Spider Gap

by Kristen Joy Wilks

  If only she had her own string of mules. “A crevice, as in a small cleft in the side of a cliff?”

  “No, a crevasse. They form in melting glaciers, quite dangerous, I’ve seen a hiker pulled twenty feet beneath the snow.”

  Lilly opened her mouth to inquire about the identity of these mysterious crevasses. Not a crack in the stone after all. They sounded more like some kind of terrible beast.

  But Juan popped up with a question about which trail to follow.

  That was more important. If they got the wrong trail…

  Lilly gulped. Crevasses were probably legendary creatures like the Sasquatch anyway. Not something that would actually concern them on the hike. More like a fun and frightening myth. She had not run across their mention at school in any of her math or literature classes, nor in her quick perusal of hiking articles the night before she’d left. The ice caves sounded much more ominous. Those, at least, were an actual concern. But if Tristian had forbade entry into them, surely the children would comply.

  Lilly made steady progress through the uneven ground of the grassy meadow, occasionally crossing the creek that cut its way here and there across their path.

  Three boys came barreling down from one of the rocky slopes that edged the grassy break.

  Lilly squinted. Yes, she should have guessed. Mason, Juan, and Logan. They seemed to form a kind of boyish pack, causing disruption and hilarity wherever they roamed. And they were roaming her way. No, not roaming, charging.

  Why weren’t they plunging toward Tristian? Lilly glanced up. The rest of the group had outstripped her by a fair distance and now appeared like a colorful line of ants in the distance. Great. Lilly smoothed her face into something resembling the visage of a sage and respected authority figure, and prepared to meet whatever ridiculousness the boys brought her way.

  “We found the ice caves!” This bit of unwelcome intelligence was shouted from all three young throats with equal volume and relish. However unpleasant the discovery, this was something that Lilly was prepared to deal with. “Mr. Calvert clearly stated that—”

  “This way!!!” The boys all pointed toward the rocky slope beyond the meadow and shot off like three flannel-bedecked rockets.

  Oh, my goodness. Lilly shielded her eyes with a hand.

  Tristian was barely visible in the distance. He didn’t even know of their foolishness.

  Lilly turned in a full circle, looking for aid.

  Grasshoppers creaked at her feet. Wind rustled the tall grasses that rolled out before her and made the pines sway and groan. A red-tailed hawk circled far above, its cry breaking the silence for a moment.

  Just her, it was just her. Lilly faced the rocky hillside where the boys had gone. OK, then. She could do this. Catch them. Tell them that no, under no uncertain terms were they to stray near the ice caves, and then drag them back to Tristian. Lilly set her sparkly shoes to the trail and pushed herself into a jog. Her dog purse swung precariously, thumping against the pack in an awkward rhythm that sent her pup skidding about inside.

  Strudel grunted and let out a sharp bark as she jostled him. Hopefully, he would settle before she reached the miscreants.

  Low mounds of icy snow hunkered against the sides of the mountain. Lilly could just glimpse a few dark holes within the dirty white of the snow heaps. Three figures stood just outside, bending and pointing at their discovery. Lilly burst into a sprint. The dog purse flailed behind her wildly and her whole pack lurched side to side. She couldn’t do this for long but the boys might enter the dangerous caverns at any time. She had to reach them. Stumbling and wheezing she skidded up and grabbed both Mason and Logan in a death grip. Her hands fisted into their flannels as she tugged them back and shot a glare at Juan.

  He sighed and followed his companions.

  “Mr. Calvert clearly stated that under no circumstances are we to enter the ice caves. They are unstable by nature and could collapse at any moment. People die in ice caves, regularly. So back up!” Her volume slowly rose until the last sentence was a panicky shout.

  The boys stared up at her.

  “OK, fine. But do you have to wreck everything fun?” Mason shrugged her hand off his arm and turned to go.

  Logan and Juan slouched after him, mumbling about her lack of adventure and ever present fussiness.

  Just as she hitched her pack higher on her shoulders and set out after them, a black and white streak caught her eye as something leapt from her pack. Was it her sleeping bag, falling to the ground? Please, Lord, make it be my sleeping bag. Although, her sleeping bag was purple.

