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Chapter 1

I had been lucky enough to figure it out early on. Several years before it started to get bad I began looking for a place to go if things turned out as I feared they would. When I tried to warn my friends, they just told me I was being paranoid.

I stocked up large amounts of sugar, salt, pepper, medical supplies, and books on survival in the wild. I had been lucky enough to stumble on a set of old do it yourself encyclopedias they were a treasure trove. Just to make sure that no one would figure out my plans I made the purchases while I was out of town. From the books I learned how to trap, set snares, how to recognize eatable plants and ones with medicinal qualities. I even learned how to make my own snowshoes. It took me almost the whole winter to accumulate what I needed.

Even with my head start I did not think that I did had much time left and I prayed that I would be able to locate a good place for my hideout and get my supplies transferred there. Just last year there had been 200% increase in hate crimes. Gays and non Christians were starting to move to the bigger cities were they could feel safe. You were beginning to see the type of segregation that had existed in the larger cites in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. Where you had each ethnic group having their own section of town. You were safe in your section but could get in real trouble going into another. I did not know how bad it would get but I was scared enough to make plans and follow through with them.

When the passes finally opened I hiked back in and thoroughly searched the valley. Looking for signs that anyone lived there or visited it during the summer.

When I found no evidence of human activity I was very pleased. I was particularly interested in the Western Wall of the valley toward the northern end of the valley. That’s where the valley was the narrowest. In fact the walls at that point were almost vertical. The rock was heavily fractured and I was hoping to find a large enough fracture for me to find shelter in. Then I could slowly improve it. After much searching I found what I was looking for. It was at the end of the day when I found an opening that looked promising. So I made camp in a thick grove of fur trees. Not only did they shelter me from the wind but their branches would tend to disperse the smoke from my fire. Finding a spot up against the valley wall I started my fire, it was a good location as the heat would reflect off of the valley wall and keep me warmer. I put up my pup tent and then built a fire and brought some water to boil. Using some for instant coffee, and the remainder for the packets of dehydrated meat and vegetables. As I ate my food, and drank my coffee, I wondered if I was doing the right thing. When the fire died down I still did not have an answer. At this elevation it was below freezing at night well into late may. In fact you could have snow in June. You had to pay close attention the forecasts or you could end up trapped on the trails, as they became treacherous during and after a snow or ice storm.

As my fire died down I relaxed with my last cup of coffee for the night. The temperature was dropping rapidly and as my eyes adjusted to the darkness I looked up at the sky. Out here far from the air and light pollution of the cities the sky almost took your breath away. It was like there were a million diamonds scattered across the blackness. In fact there were so many more stars visible that I had a hard time picking out the constellations. Gradually I got my bearings and was able to pick out the major ones. There was something so incredibly calming to be able to look up and see the night sky like this. Out here you got a real reality check. Everything was on such a vast scale. It made all of mankind’s problems seem small and insignificant. The silence was broken by the occasional call of an animal or the sound of insects mating calls and the rustle of tree branches in the breeze. I knew that some people would find this kind of isolation to be intimidating but I did not. Out here I felt free.

The wind began to pick up and I shivered and decided that I should get to bed. Gathering up some kindling I placed it in my pup tent with me so it would be dry for in the morning. Around sunrise there tended to be a heavy dew and having dry kindling would make it much easier to start my fire.

For the first few minutes I just laid there letting my thoughts drift. It was one thing to enjoy getting away on the weekends but I was planning to do was to deliberately isolate myself from the rest of humanity for the foreseeable future.

When I woke up the sun was just rising over the valley wall and it was beautiful. Moving slowly, as I was stiff from the cold and sleeping on the ground I started another fire and cooked some breakfast and had another cup of coffee. By then it was light enough for me to explore the wall.

The gap I was interested in was about 30 feet up the slope from my camp. It was so well camouflaged that I could not see it from my position. I repacked my tent and removed any evidence of my campsite. Carefully I walked around the area, rechecking to make sure it would do.

I looked around the entrance to make sure any large animals were not using it. Only then did I get my flashlight and enter the cave. It was actually bigger than I had thought.

