What would you do in Rattlesnake Canyon?

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#1 -- "Rattlesnake Canyon" -- 1:18 -- Two people find themselves in a totally hopeless situation. As the story unfolds, ask yourself… what would you do?
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Опубликовано:

7 окт 2023

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Комментарии : 7 тыс.

@kristip7654 6 месяцев назад

The weirdest thing about this story is deciding to use part of your already inadequate water supply to boil hot dogs.

@wms72 6 месяцев назад

They could have cooked them on sticks LIKE EXPERIENCED CAMPERS

@kristip7654 6 месяцев назад

@@wms72 EXACTLY

@AavorSkyrender 6 месяцев назад

Yea I was actually stunned at that, I never would have even considered using water for something as simple as hotdogs outdoors REGARDLESS of the circumstance.

@funshinebear4822 6 месяцев назад

@@wms72would have tasted better too

@SeriousStudent603 6 месяцев назад

another thing : how is it possible that after walking for hours & reaching that cactus area but then going back to campsite, they were just 15 min away from the car?

@emilycatherine446 6 месяцев назад

I personally would've turned around the very moment I'd lost the path marked with the rock piles. Why people aimlessly walk for hours and carry maps they can't read is beyond me.

@bridget1138 6 месяцев назад

Exactly. It never crossed their minds to turn around and walk in the other direction?

@MikadoYuma 6 месяцев назад

They were already delirious from water deprivation and exhaustion, probably. Its the only way you could really explain their odd, illogical behavior.

@lbaxel9122 6 месяцев назад

@@MikadoYuma It was earlier.

@honeybee416 6 месяцев назад

These guys were obviously very stupid

@zapatafa 6 месяцев назад

These canyon lands are very dangerous places. You should not enter them if you're not fully prepared. Not bringing enough water was their first and worst mistake. Venturing into a wilderness and not knowing how to read a topographical map was a second mistake. Wandering around aimlessly without a clue where you're heading is a third mistake (better to have just stayed put and conserve all your energy). Murdering your "best" friend... I don't buy it.... but if it was really a mercy killing, still makes no sense. This was a fourth mistake.

@JohnSmith-sv4om 6 месяцев назад

For everyone who genuinely dont know this, if you find your self in this position, always time how long it takes to get where your going, if it takes longer to get back than it did to get there, stop, mark where your to, walk maybe 10 more mins to get your bearings and head back to your original camp spot, stop and chose another path, do this till you find your way out, always mark where you were 💯

@laurenann7094 6 месяцев назад

Soooo much easier said than done. Psychologically you just keep thinking: "Wow I really screwed up. I'm sure I'm almost out of this mess though. I will be so glad when I am out! I never should have made such a series of stupid mistakes. But I will figure this out VERY SOON and be on the right path out! Just keep going... It CAN'T be much further. I should have turned back hours ago. But I can't turn back now because I've come so far. I will see something up ahead that will lead me out... What a dummy I was! But there must be something ahead because I can't possibly go all that way back and start over!"

@SilverMe2004 6 месяцев назад

so in this situation they ended up being about 15 mins from where they wanted to be. So if the took your advise they would have stopped 5 mins from were they wanted to be and then turned around and headed in the wrong direction

@skylorhamilton9151 6 месяцев назад

@@SilverMe2004I'm pretty sure he was using 10 mins as an example. If it took them 15 mins, then they should follow his advice but walk in 15 minute increments.

@JohnSmith-sv4om 6 месяцев назад

@@skylorhamilton9151 exactly lol it was an example obviously, what I meant was time your time in and time out and go by that, lol it was a quick comment lol appreciate the clarification 💯

@kathymcmc 6 месяцев назад

So we walk 20 minutes in the Appalachian Mountains and start walking back another 20 minutes. Now you've walked 40 minutes. What are the odds you are going to walk in a straight line?

@tampamax7633 6 месяцев назад

I’m from Arizona. I can’t even leave my house without bringing a gallon of water even if I’m working in the AC for the day. How these guys brought 3 small bottles of water to stay overnight in the desert is a literal death wish.

@smokbabi 6 месяцев назад

Same

@district12- 6 месяцев назад

🏜️ Right, always take more than you think you need.

@tsunamiaz2101 6 месяцев назад

Yes I live in Arizona too and ya its absolutely foolish to ignore the advice of park rangers and hydration advisory. You're literally asking for trouble if not certain death by the end of the week.

@tajenimchen5081 6 месяцев назад

That's what they get for being frugal, harsh truth.

@DarkJuliet_4444 6 месяцев назад

Exactly! Im from Arizona too. You always bring more water than you need when going out. It's so easy to get turn around in the desert and get lost.

@Jabberwocky869 6 месяцев назад

Imagine going into a desert for a day and taking less water with you then you would drink on any other normal day. It's some kind of anti-survival instinct.

@TheGhjgjgjgjgjg 6 месяцев назад

They brought 1.25 litres for both of them and used half of it to cook hot dogs. So they basically had a large cup of water for both of them

@user-yn7ch7mx8u 6 месяцев назад

We call that darwinism

@amandatyler4324 6 месяцев назад

Back in the 90’s no one really thought twice about only drinking a one or two cups of water per day. It was the norm back then to only really drink water when you feel thirsty. People were always dehydrated before the year 2000.

@savannahjohnson633 6 месяцев назад

@TheGhjgjgjgjgjg gotta be plum dumb. Js. First off u dnt need water to cook hot dogs. They taste better NOT cooked in water...

@savannahjohnson633 6 месяцев назад

@@amandatyler4324im confused wheb u say that cuz i clearly remember the 8 glasses of water campaign going on then. I lived in arizona and they always talked about drinking water

@feelingscheck405 6 месяцев назад

Once you said they used their drinking water to boil hot dogs, I knew this story wouldn’t end well.

@ashenmoonclash 6 месяцев назад

Who would use any water to cook hotdogs in a desert😅

@ramuneraven 6 месяцев назад

@@ashenmoonclashyou’re probably not allowed to use fires. They likely brought a small propane cooker with them, I know in Colorado ((what essentially is a dessert)) we aren’t allowed to use fires. Boiling hotdogs is the only way to cook em.

@user-tp9hk8ox8s 6 месяцев назад

The question was not why did they boil the hot dogs that way but why they waste their water in the desert. Then again, I am not surprised. If two people could be that stupid, it's no wonder you couldn't understand the question.

@ramuneraven 6 месяцев назад

@@user-tp9hk8ox8s what’s with the hostility mate, there’s literally no reason to imply these comments are stupid, ya didn’t have to call anyone stupid in this comment section, we all agree they were dumb asf to not bring water, but like… “who would use any water to cook hotdogs in a desert” is implying it’s weird to cook hotdogs in water while in a desert, when in reality it’s normal for camping, fires are likely not allowed because of the dry climate and bush around the desert, they likely had a small propane tank and had to boil water to cook things.

@sdawg58 6 месяцев назад

Yeah, why wouldn't you cook them over a campfire like s normal person.

@LittleStar261 6 месяцев назад

A tip for hikers: while you are on a hike, turn around and look behind you intermittently. That way you will have an idea of what the trail should look like on your way back. Taking pictures would help if you have your smartphone. You don’t need reception to save photos.

@NorseHod 4 месяца назад

This is really good advice. I'm from Britain and there aren't really any wildly huge trails or national parks. Not like in America anyway. Point is I'd of never considered this, having said that I'd also never considered trekking through the desert or any totally unfamiliar environment while I'm highly unprepared 🤣 But if on the off chance I am in that situation, I'll be sure to remember this, cheers bro

@chriskaprys 4 месяца назад

I have to do this now, especially because a) I already know my sense of orientation in space is pretty sub-normal (I regularly got lost in my square high school building) and b) not long ago I was in the woods on a paved road and got out of the car and walked maybe one minute away to get through some trees to watch the sunset. I was just far enough away that I didn't have line of sight to my car .. and I got completely lost for over an hour. I couldn't believe how an entire road and all clues about the path I'd walked from the car could simply vanish so quickly. It will be unique for each person depending on their constitution, but I can attest to the emotional factor compounding the number of mistakes that can pile up so rapidly while you are still in denial ("no, no, no, surely the car's just over here....") + wrestling with the shame/embarrassment of having gotten lost so stupidly + fending off thoughts of what might happen if you don't find your way ... before stopping and making more level-headed, rational, useful decisions. Now when I go on a hike I regularly look back to get a sense of what the return journey will look like, and if I step away from a trail even a few paces, I take a picture with my phone to try to do exactly what you described.

@xXTwigManXx 4 месяца назад

@@chriskaprysyou sound just as bad with directions and getting lost as I am. I've been in similar situations as you with only being a couple steps away from your car. It's always so embarrassing and you're left feeling stupid as hell. Knowing how bad I am for getting lost, I'll likely never go on some great big hike, at least not alone

@chriskaprys 4 месяца назад

@@xXTwigManXx Yeah, I'm fairly dependant on my phone's GPS for navigation, especially around locations I haven't memorised by landmarks. That said, like anything with the brain, there are exercises which help. Some days I'll set myself the goal of, every time I'm about to pull my phone out of my pocket, try to guess which way North is before I turn on the screen, and/or if I'm driving, every time I take a turn, try to tell myself which direction I'll be heading in. The latter I have to do to a lesser degree because it can make me nauseous while driving, but practise does help. I also just recently found out about a place in the brain called the retrosplenial complex (RSC) which, when it's damaged or misfiring, produces symptoms similar to what I experience when trying to navigate. Just in case that's an interesting bread crumb for you.

@ninap451 4 месяца назад

This is good advice. Things always look different when travelling in the opposite direct to the one you came in on.