  The flash of black-and-white paused for an instant on a rocky slab and then zipped off down the trail.

  Lilly spun.

  There was Strudel, charging like a furry little firework. He gave a yip of triumph, and then shot headlong into the black maw of the nearest ice cave.

  15

  An Ill-Considered Rescue

  A small scream escaped Lilly’s lips as she stared at the empty space where Strudel had gone.

  The snow slumped across the rocky hillside like some great lounging beast sprawled across the rocks in hibernation. At the base, large, dark holes interrupted the dirty white of melting snow. Trickles of water flowed from the caves, making the stones slick with moisture and attesting to the unstable environment within. Ice caves were in a constant state of decay. Huge hunks of ice smashed down without provocation. Those foolish enough to risk the fabulous beauties of their interiors were risking death with each step.

  The boys turned at her scream.

  Lilly clamped her hands over her mouth, hyperventilating on the air that squeezed between her fingers. Strudel! She stared at the dark caverns waiting for the splash of black and white that would signal the little doggy’s successful escape. Nothing, nothing, nothing…

  Lilly curled her hands into fists, gulped down a breath of fresh air, and charged across the slick rocks. No, she could not do this. Absolutely not. Lilly’s feet never even slowed. When she reached the black maw of the first entrance, her body plunged forward feet-first, sliding into the dripping cavern below.

  Lilly skidded down a slope of wet stones that made up the floor of the cavern. Water dripped constantly, splatting on her head and face in an icy shower. For a moment she couldn’t move. The sight above her was as breathtakingly beautiful as it was deadly. So this was why some people dared death to stand beneath a melting ton of ice.

  The ceiling was curved into a cathedral of arched snow. The expanse was molded like ocean sand, forming ridges and swirls that spread upward like a seafloor across the sky. An ethereal blue light shone through the heavy ice, lighting the stones beneath her hands and knees where Lilly crouched trembling. Her palms skidded against the slick rock as she rose. She sucked in a breath as the skin scuffed away and began to bleed.

  Silence reigned, save for the constant plunk of water drops. The massive press of the ice above seemed a living thing, occasionally letting out a low, heavy groan.

  She brushed her bloody hand against her pant leg and rose. The crunch of rocks beneath her shoes sounded like an avalanche to her straining ears.

  Lilly tore her gaze away from the deadly blue cathedral and searched the cave. Her limbs trembled with energy, her pulse thudding wild at her throat, and her stomach was an aching little knot that seemed to shrink tighter with every uneven breath. Where was Strudel?

  Finally, she saw a darting flash of black and white across the massive swath of rounded stones, directly beneath the apex of the immense ceiling. But dare she call the little dog to her side? She had read that even a stray noise could hasten the fall of ice. Was walking beneath the expanse of ice any safer than whistling for her dog?

  Lilly eased a foot forward, nudged past a wobbly rock with her toe and set her weight onto a more solid bit of stone. OK, creep across, silent and stealthy and with some speed. She did not want the boys to follow with some misguided sense of duty or foolish dreams of heroism.

  Strudel remained where
he was, rolling amid the slick stones, his little legs flailing in the air and his silky tail whipping about behind him.

  Finally, Lilly stood directly above the furry miscreant.

  Strudel ignored her and buried his snout in the rocks with some relish.

  A wafting stench brought bile to Lilly’s throat. She clamped her mouth shut and reached down for her doggy, grimaced and flinched away. No. She had risked being flattened by falling ice, she would triumph. No amount of dead…

  Lilly peered closer.

  The oozing carcass of an emaciated coyote stared back at her with sunken, empty sockets. Ugh!

  Lilly snatched up her putrid pup. She pressed him against her chest and scurried for the entrance, dry heaving all the way. When she reached the cave entrance, a patch of blue sky drew her forward.

  A ring of horrified faces made her lurch to a stop. The kids, all nine of them, peered down at her, faces pale, eyes wide.

