Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
When the entire Gerrish Chung family died along a hiking trail in the Sierra National Forest in the summer of 2021, it led to one of California's most famous investigations. Unfortunately, the story was riddled with news media falsehoods and social media speculation that led to confusion over what might have been a proper response. Here I hike the route the family took on that terrible day and assess the evidence.
LINKS FROM THIS VIDEO
“New details emerge about missing family found dead in Mariposa County” — ABC30 Fresno, August 23, 2021 (the earliest widely published news article reporting on the Gerrish–Chung family deaths that I found online) - abc30.com/post/mariposa-county-family-found-dead/10960183
Map Photos Calls - media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/220218092225-gerrish-chung-family-hiking-map.jpg?q=w_1160,c_fill/f_webp
Map Bodies - coastalreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/mariposa-county-map-1280x989.jpg
Map Mess Up - i0.wp.com/truecrimesocietyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/229922661_1201288300352607_642356691973667675_n.jpg
Cell Phone Forensics Reveal Desperate Plea Made by California Family Before Mysterious Hiking Death - web.archive.org/web/20220218141640/https://activenorcal.com/cell-phone-forensics-reveal-desperate-plea-made-by-california-family-before-mysterious-hiking-death
A Survival Expert On Death In The Mountains The Gerrish-Chung Incident - youtu.be/aG7iLz7NOis
Super Bloom and Mining Ruins Near Yosemite - A Relaxing Hike Down Hite's Cove Trail - youtu.be/zSiN2oiO5sY
Hiking When Its Hot: Dehydration, Heat Exhaustion vs. Heat Stroke - Hiking When Its Hot: Dehydration, Heat Exhaustion vs. Heat Stroke
Hot Hike Along an Abandoned Railroad - Hot Hike Along an Abandoned Railroad
0:00 A Family's Death on Trail Near Yosemite
0:46 PART 1: HIKING HITE'S COVE TRAIL
1:09 Family Details
1:48 Mistaken Reporting and Ignorant Speculation
2:11 Why I am Making This Video
3:20 The Route
3:58 Location Reporting Errors
5:22 All Trails App
5:57 Phone Record Clues
6:25 Temperature Estimates
6:33 Bodies Discovery
7:15 The Family's Gear
7:50 Investigation and Speculation
8:59 Cause of Death
9:38 Record-Setting Heat
10:37 PART 2: HIKING SOUTH FORK MERCED RIVER TRAIL
10:44 Questioning the Cause of Death
11:26 Hite's Cove Trail Conditions
12:04 South Fork Merced Trail Conditions
12:47 Water Source(s)
13:05 Devil's Gulch / Skeleton Creek
13:58 Savage-Lundy Trail Conditions
15:46 Speculation vs. Report and Evidence
16:33 Possible Narrative: The One (Major) Mistake
20:22 Mistaken Claim 1: Healthy Adults Wouldn't Die So Fast
21:05 Mistaken Claim 2: They Would Not Have Died at the Same Time
21:28 Mistaken Claim 3: They Were Too Close to Safety
22:10 Mistaken Claim 4: They Should Have Gone Back Down for Water
23:35 PART 3: HIKING SAVAGE-LUNDY TRAIL
24:21 Mistaken Claim 5: The Dog Would Not Have Remained
24:39 Mistaken Claim 6: Experienced Hikers Would Have Known Better
26:12 Gear Mistakes(?)
28:02 Exposure Mistake
29:35 Could They Have Survived?
30:53 Would I Have Survived?
32:00 Finding The Bodies' Location
32:47 Final Thoughts and Hike Out
LIKE and SUBSCRIBE and CLICK the BELL for #camping, #hiking, #backpacking, and the gear that goes with it! Using these product links helps this channel grow at no cost to you. THANKS!
WEBSITE - BackcountryPilgrim.com
INSTAGRAM - instagram.com/backcountrypilgrim
FREE BACKPACKING CHECKLIST: BackcountryPilgrim.com/2021/03/12/hiking-backpacking-checklist
MY HIKING GEAR: BackcountryPilgrim.com/my-hiking-gear
MUSIC
Intro/Outro Music: "Happiness" Composer: Benjamin Tissot Standard License certificate #2232653 from bensound.com
ES_Shadows Unseen - DEX 1200 - epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/05eb720b-c5de-4a7f-b56b-42db86d273ce
ES_Mythical Trees - DEX 1200 - epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/f018bdc4-337a-41bd-a329-3fd2fdd7ecd3
ES_Dark Space - Ave Air - epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/bfb354ab-3e84-410b-b179-ab4a5491898c
ES_Sensors Surrender - Ave Air - epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/6ff9a5c8-a399-48ad-92e6-950c3bd96f8c
ES_Gilded Stillness - DEX 1200 - epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/9a1b2f3c-0352-424b-8358-e99627f6e9f6
ES_Lush Infinity - DEX 1200 - epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/30460465-600a-4a33-9c42-12c2fb41224e
ES_A Nomad's Journey - Victor Lundberg - epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/87fb95d8-e574-4b84-9b02-2777e903ff4c
When the entire Gerrish Chung family died along a hiking trail in the Sierra National Forest in the summer of 2021, it led to one of California's most famous investigations. Unfortunately, the story was riddled with news media falsehoods and social media speculation that led to confusion over what might have been a proper response. Here I hike the route the family took on that terrible day and assess the evidence.
