Carne Mountain to High Pass (page 26)

Greg, Me & Mica, getting ready to head out

The weather, by the way, was still holding hot and sunny. This was obviously very fortuitous as cold temperatures and wet weather would not have enhanced the trip out at all. (Small understatement.)

Greg shouldered my pack and off we went, but not before Bill gave me a pill bottle containing disinfectant cream, gauze and butterfly band-aids. I felt prepared for anything.

Greg had to keep slowing down to allow me to catch up and I realized how foolish I had been to think I could have gotten down into the Napeequa with a full pack. It was fine as long as I could place my foot flat on the ground, but every time I had to navigate any sort of slope, it hurt big time. Anytime I had to flex that ankle inwards or outwards, the pain just shot up my leg. Finally we reached the saddle and the trail. I thanked Greg again for everything he and his dad had done for me, then watched as he left.

Finally, I strapped my pack on and headed down the trail, my thoughts turning to what lay ahead. It was going to take me at least two days to get out, I realized. My evacuation route was Buck Creek to Trinity. I knew there was a year-round caretaker at the old mining camp, so it seemed my best bet was to have him radio the park service or maybe the sheriff.

The sheriff? That seemed kind of extreme. Maybe I could just have him radio someone to make a call to Seattle for me. If C&G or one of my other friends couldn't come up to fetch me, I was sure my auntie Donna would. But, boy, would she be upset to get a call from the sheriff's department.

Well, I had a day or two to think about it. First I had to get myself to Trinity.

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