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Please click here for - Part One
Death in Death Valley
The Lady was ahead of me as we descended the canyon.
The flight of the owl on silent wings, to our right, caught our eyes. The owl flew past and across the canyon where it landed on a rock and calmly watched the Lady as she approached, continuing her way down canyon. As the Lady drew closer, the owl again took flight, flew further down canyon, landed on another rock, and watched the Lady approach. This sequence was repeated three more times. We’ve never seen owl behavior like this before. When the Lady approached the final time, the owl flew back up canyon and vanished. Later, the Lady reminded us that many Native American cultures believe an encounter with an owl is a sign of death. It was a little over 24 hours later when we found the body.
Our friends - Deb and Steve – were with us. We were returning to our trucks from a long hike. The sun had dropped below the horizon. Light was fading. We all had been concerned about the vehicle – the only other vehicle in this vast area - parked alone on the backcountry dirt road. Many things about it seemed off. We made a group decision. If the vehicle was still in place when we ended our hike, we would detour over and check it out. I will add, the circumstances were such that we discussed, at the start of the day, the possibility of finding a body during our hike. Steve reached the vehicle before me. Deb and Julie were behind us, catching up.
“I think someone’s inside,” Steve told me as I walked up.
I cupped my hands and leaned against the windshield. With the dark tinted glass and growing darkness, it was hard to see detail but there was a body in the vehicle.
“I’m going to bang against the door and see if there’s a response,” I told Steve. Julie and Deb walked up as I pounded. Their faces told me they knew this was a bad sign. There was no response. We did not really expect any. With my gloved hand, I tried the driver’s door latch. It opened.
Back story: For 30 years Julie and I worked as backcountry ski patrol with the U.S. Forest Service and responded through mutual aid requests for winter mountain search & rescue in the central Sierra Nevada. There’s not much the two of us haven’t seen or experienced in the outdoors. We’ve found and dealt with bodies and know the protocols and procedures that will take place. With my training and experience, I was the one who’d open the door.
I was pleased the interior light did not come on and bathe the scene in harsh bright light. I quickly did a visual survey and confirmed the individual was deceased. My job was done. I disturbed nothing, closed the door, and left the scene intact for the investigators.
Steve sent an SOS message with their InReach device. The International Emergency Response Coordination Center (IERCC) replied with a text message asking the nature of the emergency. Steve replied with a clear description. I was pleased the IERCC quickly confirmed the emergency involved a third party and not us. IERCC informed Steve they were handing off the emergency to Death Valley National Park Dispatch. Text messages now came from DVNP dispatch. Information was confirmed and we were told National Park Law Enforcement Officers (LEO) were responding. One key question they asked was to confirm the individual was deceased. If there was a chance the person was still alive, the response would have been a large EMS event. Dispatch relayed questions the LEO’s had as they were enroute to our location. Steve used (as we do) the Earthmate App on his smart phone that allows for much easier texting and reading of messages.
We got together and estimated the time it would take for the LEO’s to arrive at our remote location. We had plenty of time to get out of our hiking clothes, clean up, warm up, and eat dinner. It is amazing how old habits come to the fore. On all the SAR missions we took part in, the priority was always the safety and well being of all team members.
It was a cold, dark, windy night. The NPS LEO’s arrived when we expected. They were relaxed, cordial, and professional. They asked if we’d speak with them and asked permission to record with their body cameras. They took all our contact information and we told the story. They advised that Inyo County deputies would be arriving soon and they also may wish to speak with us, and that the coroner was coming from Bishop – hours away. They also told us a press release would go out on the incident in the coming week or so. They left our camp and drove to the vehicle to take their first look at the scene. The Inyo County deputies stopped at our camp later and interviewed us.
The wind blew hard and rocked the camper overnight. We heard the coroner drive by in the night but not much more. All responders were gone when we awoke the next morning.
From my perspective, the incident went smoothly. Our friends, Steve and Deb, are real troopers, handled themselves and the incident very well. They received experience with sending an SOS with the InReach and how the response played out. This was not a fun event. But I was pleased it was us, people with experience, who found and reported this incident. I shudder to think about casual tourists coming upon what we found.
