Nature Lessons

They didn’t think much about it at the time, but Yvette Hill and Maureen Dopson broke a cardinal rule of wilderness hiking last weekend. They didn’t tell anyone where they were going.

So when they got lost in the Cleveland National Forest, no one knew where to look.

“We hadn’t decided where [to hike] until we got in the car,” said Hill, of Irvine, who became lost with Dopson after they followed a trail sign they now believe was altered by vandals. Hill’s husband “was driving around to various campgrounds. We had told no one. They knew we were out hiking, but they didn’t know where.”

The two friends were lucky. After a cold, wet night in a ravine near Saddleback Mountain, they managed to reach high ground and use their cellular phone to call rescuers, who sent a helicopter.

Not all hikers are so lucky.

“Terrible things will happen sometimes that maybe are nobody’s fault,” said Judy Behrens, public affairs officer in Corona for the Cleveland National Forest. “It’s because people are just not thinking before they act.”

When you spend all week on the freeway and behind a desk, nature can look pretty good. It can be particularly enticing when it’s so close, with massive open areas such as the Angeles National Forest, San Bernardino Mountains and Cleveland National Forest cutting through Southern California, one of the largest population centers in the country.

But the death Thursday of Kevin Kelley, the 11-year-old Yorba Linda boy who drowned after slipping over a waterfall during a science camp outing in the San Bernardino Mountains, stands as a painful reminder that the beauty of nature hides some very real dangers, even for people experienced in the outdoors.

In Arizona on Friday, Sheryl Flack, 48, of Glendale fell to her death, plunging 500 feet into the Grand Canyon after dismounting from a mule to peer over a steep cliff on the Bright Angel Trail, authorities said.

And just over a year ago, Thomas Pewdo, 50, an experienced wilderness hiker from Lake Forest, slipped to his death in the Cleveland National Forest after turning to tell companions about slippery rocks on the trail ahead.

The usual dangers are even more pronounced this spring, after a winter of heavy El Nino rains and snows that have made torrents out of creeks, obliterated established trails and left the ground unstable in unexpected places, wilderness experts said.

“People take Mother Nature for granted,” said Sgt. Mike Tuttle, who coordinates the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s 1,800-member volunteer rescue squad. “At this time of year in the mountains, we have a lot of snow runoff. So the streams are running harder and deeper than they usually do. They’re also very cold, because of the snow water.”

Raging Creeks, Missing Trails

A persistent problem, he said, is ignorance. People unfamiliar with mountain terrain--and its effects on everything from weather to ground conditions--walk into the wilderness unprepared.

“It would be the same if our mountain people were to come to the beach and not be aware of the hazards of surf and riptides,” Tuttle said. “It’s the same educational process that Mother Nature is sometimes a harsh mother, and you need to respect her and be knowledgeable of what you’re getting into . . . and not just jumping in and having fun.”

For instance, he said, many people are unaware that, at this time of year, mountain footing can change as the day progresses.

“During the daylight hours, people want to go play in the snow and sunshine,” Tuttle said. “As that sun changes direction and the snow is no longer in direct sunlight, the temperature drops and the snow turns into ice. It becomes very treacherous footing. It can go from slush to an ice chute 400 feet long in just a matter of moments.”

From Tuttle’s standpoint, spring is the most dangerous time for mountain hikers, primarily because of the lack of predictability.

“Everything is changing from moment to moment,” he said. “You get heated air rising from the desert and cold air from the beach. I’ve been up there several times and been in the middle of thunderstorms without knowing that anything was forecast. At least in the desert you can see it coming from a long way off.” In the mountains, “if you don’t have a rain slicker or protection, you can get cold quickly, and once you get cold, you can get in trouble real quick.”

Staying out of trouble often is a matter of common sense, he said. But many people are unaware of the dangers they put themselves in. Among the biggest offenders, he said, are snowboarders who intentionally stray from marked areas to reach untrammeled snow, oblivious to the potential for avalanches.

“They have an utter disregard not only for their own safety, but for those who have to come get them,” Tuttle said. “Everyone is in severe jeopardy.”

Many Take Unnecessary Risks

The beauty of the land can entice people into dangerous situations, said Ruth Wenstrom, public affairs director for the San Bernardino National Forest.

“The big concern is people who get into areas where the snow hasn’t melted,” she said. “Sometimes there can be a snow bridge that appears solid on the surface. But snow over water is very dangerous this time of year. Where the water’s running, people don’t realize how far down it goes.”

And always expect the unexpected. Including the possibility that trail signs might be wrong.

Hill said she and Dopson followed a sign that they expected to lead to a perpendicular trail. But the next sign pointed in roughly a parallel direction. Still, they followed it.

“As soon as we figured out we were going the wrong way, we should have gone back,” Hill said. “We headed down this trail that was overgrown and got incredibly steep. We followed the riverbed for about five miles, and when it started to get dark we went up to see if our cell phone would work.

“The shale kept sliding onto me, and my feet would slip. [Dopson] made it to the top, but I had to spend the night at the side of the mountain. We were soaking wet, and I couldn’t hear her at this point. I didn’t know where she was.”

Hill said she spent the night clinging to shrubs to keep from sliding back down to the ravine bottom.

After daybreak, she made it to the top of the ridge.

“The only way I got out was to crawl through the trees and bushes,” Hill said.

Just before 7 a.m., reunited with Dopson, Hill got through to a 911 operator on the cell phone. It took another three hours for the rescue crew in a helicopter to find them amid the canyons and brush.

Hill said her emotions didn’t catch up with her until she was safely reunited with her family.

“It was extremely thought-provoking,” Hill said. “I sobbed all day. I just kind of sat there not moving, and thinking about all the things you take for granted.”

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Staying Safe

Wilderness experts offer one critical bit of advice for people heading into the mountains, forests or deserts: Use common sense.

* Know where you’re going. Use maps to plan your itinerary.

* Tell someone else where you’re going, and when to expect you back.

* Stick to the plan.

* If you have a cell phone, bring it. But don’t count on it to save you. Because of steep terrain, cell phones often don’t work in forest and mountain regions.

* Know the climate. Bring warm, water-repellent clothing for the mountains, and lighter clothing and a hat for the deserts. Bring extra clothing to both places. Nighttime temperatures can plummet.

* Invest in durable hiking shoes that will improve traction and protect feet from sharp rocks.

* Carry food and extra water. Dehydration is a threat even in the winter.

* Be wary.