Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Seasoned hiker stranded in wild

Garcia sustained only minor bruises and scratches

Vanessa J. Chavez El Defensor Chieftain Intern, vchavez@dchieftain.com

If someone were categorized as an experienced hiker or hunter, one would think they have been through everything that could possibly go wrong while out in the wilderness.

This might have been something that ran through the mind of 57-year-old hunter Kerry "Tony" Garcia.

Garcia is a Socorro resident who has been working about a year at the Array Operations Center as a senior electronics technician for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

Garcia also retired from the Army in June 1998.

Garcia left Socorro the weekend right before the Fourth of July. He has 48 year's experience in hiking and hunting. Nevertheless, experience, did not stop him from leaving his personal information with Park Services as he planned to scout the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness in Colorado.

Garcia specifically told the hostess at the Avalanche Creek campground that he would be at the top of the mountain, and even pointed out the exact spot he would be hiking to.

He also made sure to leave Avalanche Creek campground with his small daypack filled with an extra water canteen, two dozen granola bars, waterproof rain pants, a pair of socks, band aids, two rolls of international orange tape and a rain poncho.

Garcia said he wants to share his story because it's a way of giving advice to (hikers) to carry some kind of pack, even if is for an afternoon, because people hiking or hunting in the wilderness may ever know what might happen or what might be helpful.

"It is helpful to think ahead," Garcia said.

And little did Garcia realize this small pack would be what saved his life.

Garcia made the trip to Colorado around the Fourth of July weekend, to scout for an elk camp that his friends were going to have in October.

"I was mainly hiking on foot and cleaning a trail for horses," Garcia said.

After climbing up to the top of the mountain, Garcia said he began walking on the ridge of the mountain and looking through binoculars for an elk-hunting spot in the canyons beyond.

"The area started to get rocky. So I decided turn around. I was still walking along the crest, making my way back, when I guess I slipped on a rock and slid with a rockslide down beneath a ledge.

"It seemed like the whole mountain gave way, and took me with it," Garcia said. "When I finally stopped sliding, I laid perfectly still because my body was trembling. After it went back to normal, I looked around to try to get out of where I fell, but all I could see was steep cliffs upward and downward."

At first he was starting to panic about the situation, but when he saw a group of trees only a few feet above, then, Garcia said, he "wasn't panicked."

Fortunately, he was able to pull himself up into a small space, about as big as the cushion of a regular size chair, between the mountain and the cluster of trees, where he would have some protection from the wind and rain.

"Even though it did not rain in the canyon where I was trapped, I could see heavy rains all around me," Garcia said.

Garcia also had a rope handy (that he had been using to clean the trails), which he used to tie himself to the trees so he wouldn't slide down any farther.

"I was stuck there for four days, starting Monday, June 3, until they rescued me on Thursday, July 6," Garcia said.

"Everything in the small pack proved to be very important and helped to keep me from suffering any more injuries. I was able to use the poncho as a shelter from the sun and light rain and also as a basin to catch water," he said.

At night he would put on his waterproof pants and jacket, and wrap his poncho over himself for protection from wind and rain. It also helped him to prevent hypothermia. Garcia also said he was able to stretch his water supply till Tuesday because of the extra canteen.

"I didn't have any more water till they reached me on Thursday. I think the canteen and poncho were the most important things I had with me," Garcia said.

Garcia said he had never had such an experience before. Yet, in a way, the military training he had gone through gave him "previous experience for what most people would call dangerous activities."

Garcia's wife, MJ, expected him to be home by Tuesday, July 4. When he didn't show up at home or at work, she called Colorado state police to report that Garcia had gone missing. That agency then directed her to the Albuquerque office of the New Mexico State Police because that is where Garcia had last been seen.

And finally, after convincing the police that Garcia was missing, and that he had not stayed an extra day, the National Park Services and Sheriff's Office in Colorado arranged a full rescue team, including a helicopter, to start searching early Wednesday morning.

According to Garcia, he could see when the rescue team started to search for him. He yelled for a little while, but the searchers were too far below him.

"On Wednesday, I saw a plane flying around searching for me in another canyon," Garcia said.

He estimated the plane was about 9,000 feet in altitude, whereas he was at an elevation of almost 13,000 feet.

Throughout the search, MJ and Garcia's step- daughter, Danielle, were in continuous contact with the Pitkin County Sheriff's Department and the search team in Colorado.

After Danielle and her husband got off work, they drove to Colorado and helped with the search.

When the team couldn't find him, MJ insisted that he wouldn't be that low (in elevation), and that they should look higher, near the top of the mountain.

After going back up the next day, rescuers found Garcia exactly where MJ had said. What also helped the team was that Garcia had marked the trees on the right and left sides with the rolls of orange tape, which fluttered around and caught the attention of the helicopter.

The team automatically spotted to tape and the helicopter landed a half-mile away from where Garcia was stranded.

"The rescue team was very surprised of my condition. The rescue team said in other cases like these, after two to three days, they were just recovering the bodies or those severely injured," Garcia said.

Garcia said when they found him, his blood pressure was a little high, he was dehydrated, but had only a few minor bruises and scratches.

After the helicopter got everyone off the mountain, there was an ambulance waiting at the campground, where medical personnel tended to Garcia.

"They were very proficient and organized, Garcia said. "I hope no one else has to go through being stranded. I am thankful for the help of the park services ranger, and for the mountain rescue team for going up higher to find me. I don't consider myself a hero or a special individual. I just hope my experience will let people know to plan ahead. It might only take a couple minutes to take a small pack, but those minutes might mean a difference of life and death."

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