That happens to be at a comm site, Government Peak.QUOTE]
Actually, as I understand it (but I was not on scene so I could be incorrect) this was substantially east of Government Peak, that point was probably just mentioned in the news reports because it was easy to find. I was monitoring the helo when it was hovering over the site and the actual location was pretty close to the command post that had been set up. Initial search efforts sounded like they concentrated a bit further out I believe, more towards Cuddeback Lake, the intended target of the pair. I know that the Navy had helos up in support of the effort.
As Eng74 said, on the weekends the area is inundated with people from down south who come up here to ride in the desert. Cities of RVs and campers grow overnight, and thousands of bikes, ATVs, etc can be seen in an afternoon. I cannot count the number of folks I have given a ride to when their bike/4x4/ATV etc ran out of gas or broke down in the area, I am generally out in the desert every weekend, and more than once I have had to call in a rescue for someone who crashed.
Any death such as these two are indeed a waste, and my heart also goes out to the families, but it sounds like an effort that was questionable from the start. The time of day chosen to take off, the lack of equipment, no communications, as I understand it no water/provisions, no real plan, etc. The Desert is a pretty place, and should be enjoyed by all, but given a chance it will bite you in the butt also. You must respect its ability to kill/maim/incapacitate you, or eventually you do find out first hand.
Hopefully others will learn from this event and maybe someone else will make it home, who otherwise might not have.
T!