Chapter 2

During the off—season, Grif planned to go back to Alaska Airlines to fill in for pilots wanting their vacations. People in Alaska were more prone to take vacations outside, as the rest of the world outside Alaska was called, during the frigid winter months. Therefore there had in the past been an opening for a pilot to fill in. That season looked pretty bleak due to the business being off somewhat, and the possibility of some post-season layoffs.

(Day 2, 8-19-04 — Brooks Range, Alaska)

On the return from Chandler Lake the next morning, Grif decided to take a detour over the hikers and see if they were underway. He flew over the lake, but saw only the cache structure, and some tracks in the sand near where they made camp. As he turned south hoping to catch up to them, Grif saw a female grizzly bear with two nearly grown cubs.

They were heading down the trail the same way the party was supposed to go. Grif figured maybe that was their usual trail and flew on hoping they wouldn't cause any trouble. Grif didn't care for grizzly bears and he didn't trust them. They were a lot different than black bears back east and in the parks. Grif flew on and about three hills down farther he spotted a line of multi-colored jackets. He slowed, and came lower, then waved his wings and flew on to refuel in Bettles again and then on to Nenana.

(Flashing back to the first night on the trail for the AFF party)

The group hadn't had such a restful night. There were noises outside the tents as the animals of the night sniffed around for the food that the campers may have left. In fact the Ray kids had thrown part of theirs out along the lakeshore when they washed up from their meal. In the morning there were bear tracks by the water that were not there the day before. Ricky thought it was fun to tease his twelve-year-old cousin Tommy, which made him so afraid, that he was afraid to leave the tent when he had to go during the night. Needless to say he slept very little.

The girls fared some better with Bonnie and Donna zipping their bags together so they could hold each other during the night. Grif had suggested on the flight there, that it would get cold at night. They would be better off with very little clothing on inside the sleeping bag, but to keep it in the bag with them so it wouldn't be cold when they got up to go outside during the night or in the morning.

Sheila explained they had some sort of official sleeping garments supposedly good to ten degrees above zero that Dick and Berry brought. Grif told them from his own experience, one of the coldest sleepless nights he ever spent was at sixteen below zero in a sleeping bag with two pairs of long underwear, two pairs of thermal socks and his coat, because they made him sweat in his sleep. Once Grif got wet, he got cold, and almost hypothermic. He never repeated that mistake.

As they got warm, Donna said, "Bonnie get away I'm starting to sweat."

Bonnie answered, I wonder if Mr. Walker was right. I'm just going to wear a shirt and my shorts, but don't tell Daddy."

Donna said, "You'll get cold." Bonnie stripped down and hurriedly crawled back inside the bag staying on her side this time.

An hour later Donna woke and was chilled to the bone. Her side of the bag was soaked in sweat and everywhere that was wet, was COLD! "Bonnie," she whispered as she shook her young sister. "Are you cold?"

Bonnie came to her senses and said, "No not really."

"I'm absolutely freezing over here," Donna told her, "My side of the bag is soaked and cold."

Bonnie said, "Take that dumb sleeper thing off, and get some dry underwear on and come over close to me."

Then Donna realized the "worst case scenario" (thus far). She had to go outside in the cold night and answer Nature! The cold accelerated her need, and she ran unzipped the tent fly and ran outside without her boots on. She got a few paces behind the tent, stripped off her Animals First thermal sleeper and relieved herself. She was almost done when she noticed her older cousin Ricky out for the same reason. She gasped, and then froze, hoping he didn't see her.

In a hushed voice he said, "Hey Donna, nice of you to join me. I was hoping you would come along." She could feel him leering at her. "Why don't you come hold it for me?" He asked rudely.

"I might if I could find it!" another voice said as a set of footsteps approached.

"Oh! Hi Aunt Sheila," Ricky stammered, "I was talking about my flashlight."

He thought he had cleverly weaseled out of that one when she said, "No problem, I have mine," and shone it towards him as he wet all over himself. Ricky ran back inside the tent, but not before grabbing the emergency sleeping bag they brought in case someone's got wet or lost.

"How you doing Sweetie," she asked Donna? Donna was shivering. "Don't wear these to bed," Sheila scolded, holding up the wet thermal suit trailing on the ground. "Do like Mr. Walker told you." Then Sheila did her business. When she finished, she asked Donna, "Paper?"

