by T. A. Martin
"Copy that. Unfortunately, we have no other aircraft in the vicinity. We will need to send a land rescue party. It will take some time to get to you. Please keep the phone on Transpond."
"OK."
Danielle put the phone into her backpack, and they started out for the helicopter crash site. It took about twenty minutes to work their way to the site. When they arrived, everyone was conscious. One of the medics was tending to Jake, who seemed to be under some pain medication. The medication made him not quite himself.
"Hi Dani, it's so good to see that beautiful face."
He looked up into the medic’s face. "Doesn't she have a great bod."
"Sir, you need to be quiet now the pain medicine is talking."
"It's OK corpsman, I understand, the Chief is an excellent gentleman," She said.
The Chief looked like he was thinking why did I say that.
Betsy and Bill were smiling. The Chief's men were controlling themselves, but there was a very slight smile on their faces. They were silently in complete agreement with the Chief.
~~~
The clearing provided an opening to see to the west where an airplane could be seen rising from the airstrip at Pump Station 5. That was their destination, and now Danielle had to take the lead to get everyone down the mountain to safety. It was not going to be easy, and there was not going to be another rescue aircraft coming soon. They needed to start moving to the base of this mountain so that a ground vehicle could get to them.
“We need to work our way down now. It should take only the rest of the day to get there if we start now,” She said.
“Betsy is still in pain…”
"I don't want to be the holdup, Bill. We need to go with Danielle,"
"We'll be careful, but we need to start now. I want to be at the bottom before dark."
"Folks, Danielle is excellent and I agree with her," Jake said.
Everybody was now up; they collected the minimum from the broken copter they thought they would need. Like water, medic kit, and each took a coil of rope. Now the group, not three but eight, started the trek to the west following an untested leader but a leader with new resolve.
It was about a half mile further to the west and the level trail began to change into a more challenging surface. Stonier and slippery with moss. The talk of the north-side of the trees was coming into play on this north side of the mountain. Danielle searched ahead for the most level parts, but she could only see that below her about a hundred feet.
"I would like to tie one of our ropes to this tree and then we can descend to the easier trail down there," She said pointing to the more level path below.
One of the crew took off the coil of rope and tied it to the tree.
"Thanks, Bob, Jason will you start down, and when you're at the bottom, Jim will you start down and spot Mrs. Bigelow as she goes down backward. Go slow. Betsy, keep looking at me as you work your way down. Be careful with each step and make sure it is as solid as you can. Jim is right behind you to steady you."
"Ok, Danielle, I know I need to do this, but I do not like it."
“I know Betsy, but we need to do this.”
All was well until the halfway down point. Not a good time to cross a moose, indignant of intruders. But there was the moose, and he charged at Jim and Betsy. Betsy lost her grip. The moose hooked Jim as he ran between them sending him rolling down the slope. Betsy teetered and started to fall.
“Drop to the ground Betsy,” Danielle yelled.
She must have heard Danielle or instinctively fell and rolled down the hill. Almost to the path, she hit a tree trunk.
"Aaah!"
She screamed in pain. It was her other leg.
The EMT grabbed the rope and in a repelling motion got down to where Betsy was. She was holding her leg; the pain was showing all over her face.
“Lay back Mrs. Bigelow, let me see what has happened.”
Bill filled with adrenalin had gotten to Betsy in remarkable order. But he knew the EMT could help better than he at the moment, so Bill reached for Betsy's hand, which she grabbed with a force he had not known since the birth of their baby. That memory was not welcome.
"It's fractured not broken. But, she can not put any weight on it."
Danielle had gotten down to them at this point.
“Ok,” She said.
She looked around for any sign of the moose. None.
"Charlie, Ben, I need for you two to go back to the helicopter and bring back the Stokes litter," She called.
“Got it,” They called back and immediately headed back toward the copter on the trail above.
Jim was working his way back up to the lower path, a bit shaken. He had rolled down beyond the lower trail and had come to a stop just short of a much steeper drop off, down another hundred feet. Danielle looking for him saw him and started to call.
“I’m good,” He called.
“No injuries?” She called back.
"Nope, just a little pride."
"Ok, now we wait for the Stokes litter," She said.
The EMT had given Betsy pain relief and was propped up against the tree that had stopped her.
They all now realized that the tree was the last thing between Betsy and the drop off that had Jim had almost gone over a little further away. So bad as it is, it could have been much worse, if not fatal.
Bill got to his wife and kneeled by her.
Betsy squeezed his hand, this time with affection. He could not stop weeping.
“We’ll get through this Will,” She said.
It wasn't too long before Charlie and Ben came to the top of the hill and began letting down the Stokes litter with the second coil of rope. As soon as the carrier was down, they untied the rope from the tree at the top and tied it to the second rope so that when Charlie and Ben got down they could retrieve the line. Danielle could see that Betsy was not feeling as much pain.
"Ok, Betsy are you up for riding in the carrier?" Said Danielle.
“Don’t see another way,” She said.
It was slow going but this path, such as it was, allowed the four crewmen carrying the litter with Betsy. Jake, Bill, and Danielle followed picking their steps carefully westward on the more gradual slope.
~~~
Danielle had decided to make the most of the remaining light of day two and pressed the survivors on; now eight came to the bottom of the mountain to a clearing looking out over the valley toward Pump Station 5. The carrying of the litter basket required several rest stops to maintain the safety of carrying Betsy, and the four capable crewmen were relieved for short periods by Danielle and Bill as they were able. Jake was not in a condition to help but happily encourage the crew with all the marching songs he knew. Medication was keeping the pain at a distance and his usual serious attitude at bay. Not quite in tune, and occasionally funny, he did his part to keep up morale.
“I think we should set camp for the night here in the clearing and wait for the land rescue team tomorrow,” She called out to everyone.
“Amen to that, Sounds good to me, Thank God.” was the chorus around her.
"Ok, we need to get some firewood, and set up some bedding material, so everybody except Betsy and Jake spread out and be back here in fifteen minutes."
“What can I do to help,” Ask Betsy.
"Look in my backpack and get some of the MREs out and the drink pellets. I'll look for some water, but we may only have a couple of bottles left in there."
Danielle moves the backpack over to Betsy.
"Sounds like a good plan," Said Betsy.
Jake piped up.
“Danielle, I think I saw a stream to the north of us when we were on our way to rescue you.”
“I’ll go that way, how far do you think?”
“Not sure but it was on our left as we flew by, maybe a quarter mile.”
She pulled out a water bladder from her backpack and with that she was off.
"That girl has more stuff in that pack than anyone I
know," Said Betsy.
"It is pretty much standard gear for the club members, and they keep that backpack with them. Danielle is especially good about keeping it with her; she is very dedicated."
"Bill and I wondered why she always kept it near. We just came to the conclusion that she was a college student, and that was normal," She said.
“That’s true too.”
Danielle had gone close to a quarter mile when the stream came into view. Nice call Jake she thought. She pulled the water bladder out of her belt and walked down to the babbling stream. She submerged the bladder and let it fill. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a movement. She turned and looked. She started. Was that a lynx? Too big for a lynx. The only other cat in Alaska that size would be a mountain lion, but we are too far out of its range. She froze. The only animal it could be was a mountain lion. It appeared not to have seen her, and she was fortunately downwind from the beast and on the other side of the stream. The only weapon she had was a knife. Her mind raced as she physically remained as still as possible. The bladder was now full, but she held it still in the water so as not to move. The lion turned away, and Danielle pulled the bladder out of the water with only a slight noise. The lion looked back her way but did not turn. He sniffed the air. Could have been a fish flop he seemed to think. He turned away again starting a slow, deliberate walk along the bank. The lion knelt down and lapped water out of the stream. Danielle's muscles were screaming. Please don't cramp she thought. It was a good ten minutes before the mountain lion finish his visit to the stream and disappeared into the trees. Danielle collapsed on the ground. Water started to splash out, but she jammed the stopper into the bladder before it spilled too much. Danielle began vigorously rubbing her legs to get feeling back. Knowing she needed to get as far along the trail she had come, she struggled to her feet. One foot before the other she picked the quietest steps. If walking sounds were too loud, it might be enough to alert the lion. Getting back to the group was the best thing that she could do at this point. Her first steps along the trail were agonizing, even for a very fit Danielle.
