The initial plan for the weekend was to complete our Personal Vertical Skills (PVS) and Basic Rope Technician (BRT) check-offs on Saturday and complete a land navigation exercise on Sunday. We thought that we were going to have additional SAR members from other teams coming to the check-off so we rigged a boat-load of ropes. When those folks didn’t arrive, we were able to check-off our team in only a few hours. This allowed us to complete both the land navigation exercise and BRT check-off in a single day and late night. We did have one little diversion when some passing mountain bikers told us that they passed a child’s bicycle on the trail near a drop-off without any nearby children. We called it in to the local PD and told them that we would investigate. Three team members made their way down the trail to check things out and found a family on a bike ride. The family said that one of their kids had left his bike by the trail, and they had recently gone back to get it. All was OK, so we canceled with the PD.
The map below is our land navigation exercise. The red track (~ 6 miles) is the route that Mark Kinsey and I took when we set the course. The other icons were locations of the 5 teams during the exercise. We set up a command post and used the time to work on radio use, map and compass, and GPS technique. At each control, the team must call in to get a set of coordinates for their next location. At that time, they are told whether they are to use a GPS or compass to get to the next location. It looks like Team #4 had some navigation issues.
The Cave Team trained in the Mt. San Jacinto area on Saturday, August 15. The plan was a search scenario followed by personal vertical skills practice. Toward the end of the search scenario, we were approached by the San Jacinto State Park rangers to assist in the rescue of a dehydrated hiker on the Cactus to Clouds Trail. After a quick call to Dan Whitten to get the OK, we hit the trail.
Mark Kinsey, Dave Bullock, John Norman, and Robert Hill made their way down the trail toward the patient while Mark Peterson, and I stayed at the top to maintain cell coverage if needed. I also spent the time tracking down Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit to advise them of the situation. The Park said that they requested them, but I called just to make sure and to coordinate with them should they respond. We were out of county, and I wanted to make sure that they knew everything that we did.
The decision was made to hydrate the hiker and hike him out to the top. This trail is very steep, and under normal conditions the hike from his location would take about an hour and a half. In all the mission took about 6 hours to complete. Everybody exited safely and without incident.
At approximately 15:30 on August 6 the Cave Team was called to search for a missing 76 year old Fontana woman suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and other health concerns. Shortly after the team responded to the command post on the corner of Valley Blvd and Cedar, the missing person was located at a hospital in Riverside.
The Orientation to Cave Rescue Course will be held at the sheriff’s instructional facility at Glen Helen North. From the 215:
Exit Palm
Head west across the railroad tracks. This becomes Institution Rd.
Continue west until you reach the end of the road (there is a detention center there)
Turn right (north) on Verdemont Ranch Rd.
Continue on Verdemont. This road will make a 90 degree turn to the left (west) right at the entrance to the motocross track.
Continue on the road through the small pass until you arrive at the instructional facility. Bear left as you enter the facility, and park in the dirt parking lot south of the buildings.
While training near Mt. San Jacinto, we assisted the State Park Rangers on a rescue of an exhausted hiker coming up the Cactus to Clouds trail.Date: Aug 15, 2009Number of Photos in Album: 8View Album