@jennings992 6 месяцев назад

Went on a short hike in Arizona at the sand dunes. It was 110 degrees and we had two liters of water. A park ranger ripped up as we were walking in and gave us more water. We made it like a quarter mile and turned back because we were running out of water. It's like a convection oven out there

@brigitblu3828 2 месяца назад

Arizona and Vegas r so hot it was like 118 in Vegas when I was out for like 9-10 hrs performing we had 3 bags full of water then Arizona I think was only 113 at night one night at a bar n I could feel the heat from the toliots 😅

@debodatta7398 2 месяца назад

one thing mrballen left out was the one who survived was released from the hospital an hour after he was checked in... not really the body of someone who was dehydrated and sunstroked for 4-5 days as he claimed...also their second campsite (the one they were discovered at) was only 1 mile away from the ranger station on foot and was clearly visible from the ridge they claim to have climbed up. Also the entirety of the national park they were lost at was only 186 km2 which is only about 3 manhattans... for 2 adult men it can be traversed across in 4 hours tops if they're slow no reason they couldn't have done that the second they realized they were lost....

@99mage99 6 месяцев назад

I live in and grew up in New Mexico, the second I heard how much water they brought my heart sank. Please, if you don't have experience hiking in the terrain that you are camping in, listen to the park rangers advice.

@rn780 6 месяцев назад

The fact that they boiled hot dogs with some of their water shows they had zero wilderness experience. Just doesn't even make sense.

@khadaoc8241 6 месяцев назад

But ... water is heavy ! Would be easier not to bring any on the hike !

@crestm1384 6 месяцев назад

I felt the same. I live and have grown up in southern Arizona. People not familiar with the desert don't realize how dry it can be.

@js-1389 6 месяцев назад

i feel you. i live in arizona and i am drinking water constantly even when i’m indoors most of the day, because dehydration can really sneak up on you if you’re not careful.

@jerrijames2224 6 месяцев назад

Honestly even what the ranger suggested is the bare minimum. The heat there is a furnace. How you would walk like that with just about no water, then use some for salty hot dogs? Did they bring beer? I can’t imagine making these kinds of choices. Boston is real different from the dessert.

@Werevampiwolf 6 месяцев назад

As someone from the desert... never lowball how much water you need. I bring 80oz of water with me just to go to work (for reference, these guys brought 48oz) And i get free water at work, so it's just for my commute (which is walking/riding the bus). I basically never end up drinking all the water, but there's been times where someone else was getting sick from the heat and not having enough water, and I was able to give them some. Besides, I walk with a cane because I have a hip deformity, and I have to go through an area of unstable ground with sinkholes, so there's always a chance one opens under my feet or I fall in, so I might get stranded and need it myself, and in the summer, it hits over 110° every day for a couple months. So it's better safe than risking it.

@DATONEGAMER25 6 месяцев назад

Better to have more than enough than not enough.

@pinkyuzu 6 месяцев назад

This. I drive, and when it hits that mark here in the western Colorado desert, you can wind up dehydrated in minutes. I forgot my water once and passed out doing yard work in under an hour. Hypovolemia due to dehydration. If my toddler hadn't found me, I'd have died. Now I don't leave my house for more than 5 minutes without at least a quart.

@TheViolalove 6 месяцев назад

This is our new reality here in Central Texas. Over 40 days of triple digit heat was torture. I’m looking for cooler climates in order to eventually move. 😢

@Databyter 6 месяцев назад

Same. Even in town I carry at least 2-3 gallons with me at all times, not counting what is i my cooler, that is usually in my car, and also has drinks. But I've lived out in the high desert, and I know that if you have water, you have time, and with time, you can solve most problems.

@makeminetexas3494 6 месяцев назад

My husband does the same thing, and we don’t even live in the desert. But it gets in the 100s regularly in the summer, and you never know what emergency may happen.

@SSJNemo 6 месяцев назад

The fact that their second campsite was a 15-20 min walk to their car is eerie to think that both of them had that level of a situation

@fruitygranulizer540 4 месяца назад

something i do want to point out is, often the way back on a hike will look unfamiliar even if it's the same trail. because, well, you're facing the opposite direction and so everything, from the scenery to the turns, are different. make sure you look behind you at the opposite direction to make sure.

@Dharmarenee 4 месяца назад

It is information like this that can save lives.

@obvioustrash7833 2 месяца назад

@@Dharmareneecant you just use a compass like a sane human being?

@fruitygranulizer540 2 месяца назад

@@obvioustrash7833 a compass isn't much help if ur forced to follow trails that twist and turn a lot. it can even be misleading since a trail that eventually ends up west of ur position, for example, may start off with a long section going east and u could be mislead into thinking ur going east. its way more important to try and maintain spacial awareness and to try and recognize terrain on ur way back to make sure ur on the same trial

@obvioustrash7833 2 месяца назад

@@fruitygranulizer540 O for sure, but I feel like a compass can definitely help to know which direction you went and should go roughly

@Ziggimomspal68 6 месяцев назад

I’ve missed watching these. My husband passed away last November after a long illness. We used to listen together…I just couldn’t face it after that, until now. Love Mr Ballen…these spooky videos bring back bittersweet memories.

@UnlimitedEarth_Jess 6 месяцев назад

Sorry for your loss! Welcome back! 💙

@VB-lc4xz 6 месяцев назад

Yes, I understand it so much. I did that after my mom passed away. Couldn't watch anything we watched together... Very sorry!

@wakhfeign 6 месяцев назад

sincere and deepest condolences!

@jenfox3980 6 месяцев назад

So sorry to hear that about your husband 😞 I totally understand that though. My ex was a musician and I couldn't listen to music for the longest time. Welcome back to all of us and especially Mr Ballen 😊❤📖

@kwanholloway4112 6 месяцев назад

Sorry for your loss. ..

@johnathenquist7092 6 месяцев назад

The “I killed and buried my best friend today” was heavy. Geez. What a sad ending when safety was just around the corner.

@TheeIntrepidTaurayon 2 месяца назад

13:10 My son (his 7), yelled "RAPHIE!! There is No Road!" I didn't realize how invested he was in the story.

@kacyandlaura Месяц назад

Isn’t this a bit much for a 7 year old?

@kevingee9928 6 месяцев назад

Imagine being in the middle of the desert with 3 water bottles and watching your friend use 1 out of the 3 bottles to cook some hot dogs 😂🤬

@F.T.P.101 4 месяца назад

Makes no sense, if you have a fire just cook the hot dogs over the fire da fuck you boiling them for??

@AmberH-zz8gq 4 месяца назад

Especially since they could've skipped the water and just cooked them over the fire

@budrflyzable 2 месяца назад

And most hotdogs are already cooked so…..

@kevinmalone3210 2 месяца назад

Outdoorsmen they were not.

@DirtyDev Месяц назад

They weren’t lost by that point

@antisocialatheist1978 6 месяцев назад

I feel bad for those young men. To go through that and find out the next day you are rescued and you are 15 minutes from your car the entire time has to be driving that man insane.

@mistral-unizion-music 6 месяцев назад

Indeed, he must have kicked himself when he learned that.

@Eventual-Visitor 6 месяцев назад

Well, he did murder the other dude and got away scot free, so the plan worked.

@tomasotreasaigh111 6 месяцев назад

Although John doesn't say it in this video, they were obviously friends from their days on the little school bus, where they licked the windows and drooled on themselves and talked about how unfair it was that Corky wasn't allowed to drive in "Life Goes On". Yep, they was morons for sure!

@dark_baphomet 6 месяцев назад

They generally seemed a bit dim and totally unprepared tbh I'm not surprised how this ended considering how they started out, bit of a Darwin award there

@verniceaure4865 6 месяцев назад

This is why Park Rangers ask questions multiple times to make absolutely sure that you do actually know what you are doing. They aren't treating you like you are an idiot (unless you are), they are trying to keep you and those around you safe. This includes the safety of people who may have to risk their lives to rescue you. This is a tragic event that shouldn't have happened. Many, many mistakes were made, but something I keep coming back to is - why didn't they see the car or parking lot when they were on the ridge?

@burkejones8277 6 месяцев назад

When I was in the Marines, we had a guy who got lost out at 29 Palms, CA. I was literally the first person who got to his last known position where we found the bulk of his gear, including both canteens. By the time his platoon realized he was missing, it was about 3 days, which is unacceptable and resulted in very serious consequences for the platoon Sgt., company commander, and others. The first thing I found was a group of rocks making an arrow, presumably in the direction he traveled. Unfortunately, it was in the exact opposite direction from where he should have traveled. I believe that happened in August of 1988. They found him several miles away around January of 1989. When people are severely dehydrated and hungry, they make irrational decisions because their brains don’t function correctly in those situations. Always be prepared when you go out there, even for a short trip. You have to be able to use a map and compass. You have to stay hydrated, even more important than eating. And get a good knife, not to kill your partner, but to save your own life and anyone with you.

@cheeling794 6 месяцев назад

oh wow yeah I just commented to someone else that I imagine going that long without food and water would make you literally start tripping

@johnframpton5687 6 месяцев назад

Stationed at 29 palms 09-13. We were drilled with that story every year before our summer safety standown

@maggievargas4616 6 месяцев назад

I live in 29 palms. Cant imagine getting lost here especially with the heat that goes around here.

@user-digitalfarmgirl 6 месяцев назад

When hiking the Grand Canyon , there is a stopping point with a park ranger, sitting at it & he or she, WILL ABSOLUTELY NOT let you pass , ANY FURTHER, UNLESS , you are carrying enough food & water for at least 2 days & some basic required survival tools. I got to pass. I already prepare like that, even when hiking only a flat mile. Prepare for the worst & expect only the best. I grew up off grid , homesteading, in the remote forest, as a sustainence farmer. Eating only what we grew or raised. I was put in charge of foraging in the forest for edible tubers , plants and berries. Survival , was and is , ALWAYS at the forefront of my existence.