With our InReach, I let four people know of the incident and asked for them to watch for the aforementioned press release as we were continuing on our mostly off grid adventure. From what I can discern, a press release has not been issued.
I’m relaying this story to tell our side and to provide insight into what happens when that SOS button is pushed, and strongly suggest you carry an InReach or similar satellite communication device. With respect and compassion for the deceased and their family and loved ones, I will give no information about the person, vehicle, area, cause of death, or speculate on what occurred. I will not indicate in my story that follows where or when this incident took place. That is not my place here. The information is in the hands of the investigators.
Into the Realm of Jean LeMoigne
We woke on our first morning in the National Park at our favorite dispersed campsite near the end of LeMoigne Canyon Road. A quick passing storm was moving through. Snow squalls spread along the flanks of Tucki Mountain.
Broken clouds streamed along the eastern side of Death Valley and the Grapevine Mountains beyond.
Death Valley had been impacted by heavy rain and floods. Most roads were damaged and still closed. Highway 190 over Towne Pass opened just as we entered the Park the previous afternoon - a stroke of good luck. LeMoigne Canyon Road was rough but passable – in standard condition for this road
.
Our friends, Deb & Steve, drove up from Furnace Creek and joined us the evening before. They’d been in Death Valley for a week already. Deb gave three talks at the Historic & Educational Program during the annual Death Valley 49ers encampment. Deb is an author, artist, and historian.This summer she spoke at the National Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming. Steve retired as an engineer with Boeing and if cargo doors and folding wings spin your propeller - as it does mine - chatting with Steve is engaging. In the backcountry, these two are, indeed, fun to have along. They are also very experienced backcountry travelers.
Jean LeMoigne is one of my favorite Death Valley historical figures. The Lady and I have spent many trips exploring LeMoigne Canyon. This trip we spent a long day hiking various forks of the canyon.
LeMoigne accessed his mine and camp by a small side canyon.
The narrowing walls are inscribed.
Deb was especially thrilled to find this inscription from 1860.
I asked Deb about Hitchens. This is her response.
"To answer your question - Hitchens was a miner who joined the Reconnaissance Boundary Survey of 1860. This expedition was a Charlie Foxtrot from the word "go". They used camels which were temperamental. An alpha male camel killed some of the other camels. They started in July, so lots of hot weather. Guides were commanded to "find water" but never returned. The expedition was abandoned without fulfilling the mission of finishing the survey. The expedition was led by Josiah Dwight Whitney.
The expedition is one I'd like to study more. Lingenfelter
covered it in a chapter, but more
recently I found while reading "Story of Inyo," Chalfant says that Whitney was kind of an
imperious jerk, threatening the guides if they didn't find water, and that the
guides who went to find water most likely went awol. The guides who were lost were prominent
citizens of the Owens Valley, and the debacle didn't shine a good light on
Whitney.
So that's off the top of my head. What a TREAT to find another Hitchens inscription!”
Along our route we stopped at what some say is the remains of Jean Lemoigne’s buckbroad wagon.
The old wagon was obviously held together with bailing wire.
On our hike up canyon, Deb was buzzed by a beautiful Panamint Rattlesnake. Deb expertly launched into the "there's a rattler nearby dance" and moved away.
The snake backed off in a defensive posture, moved up the rock, took refuge under a bush, and put its marvelous camouflage to work.
Arrival at the mining area up the south fork is signaled by a warning sign.
LeMoigne’s dugout cabin is a very humble structure.
The mines up canyon were developed after LeMoigne’s passing in 1919. Yes, others quickly moved in after LeMoigne's death. We climbed up to several high adits. The views were incredible.
We explored several side canyons with extensive workings.
We finally worked our way up another side canyon and found what the map labels as LeMoigne’s mine.
With all our delightful wanderings, the day was moving quickly toward sunset. The after-storm wind was increasing. We arrived back at our comfortable camp after the sun dropped below the western horizon.
The next morning dawned cold with brilliant clear skies.
A pair of juvenile ravens kept their eyes on us.
Where should we head to next? Tucki Mountain? Towne Peak? Funeral Peak? These were all options we bantered about. What did we choose?
The tale continues in the next installment. Please click here for - Part Three.
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