KallMeKris

So from where the van sat, there were three plausible directions to move in, and each had a logic visible from looking at the map.

And the first option was to head east, back toward the main valley and Badwater Road, the paved highway that carries regular tourist traffic.

But the problem was the distance because Badwater Road was approximately 17 miles away and in normal conditions that would represent a long but manageable hike.

But across the floor of Death Valley in July at temperatures where the ground surface was registering close to 130 degrees Fahrenheit with limited water and two children, it was something else entirely.

The second option was to just turn back west, retrace some of the ground they had already covered, and make for the geologist's cabin roughly four miles in that direction.

The cabin had running water and shelter, and it was a place where other travelers occasionally passed through.

Four miles was manageable even in significant heat, and the water at the cabin would have bought them time to wait.

But the downside was just uncertainty because there was no way to know how long it might be before another person came through.

So the third option was to head south toward the perimeter of China Lake Naval Weapons Center, which appeared on the distance on the map of around eight to nine miles.

And to Egbert, a military installation meant a perimeter.

A perimeter meant people.

And in his experience, in anyone's experience in Central Europe, that was simply what military bases were as we went over.

And he had no way of knowing what we now know, that the base's security wasn't fences and guards.

It was just desert.

But nine miles felt doable and the military felt like safety.

So he chose south.

And you know, from a distance of nearly 30 years now, to look at the options Egbert had and see clearly that the cabin was the right choice, only four miles and running water, a place where people occasionally passed, the logic of staying close to a known resource and waiting is obvious when you are examining it in a comfortable room with complete information.

And without a four-year-old and an 11-year-old and a frightened partner and the weight of the responsibility for all of it in 120 degree heat,

But heat does things to cognition, right?

And sustained exposure to extreme temperatures degrades decision-making in measurable ways.