This event reminds us that no matter what the season, we must carefully plan the map, plan ahead and be fully prepared when hiking.

Last modified on Monday, December 13, 2021 11.26 EST

In August, when a young family mysteriously died on a trail in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, the authorities searched the area for clues. Maybe there is a leak in the nearby mine. Maybe the family drank water containing toxic algae. In the end, as a new report shows, the answer is even more prosaic, even if it is equally tragic: three-digit temperatures and rugged terrain have caused a fatal situation.

The nearly 80-page investigation report obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle lists the tragic mistakes that led to the death of this young family and provides important lessons about the dangers of hiking in harsh weather.

31-year-old Ellen Chung (Ellen Chung), 45-year-old Jonathan Gerrish (Jonathan Gerrish) and their one-year-old daughter Miju (Miju) and their pet dog Oski (Oski) family started in the Sierra Nevada Hiking at the starting point of the Hites Cove Loop trail in a remote area of ​​the National Forest August 15th. Two days later, their truck was found near the start of the trail, and the staff quickly found the bodies of Gerrish and Miju-Chung's body was slightly higher on the hillside.

The local sheriff's office announced in October that the family had died of overheating and dehydration. "Due to the weather, this is an unfortunate and tragic incident," Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said at the time.

Records show that Gerrish used the AllTrails app to draw a hiking route map, and that he had hiked part of the same loop in May 2017. But the temperature was much lower at the time, and the Ferguson fire in 2018 had not yet burned out the canopy of the area.

In recent years, harsh midday temperatures and lack of shade have prompted locals to avoid hiking in the summer. But the family is new to the area: during the pandemic, they moved to Mariposa in the foothills of the Sierra and bought many properties. Chung is a yoga instructor and graduate student, and Gerrish is a Snapchat engineer.

According to the report, a U.S. Forest Service volunteer who had hiked more than ten times on the nearly 8-mile loop told a deputy that the family seemed “not aware of the danger” at all. Records show that they only brought a straw cup and a backpack with a 2.5-liter water tank.

For Wesley Trimble, the communications and creative director of the American Hiking Association, this tragic event reminds people to prepare when hiking and plan before leaving home.

He suggests telling people where you are going and when you expect you to come back. "People don't usually think about this, but it's a crucial step: tell your neighbors or family members that you are going to a specific place, and when you return to an area with a cell phone signal, you will get in touch with them," Trimble Say. If you do not return as expected, please provide specific instructions to someone, such as the sheriff's office in the county where you are hiking, if they do not hear from you at the specified time.

Another way to plan before embarking on a trail is to actually look at the map and come up with a game plan, including when to turn around based on time, even if it means that the desired destination cannot be reached. "In winter, it may mean returning before dark, and in warm weather, it may check the forecast," Trimble said.

On the day the Mariposa family hiked, the temperature in the morning was over 70 degrees, but when they hiked, it rose to 109 degrees in the afternoon. Trimble said this shows that it is important to check the detailed weather forecast, and not only use the widgets on the smartphone, but also use better technology to check the weather. He said that Noaa has a website that can make accurate predictions on the map, so that you can better understand the content of the forecast, because geography plays a vital role in the weather.

Trimble also recommends asking locals for directions-gear shops and even the tourist office can gain insights into local conditions that may not be listed in the route map app.

The American Trekking Association lists ten essential items that everyone should have when hiking. When hiking in hot weather, you must bring enough water. "It is difficult to provide people with a very specific amount of water," Trimble said, although most hikers say that for moderate temperatures and terrain, it takes about 16 ounces or half a liter per person per hour. "If you are hiking at a temperature of three degrees, you need at least one liter of water for every hour you plan to go out," he said.

In addition, for hiking in warm weather, it is important to be familiar with the symptoms of heatstroke and heatstroke. "If you or someone has nausea, headaches, and other symptoms, you want to be aware of it, because if you hike in the heat, this is a good sign that you may start to become dehydrated," Trimble said. "Make sure everyone is drinking water all the time-when you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated."