Being trapped in several feet of snow in a remote area of the
Sierras for two days was just another backpacking trip for John
Gregg, manager of the San Benito County Water District.
Hollister – Being trapped in several feet of snow in a remote area of the Sierras for two days was just another backpacking trip for John Gregg, manager of the San Benito County Water District.
When Gregg, his brother, his nephew and his cousin-in-law were getting ready for a five-day backpacking trip in the Kennedy Creek area of the Sierras, weather reports showed no indication of storms, Gregg said.
The weather reports were wrong.
As Gregg, 64, and his companions were getting ready to make the trek out of the canyon last Sunday the weather took a nasty turn and 15 inches of snow fell overnight. The group decided that Gregg’s 60-year-old brother and his 30-year-old nephew would go for help while he and Campbell resident Gene Powell, 70, stayed behind, he said.
The two men hunkered down with a tent, plenty of food and a plan to make their way out of the canyon in three days if help had not arrived, Gregg said.
“We had to deal with the fears of the tent coming apart or what tomorrow – that we knew nothing about – might bring,” he said. “But we were in no immediate danger whatsoever.”
Winds reached speeds of between 40 to 50 mph and almost two feet of snow fell in the two days the men waited for help, Gregg said. But the greatest struggle was overcoming the mental challenges his predicament presented him with, he said.
Gregg’s 35 years of backpacking experience provided him with the know-how to survive fairly comfortably during his ordeal. Besides heating snow for drinking water and digging the tent out from under snow drifts every so often, Gregg tried to keep his mind focused on the positive, he said.
“(Never getting out) obviously goes through your mind, but like a whole lot of other things, you can’t let those take up residence. All you’ve got to deal with is today,” he said. “You play the hand you’re dealt.”
After about five hours of hiking on Monday, Gregg’s brother and nephew reached the Mono County Sheriff’s Department where a search and rescue team was immediately assembled, according to a written statement.
Mono County Sheriff’s deputies and Gregg’s nephew reached the men, who were located about four miles from the trail head, around 2am Tuesday morning but were unable to take them out right away because of the storm, Gregg said.
Deputies radioed for help, and six Marines and one Navy doctor from the nearby Mountain Warfare Training Center reached the group around 8pm Tuesday, but also decided to wait until the next morning because of the stormy conditions, Gregg said.
“The people who make up the search and rescue… are a group of incredible people,” Gregg said. “You know it as an abstract, but when you experience it first hand, it becomes real. They’re incredible.”
The troop finally made it out of the canyon Wednesday around noon and back to the Marine base around 4pm, according to a written statement. No one suffered any injuries.
Gregg’s passion for backpacking and mountaineering, especially in the Sierras in the winter, gave him a good idea of what they could face before they started the trip, he said. But Gregg said having such a large storm this early in the year was unusual and caught the group off guard.
“You always go in anticipating a little piece of bad weather. This storm was a freak,” he said. “I might review my gear more carefully next time, and it might make my preparation a little sharper. The bottom line is we were warm, dry, reasonably well fed and never in serious risk.”
While Gregg doesn’t have any winter camping trips scheduled, the incident won’t damper his desire to experience the Sierras in their full, unadulterated glory in the future, he said.
“Putting aside everything else, the walk out Wednesday morning was incredible – everything covered in fresh snow. It looked like a classic winter Christmas card,” he said. “Then you’re out there just taking a walk in the woods, which is the incredible thing of going out in the Sierras in the winter.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected].