@user-digitalfarmgirl 6 месяцев назад

29 Palms is a misnomer. It's a hellhole of a desert wasteland , waiting to vanquish any soul, lost in it.

@user-gn8ro4vg4y 6 месяцев назад

Thank you so much for having the option of subtitles on your videos. I've been diagnosed with ADHD and an auditory processing disorder and major depressive disorder. Sometimes people will think I'm partially deaf, but my hearing is okay I'm just struggling to correctly process the information and pay attention. As they're entertaining your videos help lessen my depression, and the subtitles help me pay attention.

@scarhop 4 месяца назад

I have ADHD too let’s go 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

@Ilikeformulaone 6 месяцев назад

When Mrballen tells his kids the story of the three little pigs he still makes it last half an hour and he somehow makes it strange dark and mysterious.

@lynnfaulkner2706 6 месяцев назад

I'm from New Mexico and years ago, i got lost in the Sanggre de Cristo Mountains. My first thought was, "No, this can't be happening. I'm an experienced hiker/camper." Well, this experienced hiker had left the campsite on a "little walk" and would be back within an hour to meet up with my partner. I didnt even take the basic backpack loaded with survival stuff that i ALWAYS took, even on short hikes, nor did i leave word where i was going. Luckily, i hiked out the next day to the relief of search and rescue, with severe hypothermia 0:03 . Oh, did i mention that i was a volunteer counselor for CISD? My point is, that no matter how experienced you are, you can't let your guard down for a minute. It could cost you your life.

@normturner4849 6 месяцев назад

As you know, ALWAYS tell someone your movements if nothing else. Glad you're back safely

@shanecarver8655 6 месяцев назад

Exactly! I've gotten lost 2 times on hikes in NM. One in bitter cold rain, which I fortunately had brought enough emergency parkas for the entire group (apparently I was the only one to think to bring them). And another where we ran out of water, and had to find a stream. Both day hikes. Having a compass, remaining calm, and having emergency supplies is the only thing that kept us from disaster. We weren't tourists, some of us had even been on these trails before.

@MrBojangles-er4hd 6 месяцев назад

Beautiful mountains, I hike them when I visit Trinidad, Colorado! Stay safe!

@zacharysherry2910 6 месяцев назад

Cool story Hansel!

@DreamConundrum Месяц назад

Partner

@emmaread5505 6 месяцев назад

I live in Australian desert. So many tourists that don’t listen to directions or take warnings. 1) never leave your vehicle and walk to get help 2) take extra water 3) know how to use a compass (at least know your east to west) 4) when there’s life, there’s hope

@emmaread5505 6 месяцев назад

@@FerociousKZ say u don’t even have a compass or map like these guys did. When they checked in with the rangers and started walking they only needed to make a mental note of the direction (say they were walking west - the sun sets in the west , rises in the east) now u know your general direction/bearing. So because they are in open desert country (no trees to block your sun) u only need to see sun rising from the east to know that’s where your back tracking. Also following your foot marks left in sand. The fact Ranger policy is to find them after 3 days would tell them to ‘stay put’ until found. If your hurt or out of water and people know your general location (you’ll be missed) don’t go anywhere. 15 miles from their destination is so close lol it’s unbelievable they got so lost. Always follow Ranger or locals directions take warnings seriously

@Slizzysliz53 6 месяцев назад

@@FerociousKZit’s way easier that you’re thinking, sun sets in the west. The key is not freaking out under the stress

@moongoddess1587 6 месяцев назад

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.....the you can figure out north and south from that. But a 🧭 would he even better. Common sense would be best....

@donzaleighanderson8139 6 месяцев назад

Exactly I live near the Jousha Tree national park near Palm Springs in California. It's warnings everywhere & us locals tell people the best and worst times to go. They never listen, get lost and when found they always have a small water bottle that's been empty. It's some people that are never found..

@trevorfields9153 6 месяцев назад

So nobody's gonna talk about how there's two 3s?

@samberg1477 6 месяцев назад

I don’t hike. I don’t camp. I stay in my house safe and sound and watch the stars from my balcony and Mr Ballens videos.

@pie58 6 месяцев назад

I work weekends and get up very early for the drive. And every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I pop on one of your videos and listen to 2 or 3 of them. Thank you for helping me keep my sanity, keep up the amazing content!

@iceangel698 6 месяцев назад

Raffi was the one who acted like he knew what he was doing, and so it came to dire circumstances. How they brought only that much water boggles my mind.

@bigmeme6014 6 месяцев назад

sounds like he intended to kill dave

@user-digitalfarmgirl 6 месяцев назад

Why?

@braetonwilson4296 6 месяцев назад

Yes Raffi was at fault but so was Dave. Dave was a grown man and he should have insisted on carrying more water.

@kylelindberg7771 6 месяцев назад

Apparently they also brought a topographical map, which neither of them could understand or read.

@pricklypear7516 6 месяцев назад

@@user-digitalfarmgirl Kill your buddy, drink his blood (an excellent source of both hydration and nutrients), make it sound like some "pact" gone wrong. I bet if they had thought to test Raffi's feces (did they even have the technology in '99?), they'd have found Dave's DNA.

@AshMc1970 6 месяцев назад

It just goes to show, regardless of how much experience a person has, its always wise to be prepared for the unexpected/ worst case scenario.

@theoriginalkyttyn7724 6 месяцев назад

Absolutely.

@godsbabeborn-again5945 6 месяцев назад

I gently touch the Like button. The things Mr Ballen wants us to do to it makes me feel for the poor guy. Love your story-telling ability, sir. You're the greatest. Thank you. May your social media platforms keep growing.

@shrutik9673 4 месяца назад

Hahah

@redwitch12 4 месяца назад

I have often wondered what sort of secret evils the Like button has committed against Mr. Ballen to make him carry such a profound and persistent grudge :D

@Goyam0_0 4 месяца назад

The saddest part is the guilt raffi now has to live with of killing his best friend. Upon that he even got sent to prison.

@BekkiAnnArt 6 месяцев назад

I lived in New Mexico for near a decade as an adult. There are so many stories of out of towners and other folks dying who didnt have any experience with arid and desert hiking. I remember one of the summers, a family of 4 from out of country went into White Sands to hike with only a small amount of water, a couple of parents and a couple of kids. (I wanna say it was Germany but this, sadly, happens a lot with folks from out of country.) They got lost and were found with the parents dead, shielding the kids from the elements and letting them have the water bottle. The kids survived but I can only imagine how heartbroken they were. I can only imagine they suffer from survivor's guilt. People underestimate the need for water and to stay on the trail at White Sands. I hiked there a lot during moonlight hikes. You could easily get lost if you dont follow the markers. Deserts aren't a joke. Bring water. In New Mexico, walking requires water.

@cwest8010 6 месяцев назад

Yes! I'm from around the area, and I remember that tragedy. It was a family from France. Very sad indeed.

@BekkiAnnArt 6 месяцев назад

@@cwest8010 France sounds right!! I wanna say it was 2014/2015. It was so sad. I remember them having a baby, now that I think of it. I don't remember if the baby survived. I hope the kids are okay!

@Wisdom-Nuggets-Tid-Bits 6 месяцев назад

Want to

@alflyover4413 6 месяцев назад

One gallon of water per person per day is adequate for a stroll around the block or sitting in the shade. I have had sweat running out of the vents of my jungle boots before, though, and been wet with sweat from waist to ankles. Those were more like three- or four-gallon days.

@desert_moon 6 месяцев назад

I live in New Mexico. They were from France. Very sad situation. I was doing Search and Rescue during that time. Most calls are from people not being prepared for the environment/weather/terrain etc. There are signs at White Sands saying to bring a lot of water and you definitely don't want to do that hike during the hot months, which they did.😢

@caity613 6 месяцев назад

I remember reading this story a few yrs ago. Raffi is from my hometown, so it was all over the news there. I've lived half my life on the East Coast, half in Southern Ca, and one thing I've learned for sure: ppl who are not from the desert have no business messing around out there. They never bring enough water, they don't know how to read the maps, they don't bring a Sat phone. So many unnecessary tragedies. I always feel sorry for the park rangers, b/c they so frequently find ppl in states of such distress &/or death.

@VideoDotGoogleDotCom 6 месяцев назад

I'm from _way_ up north, close to 2000 miles north of Carlsbad Caverns, yet I would have the sense to bring tons of water if I ever went to hike in a desert. The same goes to compass, satellite phone, etc. It's just common sense.

@l.j.i 6 месяцев назад

Yeah, not just the desert though; I grew up in the Rocky Mountains and I know all this stuff... but I still don't know if I would go wandering around the desert for days/weeks like I do in the mountains because the mountains always have water (you just need to bring a filtration device). In saying that, I'd be more likely to be someone who would bring too much water than not enough and weigh my whole pack down!

@10zlo 6 месяцев назад

I dont believe it's a geographical thing, I believe it's a dumb people thing. I've lived in the Appalachians all my life and if I ever went to the desert, I can guarantee you I'm doing my homework ahead of time and over preparing in terms of gear and water. You can never have too much. It's better to have it and not need it rather than need it and not have it. Same goes for people that get lost and die here in these mountains- they were dumb about it and weren't prepared at all. Preparation is key. Ignorance is inevitable amongst most of society unfortunately.

@jeffbradburn3800 6 месяцев назад

@@10zlowish more people took the same precautions. From AZ and every single summer we watch the news about someone needing to be rescued off the mountains because the lack of preparation, and hydration combined zero respect for the summer heat. There was one group that decided to go hike the superstition mountains in search of the lost Dutchman's mine with only one water bottle between 3 adults. They weren't from the SW and underestimated the AZ heat. It's gotten so bad with out of state hikers we had to start closing trails during the summer. Appalachian trails sound like a blast, one day!

