High Sierra Topix

Got home late last night, here's my info:

As most know, a few of us decided to have a look in areas which may not have had the full attention of the SAR teams. We were quite conscious of not interfering with SAR, and once it was formally concluded realized that we would not cause any disruption. Maverick, Sparky and I communicated in advance and agreed to look at various areas (canukyea indicated he too was going to look at a couple of areas).

As I have an airplane to catch, I wanted to post this info now due to my uncertainty of accessing the forum for the next week. Maverick and Sparky are still out there as far as I know and I'm sure will provide more info upon their return.

Foremost, thanks to all of the Search and Rescue teams for their superior and dedicated work. Thanks too for Maverick's lead in getting some of us together to have a look.

Here's my humble TR.

My task was to have a look around Red Lake and the drainage below it. Not having been up there before, I found the trail head access and the basic lack of a trail to be quite a challenge. Those of you that have been to the Red Lake trail head know what I speak of. The access road is truly a 4WD scenario and I've been up much better "use trails" as compared to the goat trail known as the Red Lake trail. It's a real mess and all vertical.

I arrived at the trail head late Friday night, with just one day to look around on Saturday. The weather on Saturday was warm and dry, no snow in the lower elevations below the lake whatsoever.

Upon hiking in I looked along the Red Lake drainage with an open mind about what I might see or encounter. My observations yielded no results. I took my first break just before the last slog up the head-wall to Red Lake. As I was peering down the valley with binoculars, I observed three others hiking up towards me. They were hiking fast so I sat still for a few extra minutes. Soon it was obvious by their attire, it was a three man search and rescue team. I stayed put until they arrived near my location so we could talk.

The three are with the Inyo County SAR. They were up to look around Red Lake, and the environs above it. I believe one of them said they were staying for three days and intend to ascend one of the peaks (darned if I missed which one). These guys are obviously very strong and dedicated given their full packs and speed of their ascent. After some discussion I made the choice to forego my look around the lake given the circumstances and choosing to not interfere with their actions. While personally disappointing, it's clear these three are the experts and frankly I must have looked a bit out of place with binoculars hanging around my neck and being solo. I felt this is best for the fundamental objective of finding Larry, so I hung out for a bit and then hiked back to the trail head. When I arrived home six or seven hours later I sent Sparky a note to advise I was back home so no one has to wonder about my location.

We've all seen and read about hikers who have gone missing before, but with Larry it really felt personal to me. I suppose 49% of my actions were to do something for me and the other 51% for Larry and his friends and family. I really wish I could have done more.....

The view looking up to Red Lake and Split -

Thank you so much, Shawn, for going out and looking--and for your TR. It's great to know that Inyo still has some SAR folks out there, too.

Thank you for your effort, and it's good to know the SAR teams are still looking.

John

As one of Larry's friends, I thank you very much.

Russ et al:

Just to reemphasize, the map is no more useful than the resolution of the data displayed on it. Because it's an open investigation, NPS is not gonig to release the actual data to me for better resolution. It's still useful, I believe, to be able to tell within reason where teams went and where the air search was. Even with an actual tracklog projected, the conditions might suggest certain areas be done again. And an air search, no matter how many times an area is flown, is iffy. You can pretty much trust, I think, that human tracks weren't seen from the air. Tracks show up really well in the snow and they were able to see animal (deer) tracks clearly. The lack of human tracks in the areas search by air would suggest that Larry wasn't active close to the end of or after the storm ended.

I've been on a number of air searches over snow and you can often make out old track with fresh snow on top of them and certainly fresh tracks. Without human tracks, then, the search becomes one of spotting an immobile person or a tent or camp. An air search can be successful then, but is less effective.

But back to the map. The only use I was suggesting was not for a micro-analysis of where the search was, but to get a general idea and see if there are holes or actual routes that people who knew Larry and his habits believe might be useful for more attention.

Finally, I think I've come up with a way for people to add such suggestions to the map. If there's interest, post a note and I'll send you a link where you can edit and add a route or area.

g.

Shawn wrote:These guys are obviously very strong and dedicated given their full packs and speed of their ascent. After some discussion I made the choice to forego my look around the lake given the circumstances and choosing to not interfere with their actions. While personally disappointing, it's clear these three are the experts and frankly I must have looked a bit out of place with binoculars hanging around my neck and being solo. I felt this is best for the fundamental objective of finding Larry, so I hung out for a bit and then hiked back to the trail head.

It sounds like you made the best choice, Shawn. Good to hear that there are still some searchers after the news release said they were suspending the search. Thanks go out to you and the group from here and to the SAR folks.

Shawn, Thank you for your efforts..

Russ

papasequoia wrote:

Shawn wrote:These guys are obviously very strong and dedicated given their full packs and speed of their ascent. After some discussion I made the choice to forego my look around the lake given the circumstances and choosing to not interfere with their actions. While personally disappointing, it's clear these three are the experts and frankly I must have looked a bit out of place with binoculars hanging around my neck and being solo. I felt this is best for the fundamental objective of finding Larry, so I hung out for a bit and then hiked back to the trail head.

It sounds like you made the best choice, Shawn. Good to hear that there are still some searchers after the news release said they were suspending the search. Thanks go out to you and the group from here and to the SAR folks.

Actually when SEKI said they were suspending *their* search, it seemed unclear if this means that all coordinating agencies (such as INF) were following suit in other jurisdictions. Since Inyo is continuing their efforts, it appears that this was not a blanket decision. Thank goodness!

Nice effort Shawn. You did what you could.

Thank you Shawn for being there!