The cave was about 15 feet deep and 6 feet wide. However the ceiling dropped down sharply within 10 feet. To go any further in you had to hunch down or get on your knees. I spent the next couple of hours checking out the cave and cleaning it out. By the time the sun began to set I was comfortable enough with the situation to bring up my backpack and set up camp in the cave. After I set up camp I started a fire and cooked my supper by that time it was dark so I climbed into my sleeping bag and tried to sleep. But something kept nagging at me and it took me a few minutes to figure it out. Now that night had fallen it was a lot quieter and I was hearing the sound of running water. That did not make any sense, as I had not been able to find a creek or beaver pond at this end of the valley. That was the only thing that worried me. It would be better to have a ready supply of water close by. One thing was sure I was not going to try and do anymore exploring tonight. That could wait till morning. Within a few minutes I dozed off.

When I woke up I forced myself to be patient and rebuild my fire. Then I fixed myself breakfast and finished my coffee. One of the things I had learned from my years of hiking and camping in the high country is to be patient. The books I had acquired stressed the same thing.

After I had finished my coffee I began to try and pinpoint where the sound was coming from. It did not take me long to figure out that it was strongest towards the back of the cave. So I decided to try something I had read about in a book. I went to my backpack and took out a candle and lit it. Then I held it near the back wall and watched to see if the flame reacted. When I got to the right side near the back the candle blew out. I pulled out my flashlight and explored the wall inch by inch. This whole section of the wall was filled with cracks. The airflow was strongest from a crack about a foot off the floor. With out the candle I probably would have missed it entirely. When I put my ear up against it I could plainly hear the sound of running water. If I could get to it I could stock up the cave and not have to leave except when I wanted to.

I had brought a small pick and fold up shovel and I went and got them. After looking it over carefully I decided it would probably be safe to try and widen the opening. Fortunately for me it appeared that rather than being a solid wall the opening was made up of sections of rock. Apparently a portion of the roof from the other cave had fallen and sealed off the entrance. Working carefully I was able to remove some of the smaller pieces fairly easily.

The sun was setting before I was able to break through enough to shine my flashlight into the opening. Even though I could not see much I could tell there must be a space at least as large as the cave I was in.

I was more than glad to stop for the night. I ached all over from trying to swing the pick while hunched over. I used the pieces of rock from where I had been digging to build a fire pit. I built it up higher to the outside edge to help reflect back into the cave. Then I cooked dinner and took some pain killer to help with my sore muscles. As I lay in my sleeping bag I made sure that I listened to the different sounds of the night. I needed to be familiar with the sounds around me. You could learn much from listening. Most of us who lived in the city grew up surrounded by noise. All our lives we tuned it out so we could concentrate on whatever tasks we were involved in. Out here it was just the opposite. In order to survive you had to notice things. You had to watch the clouds for storms. Or the way animals reacted. They could warn you of someone approaching. All you had to do was know what sounds they made when they were alarmed and listen out for them.

In the morning I ate and got back to work on the opening. By early evening I had enlarged the opening enough to get a good look inside with my flashlight. From what I could see the cave floor appeared to be fairly smooth and it was larger than the cave I was in now. I noticed that there was a strong flow of air into the cave and I figured that I could have the opening enlarged enough by the following afternoon for me to get into the other cave.

Early the next morning I was back at it and by 3:00 that afternoon I had the opening enlarged enough to get through comfortably. I took a few minutes to rest up and make sure I had spare batteries for my flashlight. Then I crawled through into the other cave. It was more than double the size of the outside cave and the ceiling was much higher. The floor was a little uneven but not to bad. I followed the sound of the water to the very back end of the cave. A small stream came in from my left. It entered from a hole in the wall about 5 feet off the floor and spilled down into a small pool. And from there ran for about 10 feet or so before disappearing into a hole in the floor on the right side. I carefully tasted the water. It was bitterly cold but tasted great. After drinking my fill I carefully searched the cave floor for any more holes. Fortunately there did not seem to be any others. When I examined the area where the water entered the cave I discovered that there was a strong flow of air into the opening. This was great news, as I did not have to worry about having a fire in the cave. With a strong airflow I could build my fire near the opening and the smoke would be carried out of the cave.

The caves dimensions were roughly 15 to 25 feet wide and 40 foot in length. The ceiling height varied anywhere from 6 to 20 feet.