  Lilly turned and stuffed the rancid dog into her dog purse. For once, Strudel seemed uncertain of her distaste for violence and remained silent. Lilly scrambled out of the cavern. A strong hand plunged toward her and she grasped hold only to come face to face with Tristian as she had never seen him before.

  White-lipped and furious, the cheerful ski instructor/river rafting guide dragged her toward the path. He hissed out a whispered command to hike and nine silent children formed a line and followed behind.

  16

  Spider Gap

  After a blistering lecture on safety, whereupon Lilly was disturbed to discover that Tristian’s cave avoidance lecture was full of interesting facts, and more passionately given than her own, they proceeded to the top of the meadow and the beginning of the glacier. She wondered if Tristian would be willing to come to her class and speak on the value of mathematics or if a near-death experience was required for him to reach this level of eloquence on a subject. Could she manufacture a fraction-related danger?

  The last few miles up the meadow had been silent ones, the children apparently shocked by her fabulous leap into danger.

  Tristian’s head was bobbing at the front of the line with no small amount of ire. Would he have left a little dog on its own, beneath the groaning ice, and been able to sleep with a clean conscience?

  Lilly increased the wattage of her glare. Probably, the heartless fiend.

  When they finally reached the head of the meadow, within the shadow of Phelps Basin, they stopped to make camp.

  Tristian walked to where Lilly had dumped the contents of her tent bag.

  Lilly hadn’t realized she’d been staring down at the innocent-looking collection of nylon that had caused her so much consternation the night before. How embarrassing. He must think she was completely helpless, as well as reckless, and wearing shoes that distinctly smelled of sweaty honey.

  Tristian paused behind her for a moment, then reached out and took the tarp. He didn’t say anything, just shook the tarp out, spread it, and picked up her tent, repeating the process. He gave Lilly a look, as though wondering why she was still there, staring at the rogue camping equipment that was surely awaiting the opportune time to collapse upon her or leap into some random body of water with her trapped inside.

  “Why don’t you go make yourself a cup of cocoa, Lilly? You look beat and the kids could do with some watching while they’re heating up water for the spaghetti.”

  A more accurate observation would be hard to find. Lilly glanced over Tristian’s shoulder and couldn’t help but notice that the boys were constructing torches out of sticks and long strands of lichen while the girls braided flowers into Natasha’s hair, unmindful that the hissing blue flame heating the noodles was only an inch away from their friend’s long, dark locks.

  Lilly gave Tristian a small smile of thanks and rushed toward Owen, who had just lit his torch on fire and was waving it wildly above his head in a vain attempt to put it out. Lilly dove forward and snatched the flaming stick from his hands. She jammed the end into the soil and kicked dirt on top of the sizzling lichen. How could everyone think that she was the irresponsible daredevil of the group?

  Her stomach ached as she realized that she couldn’t explain her actions. That ten people would forever think she had plunged into the icy maw of that hazardous cavern just because an adventurous mood had squelched her sense of reasonable caution. Would the children ever listen to her now? Who would consider the tiniest bit of advice, mathematical or otherwise, from someone without enough self-control to resist cavorting in ice caves?

  That night, after washing her camp dish with a handful of gravel and a cup of water she’d pumped from the creek, Lilly doused herself in mosquito repellent and slid into her sleeping bag. Her stomach was full of spaghetti instead of growling with hunger. But that fact did not help her sleep.

  First of all, Strudel did enough growling for the both of them. Secondly, concern for the scheduled traversing of the glacier ate at her insides, leaving her tossing and turning in her sleeping bag long after Strudel had stopped leaping about the tent snapping at bugs.

  Since they considered her an ice-cave-loving daredevil, the children probably thought she was salivating with anticipation over tomorrow’s epic climb. Lilly curled her knees up under her chin and hoped she wouldn’t vomit. A glacier! What had Gran been thinking?

  Phelps Basin was an enormous, amphitheater of stone that towered over the end of Spider Meadows. Part of this consisted of a two-thousand foot sheer drop. Thankfully, they were not expected to climb that. Instead, they took the trail to Spider Gap, which turned to snow at the base.

