WAY TO GO GUYS!!! The obvious thing I couldn’t help but notice was that he had two sets of water and two first aid kits.
Geocachers Save Two Women Stranded in Desert
Geocachers Roy Joseph (Rojo464) and Paul Fox (Pauleefox) drove through the rugged desert of Eastern Utah searching for five geocaches on Tuesday the 17th of August. But they never made it past their second find. What they encountered instead led to grateful tears and news headlines.
Roy and Paul had finished finding their second geocache and were looping around for a third – called “Bugy Softwear” (GCGMJT). The area of the desert that they searched is referred to as the Dolores Triangle. It’s one of the most barren regions of the United States. The average temperature in August bakes the cracked ground at nearly 100 degrees F (38 C). Bumping along in Roy’s jeep the two men stopped. Just head of them, a mini-van sat wedged into the sandy soil.
Paul says, “We saw the van in the gully from the road above it. Out here a vehicle in that position is either abandoned or there is somebody in need of help. Either way we needed to check it out.”
Roy adds, “When we first saw the car we could tell it was stuck. But it looked odd with the towels over the sun visors. We were concerned with who might be in the van. With it being in such a remote area we knew we had to make sure the occupants could get back to town.”
They drove the jeep next to the stranded vehicle. Two women looked out. Roy says, “When we stopped beside the van the daughter said ‘Thank God’ and then started crying.” A mother and daughter had been stranded in the van for two days.
Roy says he’s prepared for geocaching in the desert and they were able to offer immediate help: “I have a backpack I carry with water, snacks, SWAG, a first aid kit, a short rope, and batteries. In the Jeep I carry tools, spare parts, a tow strap, a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher, extra water and some blankets.”
This wasn’t his first encounter with someone needing help, but never before has the situation been this dire. “We have helped strangers get unstuck, hauled a bicyclist to the hospital, given water to hikers, but this was different – both these two women could have died.” After the rescue, the mother and daughter will be okay.
Paul says the situation is a first for him: “In my 64 years I don’t believe I have ever been in a position to rescue damsels in distress before.”
They don’t play when it comes to caching! I love how it focuses on all he had in his stash of preparedness.