The Search for Steve Fossett
Day 1:
Adventure Science Crew / 15.07.2008
Day 1 of the search has come and nearly gone. We awoke to a cool but clear morning, most of us rising by 545 AM. A hearty breakfast was followed by the team making final preparations to gear and food for the day before loading into the support vehicles and being shuttled to the first search area.
Unfortunately our 6th member Greg Marshall was stranded in Denver due to a flight cancellation and only arrived in the afternoon. Paul Trebilcock’s bags have still not arrived so he spent today in borrowed clothing. After a quick drive to the search area, we were ready to begin searching by 740 AM. After putting a nail through the side wall of one of our support vehicles though, the drive to the search start was a nervous one on the rocky 4×4 road.
Although no wreckage was found today, the day was one where we covered ~20 km and moved through some sizeable ravines and valleys with moderate to heavy tree cover. Overall the weather cooperated although water is in short supply, several of the team members went without water for nearly 2 hours prior to making it to our resupply location at 2 pm. Thankfully though, cloud cover and a light afternoon rain prevented any heat injuries or serious dehydration problem.
Search wrapped today at 530 pm with the team feeling strong but tired from the big effort today. Return to base camp was a good one as Keith and Tyler had created a pasta feast that we all enjoyed.
Following a debriefing of the day and a planning session for tomorrow, the team is currently enjoying some relaxation before going to bed in preparation for another early day tomorrow.
Thank you to all who have emailed support, we all appreciate it. We pumped and ready to go hard again tomorrow. Hopefully we have another good weather day!
SleepMonsters
