Sad outcome.....

Discussion in 'Overlanding / Off-Road' started by Andy the Aussie, Dec 1, 2020.

  1. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    .....not the first to perish in the same circumstances in this area. I have traveled it and it's not difficult with a little preparation and understanding. Preparation for heat and dehydration is the real issue though....

    https://www.news.com.au/travel/trav...d/news-story/47bdd404a5dcb7c4fbec1d308e57b6a6

    "Police said Mr Shin’s all-wheel drive White Nissan X-Trail became bogged in the notoriously difficult four-wheel drive track to Boggy Hole and he succumbed to the extreme weather as temperatures soared to 42.9C on Saturday."

    and....

    “Sgt Emmett said I don’t think that was a suitable vehicle to make his trip in there.”

     
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  2. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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  3. R Stowe

    R Stowe Moderator Staff Member

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    I had to look up the Nissan model he was driving. It appears it's the same as the Murano in the states. Is that track mostly dirt/rock in the stock photo?
     
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  4. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    Dirt and rock but what will have trapped him I am guessing is long tracts of very soft sand. In many places you are driving in the dry riverbed (only flows a couple of times a year). It's notorious for trapping a vehicle. There is a sad tale from the same area that involved two young Scottish guys I have told before (the rangers left newspaper clipping of it around the public camp area as a warning when I was there many moons ago) they rented an X Trail and drove off into the wild. A few days later one arrived at a property badly dehydrated. The other had already perished. The XTrail was stuck in sand. When the police/rangers went out to recover it they dropped the tyre pressure and placed it in 4wd and drove out.

    If you are not experienced with sooooooft sand driving (I really wasn't) you will get trapped..!! Then you need the know how and perhaps basic gear like a shovel to get out.....of course if you are digging out in blistering heat with no cover and you have no water....

    I am not sure what happened exactly in this case. But up there people assume that because it is only 100km out of "town" then it must be a tourist drive, it isn't and you may go a week without another person appearing.
     
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  5. R Stowe

    R Stowe Moderator Staff Member

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    Wow, that's kind of crazy about the Scottish guys. However, I've seen plenty of people get in over their heads.
     
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  6. KMCMICHAEL

    KMCMICHAEL Member

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    I worked North of Yuma, AZ for a few years. People died there in the desert on a regular basis. I don’t think people near the end realize what is happening to them. Dehydration must really remove cognitive thought. Seeing a body like that does make one contemplate their own mortality.
    I was negotiating sand regularly and still had the occasional problem due to arrogance. It would have been embarrassing to radio for help. I quickly learned that those 4 wheel drives with a limited slip in the rear made a big difference. Years later we purchased some Rubicon Jeeps with front and back locking and they were amazing. They allowed taking obstacles at much slower speeds
     
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  7. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    Yep dehydration and hypothermia often result in significant lack of rational thought toward the end. I have been dehydrated to the point of needing a line in to sort it out and I would not have been able to work out how to pick a hanging booger. Not to mention feeling BAAAAAd. Most folks do not understand how much water needs to be consumed to deal with even the most mundane exertion in high heat.
     
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  8. TerryD

    TerryD Member

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    This 100%. I had a MILD case of dehydration a couple years ago. Was in Colorado wheeling with some buddies in July around Colorado Springs. Temps in the high 90°s during the day the last couple days out there and LOW humidity vs the East Coast where I live. I thought I was drinking enough water.

    The day I left, I had a couple beers with lunch and then wound up having to pull the steering wheel on my Xterra in an Auto Zone parking lot with the temp at 105° and very little shade.

    Drinking water the whole time and as hard as I could for the next 24hr, it was still late the next evening before I peed, massive headache, thought process muddied up bad. I wound up driving 1/2 a mile between a gas station and somewhere with wi-fi with my rear hatch open. 1000 wonders my gear didn't dump out on the highway.

    I didn't really realize what was wrong till early the next morning when the cramping REALLY started. In hind site I should have probably hit an ER or something for a banana bag. And this was just a mild case, I don't want to experience something like Andy or what the poor fellas in these stories have.
     
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  9. KMCMICHAEL

    KMCMICHAEL Member

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    I think dehydration increases as one ages. I cycle in the summer here pretty heavy and drink a measured 5 liters of water per day, in addition to incidental consumption. I still sometimes feel dehydrated. I will hit 4000 miles before the end of the year and could not do it without measuring my water consumption.
     
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  10. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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  11. R Stowe

    R Stowe Moderator Staff Member

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  12. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    Happens way too often here, tourists normally though. In this case they should have known better.
     
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  13. Wisdom

    Wisdom Member

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    In Spurs?
     
  14. KMCMICHAEL

    KMCMICHAEL Member

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    Rarely
     
  15. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    anomad Member

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  17. Bushman5

    Bushman5 Member

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    @Twoody88
     
  18. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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  19. TerryD

    TerryD Member

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    No kidding!
     
  20. Bushman5

    Bushman5 Member

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    @Andy the Aussie , while that outcome was great, I'm curious , the temps were only 40 plus deg Celsius there , that's normal temps here in Lytton , Lillooet, Kamloops regions of BC , Canada . People regularly hike, hunt, fish, bicycle, work , drive in these temps here in these regions, With zero effects dehydration wise .

    are people getting into trouble in you area because of lack of water carried? Or are the temps much hotter than was reported?
     
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