Dark Side of the San Gabes / ANF - old Outdoor Mag article

shreddy · Post by **shreddy** » Wed Jul 17, 2013 8:10 pm

Some bedtime reading:- "Their connection to the land, though, seems to leave the LEOs haunted by the horror that accompanies the desecration of a serene landscape with mangled and bloody human remains."

Interesting read.

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-ad ... l?page=all

Breabonnie · Post by **Breabonnie** » Wed Jul 17, 2013 10:05 pm

Went to your link...it is a good read, but my goodness ...the stuff in that article. "potato head?" I'll spare the gruesome details for those who prefer not to read it.

Yet the LEO said: every year "two or three DOZEN" bodies????

Is it horror movie night or something? Pinch me... cuz I've been asleep I guess, I had no idea. For me its been a pleasant playground not a dump for

Guess my child like eyes have been opened to the darker side now.

~Bummer.

tracker · Post by **tracker** » Wed Jul 17, 2013 10:29 pm

I have direct first-hand knowledge of several things in that story. Besides what I know is BS, I have to wonder how much of the rest is crap.

Creatively written, but still crap.

Breabonnie · Post by **Breabonnie** » Wed Jul 17, 2013 11:32 pm

Found a discrepancy in the article however:

"At 47, Alt's square-cut build is starting to soften a little at the corners. Yet he still looks like a man born to wear the stiff cop's mustache that is his most prominent feature."

Then we read:

"Alt left the military in 1972, so disheartened that his only goal was to take the year's pay he'd saved up and "see if I could drink my way across the United States."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did I miss something? or Was "Alt" about 6 years old when he "left the military?"

Breabonnie · Post by **Breabonnie** » Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:08 am

Hi Tracker,

This is all news to me. So, I'm curious, what is your side of the story with regard to this info shared? Inquiring minds want to know the ...other "other side."

What details were messed up/missing or exaggerated or under rated?

Respectfully,

Gene · Post by **Gene** » Thu Jul 18, 2013 4:49 am

Thanks for the link. I lived in the San Gabriel Mountains for almost 10 years. When I left 35 years ago there were just the occasional pot plants growing, but the murders, suicides, accidents and general craziness sounds about right. It was a very rare weekend we didn't hear ambulances and rescue vehicles heading into the San Gabriel Canyon.

I will the author never head, "Why use large obfuscous words when the diminutive would suffice.

tracker · Post by **tracker** » Thu Jul 18, 2013 7:29 pm

Breabonnie wrote: ↑ What details were messed up/missing or exaggerated or under rated?

Most of them actually. I just re-read the whole story and I would call it something between creative and yellow journalism. I halfway think the author wrote the story long after his interviews, without taking real good notes. Or he did what writers sometimes do and figured the readers wouldn't know or care if the facts were accurate.
Do bad things happen in the mountains? You bet they do. The forest is just a place where a person is more likely to get away with something, as opposed to the city where they live. If a whacked photographer wanted to rape and kill a cheerleader, where would be a better place - McArthur Park or Mill Creek Summit Road? Or with Mr. Potatohead: If you chop someone up at a party in Bouquet Canyon, you have two choices -Down canyon to Santa Clarita or up in the mountains to Upper Shake Road, (between Lake Hughes and Gorman).
It doesn't take a criminal mastermind to know or learn that the handful of FS LEO's go home when it gets dark; with the exception of guys like Mike that hunker down and watch a small spot for specific activity. OK; they might be out on grad nights and rave party details too.
End of rant

.... for now

AW~ · Post by **AW~** » Thu Jul 18, 2013 9:46 pm

Breabonnie wrote: ↑Found a discrepancy in the article however:

"At 47, Alt's square-cut build is starting to soften a little at the corners. Yet he still looks like a man born to wear the stiff cop's mustache that is his most prominent feature."

Then we read:

"Alt left the military in 1972, so disheartened that his only goal was to take the year's pay he'd saved up and "see if I could drink my way across the United States."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did I miss something? or Was "Alt" about 6 years old when he "left the military?"

Yup...the orginial article is from 1997, so at 47 he would have been 22 when he left the military.

I didnt see anything amiss with the article. It wasnt orginial...the LA Times also covered basically the same line items in 1996. The only thing challenged is the accuracy of the number of bodies per year because it includes all bodies-accidents,suicides,etc.

Sitting Bull · Post by **Sitting Bull** » Tue Aug 13, 2013 9:52 pm

I would like to see a follow up. How has the forest changed since then? Thanks for posting it.