Joshua Tree Park’s popularity takes a toll on rescue workers

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK — David Sewell lay against a pile of granite rocks, struggling even to shift his hips slightly beneath him. He told himself that if he was going to die, he should write a note to his children.

Three days earlier, on a Saturday afternoon in April, the legally blind 76-year-old with a history of heart problems had collapsed of exhaustion on a secluded hillside while on a day hike in Joshua Tree National Park.

On Sunday, with temperatures in the 90s, Sewell had one ounce of water left. On Monday, he heard rescue helicopters nearby, only to hear them quickly fade away. On Tuesday, he woke up believing he wouldn’t survive the day.

In the last five years, Joshua Tree National Park has experienced a visitor boom unlike anything it has seen before, driven in part by music festivals such as Coachella and the growing popularity of national parks around the country. This year, the park expects 3.1 million visitors, more than double the 1.4 million it drew in 2013.

There are days when cars line up a mile long at the entrance and tens of thousands of visitors vie for 3,000 parking spots. In December, park officials concerned about being overrun asked people to consider visiting Death Valley National Park or the Mojave National Preserve.

Beyond the inconveniences, the park’s boom has also raised the chances that something will go seriously wrong in this deceptively inviting landscape, where even experienced hikers can wander off trails or underestimate how quickly the weather goes from cool to intolerably hot.

The rise in incidents of people needing help takes a toll on the park’s resources, particularly its volunteer search-andrescue workers.