Joe asked, “Where do we start?”
“Let’s start with the pack I am going to take down to the ranch house. As far as gear goes, I have everything I need in the pack, but give me jerky and hardtack for three days.”
Joe went to the grub shack and returned with the jerky and hardtack in a small cloth sack and asked, “What’s next?”
“Let’s lay out the grub for nine days. Let’s include tea, cornmeal, some canned meat, canned beans, and jerky and hardtack.”
“Those cans get heavy in a hurry. How many do you want?”
“I don’t plan to carry them all the way in, but let me have two cans of beans and four cans of meat.”
While Joe got the food from the grub sacks and pans and utensils from the pack, Dan laid out two boxes of 45-90 cartridges and one full box of 45-auto cartridges. Then he loaded the two spare clips for the autos from the other box. He then laid out the bedroll, ground cloth, clothes and leather for moccasins for Alice. He placed the spare clips in his leather pack and the cartridges in a canvas sack with Alice’s clothes. Joe returned with the food and some small pots and metal cups.
“How do you want to pack the frame?”
“I want to put everything on the pack frame except my bedroll. The heavy items need to be as high on the frame as possible.”
They tied the tops of the canvas bags closed and laid them on the frame along with the leather pack and the coil of quarter inch rope. They adjusted and moved the gear around until it was as compact as possible, then they lashed it tightly to the frame. Then they placed the coil of half-inch rope over the gear and tied it down.
Then Joe asked, “What about the dynamite?”
“I am going to roll it up in my bedroll.”
“How much do think this rig weighs?”
“I was hoping it wouldn’t be more than fifty pounds.”
Dan reached down and raised up the front of the pack frame, then with both hands lifted the frame up, held it a minute then set it down.
“More than forty, but not more than fifty, maybe.”
“That sounds and looks like a lot to me. Are you sure you don’t want me to go in with you?”
“Yes, most of the weight will go all the way to the cache point, and you can’t go in that far; besides, I will drop off some of the can goods on the way in for use on the way out.”
“That makes sense, but how much does your High Wall weigh?”
“About twelve pounds.”
“Why didn’t you bring a repeater? They weigh only about half that.”
“If I can reach them with a repeater, then they can reach me with theirs, and there are more of them. With the High Wall, I might be able to force them to stay back out of range and make it safer for Alice.”
“I can’t argue with that.”
Joe helped Dan move the pack frame into the tent. Joe went to check on the horses, and Dan went down to the creek to look for a hiking stick. He was looking for a hardwood sapling about one inch in diameter and fairly straight. With the weight of the pack and the rough country, he would be traveling through, he knew he would need something to help him keep his balance from time to time. After looking at several saplings, he cut one, trimmed the limbs and cut off the top to make a stick about six feet in length.
That night, Joe fixed a meal of canned meat, beans, boiled corn meal, and tea.
Dan said, “Boiled cornmeal isn’t quite grits, but it is eatable.”
“Without any grease to fry it in, this is the best I can do.”
“I am not complaining, I just said it wasn’t grits.”
“How is the canned meat?”
“Better than what I had in the service.”
“Well, this trip was never a first-class trip anyway.”
With a smile, Dan said, “What are you going to do while I am gone?”
“When I scouted this area, I didn’t know what we would be doing. I want to check the routes out of here to the west and southwest. You will not be back for a week to ten days, but I will be here watching for you after five days.”
“That sounds good. When I came into this area, I came in from the south through some small mountains and then turned east onto the back of this sawtooth. It is a fairly straight run from there to here, along the back of this sawtooth, but you had best check it out for yourself.”
“I am not sure I can see where the trail goes over the next ridge. Can you mark it with something before you go over the top?”
“Yes, I can. How do you want me to mark it?”
“I have been thinking about it, and I think it is about a thousand yards from this ridge to the next.”
“That is about what it looks like to me.”
“I have this empty flour sack I was using to carry some of the grub in, secure it vertically to the face of the ridge near where you cross.”
