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Authors: Stephen Arseneault
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me to help start packing up the camp. It took half an hour to break camp and to calm Susi enough to get her pack on her back. Bull hoisted his and Kyle’s packs and we began our walk. We stopped at the edge of the creek where the two sets of tracks had been found and Bull let Allie assess the site for herself.
They both concluded that we should follow the tracks and see if Kyle was still alive. The thought of the other sent chills down my spine. I was not mentally prepared for a confrontation or for seeing my friend dead.
Bull had guessed that whoever they were they had been there right about daybreak, it would put them a good two hours ahead of us. Allie reasoned that we should be able to catch up since we were not dragging anything along with us.
We made haste up the trail along Rancheria Creek, now in search of one of our own. It was hard terrain, but we had reason to travel it as quickly as we could. We had not gone far when we came across evidence of blood and guts on a rock beside the creek. After that point the evidence of anything being dragged had disappeared, there were only the two sets of footprints moving away.
I could not imagine how frustrating it would be for us to slip farther behind and then to lose track of whomever it was that had our friend. As my brain slowly churned through the scenarios that may have happened, I couldn’t help but get that feeling that this was not going to end well.
Were the two tracks from whomever we had spotted in the woods a few nights before? Were they armed? Were they a couple of crazies and did they wish us harm? These thoughts at least kept my mind busy and off the fact that the terrain was quickly sapping my energy. I would not be able to keep this pace up for long and I did not want to be the one that held the others up.
During our hike Susi was completely silent. I could not tell what she might be thinking as she was largely expressionless and just following the others blindly. I could only imagine the level of guilt she must be feeling having had her last conversations with Kyle as an argument. I guessed that I would have been silent too.
As we came upon a big bend in the creek Bull stretched out his hand. As we stopped I could see him sniffing the air. Immediately I could smell that familiar essence of a campfire. We were close to whomever it was that we had been following. I pulled Kyle’s pistol and fumbled with the safety. I was not going into this without being ready to pull the trigger at whoever or whatever may lie ahead.
We continued on, only at a slower pace, so that we would have a chance at sneaking up on whomever it was. Bull stopped us and then climbed up a hillside edge so that he could get a good view from on top of a large boulder. As I waited down by the creek I was a nervous wreck.
I turned to look back down the creek from where we had just come and for an instant I was sure I saw someone move in the trees 100 yards back. I was standing on a large rock by the creeks edge at the time and when I turned back to warn the others I lost my footing and began to slide.
I fell off the rock and into the rushing creek below. Allie looked back just as I went over the edge and came running to give me a hand. I had been injury free since we left Basecamp, but my fun time was over. I hit the rushing water on my back with the full pack on.
I was immediately sucked under and then spewed out of a torrent between two large rocks. I next tumbled over several times before coming to a calmer section of creek. Allie had shed her pack and jumped in about waist deep water to rescue me. I was dragged over to the side and then pushed out onto a large flat rock.
Susi had stayed up on the trail and just watched with a stoic look on her face. She only had her mind on Kyle and any of my little side shows were not going to distract her. During my tumbling I managed to crack my right wrist hard on a rock on the bottom of the creek. I had also managed to lose Kyle’s
They both concluded that we should follow the tracks and see if Kyle was still alive. The thought of the other sent chills down my spine. I was not mentally prepared for a confrontation or for seeing my friend dead.
Bull had guessed that whoever they were they had been there right about daybreak, it would put them a good two hours ahead of us. Allie reasoned that we should be able to catch up since we were not dragging anything along with us.
We made haste up the trail along Rancheria Creek, now in search of one of our own. It was hard terrain, but we had reason to travel it as quickly as we could. We had not gone far when we came across evidence of blood and guts on a rock beside the creek. After that point the evidence of anything being dragged had disappeared, there were only the two sets of footprints moving away.
I could not imagine how frustrating it would be for us to slip farther behind and then to lose track of whomever it was that had our friend. As my brain slowly churned through the scenarios that may have happened, I couldn’t help but get that feeling that this was not going to end well.
Were the two tracks from whomever we had spotted in the woods a few nights before? Were they armed? Were they a couple of crazies and did they wish us harm? These thoughts at least kept my mind busy and off the fact that the terrain was quickly sapping my energy. I would not be able to keep this pace up for long and I did not want to be the one that held the others up.
During our hike Susi was completely silent. I could not tell what she might be thinking as she was largely expressionless and just following the others blindly. I could only imagine the level of guilt she must be feeling having had her last conversations with Kyle as an argument. I guessed that I would have been silent too.
As we came upon a big bend in the creek Bull stretched out his hand. As we stopped I could see him sniffing the air. Immediately I could smell that familiar essence of a campfire. We were close to whomever it was that we had been following. I pulled Kyle’s pistol and fumbled with the safety. I was not going into this without being ready to pull the trigger at whoever or whatever may lie ahead.
We continued on, only at a slower pace, so that we would have a chance at sneaking up on whomever it was. Bull stopped us and then climbed up a hillside edge so that he could get a good view from on top of a large boulder. As I waited down by the creek I was a nervous wreck.
I turned to look back down the creek from where we had just come and for an instant I was sure I saw someone move in the trees 100 yards back. I was standing on a large rock by the creeks edge at the time and when I turned back to warn the others I lost my footing and began to slide.
I fell off the rock and into the rushing creek below. Allie looked back just as I went over the edge and came running to give me a hand. I had been injury free since we left Basecamp, but my fun time was over. I hit the rushing water on my back with the full pack on.
I was immediately sucked under and then spewed out of a torrent between two large rocks. I next tumbled over several times before coming to a calmer section of creek. Allie had shed her pack and jumped in about waist deep water to rescue me. I was dragged over to the side and then pushed out onto a large flat rock.
Susi had stayed up on the trail and just watched with a stoic look on her face. She only had her mind on Kyle and any of my little side shows were not going to distract her. During my tumbling I managed to crack my right wrist hard on a rock on the bottom of the creek. I had also managed to lose Kyle’s
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