Disaster In Death Valley | A Couple Stranded in the Desert

If you want to see me pumping out more content, please buy me some fuel! www.buymeacoffee.com/outdoordisasters Corretion: Alex Lofgren was a Marine, not in the Army.

For anyone out there who doesn’t know, you can still drive a car even with flat tires

I'm sorry, but living in Utah, these people made a lot of really crucial mistakes. The mountains in this part of the country are no joke- deciding to instead of going back the road they came in on, venture up into a mountain pass with no gear was a terrible idea. They didn't have a PLB like a garmin inreach, and frankly, if they truly believed they were in big trouble, they should've tried to drive the car out the way they came. Once it car was done, whether the rims collapsed or something else, walk from there. You should NEVER abandon your vehicle and hike on foot into unknown mountains.

I was listening to some survival advice from a mountain rescue team recently. They were very clear - never leave a trail to make your way down a mountain and never follow a water course to get down. The majority of fatalities began with a fall and broken limb trying to get down a steep face. This fits that pattern exactly and it was all avoidable, they were on a trail and they had a car. The reason the advice is always stay with the vehicle is that its easy to see from the air, no surprise that it was found first.

I rode my bicycle across Death Valley 2 times. Never leave the main line.

There is no reason why this situation should have gotten to the point of life or death. The vehicle had 2 flat tires and only 1 spare. To everyone watching, it doesn't matter if the vehicle has 4 flat tires and no spare, The vehicle is still mobile. They could have still slowly driven the vehicle back to safety. 💚💚

I was in Death Valley that weekend, and had planned to go into the Gold Valley area. My truck started overheating though, so I never made it to Gold Valley. It was about a 15 mile hike from where their car was found to where I was camped. If they would have followed the road out, I would have seen them. Thanksgiving weekend of 2019, I rescued someone from just north of the Gold Valley road. His vehicle had broken down, and he said I was the first person he’d seen in 3 days. I ended up driving him to Furnace Creek to get help.

Very poor decision making. The car could be driven with a flat tire. RIP Alex and thank you for your service.

What makes your channel different and nice is you always save some useful survival tips/common sense at the end, very very thoughtful. Not only telling the story, but also effort put in to potentially help/save someone in future. Admire that.

Respectfully to both Alex and Emily... I wish they'd taken the easy way back home. There was no logical reason, no excuse to head to Mormon Point on a trail neither of them were familiar with. Unless the way you came is even more treacherous than the point you stop at, GO BACK THE WAY YOU CAME. ALWAYS. It's just not worth the risk. These two should still be living normal lives, it's such an utter shame. Rest in peace.

About 30 years ago, I was with 3 of my buddies when we had a vehicle break down in the Mojave Desert. Day one was pretty easy since we all thought another vehicle would come by eventually and all we had to do was get them to stop and help. No vehicles came by. Day two was spent arguing about whether two of us walked for help and the other two stayed with the vehicle. Those in favor of walking thought it was a good idea to pair up since no one person would be on their own walking or waiting. Finally after much discussion it was decided we all stay with the vehicle. That was also the day we ran out of water. The temps were well over 100 degrees. Day three all of us were hurting pretty bad since it had been since the afternoon prior without water. We had shade and food, but the lack of water was by far our biggest concern and greatest danger. It wasn't until almost noon that day we finally saw a truck going by about half a mile away (we broke down off the main trail). All four of us starting waving and yelling at the truck. One of my buddies was standing on the top of our vehicle waving his shirt. It was a huge moment for all of us when we saw the truck make an immediate stop and then turn towards us. The man drove up to us and of course the first thing we asked was if he had any water. He had a little bit and gave it to us. He said he had just left his camp where he had plenty more and would return with some. An hour later he came back with food, water, and some of his friends to help us get our truck running again and back on the road. We all learned many lessons that weekend, but I know our biggest mistake was not rationing the water we had on day one. We all assumed help was near and would come by quickly. We may not have made all the best decisions, but finally agreeing to stay put probably saved at least two lives.

I just came across this channel and was immediately blown away by the content. Very respectful to the victims, not sensationalized, and high quality production values. Subscribed for sure.

This is completely surreal. At about 5:30PM they broke down. They were approximately an 11 hour hike/walk to Shoshone, CA back the way they came. Even if exactly zero cars stopped for them, and somebody turned off the cell towers covering the highway, they still could have been showering and getting some much needed sleep the next morning if they had walked back the way they came. It would have been at night, which means minimal sweating (it's chilly in that desert at night). It would not have been fun with nearly 3,000 feet of elevation to climb, but the moon was at its last quarter (half full, rises late, stays up all night) giving them adequate illumination for foot navigation until dawn. Had they given up at the waterfall and turned back, they would have wasted about 5 miles of hiking total. Most of which was along a spring-fed creek with foliage cover. They could have rested there during the day and hiked out the way they came that night. In a desert survival situation, you never travel by foot during the day unless you absolutely have to. Rule #1 of desert survival: conserve sweat, not water.

They could have changed one tire and driven back on the bad one. I don't understand the decision to jump into a giant canyon and waterfall. It just doesn't make sense to me. You have fantastic narration. I look forward to move of your videos.

Just came back from a trip to Death Valley a few weeks ago. I rented a Garmin InReach handheld satellite communicator to bring with me on the trip. Cellphone coverage is very spotty in Death Valley. I hardly used the device during the trip, but it's better safe than sorry.

I had no idea I get to enjoy free access to national parks due to this guy. Much respect. RIP, brother.

I just did a guided day trip to the Lower Antelope Canyon in Arizona which has landscape similar to this. The canyon offered lots of shelter from the sun, but we were outside for about 30 minutes and it was absolutely brutal. We all of course had water and were never far from air conditioned vehicles and a building but I looked around and realized I wouldn’t want to be. The place is completely inhospitable to life

I do not want to criticize, but I think this may save lives. If you are on road go back the way you came. I think they said 22 miles. Once you know you cannot fix car start the way back. They say stay with car, but rescue will come down the road you are on. It is safer and easier to follow a road. Even some tourist trails can be confusing and you can become lost.

I'm puzzled how experienced hikers like those two could make so many mistakes. Hiking out during the day, after a break down, is one of them.. and I don't even know what to say about the attempted climb down at the waterfall.

Such a sad story, heart-breaking. RIP, Alex, the world lost a great deal through your passing. Condolences to Emily and your family.