LINKS FROM THIS VIDEO
“New details emerge about missing family found dead in Mariposa County” — ABC30 Fresno, August 23, 2021 (the earliest widely published news article reporting on the Gerrish–Chung family deaths that I found online) - abc30.com/post/mariposa-county-family-found-dead/10960183
Map Photos Calls - media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/220218092225-gerrish-chung-family-hiking-map.jpg?q=w_1160,c_fill/f_webp
Map Bodies - coastalreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/mariposa-county-map-1280x989.jpg
Map Mess Up - i0.wp.com/truecrimesocietyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/229922661_1201288300352607_642356691973667675_n.jpg
Cell Phone Forensics Reveal Desperate Plea Made by California Family Before Mysterious Hiking Death - web.archive.org/web/20220218141640/https://activenorcal.com/cell-phone-forensics-reveal-desperate-plea-made-by-california-family-before-mysterious-hiking-death
A Survival Expert On Death In The Mountains The Gerrish-Chung Incident - youtu.be/aG7iLz7NOis
Super Bloom and Mining Ruins Near Yosemite - A Relaxing Hike Down Hite's Cove Trail - youtu.be/zSiN2oiO5sY
Hiking When Its Hot: Dehydration, Heat Exhaustion vs. Heat Stroke - Hiking When Its Hot: Dehydration, Heat Exhaustion vs. Heat Stroke
Hot Hike Along an Abandoned Railroad - Hot Hike Along an Abandoned Railroad
0:00 A Family's Death on Trail Near Yosemite
0:46 PART 1: HIKING HITE'S COVE TRAIL
1:09 Family Details
1:48 Mistaken Reporting and Ignorant Speculation
2:11 Why I am Making This Video
3:20 The Route
3:58 Location Reporting Errors
5:22 All Trails App
5:57 Phone Record Clues
6:25 Temperature Estimates
6:33 Bodies Discovery
7:15 The Family's Gear
7:50 Investigation and Speculation
8:59 Cause of Death
9:38 Record-Setting Heat
10:37 PART 2: HIKING SOUTH FORK MERCED RIVER TRAIL
10:44 Questioning the Cause of Death
11:26 Hite's Cove Trail Conditions
12:04 South Fork Merced Trail Conditions
12:47 Water Source(s)
13:05 Devil's Gulch / Skeleton Creek
13:58 Savage-Lundy Trail Conditions
15:46 Speculation vs. Report and Evidence
16:33 Possible Narrative: The One (Major) Mistake
20:22 Mistaken Claim 1: Healthy Adults Wouldn't Die So Fast
21:05 Mistaken Claim 2: They Would Not Have Died at the Same Time
21:28 Mistaken Claim 3: They Were Too Close to Safety
22:10 Mistaken Claim 4: They Should Have Gone Back Down for Water
23:35 PART 3: HIKING SAVAGE-LUNDY TRAIL
24:21 Mistaken Claim 5: The Dog Would Not Have Remained
24:39 Mistaken Claim 6: Experienced Hikers Would Have Known Better
26:12 Gear Mistakes(?)
28:02 Exposure Mistake
29:35 Could They Have Survived?
30:53 Would I Have Survived?
32:00 Finding The Bodies' Location
32:47 Final Thoughts and Hike Out
LIKE and SUBSCRIBE and CLICK the BELL for #camping, #hiking, #backpacking, and the gear that goes with it! Using these product links helps this channel grow at no cost to you. THANKS!
WEBSITE - BackcountryPilgrim.com
INSTAGRAM - instagram.com/backcountrypilgrim
FREE BACKPACKING CHECKLIST: BackcountryPilgrim.com/2021/03/12/hiking-backpacking-checklist
MY HIKING GEAR: BackcountryPilgrim.com/my-hiking-gear
MUSIC
Intro/Outro Music: "Happiness" Composer: Benjamin Tissot Standard License certificate #2232653 from bensound.com
ES_Shadows Unseen - DEX 1200 - epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/05eb720b-c5de-4a7f-b56b-42db86d273ce
ES_Mythical Trees - DEX 1200 - epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/f018bdc4-337a-41bd-a329-3fd2fdd7ecd3
ES_Dark Space - Ave Air - epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/bfb354ab-3e84-410b-b179-ab4a5491898c
ES_Sensors Surrender - Ave Air - epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/6ff9a5c8-a399-48ad-92e6-950c3bd96f8c
ES_Gilded Stillness - DEX 1200 - epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/9a1b2f3c-0352-424b-8358-e99627f6e9f6
ES_Lush Infinity - DEX 1200 - epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/30460465-600a-4a33-9c42-12c2fb41224e
ES_A Nomad's Journey - Victor Lundberg - epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/87fb95d8-e574-4b84-9b02-2777e903ff4c
