Stranded Las Vegas Hiker Saves Own Life with Website Update
Posted on: January 16, 2025, 01:50h.
Last updated on: January 16, 2025, 02:10h.
David Smith thought he loved rugged mountain hikes. For the past 20 years, the web designer and marketing writer has devoted the better part of one day a week to them. He also loves documenting these hikes on his website, lasvegasareatrails.com. And that’s what saved his life.

In April, Smith decided to up his game. He set out with a group of experienced mountain climbers for what they told him would be a 10-hour hike through Red Rock Canyon, just west of Las Vegas. That’s not the best idea in ideal weather for a climbing novice. But in 95 degrees, it’s much worse.
Navigating near-vertical rock walls via slippery cracks and ledges was more of a challenge than Smith had bargained for, and their 10-hour turnaround was turning into a 30-hour one. What made matters worse, though, was what actually saved Smith’s life — his compulsion to stop to document the beauty he traversed.

“So involved was I in (taking) pictures and videos that I did not realize I was substituting rest time for the activity of picture and video documentation,” Smith wrote on his website. “The sum total of no rest plus playing catch-up all the way to Rainbow Wall summit was quietly adding to a growing exhaustion factor.”
Unhappy Trails
Losing light and water fast — luckily, one of the climbers had a water filter for Oak Creek — they updated their significant others via text and settled in for an unplanned (and sleepless) night in grueling winds.
Smith’s girlfriend never received the text, as he only discovered later. So she called Red Rock Search and Rescue, and showed them this Google map, which he had posted to his website and left up on his computer.
The next morning, Smith convinced the others to finish the hike without him, assuring them that he would be fine heading back to the trailhead on his own.
“That last 1.9-mile stretch along the Knoll Trail toward the Pine Creek Canyon Trailhead, I knew I was in trouble,” Smith wrote. “I learned something new: You can become so dehydrated and exhausted that, even though you have an adequate food and water supply, your body begins to refuse the food and water.”
Coming Full Circle in More Than One Way
It was while resting in the shade of a boulder with a wet towel on his head that Smith heard his name called. Fortunately for him, it wasn’t a hallucination.
As rescue workers took his vitals and escorted him out of the canyon, one of them informed Smith that their team had an opening, if he was interested.
After a three-night stay at a local hospital for hydration, Smith took her up on the offer. Now, he has five months of training left before becoming a member of Red Rock Search and Rescue.
Related News Articles
Lisa Marie Presley, Only Child of Elvis, Dies of Cardiac Arrest
10 Exotic Cats Removed From Magician Dirk Arthur’s Vegas Ranch
How to Not Die While Visiting Vegas in Summer Heat
Most Popular
Dallas Mavericks Aren’t Moving to Las Vegas, Say Adelson, Dumont
Blackstone May Be Mulling Star Entertainment Buy — With a Catch
Full House Resumes Waukegan Casino Construction After Lawsuit
Most Commented
-
Pennsylvania Township Commissioning Impact Study for Casino Near Penn State
January 24, 2025 — 54 Comments— -
VEGAS DINING NEWS: MGM Resorts Considers Charging for Window Tables
January 11, 2025 — 13 Comments— -
Luxor Las Vegas Guest Sues for Shockingly Bad Experience
January 14, 2025 — 9 Comments— -
Brightline Revises One-Way Fare for LA to Vegas High Speed Train
January 22, 2025 — 8 Comments—
Last Comment ( 1 )
Cool story with a happy ending!