Chapter 2
It had been a lot of work but now I had shelving loaded with supplies along thirty feet of the cave wall.
As I prepared supper I sat on a wooden bench and sipped some instant coffee. Its funny but you really learn to conserve when it’s your backpack that the supplies have to come in. I now had over 200 pounds of sugar and salt stored in airtight food storage rated containers. I had roughly the same amount of flour. Then there were the canned goods. It had taken me months to bring in enough to sustain myself. One of the side effects of all the hiking with heavy loads was that I was in the best shape of my life.
Its kind of sad how many more guys had been interested in me because I had put on so much muscle. It had taken me all this time to get this way and now I was holed up in this dammed cave. I had to laugh at that.
After I finished dinner I charged up the radio and took it to the mouth of the cave so I could listen to the news. This would become a nightly ritual. Up here you had to keep a close eye on the weather it could turn deadly without any warning. Afterwards I tried to read some by the light of the fire but all that did was give me a headache. I noticed that I was much more prone to them up here. It was going to take me a while to acclimate to this altitude. I really did not want to make the headache any worse, so I took out one of my Coleman lanterns and lit it. I had stocked enough fuel and wicks for it for a year factoring in 1 hour a night usage. I knew that in I would use more in the fall and winter than I would in the summer, as the nights were longer.
It was not long before I was too tired to read any longer and I put out the lantern and got into bed. As I lay there I could still see the shadows dancing across the ceiling from the fire. As I drifted off to sleep the only sound I could hear was the sound of the water running down the cave wall. I fell asleep listening to it.
When I woke up it took me a minute to figure out where I was. Then I remembered all that had happened over the last 48 hours and I grimaced. It was one thing to plan to go into hiding but quite another to actually do it. It was a reality check that the government would be looking for me.
I was also worried about OpEd and Forgothowtorun. OpEd might be safe he had a lot of important friends overseas. But Forgothowtorun was already on every blacklist the government could put him on. They would love to catch him and would use me to get him if they could.
For the first month I laid really low rarely venturing out of the cave. After I was sure that they had not trailed me I started to go out and gather up additional firewood and put out traps and snares to supplement my supplies. The first couple of times I had to butcher an animal I was nearly sick. But then I began to get used to it. I was able to come to terms with it by realizing that I was hunting to live, not for pleasure. It was going to be a long time before I could safely venture back into any town. Until it was safe for me to leave and pick up supplies I would have to stretch what I had as far as possible. That meant hunting and fishing when I could.
It seemed that I had cut it closer than I would have liked with the weather. I had not been in the cave over a month before the first major storm struck. Thanks to my radio I was able to safely plan around the storms. As the winter wore on I settled into a routine of checking my snares and gathering firewood.
Till I was living out here I had no idea how much wood you had to stock to keep a fire burning constantly. Fortunately for me there had been a blow down across the valley from me. A blow down is where the wind channels into a small area. It increases the force of the wind tremendously and it had taken down almost 90 percent of the trees on this hill. It must have occurred within the last couple of years because the wood was just about perfect for my fire. My only regret was that it was mostly fur and burned quickly. But that could not be helped, as there were not any hardwoods that lived at this altitude.
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Over the last year I had carefully hunted away from my valley. This winter had been a bad one and I was praying the cold would break soon.
I walked along the perimeter of the field, taking care to use as much cover as I could. Even though this area was sparsely inhabited I could not afford to take chances. It was bitterly cold today and every movement came at a cost. You get used to the cold after a while but at these temperatures you had to be really careful or you would end up dead.
I had my traps and snares located in a small valley that was off the main trail. In fact the only trail I found leading into it was an old animal trail and it was not on any of the trail maps. I had stumbled onto it while searching for my hideout. It was only half the size of the valley that I was living in. It had a small beaver pond at one end. But there were no suitable caves located there. The walls of the valley had a gradual slope and it was easy to get in and out of. It took me just over an hour to hike there in the summer or fall. But right now with a heavy snow cover it was a 2-hour hike each way. If you have never hiked in heavy snow you don’t have any idea how tiring it is. You use different muscles and you have to be constantly on guard against slipping or falling.
The valley itself was nice but there were many others that were larger or had more natural beauty. Up here you could probable find a hundred just like it.
You would never know that it was there if you did not know the area. Most people would consider it too ordinary and too high up to be of an interest. That was my reason for choosing it. It was unlikely that anyone would bother my traps and snares.
During the summer and early fall I spent a portion of each day gathering up food for the winter. I would trap small animals, fish, and gather fruits, nuts and grain for the winter. Then I would carefully dry the fruit, and smoke the meat to preserve it for the winter. This allowed me to stretch out my store bought supplies. So far with what I had prepared in the summer I was doing ok. But I needed salt and I did not know if I had time to go for supplies before the storm hit. Once again I swore at this damn cold spell. It was cold even for mid winter. It felt like it was close to zero or colder and to make matters worse the wind was picking up. But that was a risk you took living in the high country. You could have a blizzard late into spring or early in fall. The weather was temperate for a couple of months that was all you got here. But I loved this country. The views and the peace were a welcomed relief. Sometimes I felt guilty. Here I was taking in the peace and beauty of the mountains while others were living through hell.
I shook my head and forced myself to concentrate on the trail. Here I was daydreaming and it could get me killed. It did not take some fundie freak to kill me. All it took was one small misstep and you could either slip or break a leg or fall to your death. Personally I would prefer to fall to my death. If I were trapped out here in this cold I would never make it back to the cave.