“Okay.”
“You want some dessert?”
“Dessert?”
“Yes, dessert.”
“Sure, what have you got?”
“I have a can of peaches cooling down in the creek.”
“That would be perfect.”
“Be right back.”
Joe returned with the can, he opened it and divided the peaches.
Dan said, “This was very thoughtful of you.”
“Not at all, I like peaches too.”
chapter 6
Packing In
Rising at his usual time, Dan pulled on his pants and boots. He rose and went over to the campfire. He stirred the coals and added some small kindling to the coals. He blew gently on the kindling until it caught fire, then he slowly added larger material to the fire until it was burning well. He went back to his gear and picked up his razor and soap, and he went down to the creek to bathe and shave. He followed the game trail he had widened yesterday down to the creek. This early in the morning it was still dark in the trees along the creek, but he had enough light to follow the trail. The game trail crossed the creek just at the point where the creek turned to run east. The creek was about ten feet wide and not more than a foot deep at the deepest point. Dan removed his boots and clothes and entered the water. The water was as cold as he had expected. He stood in the creek near the bank and bent over to wet the bar of soap. Working the wet soap until he had a lather, he applied the lather to his face. He let the lather sit a minute, then he picked up his straight razor from the bank and began to shave. Shaving in the dim light was not difficult because he didn’t have a mirror, and he was used to shaving without a mirror. After placing the razorback on the bank beside his clothes, he rinsed his face and once again lathered the soap up. He washed himself with the lather, while still standing. Once he was through washing, he tossed the bar of soap on the bank of the creek beside the razor and lay down in the shallow creek to rinse the soap off. Rising from the water quickly, he waded to the edge of the creek and stepped out. He used his shirt as a towel to dry with. He dressed except for the shirt and returned up the trail to camp.
When he returned, Joe was cooking breakfast.
Dan said, “That water was cold, and that hot tea looks inviting.”
“Help yourself.”
“Thank you.”
He took a cup of tea and went back to his bedroll. He hung his damp shirt on a brush to dry. He sat down on the bedroll and took off his riding boots that had he had worn down to the creek without socks and put on a pair of socks and his high-top lace-up boots. The lace-up boots would give him better ankle support going up, and down the rough landscape he would be hiking in. He finished dressing, and then joined Joe for breakfast.
Joe asked, “Everything ready to go?”
“Yes, I just need to make a few adjustments and I am ready.”
After breakfast, Dan rolled up his bedroll, placed the two quarter-sticks of dynamite in it and lashed it to the pack frame. He checked the lacing on his boots, his holster, and his canteen. He leaned the rifle and his hiking stick against the tent.
As he was reachi
ng for the pack frame, Joe said, “Let me help you with that.”
“Thanks.”
Joe held up the pack while Dan backed into it, he slipped his arms into the shoulder straps. Next, he squatted slightly and fastened the waist straps around his waist above his hips; then with Joe still holding the pack frame he reached up and pulled the shoulder straps tight.
Joe asked, “How does it feel?”
“Not bad.”
“It looks like it is riding okay from back here.”
Picking up the rifle and hiking stick he said, “Then I am off.”
“Good luck!”
With that Dan turned and walked across the meadow to the game trail leading down to the face of the ridge. He stopped as he entered the trees and looked back toward the camp. Joe was already heading toward the creek to wash the breakfast dishes. Dan smiled, it wasn’t that Joe didn’t care; it was just the Apache way, when farewells are said the person is gone.
