You will find short stories on this site. Most are autobiographical. Some are fiction.

A SHORT HIKE

Jim and Sue Gardner came to visit Carole and Tod for a couple of days in their home in Astoria, Oregon. They arrived in the last week of December 2018. These four were close friends. Jim and Tod had been buddies in high school in the mid-1950s. On the second day of their visit, they decided to go for a walk. Three of them were over 80 years old. Sue is ten years younger. Both of the women walked regularly for exercise. The two men were not used to long walks. So they decided to take a short hike. Leadbetter Point State Park at the northern tip of the Long Beach Peninsula in southwest Washington State was the option they chose. They decided to take this hike because it is a level loop. Consisting of a half-mile walk along the beach of Willapa Bay, and returning through the forest to the parking lot.

The day was cool and cloudy. The heavy rains had passed. It was a good day for a hike. They drove from Astoria, Oregon, to the northern end of the Long Beach Peninsula. When they reached the park, they found a trail sign showing the 1.2-mile loop. This was the hike they were planning to take. The map also showed another trail branching off the farthest point of the loop, but none of them registered this detail. They began walking. The trail led them in a north-easterly direction toward the bay. As they were approaching the bay, they met a family. The family had hiked the same loop trail but in the opposite direction, passing through the forest first and ending their hike with a walk along the beach. Their eight-year-old boy was very talkative. He immediately told the foursome that they were going in the wrong direction. That they should have walked up through the forest first. The embarrassed expression on the faces of his parents revealed that this was not the first lecture given by their son. Tod thanked the boy for his advice and explained that since it was a loop, people could walk it in either direction. It later became clear that the kid had the right idea. Had they hiked the other direction, they would likely not have made the error that nearly cost them a life.

The trail reaches the bay and turns to the north along the beach. The sand was wet from recent rains, making it firm for comfortable walking. The sun had broken through the heavy cloud cover, it was pleasantly warm. Far across the bay were the forested Willapa hills. The tide was out, revealing oyster beds. Two eagles and numerous seagulls were foraging in patches of kelp. About half a mile into the hike, the trail turns off the beach and leads into the forest. It was here that they passed a sign, warning that the trail floods during the Winter months. The four hikers paid little attention to the warning, noting that shallow puddles on the trail were not difficult to navigate. They easily skirted these puddles by walking off the trail for short distances. They continued along the trail. Skirting the occasional puddle. It could well have been that it was while on one of these puddle diversions that they missed the place where the loop trail turned to the south.

They continued following the trail until they encountered a section of the trail that was flooded. This was no puddle; the water was deep. While trying to find a way around the flooded trail, three of them became separated from Jim. They passed through scrub pine and taller spruce. Eventually coming to a meadow thick with sedge. Tod had stepped into a patch of sedge, thinking it was growing on land, and sank into water filling his boot. He had stepped off the edge into a one-foot-deep impassable swamp. The three of them turned back. They found their way back to the trail but could not find Jim. Calling had no effect. They tried to call him on the cell phone. There was no cell phone service in this remote park. Carole wanted to turn back the way they had come. It turned out this would have been the correct action. Instead, since Tod was already wet, offered to wade through this flooded section of trail to see how far they would have to go before reaching the dry trail again. After wading about ten yards, he looked back and saw that the two women were wading behind him. Believing that the trail was leading back to the car, they decided to wade through this flooded section. A short distance of dry trail led to another flooded section. It went on like this for about a mile. This was not a matter of puddles in the trail. The trail led through marshes that extended into the forest on both sides. Still, they thought that the parking area was just ahead, and so they continued. Some of the flooded sections of the trail were nearly three feet deep. It covered their legs. Their feet and legs became numb in the frigid water. The water was not only cold, it was also black. There were roots and tree limbs submerged in it, which could not be seen. One could easily have tripped on one of them. Should one of them have tripped and fallen into that cold water, it likely would have resulted in hypothermia. Cell phones were out of range, so there was no way to reach out for help. There was no clue to help them know which direction they were going, as they were in the forest and the sun was obscured by heavy clouds. They later learned that the trail they were on led away from the parking lot. They were heading to the north-west rather than south. They continued on the flooded trail for what seemed like another mile. Eventually, the trail took them out of the marshes and onto sand dunes. As they crested one large dune, ahead of them lay beach, breakers of the Pacific Ocean. They had walked across the long beach peninsula to the Pacific Ocean. While they now knew where they were in an east-west direction, they had no idea how far north or south they were from the parking lot and their car.