@BatCaveOz 6 месяцев назад

It was 1999... two teenagers aren't going to have a satellite phone. (The iPhone was still 8 years away from initial release).

@dudefromsomewhere1 5 месяцев назад

Dude the way you tell these stories and narrate them is so good. Keep on going man.

@slimkt 6 месяцев назад

I knew this one before ya told it, but it’s still astounding to me. To not only bring less water than you’d drink on an ordinary day in a cool, air-conditioned office, but then to use half of it to boil hotdogs when you would’ve had less to carry (and in my opinion, better tasting hotdogs) if they had just cooked them over an open fire feels so incredibly naive. And to keep walking even though you’re lost and can’t read a map? Especially for Raffi to have supposedly had ‘experience’ with camping. I grew up camping and learning survival skills from my father, but their mistakes felt like a complete lack of *basic* common sense.

@DreadNarratives 6 месяцев назад

A tragic story, but a valuable reminder of the importance of being prepared when hiking in extreme conditions. My thoughts are with Dave's family and friends.

@normturner4849 6 месяцев назад

It's boggles my mind that Rafi ignored the park ranger re: the water. Neither could read a topographical map?? I'm angry about this. So avoidable.😠🥵

@thebat893 6 месяцев назад

"I killed and buried my best friend." That is so chilling and I am glad the family understood he didn't mean to kill. At that stage neither was thinking straight. Very sad story, but brilliantly told.

@lanaburke1819 6 месяцев назад

@@SSJacksWolfwhat’s happening in Canada?

@MissWobbles 6 месяцев назад

Note to self: don't read the comment section before listening to the entire story because some people will post spoilers.

@pollypockets508 6 месяцев назад

I think Rafi straight up killed Dave. Not a mercy killing. Just murder. Dave was probably blaming him for everything that went wrong. And Rafi stabbed him. Look at how he reveled in describing it.

@larrymace2361 6 месяцев назад

@@lanaburke1819 They are probably talking about how self-forever sleep is being recommended in Canada as a treatment for depression or even just minor aches and pains there was one where the VA in Canada (Idk if it's called the VA up there but it's the same equivalent as in the U.S.) told a soldier with PTSD to go to the clinic and ask for an assisted forever sleep as a treatment for their PTSD. Pretty much you can ask for assisted forever sleep. The way it's laid out you can ask for assisted forever sleep because you are missing a leg or your eyesight isn't 20/20 all kinds of things that shouldn't qualify for assisted forever sleep are being allowed and hospitals aren't telling the patient's families that they have an appt for assisted forever sleep here is some stories. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hVxGOD8YNu8.html ru-vid.comf_gRDTs8l_U ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-esiagRgpJg0.html

@calledbyhisname899 6 месяцев назад

@@pollypockets508 Death of David Coughlin on wikipedia reveals more of what you're saying. I absolutely do not believe Raffi could move his much bigger friend's body. Esp if he was truly in the condition he was supposedly in. There's a reason for the expression "dead weight". Even a healthy person would have trouble. The picture shows David to be much bigger. I'm gonna do more research on this story. I lived in Carlsbad for 8-9 yrs right before this happened. Also an article by the Guardian titled: "Desert killer may have had a thirst for fiction" was written right after this happened. It, too, has interesting info on the condition of both men when found. Suspicious

@DSzabo-rw3gm 6 месяцев назад

Your fantastic storytelling keeps me sane in this crazy mixed up world. Thank you for all that you do Mr. Ballen!

@knuxklez27 6 месяцев назад

facts i’m so alert now 😂😂😂 i look at anything as possible danger lol

@ThomasDraco 6 месяцев назад

Yo John, love the vids! After falling asleep to one your playlists I woke up experiencing my first case of mild sleep paralysis. There was a shadow demon that creeped over to me and disappeared when I came to, looked like the one you described from your first story, I think the strange dark and mysterious vibes manifested lol

@Randomnamerandomnumber 6 месяцев назад

Am I the only one suspicious of Raffi? He was the one who insisted they didn’t need that much water - backed by the fact that he had more experience - yet he wasn’t able to read the map or recognise sooner that they were going the wrong way? He was the one who insisted they keep going. He was the one who saw the moving lights(according to an article by NYTimes). And he and his friend had a suicide pact, but then he exerted the last of his energy burying his friend rather than killing himself? Maybe I’ve watched too many of these, but something about this story feels off.

@thelogicaldanger 6 месяцев назад

I read in a comment that a possible motive brought up at trial was that David had had an affair with Raffi's girlfriend Kristin. I also find this whole story quite suspicious.

@kristinwojtowich8902 6 месяцев назад

It's a little hard for me to accept that he'd go through all that and almost die himself just to kill his best friend.

@sallymorris2473 6 месяцев назад

@@kristinwojtowich8902maybe Raffi thought the ranger would come looking sooner, he knew where the car was but couldn't just blow his story and walk to it so had to wait it out until "help" came

@E-AND-N 6 месяцев назад

No, non sei il solo...in più questi hanno camminato per giorni, ma erano sempre allo stesso posto...

@alflyover4413 6 месяцев назад

When I read he didn't know how to read the map it felt like a handful of ice water to the back of my neck.

@getaped1809 6 месяцев назад

So great to see how far you’ve come I remember when you were at 400k and we’d look for the hidden picture you’d throw in the videos! 10 mill soon

@ashleymorris6636 6 месяцев назад

@longkiks608kikz3 think it use to be a ghost thing appearing behind trees and shit

@zuriel4783 6 месяцев назад

@@longkiks608kikz3 You can look at his older videos at anytime and see them. Just look at the pinned comments for them

@mikih636 6 месяцев назад

I miss those days!! When we had to find the hidden like button

@EM-mw2qr 6 месяцев назад

I never could find those pictures.

@getaped1809 6 месяцев назад

@@longkiks608kikz3there was a bunch there was like different faces I remember mike myers being one I think Jason vorhees was another probably closer to 800k -1 mil was when he was doing that could be off number wise as when I started watching him he had basically just switched from telling stories on tik tok and started on RU-vid

@tp4989 4 месяца назад

So I read the book, did the research on this story, drove from Washington State all the way to Carlsbad and hiked this trail. I don't know how it looked in 99, but present day the trail is hard to lose. Even if you take out the 100 rock piles that are there now, I find it so hard to believe they got turned around that bad. Hell, they even saw headlights one night, they should have been able to get out.

@jjfu301 4 месяца назад

I guess they weren't the brightest

@ruirosado9737 3 месяца назад

I suspect one of them didn't want the other to get out.

@aptharsia Месяц назад

@ruirosado9737 It took too long to find someone talking sense. This sounded like a way to get away with murder.

@anaaguilar3304 Месяц назад

They took three little water bottles with them to the dessert and used one to cook hot dogs.... I think we can assume they weren't the brightest.

@gardeniablossom4077 28 дней назад

@@anaaguilar3304literally the worst way to even enjoy a hot dog 🤯

@gatorneedshisgat5472 6 месяцев назад

Bro…how did you not talk about the suspicion around the love triangle involving the ex girlfriend and the size of the burial mound Raffi built not being consistent with someone who was weak from dehydration? Also how the investigators only suspected moderate dehydration from the survivor when found?

@leannemo7382 5 месяцев назад

Yes, exactly!! 💯🎯

@youtubeillegallydeletesacc1525 5 месяцев назад

Damn. I read your comment before I got to that part! 😖🤣

@ConsistentlyInconsistent21 5 месяцев назад

yep im 10 minutes in and I came to the comments and read this. This is a bad habit of mine.

@justasfastasican 3 месяца назад

I don't buy Raffi's story

@harpergrace5846 3 месяца назад

I was looking through the comments for more info because I suspected murder not just so accident nonsense

@hmccall3 6 месяцев назад

I grew up in west Texas, just 3 hours from Carlsbad Park. I have hiked Rattlesnake Canyon many times, and it is no joke, especially if you're unprepared. The heat and dry desert air will suck the moisture out of you in a hurry. Once dehydration hits, you become incapable of making rational decisions, and things begin to spiral even more out of control.

@Chemically_Induced 6 месяцев назад

I grew up in AZ. tourists die there every year.

@niki-smellsgood 6 месяцев назад

Yep, I'm in West Texas.. people that don't live here can't understand how insanely hot it gets and how quickly u can lose your mind! It can be miserable

@scottharrop6720 6 месяцев назад

@@Chemically_Induced I lived in AZ for a little while. I remember hearing about a lot of them.

@T.R.E.D. 6 месяцев назад

@@user-wl9ue2gd1r whew Snyder is hard living. West Texas here too.

@traceyreed4885 6 месяцев назад

@@niki-smellsgooddon't forget the freezing cold winter

@raysmith5338 6 месяцев назад

You know, I love these stories, This one makes me glad that I received military training for hostile environments, that means the area will kill you, not the wildlife occupying it, they will too but that's a side note. In the desert you don't travel during the day if you're lost, you find shade and wait till it cools down, you travel at night. It's harder to navigate but you'll survive longer. You use the daylight to find markers or points of interest from your shady spot and you try to get to those areas at night if you can see some more at night, get to those, just don't travel during the day under the sun and heat. You have to keep your core temp down as much as possible, you don't "guzzle" the water you sip it, take a gulp once in a while, but sip the water. The big thing is, keep your core temp down and never go into any desert even if you've been there hundreds of times without at least a gallon of water, hot water is still better than no water.

@ukchanak 6 месяцев назад

Yeah I was yelling at the screen about that whole traveling at night instead of during the day. Like how stupid can you be to decide to go out in the desert without looking up the basic survival information?

@amystaggs5303 6 месяцев назад

Amen brother.