He passed through the trees to the edge of the ridge, and without hesitation, he started down the face of the ridge. The trail was good, as far as game trails go, not as steep as it looked, and the footing was firm. The trail was a mix of small stones and weathered rock with the frequent outcrops of stone. What little vegetation there was on the north face of the ridge was limited to small, low growing plants and an occasional fir tree that found a footing in the small pockets of earth along the face of the ridge. He carried the rifle in his right hand, the hand nearest the hill, and the hiking stick in the other hand. He continued to carry the rifle this way until the trail switched back on itself and headed in the opposite direction. Then he changed hands to keep the hiking stick on the side away from the hill. He continued down the face of the ridge changing hands with each switchback. The trip down was steep, but uneventful, even though he had to use the walking stick several times to keep his balance. After an hour and a half and more switchbacks than he could count, he reached the bottom of the north face. He crossed a dry creek and started up the other side. This side was only a little less steep than the side that he had just come down, but that was one of the features of these sawtooth ridges. From the dry creek to the top of the next ridge was less than a half a mile horizontally but almost three miles by the trail. The switchbacks were longer, and the grade was steep, and with the longer distance, it took almost two hours to reach the top.
Near the top of the ridge, he began to look for a place to put Joe’s marker. About twenty feet right of the trail was the stump of a large pine that had been struck by lightning and burned. He turned and looked back at the south ridgeline and waved the flour sack. Joe waved his hat in answer. Dan placed the flour sack on the face of the stump, pushing the top left corner into a split in the stump and holding it there by wedging a rock on top of it. The stump didn’t offer any place to anchor the bottom sack, and he had to drop his pack and get one of the railroad spikes. The wood of the stump was soft enough that he could use a stone to drive it in. He turned back toward Joe to see him signal okay. With a wave goodbye, Dan returned to the trail and continued over the ridge.
The north face of this ridge was considerably steeper and higher than the south face, he had just come up, but he expected it to be, he had come as far as the top of this ridge the last time he was here. From the maps, he had studied he knew the north face of the ridges would continue to be steeper than the south face. After the second switchback, the trail ran east and down along the face of the ridge for about a quarter mile then ran out onto a rock ledge. The ledge was from six to eight feet wide and approximately two hundred feet long. The game trail appeared to run along the ledge, then off the far end. He continued along the ledge toward the east end. About halfway across the ledge he noticed a small game trail going over the edge of the ledge. Looking over the edge he could see that it was a trail used only by small animals, so he continued on. At the east end of the ledge, the ledge narrowed until it was just wide enough for the game trail and the trail continued on. The trail became steeper as it continued east and began a series of short but steep switchbacks as it dropped down the face of the ridge. After several switchbacks, the trail ran west for quite some ways before it switched back to the east again. He paused, then walked back up the trail to the last switchback. His instincts told him he had traveled west far enough on this switchback to be under the ledge he had crossed earlier. Looking up the slope he could see the edge of the ledge, but not the small game trial. He dropped his pack to the ground and removed the coil of half-inch rope. Laying his rifle across the pack, he started back up the game trail he had just come down. He checked his watch and noted that it took him about sixty-five minutes to get back to the center of the ledge. He found the start of the small game trail again. The game trail started at a point east of where he had dropped his pack on the trail below. He carefully followed the small game trail down, and to the west, until after about twenty feet, the trail became too narrow to follow. Looking toward the trail below, he judged the distance to be seventy-five feet and the slope to be at least sixty degrees. He tied the half-inch rope to a stone outcrop and walked backwards down the slope. After ten feet, he stopped to check on how difficult it would be to walk up. Satisfied that he could get up the slope with the help of the rope, he continued down. He reached the trail where he had left his pack just west of it. Before he cut the rope, he had to consider, did this gain enough time to be worth the loss of the rope and could anyone follow him up the slope without the help of the rope. He would gain up to forty-five minutes on his pursuers, and he was sure that without the rope no one was going up that slope. He cut the rope about three feet above the ground and returned the rest of the rope to the pack frame. Before he returned the pack to his back, he removed a couple pieces of jerky.
As Dan continued down the game trail, he began to think about the return journey. He had lost almost two hours of time backtracking and setting up the rope to climb the face of the ridge. He wanted the campsites on the way back to be able to look over his back trail. It would be ideal if the last camp before reaching Joe and the horses could be at the top of ridge number five. He reached the bottom of the north face of the ridge about five and a half hours after he had started down. It was almost ten hours since he had left Joe and started down the face of the first ridge, but if he subtracted the two hours he had used setting the rope and the forty-five minutes he would save using the rope, he could be back to the top of the ridge where he left Joe in seven hours from here. It was about three miles of trail to the next ridge and a rise of approximately eight hundred feet.
