High Country Rescue

by Michael Skinner

  The Colonel looked at Dan and said, “Dan, what do you think of all this?”

  “It is an amazing story, I am not sure if anyone, but you had told me that story that I would have believed them. It is hard to believe that the law cannot do anything, but I can see that with no hard facts and no one complaining the law has no place to step in. From what you have said, these are evil men who have left a lot of dead men in their wake, and they would not hesitate to kill a young girl for her land. If Alice knows enough about the Reynolds history or current operations, then they will kill her as soon as they can. I have not seen the maps you talked about, but I am sure that stealth over force is the best way to get Alice out without risking her life. What is the plan?”

  “My plan requires a lot of planning and field adaptation to conditions. First, it will be a two-man operation. With you, Dan, making the penetration into the ranch and Joe providing support. I have had Joe move around the area and pick up as much information and gossip about the Jackson ranch and the Reynolds as he could. Based on what Joe has brought back, it appears that the crew at the Jackson ranch is a pretty rough bunch. Their neighbors lose calves before they are branded, and they are poaching furs out of the Federal lands. That means they are tough, deadly and familiar with the area around the ranch house. I believe the hardest part of this will be the exit with Alice. I don’t know how soon she will be missed, but eventually, they will be after you. Dan, you would have to travel on foot with Alice to a point where Joe would be waiting with the horses. You know the land better than me; how close can you get to the ranch from the south side with horses?”

  “One reason we didn’t get closer to the boundary line, when we were hunting in the area, was a series of deep canyons running east and west parallel to the boundary line. I explored the area on foot, but decided that the game in that area wouldn’t be worth the effort to get at them, not that there wasn’t game there, but it was just as good hunting to the west and easier terrain. I would judge that from the ranch house going south you would have some forested land running on an incline toward the mountains ending in a steep face, followed by four or five deep canyons before you top out on a ridge that falls away gently to the south. The map will show that distance to travel is about fifteen miles as the crow flies, but I will be traveling east and west and as up and down as much as I will be traveling north and south. It will travel more like thirty to forty miles and take up to a week to cover if Alice is able to travel, if she isn’t it will take longer. Once we get to the horses, it will still be a hard ride back to the ranch. If they guess where we are going, they may be able to get behind us.”

  “That sounds more difficult than I thought it would be. Can we do this?”

  “If these criminals are as shiftless as most, I doubt that they have gone very far into the rough canyon areas; therefore, my knowledge of the area should help us stay ahead of the pursuers. Also, I hope I can leave some things behind me going in that I can use to help us get out. I will need to approach the ranch house and observe it to see if I can tell if Alice is being forced to stay or not. Then make my approach in and my exit with Alice unnoticed. Until I check the maps for the area to verify some of the distances, my best guess is that it will take me four to six days to get in, one day to observe and three to five days to come out. Joe, what do you think?”

  “How long will it take before some of your pursuers break off and go back to get horses and try to cut you off?”

  “I hope they will think that they can trap us against the canyons, and it will be into the next day before they realize that I have a plan, that should give us enough of a lead.”

  “What will you do if they close on you before you reach me?”

  “Since Alice’s life is in danger, I cannot let them catch us. I will use misdirection and leave traps in my trail and use force only if I have to.”

  Dan and Joe both looked at the Colonel to see if he had any reaction to the possibility of killing the pursuers.

  The Colonel said, “You are correct, you cannot allow Alice or yourself to be taken, if that necessitates killing some of your pursuers then so be it, use your own judgment. There is a full moon in two weeks will that give you enough time to be in position?”

  “Yes, sir, I will have my plan ready in the morning for your review.”

  “Good, let’s call it a night and I will see you both at breakfast.”

  After the Colonel and Joe left, Dan went into the kitchen with the intention of getting a cup of coffee, but by this time the coffee wasn’t fit to drink. He threw the coffee out the back door, rinsed out the pot and put a couple cups of water into the pot to heat for tea. The kitchen stove had been banked for the night to be available in the morning, but it was still warm enough to heat that amount of water. He went to the study and lit the lamp on the worktable. The maps were stored in a vertical storage box beside the table. This is where he and the Colonel had planned many a guided hunt for the Colonel's friends and military associates. He located the maps for the Federal land near the Jackson ranch area and placed them on the table. He then went back to the kitchen to get his tea. After returning from the kitchen with the tea, he unrolled the map for the northern part of the Federal land near the Jackson ranch. The map was not as small a scale map as he would have liked, but it did cover the area north of the Federal land, which included the Jackson Ranch. The map confirmed his memory of the area, except that there were more canyons to cross. Starting at the Jackson Ranch, the land appeared to rise about six hundred feet in a little more than a mile to the first ridge or upsurge. Being created by upsurges in the earth’s crust, the ridges were sections of the earth’s crust that as they broke the north edge of each section was forced up, and the south edge acted as a pivot point. This created a steep face on the north end of the section with a long sloping plane on the south side of the ridge that ends at the base of the next ridge. According to the map, the north face of the first two ridges was not too steep, but the north face of next ridge appeared very steep and the fourth ridge, unless there was a misprint on the map, showed to have an overhang for most of the center section of the north face. Ridges five, six and seven where steep, and seven was where Joe was to wait with the horses. The ridges rise between six hundred and eleven hundred feet above the valley below and are one-half mile to four miles apart. On foot in that country, he would only be able to cover four and a half to nine miles a day. At the scale of this map, small creeks and streams were not shown, but there would be some creeks along or near the bottom of each north face. Looking as hard as he could the map just didn’t have enough detail to tell him more about the area. While guiding the hunting party in this area, he had worked his way down the north face of what he was now referring to as ridge number seven by using game trails. Then through the broken timber on the south slope of ridge number six, to the top of ridge number six. From that point, he had seen the tops of three more ridges to the north, and the game trail he was following continue down the north face of ridge six. he used his experience in the high country to help him imagine what terrain problems he might find in this area that would be new to him. Finally, he began to rough out a plan and make a list of supplies that might be needed. As he started up the stairs to his room, the clock in the hall struck midnight.

