Search and rescue officials are alarmed at the high number of people needing to be rescued after straying off course at Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest.
One trail in particular, the Naked Ground Trail, accounts for more rescues than all other Graham County trails.
Joyce Kilmer Loop, including both the lower and upper portions, is a two-mile hike that is rated as easy, with an elevation gain of 377 feet. Part of the lower loop is closed due to storm damage and much of the remainder of the trail is in poor repair, with overgrowth partially obscuring wayfinding signs.
Therein lies the rub. It is easy to miss the signs and veer off onto Naked Ground Trail, which is 4.5 miles and rated as very strenuous, with an elevation gain of 2,500 feet. It takes three hours to reach the end and two hours to return.
Day hikers expect a short, easy loop and may carry a snack and a bottle of water. Taking a wrong turn, they wind up on a very strenuous trail, in the wilderness, in the dark, exhausted with their supplies used up.
“According to my records, there have been 33 missions that rescued 45 persons from the Naked Ground Trail in recent years,” said Marshall McClung, retired search and rescue coordinator for Graham County. He defined “recent years” as being since the year 2000.
“There were two fatalities; a male hunter who died from a heart attack and a female who overdosed. There were some injuries such as fractures, but most simply got lost. A majority of those lost said they had intended to go to the memorial plaque, but got on the Naked Ground Trail by mistake.
“There have been more search and rescue missions in recent years on this one trail than any other area in Graham County. Slickrock would probably be next on the list, followed by Big Snowbird.”
McClung and current Graham County Search and Rescue Coordinator Tory Lynnes hope that by bringing attention to the problem, hikers will avoid taking the wrong turn and experience the day hike they were expecting.
It is easy for an inexperienced hiker to be led astray once they leave the parking lot and walk the half mile to reach the
fork between the Joyce Kilmer Loop Trail (off to the left) and far more difficult Naked Ground Trail (up the stairs and off to the right).
Naked Ground Trail is rated “very strenuous” and does not loop. By the time hikers realize they are lost, they often run out of food, water and daylight.
The Naked Ground Trail rises gently through the woods for approximately 0.3 miles to a junction with the connector trail to the Jenkins Meadow Trail. From there, the trail continues a moderate climb with several stream crossings for approximately four miles before the final steep ascent of switchbacks, ultimately leading to the junction at Naked Ground camping area. At this point, the Naked Ground Trail intersects the Slickrock Creek Trail to the north, and the Haoe Lead Trail along the ridge.
The only good thing is that by the time they realize they are lost, hikers are at a high enough altitude to receive cell phone service, which is unavailable at lower elevations in that area.
In one rescue earlier this year, a 38-year-old mother and her 3-year-old child took the wrong trail; she thought she was on the upper loop portion of the Joyce Kilmer Loop Trail.
In the failing light of early evening, she called a relative who relayed the information to Graham County, which sent out a search and rescue party. The rescuers reached the mother and child at about 11:30 p.m. and slow-walked back in the darkness, reaching the parking lot at about 3:45 a.m., Lynnes said.