  “Last toilet until lower Lyman Lake.” Tristian shouted out as Lilly peered up the swath of snow that draped across the ridge. “Boys go first, and then girls.” Tristian waved the guys toward the trail.

  Lilly gave him a look. This was weird. Tristian had never kept the genders segregated on the trail to the toilet. What was different about this, “out?” The boys marched back and she cautiously joined the three girls as they approached the last “out” before the glacier. Lilly stumbled to a stop in the middle of the trail. Aha, so this was why.

  The previous “out” had been veiled by a thick clump of trees. This one sat like the throne of a forest king, high atop the rocky hill, looking down on a splendid view of the valley below.

  “You go first. I’ll…guard the trail.” Lilly turned her back on the highly exposed “out” and breathed into a clump of lichen that she’d snatched off a tree. It did not work as well as a bag at keeping one from hyperventilating. Especially after she inhaled a small bug. Abandoning the lichen, Lilly pressed her forehead against a nearby rock and prayed. Lord, this is the worst toilet situation in all the world. What am I supposed to do? Anyone in a passing helicopter could see me and what about hikers on a nearby ridge?

  The girls marched back giggling. “It’s not so bad, Miss Park. The view is really nice.” They followed the trail back to the base of Spider Gap.

  Lilly was left facing “The Loo With A View” as her trail map had christened it. That should have given her a clue. Should she dig a hole somewhere else for her toiletry needs? Lilly glanced around. No, she could do this. Besides, the ground was quite rocky and any digging would be long and arduous. She listened for passing aircraft and cautiously approached the beautifully situated toilet.

  Besides having to shoo away a rogue lizard, which skittered across a nearby rock, Lilly finished her business without being dive-bombed by a news plane or photographed by an enthusiastic hiker. She paused a moment at the head of the trail to let her heart rate slow. Who knew that using such a toilet could be a cardio workout, as well as cause a lasting terror that was sure to pop up in her dreams for years to come? Lilly pulled her hair back into a ponytail and turned her back on the loo with a view. The worst was behind her, after this, the glacier should be a huge piece of cake with a frosting rose and sprinkles on top.

  The Spider Gap Glacier or snow field, depending on who one asked, was soft in September, and afforded a narro
w avenue with which determined hikers might ascend Phelps Basin and investigate the beauties beyond.

  “OK, everyone. Let’s rope up.” Tristian pulled a pink and yellow climbing rope out of his pack as though this were a perfectly normal statement. What? Were they now a bunch of cowboys, chasing cattle up the snowy pass over the mountain?

  Tristian did not whirl the rope above his head and there wasn’t a cow in sight. Instead, he tied it to his waist and then tied in each Jr. High student in turn. When he finally came to her, Tristian paused. “Have you ever traversed a glacier or snow field?”

  “A snowfield, but not a glacier. Any advice?” Walking across her Gran’s yard when it was snowy counted, right? It was pretty much the size of a field and there had been snow on it.

  Tristian tied the end of the climbing rope around her waist and gave Lilly an appraising look. “The glacier is soft this time of year and much easier to walk on. I’m carrying an ice ax, just in case, but we shouldn’t need crampons. Watch out for crevasses, don’t go near them as the edges might give way and suck you under. We have no way of knowing how deep they go and hikers have broken limbs or even died because of an encounter with a crevasse. Don’t tug on the rope as it will affect the footing of everyone in line. I think that’s it. You ready?”

  Lilly stared up at Tristian, feeling as though her eyes must be widening with horror to the extent that she looked like a princess in peril. Crampons, ice axes, and crevasses! Why would he bring children into the territory of such a fearsome beast? It sounded as if they lived under the ice and then just slurped unsuspecting hikers down at will, whenever the need for a tasty snack arose.

  A terrifying scene from a movie she’d watched as a child made her freeze and surreptitiously clutch at her throat, just a little. Duke Skyhopper? Or was it Skyflopper? Anyway, in her mind’s eye she could see poor Duke, bleeding and half frozen as he struggled to free himself from the larder of a huge snow creature.