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

was in Cordova. “Do you have anybody still out on the district?” he asked.
“Just three people at Lemon Valley, and they’ll be back later tonight or tomorrow morning, whenever we can get out there with the chopper,” she said.
“Do you know if the State Troopers have done any searching in that area?” Brian asked.
“Not that I’m aware of,” Deanna replied, “It’s a ways off the flight path, so they really haven’t done much flying over that area. At least not that our people have reported.”
“How about if I hitch a ride out there on your helicopter and do some searching on my own?” Brian asked.
“That’s highly irregular,” she said, “It’s usually not wise for a person alone to be out there this time of year. Let alone someone not familiar with the temperament of Alaskan weather.”
“I can handle myself,” Brian said matter-of-factly.
“Well, if you’re willing to be dropped off out there alone, we’ll do it,” she said.
“When does your chopper leave?” he asked.
Deanna looked at her watch, “If they get back from up the coast, we can do it within the next two hours, otherwise it’ll be in the morning.”
“I’ve got some supplies to pick up,” he said. “Here’s my cell number, will you call me if they fly out this afternoon?”
“Will do,” she said as she stood to her feet.

Alex Makenna wiped the freezing snow from her face. Her cheek was tender, she touched it gingerly “must have hit a branch on the way down,” she said to herself. Then collecting her thoughts, she got oriented and began crawling out of the tangle of branches, mud, rocks and snow. Soon she was standing to her feet next to her walking stick. Her leg hurt and she pulled up her pants leg to inspect. Blood was oozing from a nasty cut. She reached for her pack and got bandaging supplies out of the first aid kit. She knew she had to get moving again. She was getting cold. After patching the cut on her leg, Alex brushed the mud and snow from her clothes and shouldered her back pack. She headed down the trail again. Little did she know, her most difficult challenge still lay ahead.

Brian Makenna was checking out with his supplies when his phone rang. “Be at our chopper pad in thirty minutes,” Deanna Lander told him. “They’ll be expecting you. We’ll drop you off at the Lemon Valley Ranger Station and pick you up in one week. The people at Lemon Valley will show you how to use the radio in case you want to be picked up earlier. Also they’ll give you a map of the trails and cabins in the area.”
“Got it, thank you very much,” Brian said enthusiastically.

Alex trudged along at a steady pace. Checking her GPS she saw that she still had six miles to go. She was at least over half way there. It seemed like it was getting colder, but as long as she kept moving, the cold was bearable. Rounding a hill, she saw something that stopped her in her tracks. Right in front of her, a fast-flowing stream flowed into the river she had been following. If she wanted to continue following the river downstream, she had to get across that stream! For a split-second, she considered going back, but then the thought of the downed tree across the trail stopped her. She had to get across. The water didn’t look too deep, maybe two feet, but the stream was fast-flowing and it seemed to be taunting her. She walked upstream for fifty yards, but there was no bridge, no log to walk across and no rocks to jump from one to the other. She walked out on a gravel bar and stepped into the water. The below-freezing water cut her to the bone. Her feet were already cold, and now they were soaked in icy water.
Using her walking stick, she steadied herself against the current. The current grew stronger as the water deepened. Once a rock rolled under her foot, she stumbled and fought to keep her balance. Each step was a new challenge in balance, resisting the current, and the freezing water soaked her higher and higher on her legs. Finally she was in the deepest part of the stream. The icy water pushed against her as she was knee-deep in the creek. From here on, though, the water would become less shallow with each step. Alex took a step and pushed her walking stick into the rocks to help keep her balance. Then it happened! Her stick slipped off a rock and she lost her balance. The raging stream pulled her down and she dropped to her knee to keep from falling flat in the water. She was soaked almost to her waist. Her backpack threatened to fall off her shoulder, its weight working against her to knock her over. Finally she managed to steady herself with the walking stick and slowly rose to her feet. The pain was incredible; she was chilled to the bone and her clothing soaked through with the freezing water. Alex began to shiver with the cold. Her teeth chattered.
She fought her way to the edge of the stream and plopped down in the snow. She nearly panicked when she noticed that her pants were already freezing. She got to her feet and started back down toward the main river to find the trail again. Each step brought a new level of pain. Her shoes were frozen. She could barely feel her feet and her frozen pants chafed her skin with each step. Alex found it was becoming difficult to keep focused on getting back on the main trail.
Finally she reached the trail and plodded along. She knew she was in trouble. Her eyes were watering and the tears were freezing on her cheeks. The shivering was getting worse. Alex tried a few jumping jacks to warm up, but it didn’t seem to help. Her vision was blurred and she nearly missed the sign. She walked a few steps past the tree then backed up. There was a sign was nailed to the tree. Snow covered the wording and Alex couldn’t tell what it said. She whacked it with her walking stick, knocking off the snow. Rubbing her eyes, she could make out “CABIN” with an arrow pointing up into the trees. Alex looked in the direction of the arrow. Way back in the trees was a cabin, almost identical to the one she had found the day after the plane crashed. A sob escaped her lips as she moved through the trees.

