Chapter 8

John, Suzy, and I had set up a watch schedule when we planned this little adventure. John would pull the first watch. Staying awake until midnight. Then he would wake me, and I would cover it until 04:00 when I would wake Suzy. She would have the 04:00 until sunrise watch. This gave her the time to set up breakfast for the group.

Usually, the midnight to 04:00 was the killer shift. My solution was to patrol the area. I wouldn’t just sit and watch the stars. I would get out and about. I would set snare lines. If there was a river, I would rig a hook line. I would look for edible plants and herbs. There are a million things that can be done in a camp. And all it takes to stay awake is do something, anything. Usually, I’m such a chowhound. I would do things to help out the larder.

Because this wasn’t going to be our base camp, breakfast this morning was quick and easy, oatmeal, and coffee. And if you wanted more, tough, take it or do without. Suzy rousted the camp up an hour before sunrise, and as the sun was hitting the horizon, we were on the trail.

Today was supposed to be a hard riding day. We needed to put a lot of miles down and didn’t have time to fiddle around. This is why I was getting a little pissed at our camera expert. Edgar kept lagging back from the main group. It got to the point where I was afraid that he would end up lost.

After our MRE lunch, we started out again, and sure enough. Even though I had moved him just behind John as number 2 in the parade, he started lagging back.

When I passed him by, he claimed that his saddle was loose. When I checked my six and couldn’t see him, I knew something was up. My first thought was that he still had some weed or a bottle that John hadn’t found. So, I angled Margarite off the trail and started a wide circle around. My plan is that I would get behind Edgar and come up on him, catch him in the act and stop this foolishness.

I could see Edgar when I passed him. He had stopped and was looking at our back trail. I continued on another 20 yards. Then I angled back towards the trail. As I got close, Shadow alerted on something ahead. I stopped and dismounted. Slowly approaching the trial, just as I reached the trail, a new player came into the game.

A white guy wearing blue jeans and a Queen t-shirt came into view. He was riding a chestnut mare and had a Dunn pack horse following. He reined up and froze as soon as he spotted me. Then turned tail and hustled back the way he had come. I had no idea who he was. I didn’t recognize him or the horses he had with him. His clothes confused me too. Jeans and a t-shirt weren’t quite right for someone one used to the hills. But obviously, he didn’t want to talk, so I let it go at that.

Mounting back up, I started catching up with the group. Two minutes later, I caught up with Edgar.

I could tell that I was the very last thing he wanted to see. “Hey Edgar, what a coincidence running into you way out here in the wilderness. Care to explain why you aren’t with the rest of the group?”

He stammered around for a moment, “Well, I needed to use the restroom. I’m not quite so used to the breakfast we had.”

Disbelief was dripping from my voice, “Uh-huh, well, let’s get caught up before you get lost. Don’t worry. I’ll be right behind you. All the way!”

And for the rest of the day, until we reached the base camp, I stayed behind him. Every time he started to lag behind, I would ask about his health, his horse’s health, his saddle, etc. I made sure that he knew I was behind him. I didn’t know if he was an alcoholic or an addict. Either way, I wanted somebody keeping an eye on him all the time. Even if he didn’t have a substance issue going on, I didn’t want him wandering off, never to be seen again.

Getting the base camp set up was a frenzy of activity, with Suzy as the boss. The fire pit was dug and lined, and a wood gathering party dispatched. Much to his displeasure, Edgar was assigned the task of digging the latrine. With John as his designated supervisor. It only took two tries to get it right.

Well before sundown, we were shipshape and Bristol fashion, according to Suzy. She had started fixing our dinner, and the rest of the group were setting up our sleeping spots.

After dinner, I bedded down and took a nap before my watch.

John had just woken me for my first watch, and I was still a little drowsy and working in a strong cup of coffee when Shadow started growling. He got up and walked over to the edge of the campsite. Then sat down, the low growl continued.

“Matt,” John whispered, “Do you see this?”

Before I replied, I called Shadow to heel. He looked at me over his shoulder, then came back and lay down next to me. “Good boy, Shadow. I see him”. I continued in a low voice, “I see it, John. He’s about 15 feet out. He isn’t doing anything, just watching.”

Chuckling, John asked, “Do you think it’s bigfoot?”

I laughed and said, “Not unless the big guy has started wearing blue jeans and Queen t-shirts.”

“You’re kidding, right? Your eyes are that good?”

“Naw, I saw him earlier today. I had this feeling that we were being watched. Edgar was lagging, and I was worried that he would get lost, drunk, or stoned. I back trailed and was getting ready to surprise him, when this guy comes bee bopping along.”

“Didn’t he spot you?”

“Are you kidding? I made sure he did. I don’t know who he is. He could be a prepper, an off gridder, a pot farmer, or a prospector. Or just plain lost. But I wanted to give him a chance to talk to me. As soon as he spotted me, he turned tail and headed the other way. He didn’t seem to be dangerous, just clueless.”

“Why didn’t you take him down?”

“John, he hasn’t done anything wrong, that I could tell. If we try to nab him, worst case, somebody would probably have gotten hurt. Next worse we grab him, he clams up, and we never find out what he’s up too. It’s too late now. He’s moved off.”

The stranger had moved off and disappeared. Shadow settled down. But I could tell he was still alert. The rest of the night passed without trouble or visitors.