  Awaking at five thirty a.m., as he had for years, Dan dressed only in his pants and boots. He went over to the dresser; where he poured the water in the bowl back into the pitcher. Taking the pitcher with him, he went downstairs, through the kitchen and out the back door and emptied the pitcher over the porch rail.

  Returning to the kitchen, Maria said, “Good morning” and handed him a cup of coffee, then asked, “Do you need some hot water?”

  “Yes, I can shave with cold water, but I will take hot when I can get it.”

  Taking the pitcher of hot water and the cup of coffee, he returned to his room. He shaved and finished dressing. Then he sat on the bed and reviewed his plan again. Returning to the kitchen about six forty,
he refilled his cup and went outside.

  Seeing Joe standing by the corral he walked over and said, “Good morning Joe.”

  “Good morning Dan. Get any sleep?”

  “Not much. Yourself”

  “Enough. I was thinking about two routes from where I am to meet you to back here to the ranch. One if we are pursued and one if we are not?”

  “That’s right, if we are not followed, we can take a more direct route back.”

  “How do you think it will go?”

  “If the Reynolds plan is as sinister as we think it is, they will do everything they can to retake or kill Alice. We will know that by how hard they push and how long they stay on the trail.”

  Joe nodded his consent. Maria called them to breakfast; she had already fed the bunkhouse crew at six o’clock.

  As they entered the dining room the Colonel said, “Good morning Dan, Joe, looks like the start of a great day out there this morning.”

  Joe nodded, and Dan said, “Yes, sir, it does look like a good day.”

  Maria brought breakfast in from the kitchen. Breakfast consisted of bacon, eggs, grits, biscuits, and gravy.

  Taking his chair at the table, the Colonel asked, “Dan can we review your plan now or would you prefer to wait until after breakfast?”

  “No, now is as good a time as any, we can talk as we eat breakfast. After reviewing the maps of the area, my previous travel in the area and my experience in similar areas, I feel our success will depend on stealth, planning and taking advantage of the difficult terrain. First, I am working on the fact that the Reynolds clan does not know we are involved and will not know where we are taking Alice once we get away. Since Will Johnson knows of our involvement, even if he doesn’t know the plan or the date, we must be sure he is safe. The planning and use of terrain go together. I plan to carry with me, on my way in, some rope and other gear, to create advantages for me coming out. The north face of these ridges in most cases are so steep that climbing ropes in the right places will allow me to bypass switchbacks and other out of the way routes. I am sure we cannot travel as fast as our pursuers will be able too, so I will need to extend our lead whenever I can. I want to get into the area as soon as possible to be able to examine each ridgeline for the best possible routes. Joe has several routes planned back here, to give us even more options. I plan to leave most of my gear at a cache at least six hours from the ranch house. I will approach the ranch house as quietly as possible and take up a position where I can watch the house for an extended period of time without being seen. I may approach the house after dark if I haven’t yet confirmed Alice’s status. I will wear moccasins into and away from the house to leave no trail and to be as quiet as possible. I will carry only my side arms, blanket, canteen, and dried meat in with me. I will have an escape path laid out before I contact Alice and be able to move quickly away from the house. I will pick up my boots and other gear at the cache along with my rifle on the way out. I can’t really give you more details than that since I have not been over that country near the ranch before.”

  The Colonel said “Dan, I like the way you are approaching this. Stealth and the avoiding your pursuers is this best chance of getting Alice out. What materials will you need?”

  “Colonel, I will need two hundred feet of half-inch rope, two hundred feet of quarter-inch rope, two dozen small railroad spikes like the ones they use in the mines, two quarter-sticks of dynamite, food, and gear for two weeks.”

  “I will have Bob Robert, the ranch foreman, go to town to pick up the items you need. Can you think of anything else?”

  “What do we know about Alice? What size of clothes and shoes does she wear? How much does she weigh?”

  “I haven’t seen her in a couple of years, and I have no idea what size she wears, but she is about 5’4 or 5’5 and weighs about 110 pounds, per what Will told me, when I asked what she looked like. What are you thinking about?”

