Exploring has always been my thing, whether it was beside that meandering creek bank on our Michigan farm long ago, a walk in the desert behind where I live now, or taking a forest service road to wherever it might lead with the RV or now my faithful Astrobump. Of course in an RV we have everything we need, but oftentimes we take off with tows or toes. After connecting with the following stories, I decided to write this cautionary tale.

Recently a 23-year old Arizona State University student experienced subfreezing weather and snowstorms in the mountainous Arizona wilderness for ten days. She left Phoenix to meander the state’s east-central high country in good weather but with no specific destination. The paved road turned into dirt, and she soon found a locked gate, which she tried and failed to open. In turning around, her car became stuck.

She survived on two candy bars and one bottle of drinking water that she repacked many times with snow, allowing it to melt on top of her sedan. She had no warm coat or blankets against the deteriorating weather conditions.  It is a miracle that other than being cold, hungry and thirsty, she was in good condition when two amazed U. S Forest Service employees on snowmobiles found her 45 miles from nowhere while they were checking to be sure all the gates were closed.  

Also in December, an elderly New Mexico couple left Chandler, Arizona, on their way to Albuquerque and were looking for a remote wildlife refuge in eastern Arizona high country when they took a wrong turn where the highway split. When they finally realized they were on the wrong road, they checked the map and decided to save time by following a forest service road that connected to the U.S. highway they had expected to be on in the first place. Very often, and this was such a case, the rough forest roads require a four-wheel drive or high-clearance vehicle.

Ten miles along this questionable road, their sedan became disabled and they were stranded in the miserable cold of two major snowstorms.  On the fourth day, they convinced themselves they should hike out. Sadly, the 82-year old wife collapsed and died near their car. The husband, 86, continued walking and was found in reasonably good condition the next day by law enforcement agencies that were searching for them via land and air in both states.

Hiking Unprepared

We have also had several recent incidents of young hikers being rescued in the Phoenix area mountains. None of the hikers had adequate water or warm clothing. Another story happened closer to home. RVers who have been boondocking on BLM land near North Ranch the last few winters told about a planned four-hour hike—two hours in and two hours out. The wife asked if her husband, 74, had water with him and he replied, “Enough.” She asked if he had a flashlight and a jacket and he said, “I don’t need a jacket and I will be back well before dark.” He had a hand-held GPS and a pistol but not the whistle that they generally carried on their many hikes.

The GPS batteries didn’t last long, but he had remembered to bring replacements. Within a short time, these batteries also died. The closest mountains are five miles away, and the desert between appears to be flat, but it is scarred with deep arroyos. If you are in the bottom, you usually cannot see the familiar landmarks that would lead you home. It was nearly dark and he knew he had to get to higher ground.

He became very tired (“Hit the Wall,” he called it) and he lay down on the ground to rest. He was out of water, extremely thirsty, exhausted and dizzy.  He felt for his gun, thinking that if he heard anyone looking for him he would shoot three shots into the air. The gun was gone. It had been lost somewhere along the way (but was found the next day). He recovered enough to start walking again and when he reached higher elevation, he realized where he was and headed in the direction of their RV. He arrived back home at 9:45 p.m., about four hours beyond sunset.

Safety First

Even those of us who have been around the block a few times need to be reminded about safety from time to time. One, if your paved road turns to dirt or you feel you’ve taken the wrong route, turn around and go back rather than continue or turn onto unfamiliar dirt roads. While I have certainly taken questionable remote dirt roads with car and/or RV, it was not during December in the high country.

Two, if you are traveling into unknown territory via car, keep a few basics in the trunk—water, food/snacks, coat, warm clothes, hat, mittens, blankets, pillow, shovel, matches, first aid kit, lightweight thermal space blanket, sleeping bag, etc.  I learned early on to keep supplies in my trunk for winter or summer exploring.  If you are going on foot for the day or a few hours, at least carry some energy snacks, extra water, flashlight and a jacket in a daypack.  It may not be convenient but if you are prevented from returning on time, at least you are somewhat prepared.

Three, check for the expected weather for miles around. Flash floods can come rushing down from mountain rains when there is no storm where you are.

Four, if you get into a bad situation and cannot drive, stay calm and remain with your vehicle.  It is easier to spot from the air. If you leave that vehicle and take off hiking, you are using energy that you may need just to survive. A vehicle at least minimally protects you from exposure to heat, frostbite, hypothermia, rain, snow, animals, etc.

Five, carrying a cellphone is a good idea although in these specific cases, the areas were too remote for them to work. While most of these people had cellphones, at least two of the phones had dead batteries. I keep a cigarette lighter connection to recharge the cellphone in my camping Astrobump while I am on the move, and a whole package of new triple-A batteries for other needs lives in a side pocket.

Six, although it goes against the grain of independent souls everywhere, especially those who strongly believe in serendipity, we should let someone know where we are heading and when we expect to return or reach our destination, specifically if we are going alone. (O.K., Mom, I’ll try to follow my own advice.)  God Bless.

Autographed copies of 2009 fourth edition RVing Alaska and Canada  ($19.95) and

Adventures with the Silver Gypsy ($14.95) are available through author Sharlene Minshall, Box 1040, Congress, AZ 85332-1040, or at Amazon.com. Follow Sharlene Minshall’s blog, “The Silver Gypsy,” at rvlife.com

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