This is the first part of a five-part Q&A on Thomas Pruner, a hiker who died while hiking on Santa Cruz Island in California. Kurt Johnson, a friend of Pruner and part of the group on Santa Cruz Island, took some time to answer questions from Hiker Hell.
Last week, I posted a story (to read the original story, click here) about a California man who died while hiking on Santa Cruz Island. 49-year-old Thomas Pruner died while hiking 14 miles in a still heat on the island. He started showing signs of fatigue about halfway through the hike and collapsed and died at the end of the hike. Kurt Johnson, a friend of Pruner, was on the island during the incident. Johnson told Hiker Hell that many news reports were filled with inaccuracies and agreed to do a Q&A with us to clarify the stories and offer insight on what happened that day. The Q&A is filled with interesting facts and really sheds light on the mentality of hikers, mountaineers and climbers in what seems to be every day situations. This is the first of five questions that I will post in succession.
HikerHell: Jennifer Pruner told the Orange County Register newspaper that the group usually goes on well-planned trips. In comparison to the kayak trip, how much time did you plan the hike? And were you nervous or feel at all that you didn’t do enough planning for the hike?
Kurt: Nobody had any reservations about a lack of planning. We understood that they were relatively long and strenuous hikes we were going to embark upon, but based upon our ability level and experience, we had no concerns…
for our safety.
Our trip began on Thursday, October 15. As it turned out, the kayak outfitter wouldn’t send the kayaks we reserved due to “extremely dangerous conditions.” The group is not the kind that would decide to sit around camp, so we naturally decided to take a day hike.
There were nine of us on the trip. Four guys wanted to take the Prisoner’s Harbor to Scorpion Anchorage hike; four wanted to take the Smuggler’s Cove hike; and one was not feeling well and decided to stay in camp. I hiked in the group that went to Smuggler’s Cove; Tommy went to Prisoner’s Harbor.
To answer your question about how much time we took to plan the hikes … not a lot. We all discussed the mileage, routes and terrain and decide who wanted to go on which hike. Beyond that, each guy spent several minutes getting their day packs, Camelbacks, and provisions ready to go. If you want to get a good idea as to how prepared Tommy was, here’s a partial list of
what he was carrying:
- 2 liters of water
- 2 bottles of Gatorade
- Food/snacks
- First aid kit
- Emergency blanket
- Poncho
- Knife
- Rope (in throw –bag)
- Whistle
- Flashlight
- Wind breaker
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