Julian Sands is Missing

[Nikosandros]

Julian Sands is now confirmed to be dead.


https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/27/entertainment/julian-sands-death/index.html

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If you live in or visit Southern California, don't hike alone. Yes, the weather is nice most of the time, but it gets cold in the mountains at night, and what happened to Sands is extremely common in both the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains.

 

[Zardnaar]

If you live in or visit Southern California, don't hike alone. Yes, the weather is nice most of the time, but it gets cold in the mountains at night, and what happened to Sands is extremely common in both the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains.

Mountains anywhere really.

We've had people die on some hill trails 20 minutes from the city. Wrong time of year, cold snap etc.

 

[Rabulias]

He may also have fallen or had a heart attack or stroke, and the weather may have had nothing to do with his death. The coroner will be trying to determine the cause of death, but it may be a few weeks before we know. Regardless of the cause, very tragic loss.

 

[Maxperson]

If you live in or visit Southern California, don't hike alone. Yes, the weather is nice most of the time, but it gets cold in the mountains at night, and what happened to Sands is extremely common in both the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains.

When I was 15 or 16 two friends and I got separated from our Big Brother of America who took us up to the San Gabriel Mountains to hike. We had found a small path that led to a small trickle of running water that went over the side of a cliff into a pool of water. I climbed down around the side and was at the bottom looking into the pool, which was only about 2 feet deep. My friend and his brother had remained up top to wait for me. Suddenly I hear a scream and one of my friends had slipped on some algae near that trickle of water and slid down it and over the side of the 20ish foot cliff and into that 2 feet of very cold water. He pops up very quickly from the water completely unhurt and looks up to his brother and yells, "Paul don't try it!" to which Paul answered, "Do you think I'm crazy?"

At this point we were a bit disoriented as to direction so we set off in the direction we thought the path was at and couldn't find it. My friend who fell into the water had ditched his shirt because it was cold and wet, so we were alternating shirts to stay as warm as we could as we walked. At one point I found a Crocodile Dundee sized knife just laying in the forest and picked it up, but after an hour or so I was tired of carrying it so I ditched it again.

We got lucky and I spotted car headlight in the distance above us a bit. Probably 2 or 3 miles away. We headed off in that direction and eventually came to a road. We had no idea if the camp ground was up or down from us and were trying to decide which way to go when an old guy(probably in his 50's which is my age now) drove up by himself in a camper. He asked us if we needed a ride and we said yes(remember we were teenagers, cold, tired and hungry). He didn't know which campground we were at since there were multiples both above and below, and offered to take us home. Fortunately for us he was the good samaritan that he seemed and took us the hour drive back to my friends' house.

When we arrived we told my friends' mother the story and she set about trying to find the phone number for the park rangers. This was before cell phones and the internet, so it took her a bit to find the number and call them. The rangers and our Big Brother were just about to set off into the forest and try to find us. By this time it was after dark and they had mobilized to search.

We got very lucky.

 

[Maxperson]

He may also have fallen or had a heart attack or stroke, and the weather may have had nothing to do with his death. The coroner will be trying to determine the cause of death, but it may be a few weeks before we know. Regardless of the cause, very tragic loss.

California at that time was experiencing rain(snow in those mountains) from "atmospheric rivers"(no idea who coined that silly phrase) one to two times a week and they dropped a TON of rain and snow on us. If he fell, it's extremely probable that the weather had something to do with it.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Even if the weather isn't particularly extreme, you need to take precautions and don't hike unaccompanied. A fall? A couple of days trapped outdoors with a broken ankle, or a tumble into a fast stream can do for you; and if you have a heart attack, if someone is with you they might be able to get medical help in time.

England aint known for it's mountains or wilderness, but there are still plenty of casualties. There was something like 26 deaths* recorded in the Lake District last year.


*I think that incudes watersports as well as hiking.

 

[Zardnaar]

Even if the weather isn't particularly extreme, you need to take precautions and don't hike unaccompanied. A fall? A couple of days trapped outdoors with a broken ankle, or a tumble into a fast stream can do for you; and if you have a heart attack, if someone is with you they might be able to get medical help in time.

England aint known for it's mountains or wilderness, but there are still plenty of casualties. There was something like 26 deaths* recorded in the Lake District last year.


*I think that incudes watersports as well as hiking.

Yup this Basically got drummed into us here. Never go solo. School, parents, scouts 12 year old school camp hike in the mountains.

Tourists can be interesting. Completely inappropriate clothing or can't swim using pool gear in the ocean.

They close the big tracks over winter while others are meant for experienced hikers only but there's always one.

Local hill country 20 minute drive to get there. Can get up over 1000 metres in elevation in the city it's 500-700+ you're exposed and it can be windy.

Go back hopefully get up there around October/November.

 

[Mannahnin]

I hike solo pretty regularly, but on well-trafficked trails, so it's rare that I don't see other people. I also have cell reception in most places, and pay for my NH hike safe card so I'm not liable for rescue expenses. Still, always take precautions.

 

[MGibster]

I'm having a tough time finding reliable statistics. One source has hiking related fatalities in the United States at 4 deaths per 100,000 hikers (estimated 57,000,000 hikers) with about 11,000 serious injuries per year. Automobile accidents in the United States kill 12.9 out of 100,000 people (not drivers) each year. We have about 330,000,000 people in the United States, so someone who is more mathematically inclined can feel free to figure out how much more dangerous hiking is than driving.

Very often the only alternative I have to hiking solo is to not hike at all. While there are inherent risks to hiking, I don't really think of it as an overly dangerous activity. While I take reasonable precautions, I recognize there's always a chance I might run into some unexpected difficulties with potentially dire consequences. For example just last summer I went for a walk during the heat of the day and forgot my hat. I made it about 3/4ths of the way through my normal route before cutting it short and heading home because the sun was beating down on my more than I expected.

I would agree that it's better to hike with another person both for safety and just because it's more fun. But generally speaking, hiking isn't a super hazardous activity. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to dive 4,000 meters underwater in this submersible I made with a window rated for 1,300 meters.