Salt was the hardest commodity to come by and I had to leave my hideout to replenish my supply. I still could not believe how badly I had underestimated how much to stockpile.
I had been very lucky to find a safe source I could rely on. You know what they say, its better to be lucky than good. Well I guess I was living proof. Last fall I had been checking on my snares when someone came up behind me. He was so quiet I did not even know he was there till he said, “I wondered who was trapping out here.” There was touch of humor in his voice when he said it. I did not know what to do. This had been my biggest worry all along. I might be able to overpower him and get away but something told me I would not win. He had a quite assurance that comes with being able to take care of ones self.
When he did not say anything else I grew confused. What was he up to? Finally I could not stand it any longer and I said, “What are you going to do?”
He looked surprised then chuckled and said, “Don’t recon I will do anything. I don’t own the land so it’s none of my business.”
“Thanks.”
He nodded and said, “What are you doing with the hides?”
“Some I am going to keep and the rest I’m hoping to sell.”
“Not much interest in hides right now.”
“Yeah I know. But I would be willing to trade some of them for some salt and Coleman lantern fuel.”
He hesitated and then said, “I might have some to sell. Bring you hides down to my farm we will work something out.”
“Where’s your farm?”
“Take this trail towards the north end of the valley. You will seen another animal trail follow it across the ridge. Cross over into the next valley you will cross a trail turn left there. That trail intersects main trail. Turn right and take it till it ends at the access road. That is the edge of the park. Turn left and I am about a mile down on the right side. It will be the first driveway on the right side.”
Nodding I said, “Thanks.”
Now I was heading back to see him. I had waited several weeks to go see him. If it was as trap I wanted them to assume that I was not coming. I found his farm easily enough. For over an hour I watched him from the edge of the woods. I thought I had been fairly quite and was startled when he said, “You can come out nobody’s here but me.”
I snorted and shook my head in disgust and he chuckled.
Stepping from behind the tree I walked over to him. I was carrying a good selection of my furs and he motioned for me to take them over to a worktable just inside his barn. I was nervous but there was something about him that made me want to trust him. One thing was sure he did not talk much. I think that the couple of sentences that he spoke first time we met on the trail were the most I ever heard him speak. After he looked them over he went back to his house and brought me 10 pounds of salt along with a gallon of Coleman fuel.
Over the last year I had made the trek too his farm 4 times. I never did figure out what was going on in his head but he was a reliable source for me.
Every couple of months I would visit his farm. I would trade him furs for salt and fuel for my lanterns. Then he would sell the firs for extra income for himself. He never asked where I lived and in never pried into his life either. Because this was the riskiest time for me I always varied the day or time that I showed up at his farm. That way it would be harder for someone to ambush me.
As I approached his farm I saw that he was splitting firewood by the side of his barn. He looked up and gave me his usual guarded appraising look and waited for me to speak. It was kind of weird but he hardly ever spoke first. It had taken me a while to figure that out. So I cleared my throat and said, “Morning John. How are things going?”
He put down his ax, spat out some tobacco and said, “You need some more salt and fuel?”
“Yeah”
“What kind of furs did you bring me?”
“Well there are some deer, rabbit,”
“Not much demand for those”
I nodded and said, “Yeah it has been a rough winter for trapping, and with all the damned storms I have not had much time to hunt.”
“Damned early frost played havoc with my crops.”
I pulled out the furs I was trading and he looked them over.
He turned without saying another word and went inside and brought out my salt and fuel. I put them into my backpack and got ready for my long hike back.
As I was walking away he surprised me by calling out, “You be careful. They religious freaks are getting pushy again. If I was trying to avoid them I might go a little further south.
I was so shocked that I stopped walking and turned back towards him but he was already setting up the next log to split.
I called out, “Thanks I just might do that.”
He did not even look towards me and continued to split his firewood.
As I hit the tree line I debated what to do. I knew that the storm going to arrive sometime late evening or early in the night. I went further south to avoid the fundies, the storm might hit while I was still on the trail. I cursed under my breath and turned to the south.
I never saw any patrols and I chalked that up the fact that no one in their right mind would intentionally be out on these trails at this altitude with a major storm approaching.
I had cut it close, the wind had really picked up in the last half an hour of my hike, and by the time I had rebuilt my fire warmed up it had started snowing.
If I had been twenty minutes later getting back I would have probably been trapped with no shelter.
By the time I finished cooking my supper the storm was raging full force. The wind was howling across the mouth of the cave. I could not see more than a couple of feet. With total white out conditions it would be suicide to try and walk the steep mountain trials. I figured they would be impassable for at least a couple of days after the storm wore itself out. After I had built up my fire I went to the small pool and filled my small pan so I could have some coffee.
I was really tired from the hike and I decided to treat myself so I dipped into my canned goods. As I walked down the shelves I grabbed a can of Brunswick stew. Taking it back to the fire I poured it into a pan and stirred it till it was hot. I put if off the side of the fire so it would stay warm. While I was waiting for the water to boil for my coffee pulled out several hides I had been working on for a couple of weeks. When I finished I would have a warm blanket. This winter had been especially brutal and it was showing no signs of letting up.
When the water finally boiled I poured some into my coffee mug and added the instant coffee.
As I sat there by the fire I sipped my coffee and at my food. I could not help feeling a little down. Humans as a rule are social creatures. I was missing being around other people more than I thought I would. When I had been in town I could contact others anytime I wanted. Here that was not an option.
The storm lasted for almost 48 hours. By the time it ended I was stir crazy.
© 2006, Joseph Men