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View Full Version : Arizona sheriff defends 'sandal shaming' woman who wore inadequate footwear for 10-mile hike



Teh One Who Knocks
05-01-2019, 10:37 AM
Kerry Justich - Yahoo Lifestyle


https://i.imgur.com/dagoXdL.jpg

A sheriff’s office in Arizona is being called out for “sandal shaming” after calling attention to a hiker who was unprepared for a 10-mile hike.

Undersheriff Michael L. Johnson of the Gila County Sheriff’s Department tells Yahoo Lifestyle that Sunday’s rescue mission is far from the first that’s taken place on the popular Arizona hiking trail Fossil Creek. But, he and other deputies hope that it’s one of the last after posting a warning to the department’s Facebook page with a photo of the inadequate footwear worn by one of the eight rescued that evening.

According to Johnson, the group, who ranged in ages from 10 to 36 years old, had already gone the five miles down the trail to the canyon where they stayed by the water for the day. When they decided that it was time to climb back up at around 4 p.m., however, they had to call for help.

“We arrived about 5:00 at the trail head and were able to get down to the bottom by 6:00. And then, once we got them some electrolytes and got them rehydrated, the rescue was just working our way out with them slowly,” Johnson explains of the nearly 5-hour mission. “I think they hit the top of the mountain about 9:45 that night.”

The sheriff went on to say that there are multiple informational signs at the top of the trail telling hikers about the suggested amount of water to have with them and warning to “wear sturdy hiking shoes.” Nonetheless, one of the hikers was wearing a pair of sandals that made it nearly impossible for her to make it back up the trail and they only had 20 ozs of water for the entire group.

“The bottom part is the original sandal, but the top part, one of our search and rescue guys kind of fashioned the straps to keep the soles on the person’s feet,” Johnson says. “He just used some medical bandage and stuff that he had with him to come up with that part of it.”

People commented on the sheriff’s office’s Facebook post suggesting that the hikers lacked common sense, and even urged the officers to make the group pay for their own rescue.

“No common sense anymore... they need to pay for the rescue!” one person wrote. Another said, “These people are why shampoo bottles have instructions on them.”

And although Johnson says that the department has even been called out for “sandal shaming” the woman whose feet are pictured, he assures that the sheriff’s office’s priority is keeping people safe.

“We try not to embarrass people or anything like that,” he says. “We just want to get the information out there for people to take it seriously.”

Hal-9000
05-01-2019, 06:46 PM
Shaming? SHAMING?

He was informing them of what they already ignored from the signs. It's called giving good advice.



I like this :lol:

"No common sense anymore... they need to pay for the rescue!” one person wrote. Another said, “These people are why shampoo bottles have instructions on them."

Teh One Who Knocks
05-01-2019, 06:48 PM
They 100% should be made to pay for the rescue. And all that hiking in hot & dry Arizona and only bringing a 20 oz bottle of water? :facepalm:

Hal-9000
05-01-2019, 06:50 PM
They 100% should be made to pay for the rescue. And all that hiking in hot & dry Arizona and only bringing a 20 oz bottle of water? :facepalm:

For sure. The sign spells it out - Can you hike 10 miles in 100 degree heat at 6000 feet?

That alone would make me reconsider/abort or shorten my hike. Most people can't and won't walk 10 level miles in 100 degree heat...

Teh One Who Knocks
05-01-2019, 07:00 PM
For sure. The sign spells it out - Can you hike 10 miles in 100 degree heat at 6000 feet?

That alone would make me reconsider/abort or shorten my hike. Most people can't and won't walk 10 level miles in 100 degree heat...

And to make the hike worse, the return 5 miles is back UPHILL so it will be harder to get back than it was to get down there.

Hal-9000
05-01-2019, 07:18 PM
And to make the hike worse, the return 5 miles is back UPHILL so it will be harder to get back than it was to get down there.

We used to go to place about an hour and half from here called Johnson's Canyon. I think Griffin went there one year. It has lower and upper falls and a place called the Ink Pots at the top.

Lower falls - about an hour
Upper falls - about 1.5 hours
Ink Pots - about 6 kms from the start

The hike is easy and here's an example of why we went :

*you can view the lower falls through a cave*


https://i.imgur.com/45as7wb.jpg


Here's how I screwed up one year. It was about now, the beginning of May and warm out. I put on shorts and runners. We do the hike to both sets of falls and then decide to go on up to the Ink Pots. They're a couple of miles up from the falls. We get close and notice there's still huge snow banks and drifts up there.

Brilliance here decides to run ahead to test the snow. I drop down through hard, crusty snow...up to my hips :lol: Everyone behind me is laughing.

Now consider this - You break through hard snow up to your waist. How do you get out?

To shorten the story I rolled around quite a bit in my shorts until I could find a place to step down without constantly getting buried in snow. Meanwhile my friends hiked around me for about 30 minutes until we met at the Ink Pots.

Moral - I nearly really fucked up there and almost couldn't get out. No cell phones. Could you imagine my friends having to go back down, drive to Banff, use a phone and get Park Services to rescue me because I'm flailing about on a snow bank like a fat turtle who can't gain any traction?? :lol:

Teh One Who Knocks
05-01-2019, 07:28 PM
:facepalm:

:rofl: