Light Snow Falling, Dave Robinson [different ereaders .txt] 📗

explained.
“The night on the trail!” Alex shrieked.
“It is a long way,” Cappy said, “Besides the trail is iffy, there’s two feet of snow on the ground and we don’t even know if there is a trail.”
Alex grabbed the saw and headed out the door to cut her walking stick.

Lieutenant Landon Scott pointed at the map for the hundredth time. “We’ll be covering this entire area tomorrow,” he said to Trooper Gates. “Every airplane in this end of the state will be flying tomorrow morning. I need you to work up a plan to organize who flies when and where. We want to keep covering the entire region until we find Cappy’s plane. That’ll mean flying in relays in various areas so that we can keep airplanes in the air all the time and we won’t have them all refueling at once.”
“I get the picture,” Gates said, “I’ll get right on it.”

Alex knocked the snow off her hiking boots and opened the cabin door. “Got one,” she announced, holding her stick high for Cappy to inspect.
“Looks good,” Cappy said.
“I’m sorry I freaked out,” Alex said, “I just needed some time to get used to the ‘night on the trail’ idea.”
“Listen Alex,” Cappy said seriously, “If you don’t feel good about this, or don’t want to do it, I understand. This is beautiful country, but it’s deadly. You could die out there.”
Alex looked him in the eye, “I know. I’ll do it. It’s going to be fine; I’ll make it and get help and get us out of here.”
Cappy spent the rest of the afternoon programming the GPS receiver and showing Alex how to work it. He pointed out the coordinates on the topographical map and showed her how to compare them to the coordinates on the GPS.
“We’re going to stick with our original estimate of twelve miles,” Cappy said, “But it’s actually going to be farther because twelve miles is how the crow flies. You’ve got to walk around the lake and pick your way along the river, but this will give you a general idea of how far you have yet to walk.”
Alex nodded her understanding.


Chapter 14

“On The Trail”

The next morning Alex woke while it was still dark. Cappy wanted to make sure she had an early start and a good meal before she left. Alex rolled up her sleeping bag, took what was left of the smoked fish for snack food and closed her backpack. The first gray streaks of dawn were glowing in the eastern sky when she stepped out of the cabin. The cold air stung her face as she started toward the north end of the lake. The snow was frozen hard enough to support her weight and the going was easy as she made her way past the airplane.
Alex set a brisk pace and felt herself warming as she circled the north end of the lake. Although the pack was full, it didn’t seem heavy, but rather became her constant companion as she walked along. She found it comforting that she had enough things in the pack to survive in the wild if the need arose. She really hoped she wouldn’t actually need to use that stuff, but at least it was there.
Two hours passed, the lake had given way to a small river flowing out of the west end and a trail seemed to follow the river downstream. She checked the GPS, it said she had 8.43 miles to her destination. The arrow was pointing in the same general direction as the river was flowing. At this rate, she could easily make the ranger station by nightfall. She was making good time, even with the added distance of circling the end of the lake. The air had warmed only slightly since sunup and even with her constant movement, she was beginning to feel the cold.

Back in the cabin, Cappy began tidying up the supplies and organizing his gear. He had given Alex everything she would need on the trail, but still had plenty of food and firewood to get by for a few days. He just wished that he wasn’t so worried about Alex. Maybe she was too young, too inexperienced, what if something happened to her out there? At least they were all safe and fairly warm there in the cabin. Finally Cappy ran out of ‘what ifs’ and consoled himself with the fact that the weather was good, Alex was in good physical condition and seemed eager to get going with her trek.

