Sad End to This Cautionary Tale, As Folks Start to Head Back Out Into the Wilds, Pls Be Careful

skfitz

New member
We don't know what map they had... I suspect it was different than the one you are looking at.
Is there a map that shows Willow (the route taken by Lofgren and Henkel) as a trail linking Mormon Point to where the couple broke down? If so, someone screwed up.
 

rruff

Explorer
Is there a map that shows Willow (the route taken by Lofgren and Henkel) as a trail linking Mormon Point to where the couple broke down? If so, someone screwed up.

Beats me!... but there are loads of maps that don't show any trails in the area at all... including the official park map.

Probably knowing nothing, they took the most direct and obvious route. The big error they made was continuing on when it got challenging instead of trying a different canyon.
 

pith helmet

Well-known member
My wife and I keep small day packs/go bags for small hikes or in case of a fire or any other reason we’d have to quickly leave the vehicle in camp, something I feel is especially important in the fiery west.

I work in the SE woods and in my field vest is always water, food and a compass no matter how long I plan to be away from the truck. While where I work isn’t as remote or vast as places in the west, more than once I have come up on old half-covered abandoned hand dug wells and have known one timber cruiser who fell in one.

I have also been legitimately lost for an hour or two on overcast days when I just got disoriented, panicked a bit and committed to the wrong plan.

So glad this mans story ended well!
 

AbleGuy

Officious Intermeddler
I work in the SE woods and in my field vest is always water, food and a compass no matter how long I plan to be away from the truck. While where I work isn’t as remote or vast as places in the west, more than once I have come up on old half-covered abandoned hand dug wells and have known one timber cruiser who fell in one.

The emergency carry vest sounds like a great idea. These can so easily carry a lot of gear, and still leave room for your daypack.

What make/model do you have?

This could be an interesting separate thread…’Show Me Yer Vest.”
 

chet6.7

Explorer
The emergency carry vest sounds like a great idea. These can so easily carry a lot of gear, and still leave room for your daypack.

What make/model do you have?

This could be an interesting separate thread…’Show Me Yer Vest.”
Yes it would, I have been looking for a warm weather vest that is not a fishing vest.
Like this one below, any know what the brand is?
snapshotkkk.jpg
 

NatersXJ6

Explorer
If you want to carry alot of small stuff, you might look at a surveyor vest. Of course, you get hi-vis colours too.
To carry alot of stuff, perhaps a verktygsväst.
At my job its a million and one small things to constantly have at hand, I normally use a surveyor vest.
Sorry, dunno its manufacturer, I like that its made primarily of nylon mesh.
At that, its still fairly warm wearing as its loaded, holds more tightly to your body than just your shirt normally will.
I wear a surveyor vest with more crap than I should carry in the factory too. I’ve looked into various “tactical”/Molle vests in the past as I wanted the flexibility of all the worlds pouches but I needed the hi-visibility ratings.
 

pith helmet

Well-known member
The emergency carry vest sounds like a great idea. These can so easily carry a lot of gear, and still leave room for your daypack.

What make/model do you have?

This could be an interesting separate thread…’Show Me Yer Vest.”

Daily I use a basic Forestry Suppliers field vest, much like the surveyor vests mentioned above. It isn't fancy, but that is how I like things. This one is ready to be replaced.

They make a mesh version which, given the heat where I live is what I should be using, but I think these last longer. It has large inside pockets on either side and a pass thru pocket in the back, zippered on each side. The large pocket above is made to carry a gallon of tree marking paint which is way too heavy for a vest.
This is generally what is in it plus water for the day and flagging or whatever supplies are needed.


Other pic is a 5.11 Tactical day pack passed on to me by a member here that I won't embarrass by naming. It replaced my old Camelback pack. It's really sturdy and comfortable. It has flashlight, larger knife, first aid and seasonally appropriate extra hat, shirt, socks and more. It mostly rides in the truck and has not yet gone on a real adventure.
 

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AbleGuy

Officious Intermeddler
Since I started this thread, I’ll finish it up before going mostly offline for the next few weeks.
Here’s the wrap up of the original sad story that started this thread:

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-breaking/2021/08/01/girlfriend-
honors-tucson-veteran-congressional-aide-who-died-camping/5446121001/


Girlfriend of Tucson man who died camping says legacy will live on in bill for veterans
Alexander Lofgren, 32, a Tucson veteran and congressional aide who died in a hiking accident in Death Valley National Park in April 2021, poses with his girlfriend, Emily Henkel, 27, in California.

Every weekend for the past two years, Emily Henkel and her boyfriend, Alexander Lofgren, would spend time together exploring national parks or the outdoors.

Lofgren would show Henkel parks she’d never been to, and whenever they visited a new park, Lofgren’s eyes would fill with excitement, Henkel said. He was a combat veteran who used nature as therapy after serving in Afghanistan.

“He just had this absolute wonderment and complete awe of all these parks and just would be so excited to show me,” she said.

