Little Wild Horse Canyon, by Deb Stanley
The body of a woman from Colorado who disappeared on a hiking trip last November was found last weekend. Autopsy results show Rose Backhaus died of exposure. Rose had gone hiking alone.
Backhaus was a mother, grandmother and an avid hiker. She went to Moab the weekend of Nov. 16. She was expected back at work Nov. 17.
Her vehicle wasn't found until 8 days later. The vehicle was found Nov. 24 about 100 miles from Moab at a trailhead in the San Rafael Swell.
So what happened? Backhaus apparently went hiking alone and didn't tell anyone where she was going. The San Rafael Swell, like many hiking areas in Utah and Colorado, has little to no cell service.
It's believed Backhaus set out to do a popular loop hike of Bell and Little Wild Horse canyons. It's appears she got lost between the two canyons and ended up in a slot canyon feeding into Chute Canyon.
The Emery County Sheriff said Backhaus was stopped at the slot canyon’s end by a 40-foot drop-off. She was unable to backtrack because what she had descended was too steep to climb.Sheriff Lamar Guymon said Backhaus had wrapped herself with plastic beneath her clothing for added warmth, apparently using bags she may have brought along in case of rainy weather. She apparently took shelter beneath a crevice before dying. Hikers found her body in the Upper Chute Canyon area.
While this is a heartbreaking story, it is also a story we should all learn from. Never go hiking alone. If you do go hiking alone, leave very specific instructions about where you are going and when you will return. Make sure the person you tell will call search and rescue or the sheriff's office if you do not return by a certain time.
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Comments
Well there are valid points for decreasing some risks by hiking with others, there are things that can be done to reduce the risks of hiking alone. Tell a number of people where you are going and when you expect to return.
Proper gear, prep for emergency situations, minimize the difficulty of the hike, carry a SPOT, etc...
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