I spent the rest of that summer getting it ready to make it my home. On Saturday morning I would load up my backpack to the limit and head out. The 5-mile hike was brutal, loaded up to the max that I could carry. Each weekend the trip was the same. I would arrive at the cave and unload my supplies and store them. Then I would work through the day finding, cutting and storing firewood as well. I knew how long the winters were up here. In fact the passes were only open for about 2 ½ months at this altitude. I would spend the night and work through till early afternoon then I would hike out and drive home. This went on till fall.

Back home things had gotten so bad that I made the decision to get out while I still could.

I first met OpEd: in an activist chat room. We hit it off right away and he invited me to join his group. At first I was a little leery but I was made welcome right away. As the months wore on OpEd: asked me to help him with administration of his site and I agreed. He had more guts than just about anyone I knew. While I was content to work behind the scenes he was always out there in public. Because of his style he made a lot of enemies but he also picked up some influential supporters especially overseas. I often thought that if we had lived closer together that we might have tried dating. But neither one of us wanted to be in a long distance relationship they rarely worked.

Everything came to a head when I received an email late one night. I recognized the screen name right away. He had been one of the most famous hackers out there for years. Hell even a couple of years ago his name was showing up in the papers. But he had gone into hiding when the government really went after him. Over the years he had leaked many things to the press that the government did not want known. When he went into hiding we all thought that he had been captured. But if this email was legit then he had escaped them once again.

I hesitated before I opened it. If this was for real it was going to be really dangerous. If you were connected with him in any way you automatically went to the top of the governments undesirable list. It was enough to get you locked up in one of the new “work” camps under the new so called “tough love law.” There they tried to “reeducate” you. You could translate that to brain wash you. We had been hearing a lot of bad things about the camps. But every time some agency went in to investigate it was obvious that the camps were tipped off. I did not relish the thought of being sent to one.

Before I could chicken out I opened the email. Then only thing it said was, “video clip attached, if you want the rest of it just reply yes

Good hunting

Forgothowtorun

My hand was shaking as I clicked on the attachment. The video had a date and time stamp of just a couple of months ago. When it opened I saw two teen males standing in front of guards. Then without warning the guard pulled out their sticks and started beating the kids. It was obvious that they were being used as examples as the rest of the prisoners were standing there watching. All through the beatings the guards kept up a steady stream of chatter. Calling them fags and worthless and hinting that what was going to happen that night was going to be even worse. What I had just seen was bad enough but what happened next was worse. They pulled another prisoner from the line and said that he had tried to escape. Then without warning they put a pistol to his head and shot him. The video ended there.

For several minutes I just sat there lost. I could not process what I had just seen. There was no frame of reference. Things like this did not happen in my country. Even with all the rumors I had heard and way people were being treated I naively thought that it was the work of some local thugs or right wing nuts. But even I had no idea that this kind of thing would be condoned or worse encouraged by the government. If I thought like that no wonder the general public thought that everything was ok. If the video had come from anyone other than Forgothowtorun I would have been able to convince myself that the video was old or fabricated. But his reputation was rock solid.

After I had gotten myself back under control I hit reply with the one word response. “yes”

Then I messaged OpEd: and told him to stay close tonight as I had some really important information for him. I did not say anything more as we were never sure if the government was monitoring us or not.

After I gave him the heads up I went to fix myself some coffee. I was half tempted to put something stronger in it. But I needed to keep a clear head. Nobody had to tell me that the government would do almost anything to keep video like this out of the press. Something like this could very well turn the tide of public opinion. For years now unscrupulous politicians had used fear tactics to advance their own careers. I had been looking for a place to ride out the craziness but now I had to wonder if there would be any place that was safe.

I kept checking my inbox off and on all night. Just as I was getting ready to say screw it and head to bed I heard my mailbox chime.

Opening the email I saw a message that said, “There are official government emails as well as presidential findings dealing with the camps and treatment of gays and non Christians. I don’t have to tell you that this is important. I am going to lay low for a while. This is going piss off a lot of people. If you are going to have any chance of getting it out to the public it has to go overseas first. Then the National Media can’t bury it.

Good luck”

When I looked through the info it was even more explosive than the video. The emails from government officials clearly showed that the camps and the vigilantes had been given assurances that they would not be hindered on a national level.

I broke the video into 3 separate emails and sent it along with the other information.

