he dramatic Grand Teton Mountain Range is viewed from the Snake River Overlook(Photo: George Rose/Getty Images)
Outsidecontributor Suzie Dundas spoke with Anthony Stevens, Teton County Search and Rescue chief advisor in Wyoming, to parse through the details of this backcountry rescue.
Search and rescue personnel saved two brothers on the morning of August 25 after they became lost in Wyoming’s Thorofare Valley, one of the most remote wilderness areas in the Lower 48.
The two men, both in their 30s, stumbled into a wilderness camp, disoriented and low on food, a Teton County Search and Rescue (TCSAR) spokesperson toldOutside. Authorities have not released the name of the men, but did say neither was injured.
“They were kind of disheveled and dehydrated,” Anthony Stevens, TCSAR chief adviser, said. “They were obviously scared by this encounter. And I think they were really worried about the fact they didn’t have any food.”
The Thorofare Valley is considered the furthest point from any road in the contiguous United States. Given their remote location, the two men were lucky to find help.
“I think the closest road is 20 miles as the crow flies,” Stevens said. The valley sits about three miles fromYellowstone National Park‘s southern border, and roughly 20 miles east ofGrand Teton National Park.
The two men walked into the remoteHawk’s Rest Wilderness Campin Teton Wilderness, located in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest. Personnel at the camp contacted TCSAR, the group wrote in astatement. The hikers said they came into contact with a bear, though Stevens says it’s unclear whether the bear attacked.
During their encounter, the men deployed one of their two cans of bear spray, and one tore his rain pants, though Stevens said it was unclear what caused the tears. Neither man showed signs of bear-related injuries, he added.
Camp staff gave the men food and water and directed them to a nearby ranger cabin to wait for rescuers. Rescuers initially feared “a full-blown bear mauling,” Stevens said. But once TCSAR determined the men were safe and not in immediate danger, it opted to wait until the following day to send a helicopter to avoid flying into remote terrain at night. Responders flew the men to the TCSAR headquarters in Wyoming. Neither required additional medical attention.
The encounter is one of a few in a series of bear-related incidents around the region this summer, including an August 10black bear incidentnear Teton Pass and aMay grizzly encounternear Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park that left two men in serious condition.