WOW! I'm offline for the day, and come into this story late. Way to go, Tom! You ARE a Good Samaritan!
So glad you made contact with Inyo Sheriff. Anyone with that serious AMS needs to get out of there as quickly as possible. A few hours in a tent could end badly.
Regarding the dad not recognizing AMS (or overexertion... whatever): In reality, very few hikers actually do any (or enough) reading to understand the possibilities of AMS and the need to get outta there at the first signs. ...In fact, I believe some of the most experienced here participated in a similar hike a few years back, where the AMS victim was not evacuated for several nights. Experience teaches us well. But we were all novices at one point.
I am sure glad, on both these occasions, that the victim survived and recovered. In Tom's case, the kid was lucky Tom came along and helped them get out in time. The outcome could have been far worse had he not.
For tdtz:
(P.S. Tom, I sure like the Spotwalla map.)
