High School: Fateful Christmas Day

On Christmas day my father decided he wanted to give me an extra special gift in addition to all of the normal toys and things. It had been quite some time since Dad and I had spent any time together, so he decided it would be very nice if we went on a little hike.

The perfect hiking area was about two blocks from our house, across the main road on the mountain (Route 18). Just after the road, the mountain begins it’s long drop into the San Bernardino valley in a beautiful series of cliffs and valleys. Our house was located near a bend in the road, which was caused by a small stream known as Strawberry Creek.

We planned on a short, simple hike of perhaps two hours. Because of this, we both ate a simple breakfast, but didn’t pack a lunch or any other accessories. We wanted to be back home well before lunch, so didn’t see any reason to carry the extra weight around for two hours.

We started by crossing the road and beginning a walk down the creek bed. We figured it would be easier to follow the stream then to try and walk around the rim of the mountain. We also thought the stream bed would be much more beautiful.

If had snowed a few days before, leaving small patches of cold ice crystals in small, shadowy patches in the stream bed. However, it was a very nice, warm day, so we didn’t even bring along a jacket.

Down into the creak bed we went. We hiked for an hour, then another hour, then another. It was incredibly beautiful, especially after the creek widened into a stream, then a small river. We knew we should stop and begin the long trip home, but we kept telling ourselves "just a little longer … I want to see what’s around that bend."

Eventually, after perhaps four or five hours of hiking, we came upon a two hundred foot high cliff. The stream leaped out into space upon reaching this cliff, forming a gorgeous waterfall.

Naturally, we couldn’t allow a little thing like a cliff to stop us. We looked carefully at the cliff and discovered that immediately to the right of the stream bed was a steep slope consisting of loose shale. We carefully navigated down this slope to the base of the cliff.

At the base was a wonderful pool of water, with a waterfall at one end and a stream leading out of the other. It was extremely secluded, and was perhaps one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.

We continued walking down the stream bed for perhaps another hour before we finally decided to turn back for home. It was early afternoon, and we were both hungry and tired.

After a few minutes of trudging uphill, my dad began having chest pains. He told me he thought he was having a heart attack. He sat down, telling me he’d wait there for me. He told me to go on up and get help for him, because he couldn’t walk any further.

I started up the canyon, reaching the cliffs after about thirty minutes. I worked my way up the shall slope, and after much work finally reached the top. This was quite a climb, with the rocks constantly threatening to fall out from under my feet and send me tumbling down to the canyon floor.

Upon reaching the top I continued my climb. After another thirty minutes, I came to a place where the stream bed split into two distinct canyons. I had no idea which way to go, so I picked the path to the right. It seemed like an easier climb, and I suspected that both canyons would eventually lead me to the top of the mountain.

After another hour of hiking, I discovered that I had been wrong. The canyon suddenly dead-ended in another cliff. I decided to try and climb the cliff, thinking I might make better time on the top of the hills than in the floor of the canyon.

When I finally reached the top of the hill, I discovered that it was covered by thick, thorny bushes. I tried to worm my way through this mess, but soon realized that it was hopeless. My progress would be excruciatingly slow, and I would soon be lost in all of the dense undergrowth.

I worked my way back down the canyon until I reached the place where it branched, and continued up the other path. By this time I was feeling extremely tired. i had a severe headache (from lack of food, I presume), and my body simply felt drained of energy. It was getting late in the afternoon, and the temperature was starting to drop. To make things even worse, it was starting to get cloudy, and it began looking like it might rain.

Suddenly, while stumbling up the stream, I tripped and fell directly into the water. I pulled myself up and dragged my body over to a nearby log. My breath was coming in gasps, my strength was gone, I was wet, and I was getting cold, very cold.

"To heck with it", I told myself, "I can’t go any further. I’m gonna die out here in the middle of the wilderness."

After saying that, I laid back against the log and rested. I really felt like I was going to die down there in that canyon, far from the sight of man.

After about thirty minutes, I jerked my head up with a start. I had fallen asleep, and was awaken suddenly by something, I am not sure what. I looked around but didn't see anything. But I realized that this was not my time to die. I had a full life ahead of me and a lot to accomplish, and besides, this would have been a darn silly way to go. I thought for a minute, then decided that I am a powerful being, that I had the strength to go on, and I would make it back to save myself and my dad.

After a few minutes, I pulled myself up and began walking forward again. It took every bit of my strength, but I forced one leg to move, then the other. Slowly I began moving forward, towards home.

It slowly began to get dark, as night began to fall. Snowflakes fell down upon my cheeks. I barely noticed, as every bit of my strength was being used to move me forward. I blanked my mind, concentrating only on walking. Every fiber of my being was focused on going forward.

After several hours of this walking, I suddenly heard a yell. "Richard!" It seemed to say. I ignored it, thinking I was getting delirious. A few minutes later I heard the same voice, slightly louder. "Richard! Are you out there?"

"Wait a minute" I thought. "That sounds like Belinda’s voice."

I began running towards the voice. It seemed to take forever, but it slowly got louder and louder. "Help!" I managed to scream, but it came out as a croak. I began screaming and yelling "Help! Help! Help!"

Finally I saw Belinda and mom, standing on a dirt path just below the main road. I’d made it out alive!

I collapsed, gasping, while Belinda and mom questioned me. There was a man standing beside them … I slowly recognized him as Curt Brey, one of my parents’ friends.

"Dad’s down there." I said, pointing down the canyon. "He’s had a heart attack or something." I stopped, gasping some more. "He sent me to get help."

Curt didn’t wait to hear anymore. He took off immediately, running down the canyon. He soon disappeared.

Curt was a forest ranger, and he’d come down here with my sister and mother in response to their call for help. Since we were supposed to be home before lunch, mom naturally became very worried about us. As the day grew older, she became convinced that something was wrong, and called the forest rangers. Curt and his partner came over to help find us.

Curt’s partner helped me over to his truck. I told him I was very hungry, so he opened some K-rations and let me eat. We sat there for a couple of hours, eating and listening to the radio. Curt called every few minutes on his walky-talky, letting us know his progress.

Finally, at about 8:00 in the evening, Curt told us he’d found my dad, buried in a pile of leaves. You see, dad has had some survival training in the Air Force, and knew how to protect himself from the cold. He dug himself a burrow, and covered his body with leaves to keep warm and dry.

The next day, a helicopter flew down into the canyon, braving high winds to hoist my dad out of the wilderness. As a memorial, the rangers named the place where the helicopter landed "Lowe’s Meadow".

My dad turned out to be fine. He didn’t have a heart attack after all … he had what is called a hypoglycemia attack, which means he had low blood sugar. This happened because he didn’t eat much that day. He recovered as soon as he got some food in him.

I never forgot that day. The day I almost died, except for my own perseverance and willpower. I never doubted myself again.