@raysmith5338 6 месяцев назад

@@ukchanak Exactly, it's like Do you want to die? Because that's how you die quickly, I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did, so kudos to him. But I was thinking, from the title, that he ate his buddy.

@michellesartori6695 6 месяцев назад

Thank you for taking the time to write this comment. As a 58 year old grandmother I get upset when I hear stories like these which star young men and women who had great futures ahead of them but died because they either didn't have the information to keep them safe in the great outdoors or, as in this tragic case, they refuse to listen. As Mr Ballen has a lot of younger subscribers who are watching this episode and we can only hope that they might read and listen to your words of wisdom and live to grow old and gain some wisdom of their own! From country NSW Australia.

@crusader.survivor 6 месяцев назад

You're not the only one benefitting! I was blessed to learn military survival techniques from all my kin that served! [I enlisted myself but didn't make the cut] You will impart your knowledge and save many lives!

@magiera92 5 месяцев назад

Just watched this in the pub. I guessed the final twist, but the 4 that came before blindsided me. I genuinely said "WOW" at the end. Love u Mr Ballen.❤

@igitaq 6 месяцев назад

A friend of mine was going to do an Outward Bound backpacking trip after graduation. He spent his whole life going backpacking with his family and spent the year preceding his big trip. I went with him for one of his practice hikes. It was a looped trail in Missouri. It was only going to take a couple of days but my friend loaded his frame pack like it was for his big cross country trip to get used to the weight. He planned on using iodine tabs and boiling the available water to get water. This was thirty years ago and water filters were not what they are now. I just had a surplus alice pack that had my tent, sleeping bag, food, and a few layers of extra clothes. I also brought three gallons of water. It upset my friend a little because he thought I was going to slow him down and it wasn't how he planned to get his water on his trip. By the end of the second day he had a bit of a change of heart and was more than happy to drink one of the gallons I brought with me since all the ponds near the trail were pretty rancid and stagnant.

@infidel66687 6 месяцев назад

I always bring 2 full canteens and a full camel back every time I go out for a weekend in Missouri

@rogiroja 6 месяцев назад

So, did he go on his trip?

@igitaq 6 месяцев назад

@@rogiroja Yes he did. He had a blast.

@bunnybgood411 6 месяцев назад

@@igitaq I hope he learned his lesson and took sufficient water.

@MrTeddy1994 6 месяцев назад

I find it interesting that they could walk for hours away from their tent and then find their way back to it but couldn't successfully find their way back to the parking lot. Edit: they got lost on a trail but were able to search for a road that didn't exist and find their way back to a small tent after becoming dehydrated and disoriented while coincidentally being relatively near the parking lot the whole time seems... Strange!

@MannyBrum 6 месяцев назад

That just doesn't add up to me. It would make more sense if he had killed the friend and then eventually found the tent but his friend was buried near the tent.

@serwalkerofthekeynes8761 6 месяцев назад

You'd be surprised how easy it is, walking for hours in what you think is a straight line, often end ups being a large curve.. as well as desert like places being eerily similar and flat from most perspectives.

@MrTeddy1994 6 месяцев назад

@@serwalkerofthekeynes8761 i know that's my point. The trail was marked but they got lost while they could walk hours to find an imaginary road and then find their way back to the tent.

@jacquelinelopez929 6 месяцев назад

@@MrTeddy1994yes I totally agree and found it odd as well

@tinderbox218 6 месяцев назад

Walking in large circles. Very common.

@thegreatpapyrus1097 6 месяцев назад

As a born and rasied New Mexican here's some advice. If you're planning on hiking at Carlsbad Caverns at any time of the year, my best advice is to listen to the park rangers' advice. I can't stress enough how hot it can get in New Mexico, especially out in the middle of nowhere. And as it is New Mexico, that rain storm that they were in? That's natural for New Mexico. It could be hot and dry one minute, and cloudy and rainy the next. It's always a gamble with the weather, and the weather isn't your only trouble. The environment is not forgiving either. So in conclusion, always listen to the park rangers' advice, cause it just might save you.

@michaelmoore1883 Месяц назад

“Real Photo of a Different Storm Cloud” lollol that would’ve been funny.

@cindyhimes 6 месяцев назад

I personally wouldn't kill my best friend, we started the hike together and that's how we would end it, together. If we both died, it would be together. Always be prepared for anything especially in those circumstances. Thanks again John for another "Strange,Dark and Mysterious". episode. I look forward to hearing these stories each week. Stay safe and strong! Much love from Canada 🇨🇦 ❤️

@X0verXDriveX 6 месяцев назад

In this situation, you can’t give up as long as you’re still breathing.

@Broken_Cracka 6 месяцев назад

🇨🇦🇺🇸

@savievankint 6 месяцев назад

If you are in a situation of your lowest physically and mentally it's hard to weigh what's moral, what's right, what's not. These men decided what is the most reasonable act to do given their most desperate situation their lives would ever experience. All throughout history men will do the most unthinkable when desperate.

@leeow3n 6 месяцев назад

No one would, Raphy killed Rave and created a cover story.

@hlf_coder6272 6 месяцев назад

It’s easy to say that from the comfort of your living room, but it when it looks certain that you’re going to die the horrific death of dehydration, a quick way out would seem like bliss. It would seem like an act of mercy and actually would be in many cases

@morphinemuffin6657 6 месяцев назад

As a person with an extreme ability to get lost everywhere everytime, even on very familiar street, even on straight path, I find their situation so terrifying and creepy...

@MrTribalsun 6 месяцев назад

loved your videos

@lisaquinlan1292 6 месяцев назад

😂

@ffsienna2746 6 месяцев назад

I also have no innate sense of direction, so I get the panic they would have felt, but knowing that I had not only filed just an overnight hiking permit, and also had an in person conversation with a ranger about said hike, there's no way I would have given up all hope of rescue, after being only 48 hours late on my return. They'd only walked an hour from the parking lot initially, so the second they knew they'd taken a wrong turn going back, if they had just stayed in their tent, they would have been fine. Treated for dehydration yes, but it's like they collectively made every poor decision a person could make, in the smallest period of time.

@bimbobaggypants4820 6 месяцев назад

After two days or so in a new place i can navigate pretty well with a map, but this is in cities where you have points of reference for example a certain building or tower. I can't imagine being in a barren desert and also no shops to buy water!

@jddocherty7685 6 месяцев назад

A little bit of knowledge would have saved them Sun rise east Sets West Sad story

@latashaevans2142 5 месяцев назад

You are an inspiration that found its way to the people that needed it. Thank you Mr. Ballen! Such an appropriate name! You take us “Over the top!” 💛🙏💛💯💯💯

@rachoutside 6 месяцев назад

Wow. That is a story of what happens when you are under prepared and over confident. I couldn't believe they made any of those decisions (literally the worst thing they could have done at every turn). What a shame that happened.

@amandaross823 6 месяцев назад

This story breaks my heart. People should always listen to Park Rangers. They live and work there so they know what they are talking about. That water could have saved both lives. My heart goes out to the family who lost their loved one and I hope this story can serve as an example to other young hikers out there. Thank you once again for an awesome story very well told.

@Weirdstuff123456789 6 месяцев назад

It seems absolutely mental to me that they just assumed that they brought enough water just because one of them is an experienced hiker. If I leave my house for more than an hour, I always make sure to bring more than enough water for the time period that I'm leaving for just in case something happens and I'm not able to access water. Perhaps I'm overly cautious, but I don't like feeling thirsty even when I'm not stuck in the desert on a super hot day so if it was me, I'd probably bring even more than what the park ranger said to bring. I'd rather my trip take a little while longer than have to die of dehydration, or ask my mate to kill me so that animals wouldn't eat me and I wouldn't have to die a slow death. It's absolutely heartbreaking what these two men went through, and so sad that that guy went to prison when he was just doing what he believed was right for his friend. I'm sure that living, while knowing that your friend could have also been saved would be enough to break someone.

@adrv5721 6 месяцев назад

They were stupid and deserved what they got.

@_Y.Not_ 6 месяцев назад

So Raffi lead Dave into a desert to camp because he had "way more camping experience" but decided to ignore the park rangers warning about how much water they would need because he "knew better", kept his friend walking in a direction that he knew the parking lot was in but was wrong, then knew there was a highway ahead and insisted on walking ahead even when Dave wanted to return to the camp, then murdered his friend because "his friend wanted him to", not sure I believe that Raffi all of a sudden decided to listen to someone other than his own faulty logic and it was to murder Dave.

@keithangstadt4950 6 месяцев назад

Unfortunately "experience" often equals "arrogance".

@wms72 6 месяцев назад

I agree. Murder was the point.

@zaneplatt3533 6 месяцев назад

@@wms72 go back to 4chan. Such a stupid comment

@___Lyric___ 6 месяцев назад

I don’t think murder was the point. He had no way of knowing when rangers would find him if at all. Unless he for some unknown reason wanted to attempt a murder suicide, he would have done so before they were starving to death. I mean does that really make sense? To go out and die a slow and painful death just to kill someone else? And if Raffi’s intent was to die, why not just kill Dave and himself when they were far enough away from the trail? If the argument is that Raffi nearly died just to make his murder story more believable- that just doesn’t make sense logically. He was near death himself, which circles us back to the previous argument which is if murder suicide was the plan, why die slow yourself when you could make it fast? Why torture yourself and the other person for days? With no way of knowing when he would be found he couldn’t guarantee he would be saved, and he was on deaths door as well when he was found, so it wasn’t like he was going to walk the remaining 15 minutes to the trail- he was too weak. If it was a plan for murder suicide He would have just shot himself and Dave and wouldn’t have waited days until they were both near death just to do what he always intended. So a murder/suicide doesn’t make sense and him using all this as a cover doesn’t make sense because he was dying too. Nah, there was no reason for him to kill his friend and it just doesn’t make sense to do it that way at all. I think this was a case of ego getting in the way of logic and intelligence which put them in a SHITuation.

