My take on Nate's My Heck

My take on “My Heck”

I believe it was the summer of 1995 that Nate, Lynea and there family came up for a break from their hot weather. It was hot here too but with a daily watering of the lawn and lots of talk about floating down the canal, (but not doing it), I decided to show off a bit and take everybody to the top of Mount Logan in the red Jeep. It was a quick decision, everybody agreed; it wouldn’t take much effort and would be a break from the shade trees. We jumped in with Jake, Andrea and Michelle sitting in the back on the floor. I thought at the time this is going to be uncomfortable because it’s a long way up there over some rocky and rough dirt roads.

We just got in and went without thinking about preparation or any what ifs. After bouncing along for about 20 miles of dirt and rough roads the kids started asking “Are we there yet?” In my authoritative, well informed voice I told them we hadn’t even started the climb yet. At the base of the mountain we shifted into 4 wheel drive and then later into low drive and were creeping up the mountain, over boulders and ruts on both sides of the Jeep. We would bounce up over one bolder and then onto another banking and shifting from side to side all the way. A major hazard in climbing Mount Logan is hitting high center so I kept on the sides of the ruts shifting from one side to the other to get over the rocks and ridges in the middle. The tires had good tread on them so I felt confident the rocks wouldn’t cause any problems. But...

We were on the last and steepest, rockiest climb up to the pinnacle when a rock punctured the side of the right front tire. As the air rushed out reality came fogging in. We were on a 45 degree incline on a ridge with no place to turn around, at least 25 miles up the mountain. I thought I had a spare tire but I wasn’t sure. If we did, how would we ever change the tire without tipping over or sliding back down the hill?

I may have said “My Heck” but my thoughts were much more graphic and sinful. “My Heck” was just for the kids in the car. Going into the mountains unprepared is not like me. We always had a chain, tool box, water, extra food and we usually went with someone else. While Lynea and the boys were living at home we often put the Hondas in the back of the pickups when we went 4 wheeling just to have a safe way out if something should happen. We had come out on the Honda or with someone else several times over the years. I knew climbing Mount Logan is an extreme sport, with a lot that can go wrong.

The worst of it wasn’t the Jeep, it was you kids. You were already tired. Jake hadn’t brought any shoes. Andrea just had on thongs. We all were just as we left the house, laying around under the trees in the back yard. Even the handcart companies were better prepared.

Everybody got out of the Jeep and we rolled it back down the hill several hundred yards to get to a place we could jockey it around and look at the tire. Nate, Lynea and the older boys walked along holding the jeep from tipping too far to either side. When we found a wide spot, we pulled out the spare tire and found it was just a donut tire and only about half full of air. We had ruined the flat tire, the rim and the wheel getting down to a level spot but we did find a place to change the tire. With that puny little tire on we piled everyone on the left side of the jeep with Nate and the boys hanging as far out on the left side as possible to take weight of the half filled donut tire. My hope was that we could get down a mile of two before the tire went flat and then maybe someone would come by that could take the little kids down to civilization. We only went about 3 miles an hour but with every mile we felt we were just a bit closer to safety. We never met another vehicle, bike or ATV on the way down. Had something gone wrong we would have had to spend the night up there with Nate or I hiking out for help. Just thinking about it gives me the creeps: nights are cold up there, no food or water, no coats or blankets. And who knows there may have been wolves, bears, Cougars, coyotes, snakes and other wild beasts rooming the mountain side just looking for something to gobble up. Even worse than that there were mosquitoes.

Had we spent the night on the back side of Mount Logan and survived we would have had a great survival story to tell rather than a ‘almost’ or ‘this could have happened’. But I learned a great deal from that adventure, I hope all who reads this will learn something.

All kidding aside I have never felt more stupid, responsible and worried than that afternoon. I am sure it was only because I had the presence of mind to say only “Heck” rather than stronger words of despair and self castigation that providence smiled up on us and we made it back home with out a major disaster. Nate and Lynea knew the danger we were in but I doubt anyone else did. The next morning I went down and bought a new tire and a wheel for the Jeep. Then I bought an emergency kit, toe ropes and flairs. They sat in the back of the jeep for the next year of so. I still have them and I’m not sure if they have ever been used in an emergency. But we are prepared.

I and Diane have done a lot of four wheeling in the Blazer. We have been up Mount Logan several times but I have always been so well prepared it wasn’t even much of a challenge. Actually over 40 years of mountain biking, 4 wheeling, hunting, fishing and hiking we have never had to walk out of the mountains. We have been helped out a few times and on many occasions we helped others out. Perhaps the greatest mountain climbing satisfaction is coming up on someone in distress and helping them out. It makes you feel so self sufficient, so informed, clever, useful and a little superior in wisdom and preparedness. Like driving around Logan in a snow storm with the Chevy Pickup in 4 wheel drive. Bryce, Terry and I would be looking for people we could pull out of snow drifts. Each time we get a blizzard I still get that urge to get prepared, turn the truck heater on high and drive around to see if I can find someone to help.

The old scout motto “Be Prepared ” applies more than just taking care of our skins and bones: it’s equally meaningful for our self concepts and mental stability.