Just a sad story....

That sure is a sad story. Unfortunately, there are a lot of folks who put far too much faith in the GPS alone. Carrying a paper topo map of the area and a compass is always a smart move. Had the woman told family members of her exact plans and checked in with park authorities, perhaps the outcome would have been much better.

Very few people these days know how to use a compass and/or a map. It's quite sad. Our society has become so dependant on technology. We'll even follow it to our death without ever checking to see if it's right.

Tragic not to check in with park ranger but really dumb not telling someone your planned route. As was stated, most people rely on the GPS way to much. A good map should be part of any trip. You never know when the GPS might die.

Even with a map they might not have survived the trek.

I lived near where this tragedy happened for 10 years and it is sad how many people lost their lives due to poor judgment and lack of planning. The desert is no place for the untrained in survival situation. One of the other dangers is hypothermia in the cooler months. The temperatures drop fairly low at night and people are not prepared. As mentioned before it is important to check in before venturing into a wilderness area so that someone knows where to look if you do not come out on time.

A good investment for those who venture away from civilisation:

http://www.findmespot.com/en/

Don't leave home without one.

lack of preparation. lack of common sense. stupid.
it has nothing to do with a GPS. they call it Death Valley BECAUSE PEOPLE DIE THERE. big hint.
only darwin can cure stupidity. and did.

It takes preparation...

In January my girl and I took a two week long journey around northern Az and southern Utah. I built a poi file in Google Earth with every location we were considering going to for making photographs, including a number of places that were well off the beaten path. I converted that to a gpx file to be used in our GPS, but I also sent out the KMZ file to several different friends and family. I also sent them our itinerary and the main roads we planned to take. We checked in with someone every day and let them know our planned destination for the next day. On days when we knew we'd be out of contact we let them know ahead of time when they should expect us to make contact.

All of this would allow for a rapid dispatch of rescue if we did not check in, practically to the exact location we could be found. Maybe we went a bit overboard and we're very happy we didn't need these backups, but it sure made for much more worry-free travel when we were in the middle of nowhere...

Your $200 GPSr can be a life saver or it can kill you, depending on the preparations you've made. Or have failed to make...

wow that is very sad indeed

Zurk, Normally I would agree with you but in this case the adult that should have known better survived. The 11 year old didn't.

Sadly, you're right....although - the person responsible for the situation was NOT the one who died....

On a more positive note.....i saw this linked to on the above story page...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32355096/

ASUNCION, Paraguay - A baby boy born 16 weeks prematurely was declared dead by doctors at a hospital in Paraguay only to wake up in time for his funeral wake hours later.
........

True, however unfolded and in front of them they sure would have a much better Idea which when to make their trek, and might have survived if the mileage was just a few miles shorter to a retreat from death in the valley.

Another reason to put a paper map in the pocket on the back of the seat. If you think paper maps are obsolete, then just just a fool! but remember! Everybody plays the fool, sometime There's no exception to the rule!

While plenty of people can get lost easily with paper maps, I agree that it can give a bigger overall picture. Paper maps are far from obsolete.

Whatever the reason, what a horrible waste of life and a hell of a way to go.

Never knew this existed. Thanks - very useful.

My family and I just got back from a weekend trip to Rockaway Oregon from Tacoma, WA. I knew the GPS would get us there and we knew two routes that would get us there on major roadways. I decided to trust the GPS to get us there, thinking it would save us some time by taking us on a few shortcuts. Shortcuts don't necessarily save time!!! After a while I could see on the screen that our route was basically parallel to Hwy 101, I made the executive decision to not listen to Sally. After arriving at our destination, I discovered that Sally had been set to "shortest route." After taking some light hearted ribbing from the in-laws, we looked at a paper map and I could prove we would not have gotten lost but probably died of old age before we got there. I am now a believer in carrying a paper map to verify or change our routing.

Sorry for the long story!!

It is always good to have a backup plan. When camping in the wilderness, even the most experienced campers, have a map and compass. Checking in with the park ranger is also a good idea.

Faster time seems to work much better for me than shortest route.

Sometimes picking the shortest route provides the opportunity to explore new areas. We don't always like the "superslab" option and back roads and highways lead to interesting sights and opportunities you miss along the Interstate.

I always review my trip on a map or chart before heading out on a journey. I just use the GPS to tell me when I need to turn so I do not have to count exits or Miles.

I feel sorry for that mother. She will live with that for the rest of her life.

To use a map you need to know where you are.

A GPS serves the purpose just as well and it DOES know where you are.

We all get the feeling of security from having these tools just to read something like this happening.

We all get the feeling of security from having these tools just to read something like this happening.

This is the message I get:

Did Not Connect: Potential Security Issue

Firefox detected a potential security threat and did not continue to www.msnbc.msn.com because this website requires a secure connection.

What can you do about it?

www.msnbc.msn.com has a security policy called HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), which means that Firefox can only connect to it securely. You can’t add an exception to visit this site.

The issue is most likely with the website, and there is nothing you can do to resolve it. You can notify the website’s administrator about the problem.

Learn more…

This message was posted 13 years ago. Perhaps that has something to do with the error.

I would stay away from anything msn too. Probably is a virus.... Even more valid today.

I did not go searching for this thread but just clicked on it since it came up in my "unread postings". I did not look to see the posting date either. Wonder what made it pop up in the unread thread?

...and I notice that the old link is an "http:" address, not considered as secure as an "https:" address. But changing "http:" to "https:" and using the rest of the address in the link doesn't help. I still get the same message. I don't know whether there is a security issue specific to that webpage or if the link is just too old now.