Melody Robbins went back to the radio and keyed the mic. “Lemon Valley to base,” she said.
“Go ahead Lemon Valley,” the dispatcher answered.
“Base, is there any further word on that chopper? We’ve got everything done around here and are just getting impatient. Just wondering if there has been a change in plan,” Melody said hopefully.
“Nothing yet, Lemon Valley. As it is plan to spend the night, and they’ll pick you up first thing in the morning. If anything changes, we’ll notify you.”
Melody acknowledged and signed off the air, leaving the radio powered on, just in case the base station tried to call.
Alex glanced at her watch, it was almost 10:00 AM, it had been over four hours since she left the cabin. The GPS said she had almost 7 miles left to go. The last two hours had slowed her pace. The trail had come uncomfortably close to the rushing river waters in several places. In those instances Alex had left the trail and gave the river a wide berth. Cappy had warned her about overhangs. The overhangs wouldn’t support her weight and if she stepped on one, it would probably break and drop her and all her gear into the frigid Alaskan river.
Rounding a bend Alex came across a huge Spruce tree blocking her path. A landslide had caved in the bank bringing the big evergreen with it. The bottom of the root wad was buried in the mud of the hillside, the top of the tree extended out over the river. The boughs and branches were so thick there was no way to simply crawl under. Broken branches and rocks complicated the matter. The hill was so steep it was impossible to climb. Alex shrugged her pack off and set it on the ground. She approached the tree, looking it over carefully, examining each branch to see if she could find its weakness. She had the small saw in her backpack. The one she had used to cut Cappy’s crutch and her walking stick, but it seemed pretty insignificant against all the branches of the big Spruce tree.
The upper half of the root wad was exposed. Each tiny root stuck out like a tentacle. It looked ugly and muddy and very un-inviting, but Alex could see that if she could grip each root, there were toeholds in the mass of roots and mud. She might just be able to make it up over the top and down the other side.

Back in Oregon, Brian McKenna had lost patience. He wasn’t angry, just out of patience. He had waited by the phone now for several days, waiting for word that his daughter had been found. So far, he had made a dozen calls to the Alaska State Troopers in Cordova. Lieutenant Scott had been patient and even sympathetic, but Alex was still missing. Last night he had decided to go to Alaska. Brian had never been on a plane in his life, and he had always sworn he wouldn’t, but that was before his only child had disappeared. He called the airline and booked a flight leaving in the morning. That evening he rounded up his gear. He had been an outdoorsman all his life, he knew how to survive in the wild. Everyone knew that his idea of a recreational Sunday afternoon was to go for a drive in the hills, just to see where the elk were. He told himself what equipment he didn’t have on hand, he’d buy once he arrived in Cordova.

Alex tossed her walking stick over the tree. It stuck in the snow on the other side. She gave her pack a heave and it almost cleared the tree, hanging up in one of the branches. It would be within easy reach, once she got over the tree. Taking a deep breath she reached up and grabbed a root. A minute later, she was eight feet in the air. Then it dawned on her! Those roots sticking straight up in the air, would be no help at all as she tried to go over the top of the root wad. Maybe if she could go hand over hand across them, she could stand on the tree trunk and help support her weight with her feet. That looked like the only solution. Alex reached for the next root and pulled herself sideways. Working hard, she could feel the tree trunk with her feet. Another grip and another two feet sideways. Alex could feel the snow-covered tree trunk with her feet, but there was no way she could get traction on the snow-covered surface. Another grip and ….CRACK!! The root broke and she dropped, striking the trunk and falling to the ground!


Chapter 15
“Trouble on the Trail”

Brian McKenna stepped off the plane in Cordova. The crisp, clean air invigorated him. He claimed his bag and asked a fellow traveler where the Alaska State Troopers barracks was located.
“Come with me,” the man said, “I’m going right by there.”
Brian tossed his bag in the back of the pickup and climbed in.
“Right there,” the driver said, as he pulled up in front of the one story building.
“Thanks, appreciate it,” Brian said, and headed up the walk. Inside, he introduced himself to the receptionist and asked for Lieutenant Scott. A minute later, he was shaking hands with Landon Scott and being ushered in to the back office.
“Welcome to Alaska,” Lt Scott said. “Sorry it has to be under these circumstances.” The lieutenant brought Brian up to date on the search and how much was being done at the moment. “We should have a few more days of good weather,” he said. “After that….” His voice trailed off.
“Has there been any coordination with the Forest Service?” Brian asked.
“Not really,” Scott explained, “They’re pretty well shut down for the season. They hardly have anyone left out in the field. Besides they’re just not set up to do searches. Usually they call us and we work together, but by this time of year, they’ve cut back all their seasonal help and have shut down for the winter.”
“Where’s their office?” Brian asked.
Lieutenant Scott gave him directions to the District Ranger Station, just down the street.
Brian Makenna gave the lieutenant his cell phone number, shouldered his pack and walked the four blocks to the Forest Service office. Inside he asked for the supervisor.
“I’m Deanna Lander, District Ranger,” the woman stuck out her hand.
Brian introduced himself and briefly explained why he