Another near death by GPS story
LA Times What the heck they thought they were doing out there is a mystery. 67 is that road into the park from Jacob Lake that is closed all winter. But they blindly followed the GPS down a dirt ro...
Forum Discussion
MrWizard wrote:
Imo this was not gps error
The news report says the GPS alerted them to hw67 being closed
This is where you turn around and go back the way you came from
Not look for an Alternative route, not go down a forest road
Glad they are all safe, but this was bad judgement
+1. These people were not very bright. The last report I heard on a major tv network stated that they did see the Road Closed sign but used GPS to find an alternate route to the North Rim. Initial reports painted the woman as a hero, but that last report revealed otherwise.
When they got stuck, the woman (who seems to wear the pants in the family) set out to walk the rest of the (still long) way to the (closed) North Rim. After she'd been gone for about a day, the man got out of the car and walked a short distance to the top of a hill, obtained a cell signal, and called for help. Rescuers were dispatched. Apparently it took them a while to find the woman, who lost a boot during her hike and was walking in snow with just a sock on that foot. No surprise that she suffered frostbite on her feet.
So they were not smart enough to do basic travel research, which would have told them that the North Rim closes in winter. Nor were they smart enough to wonder how anyone could vacation at the North Rim when the only paved road to GC's North Rim was closed. Nor were they wise enough to try for a cell signal on higher ground before setting out on a long trek through a forest wilderness.
If they are college grads, they are prime examples of the reality that book learning cannot be equated with wisdom or practical sense.