Thinking that they were north of the parking lot, they walked in soaking pants and soggy shoes to the south. Eventually, Carole was able to get a signal on her cell phone. It showed their location in relation to the parking lot. They were three miles southeast of it. Exhausted, they trudged on across the dunes in the direction of the parking lot. Sue began to panic; she declared that she was suffering from hypothermia and was going to forge ahead. She walked more quickly and soon was out of sight. Carole and Tod finally came to a trail that they felt would lead to the car. However, this trail took them back into a forest. As they approached the forest, Sue appeared from it, walking towards them. None of them had thought about the fact that Tod had the keys to the car. They were not thinking clearly. Sue took the keys, spun around, and quickly walked ahead. This time, Carole stayed up with her, leaving Tod plodding along. In the Forest, the trail passed through more flooded sections. These flooded sections were not as deep as the earlier ones. There was no choice but to continue.

By this time, they had been walking for two and a half hours since losing Jim. Certainly, he would have made it back to the car. They anticipated getting to the parking lot and finding him there. It was late afternoon when, exhausted, the women reached the car. Tod was close behind. But Jim was not there. There was no sign that he had made it back to the parking lot. There was no cell phone service at the parking lot. Sue was very concerned. She immediately struck off through the forest to search for him. Tod and Carole could hear her frantic voice shouting "Jim" as she walked away. Her voice became fainter; eventually, her calls could no longer be heard.

After twenty minutes, she returned without Jim. She suggested that Tod and Carole drive south to see if Jim tried to walk out of the park along the road. Sue would wait in the parking lot in case he should come there. Tod and Carole were to drive until they could find cell phone service to call for help. They drove five miles and found neither Jim nor cell service. They turned back. When they reached the parking lot, Jim was there with Sue. He had stumbled out of the woods onto a trail and, fortunately, turned in the correct direction to reach the parking lot. He was so exhausted that he could not talk. The four climbed into their car and headed home with the car heater and fan both set to high.

On the way home, Jim warmed enough to tell of his harrowing experience of trying to avoid flooded areas while heading south. His theory was that since he was inside the loop trail, he could walk south and eventually find the parking lot. The thing none of them realized was that at the time they became lost, they had passed the fork in the trail where the loop trail turned south. They probably passed the turn off while leaving the trail to avoid puddles. By heading south, Jim was west of the parking lot. He described falling numerous times. He realized that he was walking in circles as he passed through the same clearing three times. He told how, at one point, he had fallen and could no longer get up. He said that “I thought I would just lie there. Either someone would find me, or this was how it would end.” Eventually, he regained enough energy to get up and continue to the south. He eventually came to the same trail that his three companions had traversed on their way to the parking lot. Again, he made the correct choice and turned toward the parking lot, eventually emerging from the forest to find Sue waiting.

As they drove in the hot car, their hands and wet feet eventually became warm. Feeling better, they stopped at a deli and all had a hot bowl of chili, which warmed them inside as well.

After the soup, they climbed back into the car. Warm and safely on the way home, they reviewed the several errors in judgment that led to this harrowing experience. They should have realized that they were on the wrong trail, because the family they had met was dry. The talkative boy would certainly have told them about a flooded trail had they encountered it. At the point that they encountered the flooded trail, and being unable to skirt it, they should have done as Carole suggested and turned back to retrace their route to the parking lot. If they had done this, they likely would have found the junction where the trail leads south to the parking lot. They should have remembered that cell phones have compasses. Finally, they all should have stayed together. In summary, when faced with an unexpected event, such as the flooded trail, rather than forging onward, as they did, the best action is to pause. Then, with a clear mind, consider their situation, the possibilities for how it could have occurred, and the possible consequences of various actions to be taken.