You know what's worse than being stranded on a mountain with no food?

Uh, listening to ads when you're trying to escape reality? Exactly. That's why we've got

you covered on Patreon. For just a few bucks, ditch the ads completely. And for a few bucks more,

get ad-free listening plus early access to our disaster strikes episodes. Because when disaster hits in the

middle of nowhere, you'll want the story first. Head to patreon.com and search Crux True Survival

Stories. Your future survival depends on it. Okay, maybe not literally, but your listening

experience definitely will.

Welcome to the segment of the Crux podcast called Disaster Strikes. While our regular episodes

focus on survival stories where people overcome incredible odds, this biweekly segment examines

outdoor adventures that ended in tragedy. These stories are meant to paint a clear picture

of how quickly things can go wrong in the wilderness. The cascade of decisions, often small and

seemingly reasonable in the moment, they can lead to devastating outcomes. By studying these

incidents respectfully and thoroughly, we can learn valuable lessons that might save lives.

The stories are difficult, but the education they provide is invaluable. I'm your host, Casey

McIntosh, and today with me is my co-host, Julie Henningson. Picture this. It's July 17, 2006.

The Utah desert near Boulder, temperature 100 degrees. A 29-year-old man is

dying of thirst in less than 100 yards from water. The guide walking beside him has emergency

water in his pack. He never offers it. This young man is named Dave Bouchow, former Air Force, security professional, Eagle Scout.

In less than 36 hours after starting a wilderness survival course, he paid $3,175 to attend.

He would be dead. More than 18 years later, his death still raises one of the most troubling

questions in outdoor education, the customer's welfare or the quest.

Before we dive into Dave's story today, I want to explain what wilderness survival schools actually are,

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