Part 3 of 5 EXLUSIVE: What happened on Santa Cruz Island

This is part three 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.

To read the original story, click here.

HikerHell: The amount of water the group brought is the focus of many news reports. Did you expect water along the way? Help others understand why each person only brought two liters of water.

Kurt: The hiking map of the island is somewhat confusing as to mileage. There was some initial confusion as to the exact length of the hike. We estimated it to be about 9 miles. However, before the group actually started hiking, they found that the hike was in fact approximately 14 miles. This was not of great concern, …

as everyone was comfortable with their physical conditioning and their provisions. Everyone was aware there were no water stations along the route, but figured that they’d be able to regulate their water intake to accommodate an extra hour and a half to two hours of hiking. And in fact, the other three hikers shared their water with Tommy and still finished the hike in fine shape without being dehydrated.

Additionally, it’s important to understand that this hike took place a day after a storm had blown through the region, and the temperatures had been very cool. The dust on the trails was still tempered from rain that had fallen recently. We had no clue that on that day, the wind would be still and a new heat record would be established on Santa Cruz Island. Earlier in the week, we checked the weather forecasts often, mostly afraid that our trip would be rained out, and saw nothing to alert us to this kind of heat.