Rescue… this is not a drill...

Yesterday the Rangers at Petra continued with their works providing services for the visitors to this World Heritage Site. Some six of them started an extra four days of SAR skills training with rope and rock work. After the training a real rescue mobilization occurred. A 27 +/- year old visitor from Philadelphia, PA wandered off the trail and got stuck in a spot above the Royal Tombs where he could have gotten seriously injured. Unfortunately, the Rangers were never directly informed by any “reporting party.” 

Instead a shop vendor called Civil Defense (CD) authorities and when they responded into PAP the Rangers were 1^st alerted. By the time the NPS SAR instructors and CD folks geared-up the visitor had been brought to safety by a “Donkey Boy.”  So, the young Rocky Balboa (actually Kaleb) from the new Philadelphia wasn’t rescued by the CD folks from the old Philadelphia (Amman). In debriefing the individual it was learned that he’d lost his head-gear (shade) was dehydrated and couldn’t remember how he got off the trail. He was traveling alone, and I remember seeing him earlier in day at the Treasury and thinking: “we need to keep an eye on that one.” Especially after he didn’t go with the cute young French gals that tried to recruit him as a hiking buddy.

As it turned out the CD responders had multiple incidents as at the same time a motor vehicle accident happened just outside the park, on the winding road from Wadi Musa to Um Sayhoun. Defensive Driving is an unknown concept and you’ll find many drivers weaving in-and-out of traffic (forget lanes) while talking on the cell phone and performing some other activity: coffee? Reading a map, head bowed in prayer, etc. No wonder when Meme visited me last year my 1^st afternoon of driving terrified her (I’d been conditioned by 6+ weeks of “This Could be The Last Time…”).

Todays training went OK, with some belay and rappel work. However, it is obvious that most of the Petra Rangers were not comfortable on-the-line and will need much more practice before they’ll be confident & relaxed.  That will take management support and encouragement from the Chief Ranger, who has been on leave our entire time here. Maybe soon… Inshallah