Inchworms Journal during 26 days lost...newest report

[Connie]

I don't think stage 4 or stage 5 are inevidable.

Of course, if stage 3 is successful, all is good again.

That article seems fanciful: dislocated his shoulder, toenails ripped off in spite of his having shoes.

In many ways, it is the man against a savage nature scenario notion, that interfers so much with having successful experiences outdoors by making it all so much about fears, overcomming fears only by gutting it out or "manning up".

For people that actually get outdoors reasonably well equipped with their clothing and their outfit and their knowledge, these scenarios do not materialize.

I was "lost" once, along with one of my older brothers. He was a confident athlete, a champion athlete. He had been in military service. He had had survival training. None of that equipped him for the experience.

I was a little girl, wearing hand-me-down left over old clothing, because I only had dresses. I had looked at the map on the signage at the trailhead.

My older brother pulled me away. Let's get going.

We left Morraine Lake Campground without telling the ranger. Aren't we going to tell the ranger? I asked.

There was snow higher up the trail. We saw footprints in the snow coming our way.

My brother said, other people have been over this pass from the other direction, let's keep going..

No, they had turned back.

When we had not seen more footprints, because of gently falling snow, it was already too late to turn back. We were in a high valley surrounded by mountains with steep slopes of unstable snow. There were avalanches.

On the map I had seen there was a pass, over to the right, that went down and thru a number of trails but one trail went to the road and one trail ran parallel to the road with a raveine separating the trailmand the road all the way up to Lake Louise.

I saw my brother hit stage 2 and stage 3 right away, but his "strategic thinking" was irrelevant to our situation.

I said, there is the pass out of here. He followed me. I followed an animal trail.

He recited his military training, that could not help at this point. I pushed him on.

When he wanted to run. I said, good, you run up ahead to the next junction in the trail (there were more than a few) amd you wait for me, jogging in place. He said, good, I feel better if I run. I said, of course, you are an athlete.

When we reached the critical junction, to the road or the trail parallel the road with a raveine between the trail and the road, I told him I had seen that on the map at the trailhead.

He wanted to take the wrong trail. He was insistent.

I said, we will go a little way, and, you will see. Then, we will go back here and take this trail out to the road.

We were cold, wet, dehydrated. We had brought no food, or snacks. We had no shelter. He had no proper clothing, and had been shivering amd then shaking with the cold. I was better clothed, in old left over hand me down clothing from my brothers, the trousers held up with suspenders. When I was too warm, I opened the trousers held up by suspenders, because I knew perspiring in my clothing would make wet cold clothing.

He was a wreck, but he was rational.

We saw the trail was steadily rising and ran parallel where the road must be. After all, we drove to Morraine Lake Campground on that road. We turned back, retracing our steps, reached the junction in the trail, chose the correct train, and very soon we were at the road.

Someone gave us a ride.

The ranger was extremely glad to see us.

I had already flopped down on the nice camp cot bed.

The ranger looked in, the tent flap pulled aside.

He had said he wanted to see me.

My brother was talking rapidly. His wife was greatly relieved.

Is there anything, in that story, like that article?