Denny hiked along, looking for the campsite where she was supposed to meet Jackson. It should be right here… But when the small trail ended at a lakeshore, she realized it’d been a while since she’d actually seen a trail marker. Denny shivered in a sharp gust of wind and stepped back under the leafless trees. Growling in frustration, she pulled out her map. Where the hell was she? There weren’t any lakes near the trail… Her heart pounded and she choked back the threatening panic. She desperately wanted to run back down the tiny trail, but knew she needed to contain her panic. Jackson would let the rangers know she was missing, she just had to last until they found her.
Looking out across the water, Denny noticed the dark storm clouds building on the other side. She managed get her tent up just as the icy downpour started and quickly crawled inside. Setting up her little stove in the vestibule she heated some soup and curled up inside her sleeping bag to relax. The trees tossed furiously around her and the rain pounded onto her fragile cloth shell. Eventually the sound lulled her to sleep.
Cold shivers raced along Denny’s spine startling her awake. It was pitch black inside the tent and she patted around trying to find her light. The floor was sopping wet, along with the sleeping bag and now herself. The rain must’ve soaked through while she slept. Her fear grew along with the chills, this was the worst possible thing that could’ve happened. Groping through the darkness, she grabbed her headlamp. The cool light eased her fears a bit and allowed her to think a little more clearly. The whole bottom of her pack was soaked through, along with most of her gear. As she pulled things out to let them drain, she found the emergency blanket and set it aside. This certainly qualified as an emergency.
Denny shivered in her little tent, wrapped in the crinkly emergency blanket trying to stay warm and dry. By the time morning came she was exhausted, but she still needed to make a signal fire and dry her clothes.
It was three days before Denny gave in. She’d had to break through a layer of ice to get to water, and hadn’t seen anyone looking for her despite the smoky fire she’d kept going. Fuel for her stove was running low and her clothes were finally dry, if she was going to go, now was the time.
It only took two hours of walking to find the main trail, and Denny was able to hike out at the first trailhead she found. She trudged into town, and after a steaming shower and far too much food, she called Jackson.
“Hey Denny! I was wonderin’ when you were gonna show up. Sorry I didn’t see ya at camp, but something came up and I couldn’t get out th… Denny? Denny, hello?”
Lucid Stories 