He followed the game trail to the bottom. There he crossed a dry creek, it was about nine feet across flat with a mix of gravel, small and large rocks. During a hard rain or in the Spring with water from the melting snow it would run full. The game trail after it crossed the dry creek split with one trail going north toward the next ridge and the other headed west along the creek. He dropped his pack and laid his rifle with it. Taking his canteen and some jerky, he headed west along the game trail. He traveled west for about an hour, but didn’t find any well-used game trails heading north. He paused and decided that anything he found beyond this point would be too far from his escape path unless the trail heading north from his pack played out. He turned and headed back toward where he had dropped his pack. When he reached his pack, there was still a little daylight left. Concerned that he might miss something along the trail in the dimming light, he decided to camp there for the night.
Camp that night was very basic. Dan laid out his bedroll and started a small fire. He heated water for some tea to go along with the tortillas and jerky that would be his supper. After he had eaten, he banked the fire for the night and settled into his bedroll. As he watched the fire slowly die to embers, he thought about the day and how far he had yet to go.
The next morning, he awoke and stirred the fire to life and added enough wood to heat the water for his tea. It was cold in the early morning, but Dan had to be careful and not dress too warmly. Once he w
as hiking on the trail, his body heat would keep him warm, but if he dressed too warmly to start with, then he would get too hot and sweat. The sweat would dampen his clothes and cause them to lose their insulating ability, and he would get very cold. By the time it was light enough to see to travel he was ready to hit the trail. About a hundred feet up the trail, a trail separated and headed east, but it wasn’t as heavily used as the one he was on, so he continued. The south slope of what he referred to as ridge number five was not as steep as the slope he had traveled the day before and with more pines among the brush that covered it. The switchbacks were long and easy. He made good time, but with switchbacks, it still took him a little more than three hours to reach the top of the ridge. The game trail ran east along the top of the ridge for seventy-five to eighty feet before it started down the north face of the ridge. From this ridge to the next was only four miles, but the north slope of this ridge dropped eleven hundred feet in about a mile before it started up to the next ridge.
This was where he wanted to camp the night before they reached Joe. It would be ten hours of hard travel back to where he started yesterday, but it gave him a place he could defend against pursuers if needed and a place within a day’s travel for help and escape. He looked around for a campsite and a place to cache some of the food. Forty feet east of where the trail dropped over the edge and ten feet below the top of the ridge, a pine tree had been blown down in a storm and fallen parallel to the ridge and lodged itself against another tree. Weathered rock and soil had built up behind the trunk of the tree until the ground between the tree and the face of the ridge was almost level. The area was more of a triangle than a rectangle, but the usable area was about five feet wide by eight feet long. This would be a good place to camp for the night. Next, he looked around for a place to leave the food that he and Alice would need on their way back. He would need to leave enough food for dinner the night they reached the campsite, but also breakfast the next day and lunch. He needed a place to store the food that would be out of reach of bears and other animals. Looking at the tree that the fallen tree was against, he decided to cache the food up in that tree. Tying a rock to the end of his quarter-inch rope, he approached the pine tree at the end of the fallen tree and after several attempts, threw the rock attached to his rope over a tree limb about twenty feet above the ground. The weight of the rock pulled the rope across the limb and back down to the ground. He placed a can each of beans and canned beef along with cornmeal, hardtack and jerky in a cloth sack and tied the sack to the end of the rope. He then pulled the sack up into the air until it was fourteen feet above the ground and a couple of feet below the limb. He tied the rope off to a branch of the fallen tree. Then he gathered firewood; that he would need when he came back through. He stacked the wood at the end of the camp area.
High Country Rescue Page 8