@TFIta369 6 месяцев назад

🤔

@Lostfalls 5 месяцев назад

So heartbreaking 💔 preparation is EVERYTHING while enjoying the outdoors, I hope someone listens to this and improves their trip planning so that something good can come of something so dark.

@joshnelson2709 6 месяцев назад

Wow I remember when you first started this channel its awesome to see how you've grown much success to you bud!

@twilight79010 6 месяцев назад

So horrifying that they both would've survived together if they just waited a few more hours. In this case, it's impossible to know what happened between them (if there was really a suicide pact or not). Only Dave and Raffi know for sure. So I do understand the court system holding Raffi accountable for murder, especially since there were some complicated circumstances in their relationship that were suggested during the trial. As for what I think I would do in that situation, I think I would just lie there and wait to die. Especially since the delirium from dehydration would make it so difficult to do anything else. I don't think I'd take action to kill myself unless I was badly injured and in immense pain with no hope (rattlesnake bite, broken leg, etc.)

@dariadavies256 6 месяцев назад

What were the complicated circumstances?

@sweetmissypetuniawilson9206 6 месяцев назад

That's the thing, they were in immense pain. If you'd ever gone that long without food and water, you'd understand. I 100% get it!

@Sniperboy5551 6 месяцев назад

Never give up.

@drjsauber2879 6 месяцев назад

You are absolutely right. My husband and I are friends with Raffi and his family...this was totally a circumstantial tragedy.

@absolutnadia 6 месяцев назад

How can you say that? “If they would’ve waited a few hours” they aren’t in control of that

@lisalynnn 6 месяцев назад

One thing I always try to get people to understand is that everything in the desert looks much closer than it actually is. A road, mesa, or a monument may look just yards away when it's actually miles away. Also, always bring more water than you think you need if there is no water source available. AND, never give up on being rescued. Even in the most awful situations, there is always hope.

@Hey_Jamie 6 месяцев назад

Literally nothing has the physical capability of looking yards away that is actually miles away.

@WouldntULikeToKnow. 6 месяцев назад

@@Hey_Jamieunless you don't know the actual size of the item you are looking at

@actuallytyler8262 6 месяцев назад

@@Hey_Jamie sure it can. it's called perspective. on certain terrain where the ground is so flat, uniform in color, and without any vegetation, nothing to cast shadows, for miles in every direction. imagine you're a paperclip on a blank piece of paper and you're trying to determine how far the furthest edge of the paper is. because you're so close to the surface you're looking across, and the surface is completely blank, it would be impossible to make even a good guess... if it was a page from a book with text, you could probably at least guess, maybe not super accurately but you'd at least be able to estimate based on the spacing of the text. you need features to be able to tell distances, so on a featureless terrain it can be impossible. and even if there are features like rocks, it may be impossible to tell if you're seeing a small rock close by, or a large rock miles away, because there arent enough features between you and the object to gain perspective. now imagine, all of this on top of the extreme heat! high temperatures and vast, direct sunlight make it impossible to determine distance due to the spatial variations of the index refraction of the air. aka, mirages. if you are looking at something on the other side of a mirage, it is simply not possible to determine the distance. surely you've heard of mirages? they liked using them in old cartoons much like to quick sand or anacondas. there's no shortage of accounts of people getting lost in the desert due to them walking towards a mirage. not to mention, these people started the trip dehydrated and had no water for 3-4 days--they were delirious. the mind plays tricks, and you completely lose the ability to think logically without water even after just 48 hours. so even if they were on a hill and could CLEARLY see a road directly below them, they may not have been able to make the correct, rational decisions, required to make the hike without falling, or getting further lost or injured. there are a lot of things about desert hiking that make it extremely difficult, and it's not just a matter of planning ahead correctly, or even having enough experience. even very experienced desert hikers have gone missing. it is a very unforgiving landscape, and nature is smarter than we are. it's easy to overestimate your competency out in nature, especially in a place you've never been before. stay safe everyone!

@lisalynnn 6 месяцев назад

@Hey_Jamie Since it's something I, along with others, have experienced, you're incorrect. As the other person pointed out, there is an effect that occurs when we see a mirage. An example of monuments is Shiprock on the Navajo reservation. In Newcomb, I can see Shiprock, and it seems so close, but it's 35 miles away. In the barren desert that is flat for many miles, everything seems odd. You're welcome to come see for yourself.

@justincase2716 6 месяцев назад

@@Hey_JamieEver looked into some side mirrors on cars? They literally carry that warning 😊

@chriskaprys 4 месяца назад

Weirdly I was just thinking about the film Gerry earlier today before clicking this video. Nearly 20 years since I watched that mesmerising, haunting film and I still get chills at the sound of footsteps crunching in dirt & gravel.

@BlueEyedDi 6 месяцев назад

It is always so neat when you cover a subject I am familiar with! I find it thrilling. I own the book Journal of the Dead. Thank you for covering this!

@steph_anie1967 6 месяцев назад

Lance is a family friend. You've told this story accurately and respectfully for a tragic event.

@patriciablue2739 6 месяцев назад

Blessings to you

@quantum_psi 6 месяцев назад

Nothing better than a spooky Mr. Ballen video on a nice relaxing Sunday during the fall!

@leeannablanton8143 6 месяцев назад

Spooky ? Idk I don't think it's spooky anymore ? Or strange dark and mysterious it's usually true crime and crazy survival stories

@baffledsquirrel2122 6 месяцев назад

It’s thanksgiving weekend in Canada … perfect time

@username3835 6 месяцев назад

@@leeannablanton8143True 😢

@Alison-W 6 месяцев назад

Yes

@ch3ragCS 6 месяцев назад

It's Monday for me 😢

@tumbas299 6 месяцев назад

I camped in this canyon in 2016 after hitchhiking to Carlsbad and getting dropped off at the mouth of the canyon by a park ranger. I've heard this story before, but still surprised they got lost.. there's only one path in and one path out. How that place came alive at night I'll never forget.

@xXTwigManXx 4 месяца назад

Can you clarify a bit more about how the canyon cable alive at night?

@tumbas299 4 месяца назад

@@xXTwigManXx Under the sun, everything was still. But when the lights went out, there were sounds coming from every which way. Slithering, creaking, scuttling, snapping.. All sorts of creatures were on the move, although I could only guess what they were. I wasn't frightened, but it was a bit eerie. I would say there was a lot more action out there in the desert at night than I'd ever experienced out in the woods at night.

@thevader6946 6 месяцев назад

Mr. Ballen Needs to bring back missing 411 stories!!!

@Barbieinawheelchair 6 месяцев назад

I was paralyzed in March and Mr Ballen helped me get through the early days 💗 i listened to him in the hospital and rehab and it brought me so much comfort while i was injured so bad and alone

@Noname-ew9js 6 месяцев назад

Bless your heart! Never give up.

@juneyshu6197 6 месяцев назад

I hope things get better!❤

@onesequoiawolf 6 месяцев назад

My wife and her friend went out to hike while her brother and I were finishing setting up campsite. They got lost. Here's the kicker, we were camped at the base of a granite rock mountain. You literally would have to be completely oblivious of your surroundings to get lost. Fortunately, when the girls hadn't come back my brother in law and I took off to find them. We found them a couple of miles away a little ways from the trail hugging each other and crying their eyeballs out. I asked why they didn't just walk around the base of the mountain until they came back to campsite. They said they hadn't thought about it. Maybe they would have if we weren't so quick to go looking for them or maybe they wouldn't, but after that I made sure to show my wife how to stay focused on situational awareness when hiking.

@SunRabbit 6 месяцев назад

When you go into panic mode, you lose your rational thinking. That happened to me right when I moved to my city, where I live right on the main street. I got lost while out on foot and had to ask for directions about 3x but when I went to that spot a few years later I realised that all I would have had to do back then was to STOP, calm down, and LISTEN for the sounds of the main road.

@kristiwetsel9531 6 месяцев назад

😂 sorry I know it wasn't funny then , but a lil now

@onesequoiawolf 6 месяцев назад

@@kristiwetsel9531 Yeah, I used to tease her a little about it every now and then. I'd basically forgotten about it until I watched this video.....🙂

@lifeisa.smalllesson4607 6 месяцев назад

In sequoia national park?

@oldgettingolderhopefully6997 6 дней назад

As a somewhat experienced desert hiker, I am constantly amazed at how far out I run into people with only one small bottle of water. Their comments usually run to saving weight. Traveling light only lets you get farther from safety before you even realize you are in trouble. Pack like you are going out there to live, and you probably will.

@bangochupchup 6 месяцев назад

The highway from Las Cruces to Carlsbad is right out of every desert crime/horror movie you can imagine.

@joanneb3524 6 месяцев назад

I've hiked in the Mojave Desert dozens of times over 50 years. I've run into other hikers that were lost and in distress. I just don't understand how people can be so unprepared, yet think they have it all figured out...until they don't. The woods can be equally challenging.

@WouldntULikeToKnow. 6 месяцев назад

People don't respect nature as much as they should, until they get humbled by it.

@A00784 6 месяцев назад

I just don’t understand how people actually go hiking to these dangerous places 🤦‍♀️ what’s the purpose

@senjusan6359 6 месяцев назад

It's because people do not comprehend how weak human is in face of nature. I was like that but myself when I was a kid, but my ignorance was about water, rivers and oceans. I never understood how people can be scared of it or why so many people died in water until I myself almost drowned in the river. After that my respect towards this element is immense and I understand how stupid I was.

