Getting lost in a crowded part of the Sierras

From BearWiki

Claim: The area where Bear was "lost" is actually heavily trafficked by rafters.

Cliff at ~8,000'+, Grapevines at ~1,200', rafting downstream beside the access road, back up to near the tree line, then down to Pine Flat Lake

The Kings River[1]

Pine Flat Lake/Reservoir[2]

[edit] Resident #1

Photog01 on the Discovery Channel forum writes[3]:

I grew up outside of Fresno, CA, the vicinity where he filmed it, and I can dispel a few aspects of the show, which ruin the show's credibility in my eyes.

He parachutes out and lands near tree line at very high altitude (8,000'+ w/ pines, very little underbrush, no oaks, etc), scales down a cliff to a river (the King's River, which highest raft put in is roughly 1200' altitude, with pines, grapevine, much underbrush and oaks), then back up to tree line area to find beetles in a rotting conifer (no grapevine, no oaks, etc) and to mount a "wild" horse in a meadow, then back down to lower elevation where he miraculously discovers the already discovered and much used Pine Flat Lake (which he had to pass by the commercial rafting company base camps to get to). What an adventure!

I was a rafting photographer for King's River Expeditions, the river which he "rafts" down and there is a dirt access road on the right side of the river, which you can clearly see in his raft camera shots. He could have just beached himself anywhere there and within 15 minutes a commercial rafting company truck would have picked him up, or he could just walk the 5 miles of dirt road to where it's paved, chat with campers along the way then use the phone at Kirch Flat Campground for a ride back into Fresno. Or he could turn left, cross the metal bridge and there are three river rafting companies 2 miles down the road, any of which is filled with very helpful people and supply trucks that go into town each night to pick up food and beer kegs.

[edit] Resident #2

Doyle W. Donehoo writes on Lifesong Adventures' forum[4]:

I just finally saw the Sierra MvW, and I have to say it probably should have represented itself as an instructional piece instead of saying it was some kind of single outing adventure. I did learn a few new tidbits and it was very entertaining. On the other hand, not all of the advice was complete or totally accurate. Here are a few examples.

1) First there was the assertion that it was no good heading east because of the California/Nevada desert. This is misleading because the entire length of the Sierra is backed on the east side by heavily traveled highway 395, just a few miles from the Sierra Crest. It is actually the closest way out if you are on or near the crest. More correct would to be to say there may not be a safe pass to use nearby and the crest can be very sheer and hazardous, and the southern-most or northern most sections of the Sierra have ‘crest’ areas somewhat far from 395. That being said, there are large numbers of trailed passes in the Sierra, depending on the location of the ‘lost’ individual.

2) There are very few untrailed sections of the Sierra. If you are on or near the Sierra Crest, then you are defacto near the Pacific Crest Trail (which runs the length of the Sierra), so anybody lost near the Sierra Crest should look for the trail, and in the process will find it or any number of other trails in the area. I believe Bear himself says something like, ‘follow a trail to track, follow that to a road and follow that out’. There are trails everywhere throughout the Sierra.

3) I have been within a stones throw of just about everyplace in the Sierra (and experienced all weather conditions), but did not recognize his starting point, but I would have to say west of the crest, there are few places you would be forced to navigate steep granite in drainages: there is always some safe way down. Again, I have to believe Bear was giving general advice for when someone is actually stuck in a situation where steep rock is the only way down (it could happen). I did see a picture of Banner Peak over what I think was Jackass Rock in the San Joaquin drainage in the MvW Sierra show (not to mention Shuteye Peak), so I assume that was where this episode was shot (and there are trails everywhere there). I know for a fact that all of the lakes in that area are accessible and not guarded by steep rock: sure, if the starting point was near Kaiser Peak, it is pretty steep getting to the San Joaquin river, but on the other hand you would have to cross two roads and a trail to get there, and anyway, on the other side of the mountain is a major settled area. Again, I would have to believe Bear is giving general advice that would apply to more lonely sections of the Sierra (mainly in the far north and south ends of the Sierra), and not representing an actual survival trek in the Sierra.

4) In North American high country, I think it is a very bad idea to get wet, and it should be avoided. Additionally, I would frown on surfing any river, particularly in the Sierra where a placid stretch can turn into rapids that can batter you to death in seconds. The number one way to die in the Sierra is to drown, followed by hypothermia. Log-rafting a river may make good TV, but it is bad advice. Find a dry way over rivers, and go around lakes.

FYI, if Bear was surfing the San Joaquin River (which has a good number of trail bridges), there are many steep cascades and waterfalls: All the more reason to avoid makeshift boat travel. If this was general advice, it was bad advice.

5) Giardia: I think Bear again was giving general advice. To be on the safe side, boil water if you have the time and energy. In the highest altitudes away from cattle and most humans, the water is safe. I only filter in lower altitudes and high use areas and generally trust water where I am sure of the source. All of the back-county Rangers I know drinks unfiltered un-boiled water when they are sure of the source. Giardia is the new backcountry bogyman, but those experienced in the Sierra know when and where to drink the water. Giardia is just not as prevalent as some think or say.

I think the final word here is that in most places in the Sierra you are but a stones throw (or short hike) from a trail or road, something I think Bear learned right away while he was visiting the Sierra. One would have to be both totally clueless about what is in the Sierra and very survival experienced to do a trip the way Bear did it. And even then he should have crossed a trail long before he ever reached the lowlands and that lake. That is the Sierra reality.

Editor's note: The Kings River North Fork feeds into the San Joaquin.

[edit] Analysis

Oppose: Re, #2: It should be said that a survival consultant from Man vs Wild disagreed with points #1, #2, and #5 in response to Doyle's post.

Oppose: The show's premise is that Bear puts himself into the position of stranded tourist, most tourist get lost within a few miles from help. Tourists really don't fly to the moon and get lost, they usually take a wrong path and get off course and then lost.

Support: Do most of them stay at luxury hotels that deliver pancake breakfasts to your room while stranded? The point is that the camera crew had to deliberately avoid filming other people to make it look like he was isolated. I.e., the point is the deliberate deception.

Oppose: Do you have factual proof that he stayed in a "luxury" hotel with "pancake breakfasts"? Do you have FACTUAL proof that the camera crew had to deliberately avoid filming other people to make it look like he was isolated? Because until there is video footage or pictures as evidence to all these damn claims i don't see how anyone can believe them. Anyone can say a crew member said this, any crew member can say anything about the show, anyone can say anything and without "FACTUAL" evidence he who believes anyone is only trusting. Trust isn't evidence. Until someone can say SOMETHING like "i was hiking and i ran into the Man Vs. Wild crew filming", then it's all bs to me. And i'm tired of hearing the same accusation over and over again.... hotel this hotel that. Funny how everyone seems to only have one situation where he stayed at a hotel and "ate blueberry pancakes", and no one can account for any other hotel visits. Seems to me if he stayed at hotels every episode the public would hear a lot more about it.

Support: The hotel incident is indisputable TV 'survival king' stayed in hotels. The reports were confirmed during the investigation by Discovery and Channel 4. All episodes from Season 1 were pulled for re-editing and in most cases the scenes of him spending the night were deleted or voice-overs were added stating he in fact did not spend the night. Bear has admitted he has stayed in hotels and "base camps". You can continue to live with your head stuck in the sand and deny it all if you prefer, but it does make you look hopelessly ignorant and foolish – like denying the earth revolves around the sun.