Associated Press
2 Hikers Die in Utah Desert, 1 in S.D.
07.19.2006, 07:14 PM
Two
people died during separate hiking trips in the rugged southern Utah
desert country, one a participant in a wilderness survival course
and the other a teenager who got separated from her group in
110-degree heat, officials said.
Another hiker died of apparent heat
exhaustion and dehydration in South Dakota's Badlands National Park,
the park's chief ranger said.
Near Boulder, Utah, Dave Buschow, 29, died
Monday night while taking part in a 28-day survival course offered
by the Boulder Outdoor Survival School, Garfield County spokeswoman
Becki Bronson said.
Buschow, of River Vale, N.J., was on the
second day of the $3,000 course and in a group of 12 with three
staff members.
The school said in a statement that Buschow
"passed out with no pulse or signs of breathing" a few minutes after
he sat down to rest, and that efforts to revive him failed.
Temperatures were in the low 90s in the
area, the National Weather Service said.
Bronson said the group hiked all day Monday
"with very little food or water." Buschow "was complaining about
lack of water and cramping and still given very little water, and it
was still hot," she said.
Diane Nagler, a spokeswoman for the school,
said that although students are not allowed to carry water bottles,
they have access to water along the route.
"They carry a cup," she said. "It's very
well planned-out."
The school's Web site says its field
courses teach participants how to survive in wilderness with minimal
food, water, clothing and gear. "Our goal is to take you from a
world of convenience and comfort and put you in a situation where
you must go 'just a little bit farther' - past those false limits
your mind has set for your body," the site says.
On Sunday, Elisa D. Santry, 16, of South
Boston, Mass., died on the 16th day of a three-week Outward Bound
Wilderness course near Canyonlands National Park. The temperature
was about 110, said San Juan County Sheriff Mike Lacy.
Organizers said the girl was with five
other teens, ages 16 to 18, hiking through heavy brush to reach
rafts waiting for them at the Colorado River.
As they were nearing the river, she had
lagged behind, possibly to wait for another hiker, the sheriff's
office said Tuesday. The other hiker reached the river but Santry
did not show up. She was later found up a small side canyon, the
sheriff's office said.
"There was no evidence of foul play," said
Mickey Freeman, president of Outward Bound Wilderness.
Autopsies of Santry and Buschow were
conducted, but additional tests are needed in both cases, said Dr.
Edward Leis, Utah's deputy chief medical examiner.
Santry had passed a medical screening
before joining the program, Outward Bound said. The organization
canceled the remaining five days of the program, which included
hiking, climbing and rafting. There were 13 other teens
participating.
Canyonlands National Park is about 200
miles southeast of Salt Lake City, and Boulder is about 200 miles
south of the city.
In southwestern South Dakota, a woman
hiking on a short but steep Badlands trail died Sunday, when the
temperature was well over 100 degrees.
Other hikers found the body of Joan Kovach,
52, of Canfield, Ohio, Chief Ranger Mark Gorman said.
"Where she eventually gave in, her water
bottles were empty and unfortunately she just did not have enough
water for the conditions," Gorman said. He said people hiking in the
park during extreme heat should carry at least a gallon of water.
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