@Dunkelelf3 6 месяцев назад

i guess most of the time it's just poor judgement. i mean here in germany we have such a dense population on a rather small area, no deserts but just lush forests and meadows. you can essentially hike with nothing but the shirt on your back because there is plenty of streams, lakes and rivers and civilization is never really far, no matter where you are. but even here i would take at least the most basic things like enough water, some food and at least a knife, a flashlight, some container to boil water and a lighter. never in my life would i go hiking so poorly prepared in the us with areas where you could hike for days and weeks without seing a single house, town, road or any form of civilization. i mean... there is a reason why the standard equipment every soldier caries around is like 30 kg. you can basically survive mostly anywhere for however long you want if you are prepared for the environment and if it offers food and water. and those 2 guys went into the DESERT with 1.25 liters of water for 2 grown adults and used half of that to boil bloody hotdogs. 1 of them should drink 2 litres on a cloudy winter day so you can double that for the desert and calculate 3-4 liters per day per person. i mean into the desert i would rather take nothing else, no food, no tent but enough water and a sleeping bag.

@MalchowMama 6 месяцев назад

very hard in Germany to end up in a Mr. Ballen story, it's true. There aren't even any animals that might eat us . . . @@Dunkelelf3

@DEADisBEAUTIFUL 6 месяцев назад

Those poor men… I wish nothing but peace to everyone that this personally affected. I cannot imagine the suffering they must have experienced to have brought them to make such a tragic decision.

@cdk1016 6 месяцев назад

I'm just absolutely shocked they chose to ignore the seasoned park rangers sound advice to bring at least 1 gallon per person per day and I stead chose to bring a grand total of 1.5 liters for the both of them! If they had shared that plan with the ranger he likely would have chose not to grant them permission to visit that section of the park.

@aaliyahfeacher5427 6 месяцев назад

⁠@@cdk1016Yea we all are. Still r.i.p❤️❤️❤️

@NicholasproclaimerofMessiah 6 месяцев назад

So what happened to Dave wasn't beautiful? Weird.

@DEADisBEAUTIFUL 6 месяцев назад

@@NicholasproclaimerofMessiah My username is just a reference to leaves in the fall. When they change colors as the seasons shift from summer to autumn.

@NicholasproclaimerofMessiah 6 месяцев назад

@@DEADisBEAUTIFUL Very poorly worded then.

@kevinstotomas-cf4zu 6 месяцев назад

This gave out The Mist's ending vibe. Very tragic. RIP, Dave. My condolences to the bereaved.

@Unkn4wN_TM 6 месяцев назад

I would have turned back to the original campsite as soon as I noticed the marked path ended. Also, at the end, why did they decide to kill themselves, instead of at least trying to wait until the park rangers come. They had only been there for 2 nights at that point, so there was definently hope in at least trying to cling on to life.

@arctic_legacy 2 месяца назад

They didn't want to suffer until someone found them (if it happened at all).

@sharonh.6702 6 месяцев назад

What I have learned from my morbid obsession with these kinds of stories is Stay Put! The moment you think you are lost, sit and wait for rescue.

@hlf_coder6272 6 месяцев назад

A lot of these stories took place before smartphones though. In most situations a phone should get you out of these messes. Either by calling help, or at the very least the compass or maps. Not 100% of them, but most

@Und34d_R 6 месяцев назад

Also, if you have to move in the desert in a survival scenario, you should do it at night. Shelter in place in the day.

@phaedrapage4217 6 месяцев назад

What I have learned is stay home. So far, it's worked out OK.

@eroccha 6 месяцев назад

@@Und34d_R NO. You don't want to try that at night. Visibility will be horrible. It will also be hard to spot dangerous animals like snakes. You travel dawn and dusk.

@colecampbell1906 6 месяцев назад

There's some situations in which that could be what gets you killed though if nobody is looking for you, or at least not in the right area or not yet. Just gotta have good wits about you or have someone there who does. Know your situation and whether or not you gotta figure out a plan and get moving, especially when it comes to dehydration, you're on a clock and can't afford to be found a week later.

@kalanhitchens8782 6 месяцев назад

I live in the Ozark Mountains. I go hiking all the time with amazing trails. People get lost every year. I never thought it would happen to me but even I got lost with a friend because we decided to go off the trail to check some stuff out. Only walked about 300 or 400 ft, took us 3 hours to find our way back to the trail. We were lucky that we did at all

@StephenShawCanada 6 месяцев назад

You have to mark the trail so you know where you came from. You also need to look back so you recognize the landscape.

@Wisdom-Nuggets-Tid-Bits 6 месяцев назад

How does that happen?

@kalanhitchens8782 6 месяцев назад

@@Wisdom-Nuggets-Tid-Bits there are a lot of Bluffs. We climb down a part where we could get using a tree to help us step down the Steep Rock. Then we went exploring. Twists and turns, after a hundred yards or so we decided to go back. Couldn't find the exact spot we got up the bluff but tried three or four different places. Ended up getting lucky in finding the one that led back to the trail. The trails around here aren't what you would think normal Trails look like in a national forest. People go missing all the time, it is super easy to get lost because everything looks the same

@Wisdom-Nuggets-Tid-Bits 6 месяцев назад

@@kalanhitchens8782 Ah, well veering off more than 300 feet is risky - I can see why you got lost. I would say to veer off no more than 50 feet. Even in the national and state forests on the actual trails can be tricky because the trails break into different legs and then you forget where you want to go. I have never been hiking more than 3 hours anywhere.

@hollybrandenburg 6 месяцев назад

I can't even begin to wrap my head around giving up all hope and asking my friend to end my life. Then going through with it just to be rescued shortly afterwards. My heart and prayers go out to him, his friend and everyone affected by such a tragedy. I pray that they hv held one another close and forgiven and healed from the ordeal! God be with you and know that even in death love survives 💞

@Blessed488 5 месяцев назад

❤ your narration very compassionate

@joncoutts1671 6 месяцев назад

I went to High School with Raffi. He was a nice and fun guy. Not the kind of guy to be violent or underhanded. Just such a tragic story…to have to live with the weight of the guilt. He’s doing well enough now, it seems…but I hope he can forgive himself.

@normturner4849 6 месяцев назад

Was it your opinion that the guy was a know it all moron? It just seems like the stupidest decisions were his and we only have his version that Dave 'wanted' to die by knife.

@klipklapklop3359 6 месяцев назад

Was he a rational guy or did he like to break rules and do things his way

@HaneenIAdam 6 месяцев назад

Thanks for the update, I was wandering how he was doing. I wish too he can forgive himself.

@heidiullrich966 6 месяцев назад

Thank you for updating us. I hope he got help dealing with the unimaginable guilt and heartache he had to live with. 🙏

@kevinburt44 6 месяцев назад

It must have been awful, to do what his friend asked, you could argue that here was a very true friend, who when asked to do the impossible, he did. Not knowing if they would be rescued, I think anyone sitting in comfort of their own home, or office etc shouldn't judge the guy. Easy to make judgements when in no danger yourself.

@SusuIAm 6 месяцев назад

My heart is broken for all involved. So close to rescue but Dave just couldn’t take it. I can’t imagine the guilt his best friend deals with daily. Prayers for all. ❤

@Irunwithscissors63 6 месяцев назад

Or could he? We only have his ‘friends’ word for that. We have no idea what actually happened out there.

@user-lovesyou 6 месяцев назад

@@Irunwithscissors63 what? you cant be serious lol

@Irunwithscissors63 6 месяцев назад

@@user-lovesyou yes. I can be. This sort of thing has happened before - not this situation but times where there’s no witnesses and only the other guys word for it.

@user-lovesyou 6 месяцев назад

@@Irunwithscissors63 so wait can you explain what u think happened im curious?

@Irunwithscissors63 6 месяцев назад

@@user-lovesyou I don’t know what happened. No one does except David and his friend. They’re in what they believe to be the middle of nowhere with no obvious hope. In their frustration and fear they start blaming each other for the circumstances they’re in. Out comes the knife. Who knows?! But that’s a real possibility. Funny how they didn’t have the energy to finish lifting SOS rocks but he had the energy to pile rocks on top of his friend.

@TheHendyFamily 3 месяца назад

Love ALL of your stories Mr Ballen!

@cmmnsenserules4339 6 месяцев назад

Thank you for your service 🙏.

@ciaclark1111 6 месяцев назад

This is one of the most heartbreaking stories I've ever heard. I can't imagine the pain and guilt Rafi must deal with on a daily basis.

@VioletJoy 6 месяцев назад

Same here. I just can't get past the thousands of comments here saying things like, "These stories are the best part of my week!!" And, "Loved this one. What a spooky story." He killed his best friend, not realizing that they were SO close to help. They both could have survived. Now he has to live with that. Talk about trauma. 💔😥💔

@OC-CPA 6 месяцев назад

@@VioletJoy I don't feel sad because they're complete idiots who got exactly what they deserved.

@audreymuzingo933 6 месяцев назад

@@VioletJoy Not only did Ravi kill his best friend, he was the one who said they didn't need that much water and packed less than a single person would need for 24 hours even if they were sitting in their air-conditioned living room.

@OhCeCelia 6 месяцев назад

@@audreymuzingo933Do you think it was a setup? (Just curious by your reply) Raffi just wanted Dave gone even if he died too? (There was an allegation that Dave started dating Raffi's ex)

@audreymuzingo933 6 месяцев назад

@@OhCeCelia LOL no I don't think it was a setup. Just that killing Dave a few hours before they would be rescued isn't the only thing Rafi has to feel guilty for.

@cherylsabol387 6 месяцев назад

I’m shocked this doesn’t happen more often considering how many people go into the desert & mountains with zero experience

@Moshuun 5 месяцев назад

The fact that he even served time is mind boggling.

