Hiker Called Dedicated and Caring

Karen Tellez loved the outdoors, especially the foggy mornings and lush vegetation of Northern California’s mountains.

The Palmdale woman, who perished of the cold last weekend after getting lost while hiking, loved that area so much that she will now rest amid the pines of the Trinity Alps.

“She always asked me to spread her ashes up there,” her husband David Tellez said Monday at their home. “That’s what we’ll do.”

By Monday, friends and family had gathered at the couple’s home to look at photo albums and share memories of Karen.

Karen Tellez froze to death after she became lost in the mountains of Angeles National Forest about 20 miles west of Palmdale during a winter storm last Friday.

Friends and family described her as a dedicated mother of five who took care of everyone else--including the mentally-ill patients she worked with at a hospital and the homeless--before herself.

“Sometimes she would just embarrass me,” David Tellez, her husband of 19 years, remembers. “If we were there getting gas, she would walk up to a homeless person and start talking to them. Give them a couple dollars.”

A longtime outdoor enthusiast, in the last few months Karen had begun taking longer hikes in tougher and more secluded terrain, including stretches of the Pacific Crest Trail near her desert home. She had hoped to climb Mt. Whitney next summer with her husband. And in 10 years, she wanted to travel the length of the Pacific Crest from the Mexican to the Canadian borders with her 19-year-old son, now in the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in New York state.

She left home Friday morning for a hike with friends Jerry and Peggy Plant and Raymond Dymowski.

David Tellez, who had helped scout the trail head in the Lake Hughes area, had planned to go with them but could not because he had to work.

“I even joked with her, ‘It’s going to rain on you,’ ” he said of the last time he saw her.

According to authorities, the four began hiking, hoping to return to their cars by 1 p.m. But they were still trekking at about 1:30 p.m. when Karen decided to turn back to make a phone call to arrange for one of her children to be picked up from school. That was the last time she was seen alive.

Dymowski and the Plants had also been hiking apart and finally met up at about 4 p.m. at Three Points Roadhouse. The group alerted authorities that Karen was missing.

About 120 rescuers from Los Angeles, Kern and Ventura counties tried to find Karen, their efforts hampered by snowy weather.

They finally located her body at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday near an oak tree about five miles from a command center.

“She just sat down and went to sleep,” David Tellez said.

Cathy Lampela, Karen’s sister, said their family moved from Thousand Oaks to Palmdale when the two were teenagers. Lampela never finished high school but Karen, who tried to motivate others around her, graduated from Quartz Hill High.

“She used to tell me, ‘If you’re going to do something, just get in your car and go do it,’ ” said Lesley Smith, a friend of Karen’s since the two were 16.

Sitting around the dining table, David Tellez remembered a devoted wife and mother to their three children: Lauren, 16, Adrienne, 13, and Jared, 7.

Karen, 40, also had two children from a first marriage: a 20-year-old daughter, Ciara Nations, and son Cory Nations, the merchant marine student. David Tellez remembered the couple’s visit to the academy recently--their first real travel experience in their long marriage.

David Tellez also remembered how his wife had to work at Antelope Valley Community Hospital on Nov. 17, her birthday. She said dinner after work would be a good-enough celebration.

“She did not want a birthday party,” David Tellez said.

Her unselfishness was an example to female friends and family members who had their children after Karen, said Smith.

“She was my role model. I thought she was the greatest mama,” Smith said. “She took care of everything. She was so patient and she never got stressed.”

The family will hold a memorial service Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Antelope Valley Country Club. In lieu of flowers, they ask that donations to be sent to the Sheriff’s Department’s Santa Clarita Valley search-and-rescue unit.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Advice for Cold-Weather Hikers and Others Outdoors

Whether you’re planning a winter hike, a ski trip or just a romp in the snow, proper dress is critical to avoiding hypothermia, a potentially fatal condition that occurs when the body’s temperature drops below normal.

Plan Ahead

* Be aware of the weather and anticipate changes. Don’t go out before, during or after bad weather.

* Weather in the mountains can change quickly, resulting in snow and cold temperatures. White-outs occur when snow-covered ground blends and the white sky making depth perception difficult.

* Hikers should leave a map of trail or simple directions at home, with estimated time of return.

* Essential supplies include flashlights, whistle, mirror, matches and something that will serve as a shelter, such as a large bag or poncho.

* Don’t hike alone.

* Know basic navigation skills.

* If you’re lost, stay put. Make a big “X” with branches on a path or open space to mark your location.

* Be prepared for anything, even to spend the night. Bring extra food.

What to Wear When Hiking in Cold Weather

* Hat and gloves to help retain heat. A person can lose up to 70% of body heat through the head.

* Wear nonabsorbent clothing, opting for synthetic materials such as Gore-Tex and lightweight wools. Avoid cotton which robs the body of heat when it gets wet.

* Layer clothing. Layer closest to skin should be able to transfer perspiration so skin remains dry. Second layer keeps in the warmth. Third layer should be waterproof and breathable.

* Wear waterproof boots suited for a particular activity and wool-and-nylon socks.

Physiological Changes of Hypothermia

Many changes occur when body temperature drops below normal. The time it takes to develop hypothermia depends on many factors including the person’s health, amount of body fat, whether or not they’re intoxicated and even what kind of medication they have taken.

98.6 degrees: Body’s normal core temperature.

95 degrees: Hypothermia occurs.

93 degrees: Amnesia sets in and speech slers

91 degrees: Person becomes apathetic, sleepy

90 degrees: Person can’t keep eyes open

88 degrees: All shivering stops, and body becomes defenseless

86 degrees: Irregular heart beat begins

82 degrees: Heart may start to fibrillate, producing a life-threatening irregular heart beat

below 81 degrees: Loss of voluntary movement of the muscle, blow flow to brain drops dramatically, blood pressure falls. If the temperature drops much more, the heart will stop.

Sources: Capt. Rick Byrum of the Santa Clarita Valley Search and Rescue Team; Dr. Harlan Gibbs, emergency room medical doctor at Glendale Adventist Medical Center; staff reports.