On May 20, 2016, my wife and I visited Yosemite National Park. Before leaving on a track, I spoke to a ranger from the park. I told her that I was looking for a photo of the water reflecting the trees.
The Ranger, an employee of the third generation of Yosemite, said that Lake Lukens was one of the most beautiful places in the park.
“I think you get the best views in the park,” she said.
Highway 120 had opened the day before, and it was only a mile hike from the start of the path adjacent to the highway to the lake.
We had already gone to Yosemite. At that time, I lived in Long Beach in a height on Ocean Boulevard. I had an airplane and I stole us at Mariposa-Yosemite airport. We rented a four -wheel drive van and stayed in Mariposa. The next day, we rolled and traveled the lake.
We probably arrived around 9 a.m., it seemed to be a small simple walk. We had an outfit and day packs. I checked the weather. There was nothing in the forecasts that day. It was nice. It was cool. In the Yosemite valley, it was probably in the 1940s.
As the morning advanced, the clouds covered the sky. It became gray and dark. The light was perfect for photographs. And it started to snow. It was one of those storms that the mountains generate. The snow fell thick and large flakes. We got five inches in about 40 minutes. I spent about two hours taking photos around the lake.
“It seemed to be a simple walk. We had an outfit and daytime packs. I checked the weather. There was nothing in the forecasts that day.”
I got lost in photography. It was so beautiful, you didn't want to leave. But, we are hungry. We had only one snack bar with us, and we had left a few days of food in the car.
But our path had disappeared. Around noon was our first attempted hiking. The hike in it was about 10 minutes. We hiked for an hour and found no outing.
Lukens Lake is a short hike from Highway 120, or Tioga Road.
(Tom Setterlund)
When we left the lake, we continued to go straight. We took three different paths, but we were probably still half a million road. We do not remember leggings for dogs that was coming out. You are directed at the bottom of the track A place, and all of a sudden, it makes a turn at 30 degrees to your left. We don't remember the big tour.
I knew there would be snow on the ground, and I thought that if people went there, there would be a path on the ground, but I did not think about the next day. We knew that the road was due to the south of the place where we were, but there was no sun. You couldn't say where the south was.
The last time we tried, I was exhausted when I came back and I fell. We decided that he was not sure to continue trying. It was dark.
We eliminated an area under a tree where there was not as much snow and we rested.
It was somewhere in the bass 20. We had a few Mylar leaves, which I now know how to use. We wrapped them around ourselves, but they did not work because we were covered in snow. We were wet. Instead of reflecting the heat, they simply reflected the cold. To use them properly, you should remove your clothes and put them against your body. We thrown until our body warms up a little, then falls asleep, then we wake up because we were cold, then shivered again and we go back to sleep.
I wear several tools for starting fire, but I thought we were more than 10,000 feet, where no fire is allowed. I read on people in survival situations that are prosecuted for making a fire.
I thought that someone would see our car at the start of the trail, but we did not get a hiking license because it was just a day's hike. To stay there overnight, you need a license.
What had happened in this storm, without us is that the 120 highway had been closed again because of the ice – no one was going to see our car. Since then, I realized that no one would care anyway, unless you said to someone outside the park, and they start to call and said, “Hey, they did not come back” or have obtained a permit.
The next morning was sunny and we came out. Once we saw the road, we knew we were safe. The car was full of food, and we sat inside and ate for an hour. I don't remember what we ate, but it was delicious.
Lukens Lake is a short hike from Highway 120, or Tioga Road.
(Tom Setterlund)
On the road, 50 meters was a car upside down on its hood. The roads were all completely frozen, snowed and closed. The first person we saw was the driver of the snow plow, and he told us that there were a few wrecks to come. People were flying up there, thinking “Whoo, the 120 is open! I can arrive on the coast!” There was obviously no warning to their warning that there was ice on the road.
The rental van was four -wheel drive, but I collapsed. I was going to 5 MPH on this road, hoping that I did not slip. Further on, I came across a ranger from the park, then he realized that he was the only one to have a key to unlocking the doors. He said, “I'm glad you got out. This would be a while before someone finds you.”
I had done a lot of safety assumptions that were not valid. It made me realize that, if I will hike in the hinterland, I have to do it in a safer way.
I knew we parked in the north of the lake. I had watched the trail card, but I didn't have a compass on me. I had none of the things I have today. I now use an application to follow my location that works offline using satellites, and I have a GARMIN GPS emergency device.
I had to change my approach to be outside. I started reading much more, I started to wear much more. There is nobody who comes to save you. Maybe they will look for a corpse in a week.
In the end, you will have to go out.
Tom Setterlund is a retired security engineer who spends his time on a motorcycle of the hinterland, mainly on fire roads in the San Bernardino National Forest. He also likes to travel with his pop-up camper wherever the road leads. His story is published for length and clarity.
Do you have a survival story in California Wilderness? We would be delighted to hear you. Share your close meeting here.
