The final report on the three hikers (and their dog) who died in the foothills west of Yosemite is now public. This from the SF Chronicle:
For two months, Mariposa County investigators looked for algae-laden water, long-lost mines that might emit toxic gas, poisonous vegetation, evidence of lightning strikes — anything that could explain how a young family and their dog mysteriously died together this summer on a remote trail near their home.
But in the end, as detailed in 77 pages of investigative reports obtained by The Chronicle, detectives kept coming back to sizzling hot temperatures, lack of shade, rigorous terrain and a slew of disastrous choices that led to the shocking deaths of Ellen Chung, 31, and Jonathan Gerrish, 45, along with their 1-year-old daughter, Miju, and dog, Oski, after an Aug. 15 hike.
“The family, numerous experts told the detectives, appeared to catastrophically underestimate just how dangerous their trek would be with temperatures reaching 109 degrees on a steep path locals knew to avoid during the summer. Crucially, it appeared they hadn’t brought nearly enough water.”