The Tucson couple both loved nature — they dreamed of opening their own plant nursery one day and had plans to visit many parks. But on Easter weekend this year, Lofgren, who worked as a caseworker assisting veterans, died in a hiking accident on a short camping trip with Henkel in Death Valley National Park.

Now, in honor of Lofgren’s love for parks and helping veterans, Henkel said his legacy will live on in a bill that would give veterans and Gold Star families free entry to national parks for life. It passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday.
The bill, which was introduced by U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, in July, was named after Lofgren, 32, who worked as a congressional aide for Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Arizona, before he died.

Henkel told The Arizona Republic she traveled to Washington, D.C. for Lofgren's final celebration of life and memorial last week, about the same time the House voted to pass the veterans' bill.

"It was a very emotional weekend knowing how, you know, the last time I was in D.C., I was with him, and this time I was by myself watching live from my phone from a restaurant," she said. "Every time another congressman or woman was up and voted yes, it was just a whole new slew of emotions — very bittersweet emotions."

Henkel remembers Lofgren's love for parks, helping veterans

Grijalva and others expressed their condolences after Lofgren's death and said he was passionate about helping veterans and nature — something he found therapeutic for himself and wanted other veterans to experience. It's why Grijalva wanted to name the veterans' bill after Lofgren, he said.

"Alex working with us here saw that nature, our open spaces, our state and federal parklands and wilderness areas and public places were therapeutic, that they were important in the reintegration of veterans back into our civilian life hereafter they completed their service to the nation, and he was a huge proponent of that," Grijalva told The Republic.
Henkel lived with Lofgren in Tucson and had been dating him for more than two years, she told The Republic. "We had an amazing relationship ... we were both beyond happy living life to the absolute fullest together," she said.

While together, Henkel said she and Lofgren explored countless parks across multiple states. The parks, Henkel said, meant an "incredible amount" to the couple — she said they frequented Saguaro National Park and wanted to get married at Valley of the Gods in Utah.

"The whole entire foundation of our relationship has been on our shared loved of nature and national parks and national lands, exploring them together," she said.

In July, shortly after the bill was introduced, Grijalva worked with Miller-Meeks to rename the bill in honor of Lofgren. Henkel said it was an "overwhelmingly amazing feeling" to see that Lofgren would be memorialized "in the absolute perfect way."

Lofgren was hired for Grijalva's district staff as part of the Wounded Warrior Fellowship program and worked as a caseworker helping veterans in Tucson after serving four years in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer and deploying to Afghanistan in 2011.

"It led onto a whole new range of emotions of just remembering ... all our memories in the parks and just how much this is exactly what he would have wanted," Henkel said.

As a liaison in Grijavla's office, Henkel said Lofgren proved he was capable of "absolutely amazing things" and wanted to leave the largest impact possible on veterans he helped.

"The amount of love and dedication that went into each and every 'case' and every constituent spoke volumes about how he was as a person," she said. "He could not go to bed at night if he knew anyone was suffering in any way."
Lofgren would spend his own money buying groceries on a Friday night for a veteran who didn't have enough food to last through the week, Henkel added.

"He was the type of person that would call and check up on a constituent well after the case was 'resolved' to make sure they were still doing okay. He is exactly the kind of person you would have wanted in your corner," she said.
Henkel said she hopes the bill impacts veterans, Gold Star families and service members as much as parks impacted her and Lofgren.

"I hope they're able to use this as an opportunity ... to see what is out there and experience the absolute, utmost joy that nature brings to people," she said.

What happened in Death Valley
Henkel and Lofgren went camping in Death Valley National Park on April 3 and intended to be home for Easter dinner the next day.

After the couple didn't return on the end date of their trip, the Inyo County Sheriff's Office conducted a days-long search for the two and eventually found their missing white Subaru and a note that said “Two flat tires, headed to Mormon Point, have three days’ worth of water.”

Henkel, 27, spoke publicly about the experience for the first time on the "Person of Interest with Natalie Jones" podcast in June.

After hiking on a designated trail down a slot canyon, the couple started looking for a way down a 70-foot cliff and waterfall. While looking, Henkel said Lofgren lost his grip, fell off the cliff and died shortly after on April 4.
Trying to get to Lofgren, Henkel said she climbed down the waterfall part of the way, but eventually fell and snapped her ankle. For days, she said she worked to survive in the remote area until officials could rescue her and Lofgren from the park.

On April 9, Lofgren was found dead on a remote, steep ledge, with Henkel, who was hospitalized.
A GoFundMe account that was set up for the family of Lofgren and Henkel had raised nearly $50,000 as of July 31.
More information about current free annual passes for active-duty service members and free entry for veterans and Gold Star Families can be found on the National Park Service's website.

More information about hiking safety tips can be found on the U.S. Forest Service's website.
Reach the reporter at Audrey.Jensen@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter at @Audreyj101.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.


 
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