Darleene Barrientos
The body of a 69-year-old La Crescenta man missing for a week was
discovered Sunday in a mountain ravine where he apparently fell to
his death while hiking, authorities said.
After several search-and-rescue crews combed the San Bernardino
Mountains for seven days without any luck, a lone hiker spied Ronald
Dean Barbour's boot in the snow Sunday afternoon, said Mike Leum, a
reserve chief with Montrose Search and Rescue.
Barbour apparently fell from a 15-foot boulder into a ravine near
Acorn Trail, part of the Pacific Crest Trail in the San Bernardino
Mountains. The 7,000-foot range is southeast of Mountain High ski
resort.
Barbour suffered a broken leg and major head trauma and most
likely died instantly, Leum said.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Marjorie; sons Jim and
Randy; daughters Cindy, Beverly and Eleanor; two grandsons and two
granddaughters.
Barbour died doing what he loved most -- hiking -- his wife said
Monday.
"I would say hiking was his absolute passion. He would do it
anytime he had a chance," Marjorie Barbour said. "If you wanted to
make him smile, you would break out the topographical maps."
Barbour was a retired certified public accountant and an active
member of the Crescenta Valley Chapter of the Sierra Club. He wanted
to hike the whole Pacific Crest Trail, which stretches from the
border of Mexico to Canada. He was in the process of doing it in
small chunks, his wife said.
The news that her husband's body was found stunned Marjorie
Barbour, who continued to hold out hope that he would be found alive.
"[Ronald's death] will leave a great big hole in my life," she
said.
The death of an avid and experienced hiker is another reminder
that certain rules should be followed when hiking the wilderness,
Leum said.
Hikers should never go alone. A plan should always be made and
others told of the plan, Leum said. Hikers should also always have
the proper gear.
"You don't have to make a lot of mistakes out there to get in
trouble," Leum said. "All you have to do is forget one of those
things and you can be in a world of problems."
Ronald Barbour, Leum said, went hiking alone and did not tell his
wife exactly where he was going to be hiking.
