2/23/10, 6AM, Day 4: Our watch alarms go off at 6AM. Daybreak is nearing. Time to break camp, fill bottles, drink coffee, and plot our course. With plenty of sunlight, we can see how to avoid the thickest patches and travel the safest route down the mountain. The downside? The slopes are steep, there’s 3 feet of snow on the ground, there are fallen trees everywhere, and to top it off, there are coyote, bobcat, and mountain lion tracks on both sides of the creek.
CHRIS: Let’s not die.
COOP: And when we don’t, let’s get Big Macs.
CHRIS: Agreed.
On either side of us, the slopes climb. We’re in a good spot near the creek. The occasional precipice, be it waterfall or just a straight drop-off, causes us to switch sides. Bobcat tracks provide reason to tread carefully. Larger cat tracks give cause for concern. We may be able to take a bobcat, but a mountain lion is something different.
Yesterday we had to deal with steep slopes and gigantic obstacles. Today, it’s the melting snow and wildlife. Making tracks is much harder than using ’em. Snowshoes would be great about now. Coop and I share the lead. Sometimes the snow holds our weight, other times we sink to our thighs. Step after step our shins absorb the impact of the trail’s icy crust. Then, out of nowhere…
COOP: Car!
CHRIS: Road!
The two of us laugh in disbelief. After 3.5 hours of shin-numbing, toe-jamming, lip-cracking hiking we’re done. Neither of us have ever smiled a bigger smile. Well, there was that one time. But apart from that, this was the happiest. Well, OK, not the happiest. Top ten. Definitely in the top ten. We are definitely happy. Our endeavor is over and we’re headed home.
Coop grabs the map to see where we are while I step out onto the road.
CHRIS: Dude.
COOP: Just a sec. I’m checking the map.
CHRIS: Dude! The car is right there!
COOP: Sweet!
Walking to the car was a great feeling. As we unpack, an SNR truck happens by and I flag it down.
SNR: Well Hallelujah! Sure am glad to see you boys.
BOTH: Nice to be seen sir.
SNR notifies Forest Service, the fire department, and the dozen or so SNR volunteers still out looking for us. Minutes later the park ranger pulls up followed by a couple of volunteers. We debrief. Ranger is concerned he had been too harsh when he told us help wasn’t coming. Coop and I are worried we’d get a harsh lecture. Both parties are pleasantly surprised.
When the ranger said we had to go it alone, it was disheartening, yet motivating. Knowing we were responsible for our safe return was a lot to take in. But, as the ranger explained, we weren’t really on our own. More than twenty SNR volunteers searched for us until 1AM Tuesday morning. And on the morning of our return a handful had gotten up early to search again.
Although we never crossed paths, their selfless willingness to assist was an amazing display of humanity. As for the harsh lecture, we didn’t get one. The conversation we had was more like one shared with an old timer at a greasy spoon. Gracias a todos y hasta luego amigos.
One more thing, in case you were wondering, we got our Big Macs.
And if you’re really interested you can check out the map of our trip to Shining Rock Wilderness below complete with where we got lost and where we spent each night (approximately).
