was too hot and there was to be no outdoor exercises.

Being an avid hiker now I still take that all to heart after having learned a lot about heat exhaustion, heat strokes, and dehydration. It boggles my mind how often people go somewhere unfamiliar and very different from what they're used to and they just go on extremely strenuous hikes especially jf theyre unprepared. It's not just putting themselves in danger, but it endangers anyone that tries to help or rescue them.

[lipstickcats]

So many people underestimate what desert heat can and will do to the body, and it so often ends in tragedy. The scary thing about dehydration is that it can sneak up on you- you can wind up dangerously dehydrated and overheated without any real idea things are getting bad until you're just about to fall over. It happened to me, and luckily I was in the middle of a city in a place where I was surrounded by people who were able to help me. I lived in a very hot, dry place for several years and that experience with dehydration and heat sickness taught me to take at least one full water bottle everywhere I went, and that was just for wandering around town.

[anikajain]

Ps. I live in an outback mining town in Oz, I don't walk my dog here, or even go to town - 5mins drive- without water & at least a few other supplies.. you just never know what might happen! Walking my dog I take water, medical & emergency supplies, . Better safe than sorry!

[PFBM]

When you said at the beginning that their hike was doomed by lack of preparation I correctly guessed that they didn't pack enough water. But I was still completely unprepared to hear how little they packed -- THREE LITERS each?!?! And they passed on a chance to refill at a creek?! Like I feel bad for them and all, but that's just negligence cranked up to an insane degree.