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[From the Borrego Sun, Borrego Springs.
California,
June 16, 1994; submitted by Gail Hanna,
Copied from HPS
LOOKOUT}
Woman Dies on Villager Peak A
Memorial Day weekend outing became a tragedy when a San Juan Capistrano woman
died while hiking with her husband and friends in the Santa Rosa Mountains
northeast of Clark Dry Lake.
Hot weather reaching at least 102 degrees.
and a lack of water contributed to the death of Patricia Nakemura-DeVillez. 39.
on May 30. The official cause of death was environmental hyperthermia. the
medical examiner reported.
The victim, her husband, and two friends
left Lute Ridge early May 30 for a hike to Villager Peak, carrying a gallon and
a half of water per person. However, by noon the victim and the other woman,
Janice Beascm, were exhausted and the group agreed that the women would return
to the two vehicles in the backpackers' parking area at the Thimble Trail along
Highway S-22. while the two men in the party continued with the climb.
Beasom related that she and the victim returned to the desert floor just
west of Rattlesnake Canyon, a location from which they could see their vehicle
in the distance. Shortly thereafter, the victim said she could go no farther,
and asked Beasom to go on alone to the vehicle and get help.
When
Beasom got back to the car about 4:30 pm, she flagged down a passing motorist
who had a cellular phone in his car and called 911. The motorist encountered
the Park Ranger on the highway within minutes and reported the incident to
him.
The Highway Patrol helicopter stationed in Thermal was called for
assistance and responded, along with a fixed wing CHP plane (that happened to
be at the Borrego Valley Airport)
The aircraft began circling the area
just before 5 pm and discovered the victim at 5:23. The helicopter landed at
the site and confirmed that the victim was dead. Two empty water containers
were found near her. |
BIGHORNS MAKING COMEBACK
IN ANZA
BORREGO? [Following is by David Harpster and is from the San Diego
UNION-TRIBUNE Wednesday, July 6, 1994, submitted by Gail Hanna]
ANZA-BORREGO
DESERT STATE PARK -- After years of decline, the big horn sheep population may
be showing some signs of rebounding.
Volunteers who staked out watering
holes in the searing desert heat over the Independence Day weekend recorded 148
bighorn sheep -- a healthy rise over last year's tally of 128.
And
while those numbers were below the average for the past two decades,
sheep-watchers reported surprisingly high numbers of lambs for this time of
year. In fact, the ratio of lambs to ewes was the highest since the annual
sheep count began 24 years ago.
"Hopefully, we're on a little upswing
and we can retain it," Mark Jorgensen, resource ecologist for the 600,000-acre
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, said yesterday. "We're guardedly
optimistic."
Equipped with spotting scopes and binoculars, 71
participants stood watch over 23 watering sites in the northern part of the
sprawling Anza-Borrego, the largest state park in the nation.
Their
quarry: the reclusive peninsular bighorn sheep, once-plentiful animals that
roam the desert from Mount San Jacinto near Palm Springs down to Baja
California.
Fifteen years ago, some 1,180 of the curl-horned creatures
lived in the region. Over the years, disease, depredation and encroaching
civilization have shrunk their population to about 450, with the largest
concentration -- an estimated 300 to 350 - living in the Anza Borrego.
To keep tabs on the local herds, volunteers endure triple-digit
temperatures and camp out beneath rock outcroppings and atop ledges to monitor
watering holes during the hottest time of the year, when the nimble sheep
descend from the higher altitudes to quench their thirst. |