Found Deceased CA - Paul Miller, 51, Canadian missing in Joshua Tree National Park, San Bernardino Co., 13 Jul 2018

[Ontario Mom]

I agree.

The fact that other hikers didn't see him and there is no sign of him on the trail....well, was he on the trail? That's now my main question.

jmo

I've been asking myself the very same question. I mean, literally NO sign of him? Yeah... makes me think that's not where he was.

 

[Hatfield]

Search scaled back for Guelph, Ont. man missing in California park | CBC News
Posted: Jul 18, 2018 2:57 PM ET
[...]
"That's been one of the things that's been really difficult as well. There hasn't been any track evidence of Mr. Miller. There was no scent detection that came in from canine units," he said, adding there were no reports of contact from other hikers in the area that morning. "We did have at least one person that was in during the same time and came out and said they didn't see anybody else on the trail on the way in or out."
[...]

Re BBM
Wish they would have mentioned if the other hiker saw his car when he entered or not. That is very important.

Finding no tracks at all seems fishy to me.

Surely they should have seen tracks in the sandy looking trail if he had been on it.

There is some cliffs seen in the photo of his car and with no tracks I think and hope they searched those cliffs right there near the parking lot. Maybe he decided to just explore those cliffs and fell up there.

 

[MaryG12]

Re BBM
Wish they would have mentioned if the other hiker saw his car when he entered or not. That is very important.

Finding no tracks at all seems fishy to me.

Surely they should have seen tracks in the sandy looking trail if he had been on it.

There is some cliffs seen in the photo of his car and with no tracks I think and hope they searched those cliffs right there near the parking lot. Maybe he decided to just explore those cliffs and fell up there.

Not to sound morbid here - my apologies if I do - but has the trunk of his car been checked out?

 

[Hatfield]

Not to sound morbid here - my apologies if I do - but has the trunk of his car been checked out?

Im sure LE must have checked it by now because the photo of his car has the front hood up probably to check engine to make sure its normal. They would definitely get the trunk open to check by now.

Im wondering if it was a rental car and now wondering what the wife had at the motel or wherever they were staying.

Not much info about the wife or where they were staying. Surprised the news media has not flooded her.

 

[whitelilac]

.." search involving 90 searchers, six canine teams, and ATVs to patrol the park's borders and a helicopter."
.."There was no scent detection that came in from canine units,"...

Really no scent at all? Hmmm.. with 6 canines, shouldn't at least one pick up a scent?

Search scaled back for Guelph, Ont., man missing in California park | CBC News

 

[MaryG12]

.." search involving 90 searchers, six canine teams, and ATVs to patrol the park's borders and a helicopter."
.."There was no scent detection that came in from canine units,"...

Really no scent at all? Hmmm.. with 6 canines, shouldn't at least one pick up a scent?

Search scaled back for Guelph, Ont., man missing in California park | CBC News

I agree, it looks weird.

And considering his size - 5'5", 160 lbs - probably not hard for one person, even a woman, to disappear him.

Just saying.

 

[?mysterian?]

I agree, it looks weird.

And considering his size - 5'5", 160 lbs - probably not hard for one person, even a woman, to disappear him.

Just saying.

Hmmm. Recent rain, but no foot/boot prints; no scent detection with numerous canine teams; no sign or evidence that he's been there, except for his car. IMO, I don't like the way things are starting to add up. I hope LE has been very diligently investigating and following wherever the leads take them.

 

[RickshawFan]

CamelBak makes a 6L version - which would have to be huge, one of the Amazon reviews said it weighed 13 pounds!

Water is 2 lbs per quart (pretty much a liter), that's 32 oz. The military uses Camelbaks, so I can imagine there are some high capacity styles, but not AFAIK greater than 3 liters retail.
A smart person takes extra water in a bottle or flexible bottle plus maybe a bottle of gatorade because salts replenishment is crucial. This would take up quite a bit of room inside a smallish pack: think an extra 2.5 or so of the standard-sized 1 liter water bottles.
If the hiker had a biking Camelbak and not a hiking model, there wouldn't have been enough volume for gear on a hike like this. AFAIK, the grey and black model described in the missing poster describes several bike models. I am unfamiliar with a hiking model of that color, but even the hiking models aren't very large (maybe 24 l gear volume).
He probably calculated on a refill at the oasis so he didn't have to carry more than 2-3 liters.
This is all so troubling....

 

[RickshawFan]

49 Palms Oasis Trail Hiking Trail, Twentynine Palms, California
Since no trails intersect with this one, the only option at the end of the trail is to return to your car by working your way back along the trail. [...]

That might seem obvious, but if you got disoriented at the spring and followed a wash or old trail, you'd soon be lost.
It would be very easy to get disoriented at that spring....

 

[SeesSeas]

Although I would suggest it's an appropriate assumption. I really know nothing about this man or his familiarity with the region but I do know that folks in this part of Ontario (I'm not that far from Guelph) have literally no idea what the heat is like in the desert of CA. While it DOES get very hot here often in the summer, it's a very wet, humid heat and thankfully only lasts for a few days at a time, for the most part. Very very different from the dry heat of the desert. I used to live there (Palm Springs), so that's the only reason I know the difference and how deceptive the different type of heat can be.

Here, when it's 85f, it can often feel like 100+ due to the humidity. There, in the arrid heat of the desert it can be 120f and you'd never in a million years guess it was that hot, because there's little humidity with it. Very, very deceptive for those not familiar with it.