Donna answered, "Please? I almost used the sleeve of these things."

They had a chuckle together and Sheila returned to the girls' tent to help Donna re-situate herself. Bonnie was waiting for her, and Donna got her wet clothes off, and put a dry pair of underwear and a light T-shirt on, with some light socks. Then she crawled in next to Bonnie, and warmth!

Sheila propped the wet side of the bag open just a few inches with Donna's shoe, where it would have some air to circulate and maybe start to dry out. Then she zipped the tent fly back, and turned to go back to her and Barry's tent. When she shone the light, she saw a pair of yellow eyes glowing at her, and then two more pair. She gasped, and froze. Then the eyes bounded away. She hurried back to her tent, where Barry was snoring away. She zipped the tent back up, and then stripped down to her shorts and shirt, and crawled into her bag. Sleep was slow in coming.

Back in Ricky and Tommy's tent, Ricky had taken the thermal suit out of Tommy's pack and hid it. Thus Tommy was finally sleeping soundly in his underwear and had only a knit cap on his head to stop heat loss. He thought about waking the kid to tease him, but was chilled and had a fresh dry sleeping bag to get into, so that is what he did, but not until he put on his pants, another thermal shirt, and a flannel shirt. For all but the three Wilson girls and their brother, it was a cold fitful night.

In Carol and Kathy's tent they had already soaked their bags and had dressed in dry clothes and huddled together under a Space Blanket. It just was going to be a long, miserable night for most of the group.

In the morning a flock of about a hundred Canada geese that flew low over their tents awakened them. Barry and Dick scurried into their clothes and gathered the cameras, and began to film the geese as they milled about the lake, and were soon joined by other flocks. Sheila and Donna began to re-boil water they had brought up the hill from the lake the previous evening. Instant oatmeal was the fare. It was fast, easy, and it stayed with you through the morning. As the water boiled, Sheila called to the men down towards the lake to come and eat.

As they ate, they remarked how cold the night was. A wind began to whip up, and blow towards the lake, and the mass of nearly a thousand geese and several hundred ducks rose and moved to another part of the lake more sheltered by the hills. Sheila thought about the wind for a moment and then asked Donna and Tracy to help her tie the ladder to the cache tower, crossways at eye level. Then told everyone who had wet sleeping bags to bring them out and drape them across the ladder.

Within five minutes there were eight sleeping bags hanging along with other assorted clothes. In the brisk dry wind, they dried in a half-hour, and were able to be re-packed when the tents were taken down. " Someone got lucky if there are only eight," Dick remarked.

"Actually Bonnie, Tommy and I did," Sheila piped in, "Ricky used the emergency bag last night too."

"Obviously we have some thermal suits that work and eight defective ones," Dick Ray observed. "Whose thermals didn't get wet on them?"

Nobody said anything till Tommy spoke up, "I never found mine. I slept in my underwear and a hat, but I was pretty warm."

Sheila then added, "Our pilot advised us to sleep in our underwear, and avoid wearing clothing that will make you sweat. Bonnie took hers off, as soon as she started getting hot, and was fine. Donna woke up soaked and cold. She had to share the bag with Bonnie to get warm. I slept in my underwear and a light shirt and was toasty warm all night."

Sheila might as well have confessed to adultery, the way her husband and the Rays looked at her with disdain. "I still think they may be defective," Dick added. "Let's leave them in the cache tower, and have one of them pilots come back for them. Everyone go get them."

Tommy Wilson spoke out and said, "I don't know where mine are. They aren't in my pack."

Sheila said, "They better be, I put them there!"

About then, Ricky emerged from the tent with Tommy's thermal suit. "I must have picked them up and put them in my pack by mistake," he weaseled. Sheila knew that he was going to be real trouble!

After the gear and tents were all gathered and packed, Dick said, "Time to get hiking families. Let's go!" They knew the right trail to start on because Rudy walked them part way to point out the hills they would cross. They figured to just follow the trail, and it would eventually lead them to the river, and the rafts.

They were about thirty minutes into the hike when they heard the drone of a small plane. As it flew over and waved its wings, Bonnie cried out, "Look, it's our plane!"