After I sent off the information to OpEd: I tried to get some sleep but I was too keyed up. It was around 5:00 AM when I gave up and turned my computer back on. When I did there was an email from OpEd saying that his computer had been compromised. He and I had spoken about something like this happening. The government had been following a pattern of intimidation to prevent leaks. Their methods varied from threatening letters to being picked up and not being seen or heard from again. When you tried to find out any information on someone they were holding you were stonewalled. All they would say was that it was a national security matter and nothing more would be said. You could not even get them to confirm that they still held them.

I knew that I was in real danger of being picked up and at the very least would have a very unpleasant time being interrogated. After a few minutes of thought I made my decision and drafted an email to send to OpEd and thanked him for the heads up. Included in the email was a code word. Way back when I first started to prepare to leave I had talked it over with him. Even he did not know exactly where my cave was but I gave him good enough directions that he could make it to the valley. If he made it that far he was to call my name and I would check him out and make sure he was alone. If he were I would come and get him. The code was in how I ended the email. Normally I just ended the emails with the word Peace. This email I ended Peace and out. That let him know that I was going into hiding.

I waited till 9:00AM to send it so I would gain a few extra hours head start. I hit send then I wiped the hard drive and ran a strong magnet across it. Then I took the hard drive apart put the pieces in my pocket. Gathering up everything I wanted to take with me I made one last sweep though the house.

Being careful to remove any indication of where I was going I headed out on Friday just like I did on any other Friday. The only difference was that I did not intend to come back. I loaded up the last of my supplies into my backpack. Then leaving it in my apartment I went down to the used car lot and sold my car. I told the guy that I was running short of money and needed to sell it to pay my rent. He took advantage of the situation of course and offered my less money than it was worth. I put up just enough of a fight over the price to make it look good then I caved in and took what he offered. From there I walked back to my house and picked up my backpack and headed to the bus station. Then I purchased a ticket to a small town just outside of Teton national park. With my backpack I looked like any other traveler. It pained me to just leave my friends hanging but if this was going to work I had to make a clean break.

On this last trip in I was bringing in 2 small hand cranked emergency radios. They could pull in regular radio as well as the national weather service forecast. All you had to do was crank it for a minute and you got about 10 minutes of useful charge. The radio would allow me to keep abreast of major storms as well as the general news.

I got off the Bus headed into the little dinner next to the bus stop. After I ate I headed out of town away from the park. I guess that I walked about mile outside of town before I found a good hiding place. I sat up camp and dug a fire pit. When I had a good set of coals I cooked my dinner. When I was finished cooking I put the pieces of the hard drive into the coals. I left them in the fire till morning when I got up. After I made sure the fire was fully out I poured some water on it and then filled in the hole and carefully scattered leaves over the area. When I was satisfied that it looked good enough I changed clothes and reversed my jacket (it was white on one side and light green on the other.) I pulled my ball cap low over my eyes and put on a large set of sunglasses. Satisfied that had done as much as I could I headed out. It was just light enough for me to safely walk the trails and I knew I would have the trails to myself for a couple of hours.

That’s what I was counting on. I wanted to be well into the park before anyone would see me. In the summer the main trails were busy. What I was planning to do was reach the side trail without being spotted. If I could I would be ok. I made it through to the side trail before 9:00 AM and hiked till just before sunset exhausted I set up camp off the trail and was asleep in minutes.

The next morning I was up at sunrise and on the trail. By early afternoon I was at my cave.

Unpacking I put the rest of the supplies and the radios onto the shelves I had made for storage.

After storing my supplies I came back out and checked to make sure I was not followed. It was fall and the leaves were already turning. The predominate color was bright yellow but there were reds scattered in as well. With the late afternoon sun shining on them the trees were beautiful. I allowed myself a few more minutes soaking in the beauty of the scene. Then as the sun disappeared behind the mountains I went back inside and inflated my air mattress and put the sheets on it.

It had taken me while to figure out a system to vent the smoke out of the cave properly. Finally I had hit on the idea of bringing in bags of cement to work with. That had not been fun at all. But over the course of several weekends I had accumulated enough to build a rock fireplace that channeled the smoke to the hole that vented the cave. There was a strong flow of air from the point where the stream dropped down into the floor of the cave then exited near the roof where the stream entered the cave. I took advantage of this as it allowed me to keep a fire burning constantly without fear of carbon monoxide poisoning. This was a godsend as I would have had to cook in the outside cave and that increased the danger of being detected. With my stockpile of food and a dependable supply of water I did not have to venture out unless I wanted to.