I completely agree about the heat being deceptive.
I'm a FL native and am so accustomed to our humid hot summers. 85*F can feel like 100*F+.
Four decades ago, I spent summer and fall in Tucson, AZ. 120*F was lovely because it was so dry. As long as I had my water bottle handy, I was very comfortable.
120* in AZ felt much cooler than 85* in FL.

 

[Inthedetails]

It seems he went on that vacation with the idea he would do that exact hike. He told a friend so, IIRC.

Snipped by me.

Is there a link for this comment made to a friend about the hike?

Also, has anyone found SM for Paul?

tia

 

[RickshawFan]

....there are things called "trail shoes" that are almost a cross between a sneaker and a hiking shoe. I've worn them on the trail and at work, they kind of fit in both places.

Trail shoes would not cut it on a trail like this, as far as support and robust sole. There is too much scree (rubble). At at least one National Park (I've lost my resource, but I'm thinking Bryce or Yellowstone), Vibram soles are required for a backcountry hike with a ranger, and the boots are checked at departure. That's because there's scree on the trail and it's easy to slip. This could so easily have happened to the Joshua Tree hiker, especially if he wasn't using trekking poles.

 

[RickshawFan]

Without any kind of map?- probably not. Basic maps can be downloaded off the internet and are available at the ranger stations.

Yes, maps are readily available at ranger stations.

But.... these maps are very basic and of little use if one wanders off the trail, or gets confused about what is actually the trail and instead follows an animal trail or an unofficial trail made by previous hikers. Since desert areas receive little rain, trails made by animals or humans can last for decades.

I personally would not hike JTNP with out the USGS topographic map(s) and a good compass. Sadly, with a few moderate hiking exceptions such as myself, only the more serious hikers bother to order the maps / learn how to use them and a compass.

I really like the National Geographic ones, too. They are easier to read than the USGS ones, are based on the USGS maps, and are easy to get hold of. They would make sense to pretty much anyone who understands contours. Some even have trail profiles, so you can tell for sure when you go up and when down.

 

[carbuff]

Water is 2 lbs per quart (pretty much a liter), that's 32 oz. The military uses Camelbaks, so I can imagine there are some high capacity styles, but not AFAIK greater than 3 liters retail.
A smart person takes extra water in a bottle or flexible bottle plus maybe a bottle of gatorade because salts replenishment is crucial. This would take up quite a bit of room inside a smallish pack: think an extra 2.5 or so of the standard-sized 1 liter water bottles.
If the hiker had a biking Camelbak and not a hiking model, there wouldn't have been enough volume for gear on a hike like this. AFAIK, the grey and black model described in the missing poster describes several bike models. I am unfamiliar with a hiking model of that color, but even the hiking models aren't very large (maybe 24 l gear volume).
He probably calculated on a refill at the oasis so he didn't have to carry more than 2-3 liters.
This is all so troubling....

Yeah, it could be one of the small ones. Or it could be one of the new big ones. These are the hiking models I'm aware of coming in grey and black: CamelBak Ethos Hydration Daypack 82719

CamelBak Alpine Explorer 100 oz Hydration Pack | Steve Weiss - Mountain Enthusiast (I was coveting this one in REI the other day.)

But even the biggest one is still only 3 liters and as you say around 2400cc. That's about half the water he would have needed. So yeah, he must have been counting on being able to refill at the oasis.

I'm back to wondering if he somehow didn't go to the trail he thought he was going to.

 

[carbuff]

Trail shoes would not cut it on a trail like this, as far as support and robust sole. There is too much scree (rubble). At at least one National Park (I've lost my resource, but I'm thinking Bryce or Yellowstone), Vibram soles are required for a backcountry hike with a ranger, and the boots are checked at departure. That's because there's scree on the trail and it's easy to slip. This could so easily have happened to the Joshua Tree hiker, especially if he wasn't using trekking poles.

Unless it's new in the last year or so, it isn't Yellowstone, unless for a particular hike (it's near my home turf). I'm sure there are some high country trails where you'd need really good boots, but most of the footing is quite good.

Can totally believe Bryce though. Treacherous paths there.

 

[SeesSeas]

I'm back to wondering if he somehow didn't go to the trail he thought he was going to.

His vehicle was found parked in the lot for the 49 PALMS OASIS trail:
Search enters the 6th day for hiker missing in Joshua Tree National Park - Coachella Valley
Miller’s vehicle was located in the 49 Palms Oasis parking lot.

Paul Miller’s car, found by officials on Friday

 

[SeesSeas]

I love the western desert!
Stunning photo on this news page:
Search enters the 6th day for hiker missing in Joshua Tree National Park - Coachella Valley

 

[RickshawFan]

And considering his size - 5'5", 160 lbs - probably not hard for one person, even a woman, to disappear him.

From the photo in the poster, 160 lbs sounds too low?

 

[carbuff]

His vehicle was found parked in the lot for the 49 PALMS OASIS trail:
Search enters the 6th day for hiker missing in Joshua Tree National Park - Coachella Valley
Miller’s vehicle was located in the 49 Palms Oasis parking lot.

Paul Miller’s car, found by officials on Friday

Yeah, I don't know how he would have wound up elsewhere. Wandering off the trail is more likely.

But was the hood up like that when they found it?

 

[RickshawFan]

Snipped by me.

Is there a link for this comment made to a friend about the hike?

Also, has anyone found SM for Paul?

tia

I recall it from one of the early news stories, but this is the closest I can find. It's more of a hint:
Search for missing hiker at Joshua Tree National Park trail reaches fifth day