  “Alice will be wearing a dress, and even a dress she would wear around the ranch house will not be suitable for the rough country we will be traveling through.”

  “I will tell Bob Robert to pick up a pair of pants and a shirt. He can tell Jake at the general store that they are for a young boy who will be working out here at the ranch.”

  “Tell Bob Robert, the pants need to be a dark color and the shirt a dark plaid without any reds or yellows and a dark wool jacket.”

  “I will tell Bob Robert enough of what’s going on, for him to understand the need for secrecy and I will have him see you before he leaves for town in case you think of anything else you might need.”

  “Thank you, Colonel, Joe and I will go over our requirements and have a list for Bob Robert when he is ready to leave.”

  “Good, I will be around if you need me. Otherwise I will see you this evening.”

  They left the dining room, the Colonel went to his office at the front of the house, and Dan and Joe went into the parlor.

  Closing the door, Dan said, “We need to decide quickly if we need Bob Robert to pick up anything else in town.”

  “What about food?”

  “I figure we’ll need enough food for two people for two weeks and for three people for two weeks. Some of the food will need to be camp food and some will need to be trail food.”

  “We should have everything we need here at the ranch except some canned meat; I think we should avoid taking some game.”

  Dan said, “That’s a good idea, we don’t want to take the time to hunt nor draw attention to our location by firing rifles at game; we will have Bob Robert pick up some canned beef. Do you have one of those European backpack frames?”

  “No, but I have seen them at Jake’s store.”

  “Then we will have Bob Robert pick one up.”

  “What do you need the frame for?”

  “I will not be able to take a horse with me going in, and the frame will allow me to carry more.”

  “I could go in with you part of the way and help you.”

  “If a frame was unavailable, I would have had you go in with me, but I prefer to go in alone if I can.”

  Joe nodded his head and said, “I understand. What else do we need?”

  “I have that deerskin ground cloth you helped me make four years ago. Do you have one I can take for Alice?”

  “Yes, I have several.”

  “How many horses will we need?”

  “If all your gear will fit on one pack horse, then I figure three saddle horses and three packhorses.”

  Dan looked at the crate in the corner and said, “One pack horse will work for me.”

  “Good, I will check on the horses and get some packs for the pack horses. Where do you want to set up for loading?”

  “I know we usually set up behind the kitchen, but let’s get most of the gear together here in the parlor, and we can pack and load from here.”

  “I’ll be back in about an hour.”

  Joe left the parlor and headed toward the barn and corral. Dan turned to the crate and opened it and removed his gear from it. He went upstairs and brought down the gear from his room that he was going to take with him. Then he separated the gear according to how he was going to pack it. In the corner of the room, he placed the items that he would carry all the way into the ranch house, next the items that would go with him to the cache location, and finally the items that would go only as far as the base camp. In the items that would go to the cache, he included the 45-90 High Wall, two boxes of cartridges, and one box of cartridges for the auto pistol. He would carry only the two auto pistols, the shoulder hostlers and the two extra clips into the ranch house.

  When Joe returned, they went to the pantry to get what they needed.

  Joe said, “I told Maria you and I were going into the backcountry in the morning and asked her to make some corn tortillas. She said she would make two-dozen tortillas and two small loaves of bread.”

  “Joe, you always did know how to take care of me. I like jerky and hardtack as well
as you, but I don’t want to start eating it until I have to.”

  “What makes you think I like jerky? I make it because it is the only way to keep the meat for months, and I eat it only when I can’t get fresh meat.”

  “Well, I think I like your jerky better than that canned beef that Bob Robert is going to bring back from town.”

  “Oh, I forgot about the canned beef. I better get some more jerky,” Joe said laughingly with a straight face.

  They took the food back to the parlor and went out to the tack room on the side of the barn where the camping gear was stored.

  Dan said, “I don’t think anyone will come across your camp while I am gone, but I want your camp to look as casual as possible, so take a small walled tent and do everything you can to look like you belong there.”

  “I will sleep in a tent if I have to, but I won’t like it.”

  They gathered up the tent and other camping gear they needed and returned to the house.

  Joe said, “I will just leave this gear here by the porch.”

  “That’s fine. Let’s go in and get as much packed as we can until Bob Robert gets back from town with the rest of the supplies.”

  Bob Robert returned from Durango just after four forty-five. Joe and Dan helped Bob Robert carry the boxes into the parlor.

  Setting the box, he was carrying down, Bob Robert said, “I was able to get a pair of black wool pants, a green, and black plaid shirt and a dark brown jacket; I hope they are small enough.”

  Replying Dan said, “I am sure they will be fine.”

  “The two quarter-sticks of dynamite, the blasting caps and fuse are in the box with the rope. I rolled them in burlap to give them some cushion.”

  “Thanks, I will be careful.”

  Bob Robert stayed to help Dan and Joe as they unpacked the boxes from town and began to sort and pack the supplies.

  Entering the parlor, the Colonel said, “Looks like you have everything under control. Is there anything I can do?”