@ryanlewis557 6 месяцев назад

I was raised and live in the area where this happened. When i heard the amount of water they took with them i knew it was going to be ugly. During the summer here it is unusual for the temps to be under 100, and in August we reach 110 plus. Always carry more water than you need. You can go weeks without food, but only days without water.

@glasshalffull2930 6 месяцев назад

I live in San Diego and east of the city is a huge park of over 7,000 acres. (Mission Trails Regional Park). It’s inland enough that in the summer it can easily be in the mid 90s and above. It’s not only the temp, but the total lack of shade. Every year, multiple people have to be rescued and multiple dogs die.

@ryanlewis557 6 месяцев назад

I agree. Shade helps.

@neillayden7707 6 месяцев назад

Honestly without water for 3 days in the desert, it could easily make a person go insane enough to do something like that. If I was on a jury, I am not sure I could convict someone in that situation.

@audreymuzingo933 6 месяцев назад

I couldn't either. Nor could I for any other kind of tragic accident, even ones that are hard to understand, like when someone goes into their job and hours later realizes they didn't actually drop their baby off at the daycare, and it died in the car in the parking lot. I don't consider that murder, manslaughter or even neglect; it is pure "brain fart", which sounds like trivializing something horrific, but unfortunately the way brain farts work don't factor the level of consequences. A person making that huge of a mistake doesn't mean they care _less_ than someone who's never made it. And I'm pretty sure if it were me, the guilt and public shame would be far worse than a prison cell.

@jenniferdono6990 6 месяцев назад

@@audreymuzingo933absolutely. That level of guilt and shame will literally eat you alive. There isn’t anything worse that anyone could do to you than you would do to yourself.

@randalmayeux8880 6 месяцев назад

He plead guilty to murder, so there wouldn't have been a trial.

@audreymuzingo933 6 месяцев назад

@@randalmayeux8880 Yeah I forgot that. My guess is he _felt_ so guilty he insisted on pleading to murder, because any defense attorney worth a lick (even a public defender) would have tried their damnedest to convince him he should try for a jury acquittal, or at least see if the prosecution would agree to pleading guilty for a lesser charge like manslaughter or reckless endangerment.

@SLlPPP 6 месяцев назад

Been following you for almost 3 years now before you broke 400k subs. Love every video. Keep it up 👍

@darrellhouston5951 6 месяцев назад

This man needs to narrate a novel!! Simply amazing

@Dead_Braincells_Society 6 месяцев назад

Ugh I remember this story now. So sad that they both couldn’t have just gone to sleep and agree to not make the decision until after one more night of rest. Tragic. Side note, I never realized this was at Carlsbad Caverns! I just visited that place and it was absolutely stunning. Thanks for the great story Mr. B! RIP Dave.

@paulastiles5507 6 месяцев назад

I visited Carlsbad once when I was a kid. Definitely memorable even all these years later.

@leeow3n 6 месяцев назад

Don't be naive, Raffy murdered Dave and created a cover story.

@Dead_Braincells_Society 6 месяцев назад

@@leeow3n it’s ok to have suspicions and think that way, but it’s also ok to believe his story, since I have no idea what took place that night because I was hydrated, in bed with a full stomach, 1000s of miles away.

@TheSelenamonet 6 месяцев назад

This is absolutely so sad. Who knew two friends lives would be forever changed on a simple walk? It's so sad Dave didn't make it, and his best friend had to be the one to do it. 😔 Mr Ballen tells these stories so well, it's always morbid or ominous but the videos are my guily pleasure 😩😂😂

@mellmurder 6 месяцев назад

How can a spoiler comment have so many likes lmfao

@Mikmikmouse 6 месяцев назад

@@mellmurderI learned a loooong time ago - don’t read the comments before you hear the story lmao

@OC-CPA 6 месяцев назад

@@mellmurder It's not a "spoiler comment". What kind of idiot reads the comments before watching the video?

@mellmurder 6 месяцев назад

@@Mikmikmouse I read the comment after I watched the video, I still think it's weird that the comment has many likes.

@danyellbrozovich9632 6 месяцев назад

Love you Mr. Ballen!

@kawaiiwarrior3553 6 месяцев назад

I grew up in this area! I actually worked outside the Carlsbad Caverns for a few years. I remember hearing about when this happened. I really hate saying this, but this isn't an uncommon story for there. There's a really bad problem with the tourists underestimating the desert, getting lost, and not packing enough water to survive. One summer, we had over dozens of folks getting lost and having to be air lifted out. There's TONS of warning signs throughout the park warning about the heat and making sure to have plenty of water. I was taught to keep water in my car just in case. That desert is no joke! Not only that, but there's also a reason it's called Rattlesnake Canyon. Aside from the apparent name. You really have to be careful because there's bears, bobcats, mountain lions aka cougars, badgers, etc.

@TMeyer-ge5pj 3 месяца назад

Yes. I am from Minnesota lol but the amount of people who underestimate nature astounds me. Any sign of bad weather, I am staying home. If you go into a remote area, you have to bascially be able to fix a car on your own or you're dying out there. People live such comfortable lives today that they forget about the simple things like hypothermia, dehydration, starvation, etc. And don't get me started on animals. I have heard of people thinking they can pet a moose. They are widely known to be highly aggresive and dangerous. I would be terrified to even see a moose on a trail.

@theoriginalkyttyn7724 6 месяцев назад

1. In arid environments where i know there will be no water source, I carry more water. 2. I make sure to leave my own trail marks as I walk and look around for things I can use for landmarks. 3. I stick to my route and don't deviate until I set up camp. 4. I keep my campsite in view when exploring _and_ make trail marks along the path I take. 5. I do not stay longer than my water supply will last for the return hike. 6. I follow the same path out that I took in. I learned these important steps from a friend who spent a lot of time in and around desert. Those tips will save your life. Other things to know are about where you're going. Is there any hidden source of water? Do you have a lightweight filter pump to refill a water bottle? Do you know if there are edible plants and when they're safe to eat? What kind of fauna is in that area? Also, always carry a first aid kit, a beacon of some kind, and a wide brimmed hat. If you do these things, you will increase your chances of survival/rescue if anything goes awry.

@jacquelinelopez929 6 месяцев назад

Thank you for this life saving info!

@joanhoffman3702 6 месяцев назад

You are a smart and sensible person. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

@bazzle.dazzle 6 месяцев назад

very smart but do you knock down the trail markers after you come back? it's really easy for inexperienced people to get lost following unofficial markers

@inmate1614 6 месяцев назад

Kind of strange they didn't have the strength to finish the S.O.S. message but Raffi had the strength to stab his friend to death and bury him under a rock pile.

@sallymorris2473 6 месяцев назад

Only other person I've seen question this!

@EuthanasiaSUPREME 6 месяцев назад

Probably because it was during the day when the sun was beating down on them and the stabbing occurred at night when it was cool

@clinton2354 6 месяцев назад

I've missed your story's bro.much love clint

@yo_its_javi9808 6 месяцев назад

I've watched so many of these videos and every time I tell myself, "it won't be so bad." And every time IT'S WORSE 😢

@anadverb5063 6 месяцев назад

Lived and went to school in Arizona. Did a lot of hiking. When Mr. Ballen told us how much water they brought, I knew how this story would end. Desert topography is made up of endless acres that to the inexperienced eye all seem to be exact duplicates of one another. Most of all, that desert sun is no joke. It doesn’t suffer foolishness or bravado. You have to plan as though something will go terribly wrong. The first time you don’t will likely be the last time you plan for anything.

@j_m_b_1914 6 месяцев назад

I always tell it like this -- when you go hiking in the desert, everything there is trying to kill you -- most of all the sun.

@julilla1 6 месяцев назад

I grew up there, and the amount of sad stories every summer is crazy. Just people not respecting the desert. Besides the water issue, we were always taught to *stay put* if you are lost. If you are in a car, stay in it. Once you go wandering around on foot out there, you're in trouble.

@lisadixon8087 6 месяцев назад

Just up to that point and thought the same!

@karenwetherall7890 6 месяцев назад

So sad! I've actually been there with my parents as a kid, in 1960, whilst in the U.S. Having seen the desolation, felt the heat etc. it made this story even more real and frightening. I feel for both these young men!! This should be a warning lesson to all prospective hikers!! Well told as always Mr Ballen, thank you! 💖

@blaze556922 6 месяцев назад

Very sad and the fact they both could've led great lives is also frustrating. People are so stupid sometimes. This Raffi person has to live with knowing he cost his friend his life.

@drdanoosh 5 месяцев назад

MrBallen, you have to do a TED Talk, you are seriously a great storyteller

@lsaidwhatlsaid 6 месяцев назад

I'm afraid to drive in a desert in fear of breaking down, let alone go there to camp!

@jessabriggs7401 6 месяцев назад

It’s been three years since we gave the like button 👍🏼 a gentle hug cause he’s been through so much. Should we maybe buy him, a nice dinner next week ?

@mikesmith-po8nd 6 месяцев назад

Maybe a like button support group?

@CastawayBench 6 месяцев назад

@@mikesmith-po8nd😂😂😂

@rawrbitchy 6 месяцев назад

Uhmmm NO! The like button is the enemy. You traitor!!!!!

@JinxdOne 6 месяцев назад

At least a honey bun

@pammitchell5501 6 месяцев назад

Ironic that Raffi is the one to survive when he's the one who exacerbated their situation by ignoring the park ranger's advice about water and encouraging Dave to do the same. I'm not going to judge people's desperate choices in desperate situations (I can't know what it's like without being there myself), but I honestly don't get why Dave asked Raffi to kill him (assuming he actually did) when he and Raffi knew for a fact that they only had a one day permit and that at some point, the park rangers were going to come looking for them. If he still had life in him (which obviously, he did), I don't get why he chose death literally hours before he would have been rescued and when his situation was not yet hopeless. Why not hang on until the very end (like Raffi did)?