Twice in one day, Brian Makenna had done something he had sworn never to do. Fly. The Forest Service helicopter was still warm and the pilot invited him to sit up front.
Handing Brian a headset, the pilot helped him get buckled in. “They told me your story,” the pilot said.
“I sure wish you good success up in Lemon Valley.”
“Thanks,” Brian spoke into the microphone. “I don’t know if it’ll do any good, but I’m tired of sitting around waiting for the phone to ring.”
“Don’t blame you there. I’d probably do the same thing, in fact, I’d come with you if I weren’t so tied up here.”
“It’s ok,” Brian said, “I’ll be fine, but thanks for the offer.”
The pilot ran through the start-up procedure and soon the main rotor was in takeoff mode. He flew the chopper straight up to about ten feet above ground level, tipped the bird forward and began to climb out over the city of Cordova.
Brian was white knuckled, but he had to admit that this was a rush. He watched the ground fall away and then turned his attention to the spectacular view and whatever lay ahead.

Alex stumbled up the steps to the front porch. She turned the knob and leaned against the door. It was stuck! She threw her shoulder against it. The door was frozen shut solid. Again she slammed her body against the door. She could feel it give a little. Once again and the door swung open. She staggered inside and fell in a heap on the floor. It was just as cold inside as outside, but at least there was a stove and some wood. Something told her it was more important to get the frozen clothing off. She struggled with the frozen shoelaces. Her fingers were so cold she couldn’t get the laces undone. Besides the water had saturated the laces and they were frozen solid. She tried to kick off her hiking boots but they were tied too tightly.
Alex dumped her pack and grabbed some matches, plus the fire starters that Cappy had given her. She shoved two of the fire starters into the stove. Her hands were so cold and shaking so badly that for a moment she couldn’t get a match lit. The first one broke, but the second one caught, flared up and she touched it to the fire starter tablet. She grabbed a handful of kindling and placed it in the stove. The crackling sound of the wood catching fire was music to her ears. A moment later she placed some more wood on the fire. She shoved her feet under the stove and warmed her hands while she waited for the ice to thaw from her shoelaces. It seemed like it took forever, but finally the air began to warm and the laces thawed.
Alex tore at the laces and pulled off her hiking boots. Then she got the rest of her frozen clothes off and crawled inside the sleeping bag. Fortunately it hadn’t gotten wet when she fell. The crackling fire was her lifeline and she snuggled inside the bag, while the cabin warmed up and she waited for the shivering to stop.
For nearly an hour, she sat in front of the open stove, huddled in the sleeping bag, shoving in a stick of wood every few minutes until the fire was blazing. Finally the cabin began to warm enough for Alex to get out of the sleeping bag without freezing.
The shivering had slowly subsided and Alex began to move about the cabin. She pulled on the pair of sweatpants Cappy insisted she bring along. Opening the cupboards she discovered some more matches, a box of candles, a few cans of Spam and two jars of peanut butter. She had brought four MRE’s so she wouldn’t get hungry tonight. In fact, she hadn’t eaten a decent meal since she left Cappy this morning. “Was that only just this morning?!” Seemed like longer.
She found a coffee pot, a small saucepan and two ceramic coffee mugs. Alex stepped outside and scooped the coffee pot full of clean snow, then set it on the stove. Opening an MRE, she found it was frozen solid. She placed it under the stove to thaw. She found some string in the cupboard and made a clothes line along the wall behind the stove. She hung her soaked and frozen clothes to thaw and dry.
Alex held the GPS receiver close to