You Are Not Safe

In an episode of the tv series, 'The Walking Dead', protagonist Rick warns his son Carl, “You are not safe. No matter how many people there are around. Or how clear the area looks. No matter what anyone says. No matter what you think. You are not safe”.

A few years ago I had to ponder this very reality. One evening, I was informed that one of my hiking buddies Don and several others with him had been killed in a flash flood. It was shocking because he had always seemed to me like an indestructible person who could live forever. I was also freaked out with the idea that I could just as well have been with him on the hike. I had spent hundreds of hours on the trails in a hiking group with Don. I did not talk to him a whole lot. He was a nice friendly guy but not a big chit-chatter as most serious hikers are not.

Don and six others planned to traverse a slot canyon in Utah. They knew that there was a possibility of rain in the area but decided to go ahead with the hike anyway. By the time the flash flood warnings came out they were already out of cellular range. Right before entering the canyon, they posed for a group photo. (below) The photo is bit eerie because I have seen several horror movies that feature a happy group photo before the terror begins. No one will ever know the exact details of what happened inside the canyon since there were no survivors. Their bodies were found spread out in various waterways along with their gear. That is how the camera with the photo was recovered.

Don is the one in front straddling the boulder with his ankle.

I spent quite a bit of time thinking about how I easily could have gone with him on the hike not realizing he was leading me to my doom. Don was an experienced hiker and outdoorsman as well as a good guy. I never would have had any reason not to feel safe with him. I would have completely trusted Don’s judgment to not put me in harm’s way. In addition, one of the seven hikers was a retired sheriff which would have further added to my sense of security.

In retrospect, I can look at it this way. Don believed that a good hike should include elements such as a scenic environment and a little adventure. But where do you draw the line between a little adventure and doing stuff that is too risky to be worth it? Is going on a hike that involves a little adventure really more dangerous than crossing the street? Well, remember that slot canyons were formed by flash floods. Maybe that is nature’s way of saying it is prudent to avoid them completely. Maybe we need to make sure that we call our own shots as much as possible. That way if something goes wrong, we’ll be sure that we were the ones that got ourselves into that situation.

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