She was gone much longer than she should have been. She did not, of course, know that the EMT had started out in the direction she had left. The density of the tree growth blocked seeing very far into the distance. The bladder she was carrying was holding a gallon of water, so the bladder was now quite a load. Footsteps… paw-steps… she wasn't sure. She looked moving her head to try seeing around the trees. It was getting to be a little nerve racking.
“Danielle,” The EMT called.
A few steps more and they saw each other a few trees away.
"Boy, am I glad to see you," She called back.
"We were getting concerned."
“You may find this hard to believe, but I ran into a mountain lion coming down to drink at the stream.”
“Mountain lions don’t usually roam this area of Alaska.”
"I know, but it was a mountain lion; fortunately I had not been moving around much I was downwind and was hidden a bit by a bush. I just froze until he left. I was very lucky."
“I would say you were. Can I help you back? Let me take the water.”
“Thanks.”
Everyone cheered when they got to camp. The fire was going very well, and everyone was set up for going to sleep. But, they sat around the fire for a little while as Danielle told her story about getting the water.
~~~
The morning dawn light woke Danielle, and she sat up to see the smoldering fire site giving up the last of its life. She stood up still a little sore from the adventure yesterday and walked over to the fire to put more sticks on to get the fire going again for coffee. Yesterday the survivors had made it to the bottom of the mountain where they had decided to rest and wait for the land rescue team. As it turned out, that was a good thing.
Danielle picked up the phone to call.
“This is Danielle, what is the status this morning for the rescue team?”
“We’re getting a Small Unit Support Ambulance to come after you. They are currently on their way back from the Navajo crash site with debris and as soon as they offload here and we clean up the vehicle they will be on their way to get you. It is the only asset we have now to come to you.”
“Roger that. Thank you.”
The coffee was ready when she put the phone down, and some of the others were now awake and gathered to have a cup.
It was only an hour later when the phone sounded, and Danielle picked up and talked to the field headquarters. She turned to the group.
"They're finally on their way!" Danielle said still holding the satellite phone to her ear. She said a few concluding remarks into the phone and signed off.
"Good news," said Bill. He put his arm around Betsy. She was sitting up in the carrier but tired from the pain and of the pain. The splint on her leg was doing its job, but the fracture was aching.
Jake's arm and shoulder were immobilized, but he was using quite a bit of pain relief under the watchful eye of the EMT.
"They are sending a small unit support vehicle. It is a tracked ambulance. It should be here in about an hour they say," Said Danielle.
“That’s a good choice to get to us,” Said Jake.
"I'll give Mrs. Bigelow and Jake another dose in about forty-five minutes to ease the ride. It is not a bad ride, but there can be some bumpiness," Said the EMT.
"Sounds good, if I remember the SUSV the Stokes litter will fit in the trailer with ease," Danielle said.
About a half hour later the group saw the two unit SUSV moving a few hundred yards away headed directly for them. They yelled and raised their hands waving to the approaching vehicle.
Soon the ambulance stopped in front of them, and an EMT jumped out to begin getting the survivors loaded up.
“Hey Jake, I don’t often have to rescue you,” Said the driver.
“Ok, Ok, so I stubbed my toe,” Said Jake.
“Looks to me it was your arm. Sorry to say it doesn’t look to hot,” He said.
"Yeah, it will need some surgery, but my EMT has done an excellent job," Jake said, "Look who it turned out I was supposed to rescue."
He pointed toward Danielle.
“Hi Danielle, were you in that Navajo,” Said the driver.
“Yes, and the Bigelows.”
"That was a terrible sight, even for hardened SARs like us," He said.
“The worst I have seen,” Said Danielle.
“Anyway, let’s get you all back home.”
With everyone on board, the SUSV turned toward Pump Station 5 and began the journey back.
Looking Forward to Tomorrow
The Small Unit Support Ambulance was now moving along near its top speed as it approached Pump Station 5. The Prospect Creek Airport next to the Station was directly in front of them. The airport was unusually busy because of the NTSB people going back and forth to the crash sites. They had set up their field headquarters at the airport.
“Look, I think I see our rides landing now,” Said Danielle.
She recognized the distinctive colors of the Banner Health Air Ambulance helicopter. They flew over her dormitory at UAF on their way to Fairbanks Memorial nearly daily. Further behind with landing lights on was a large single engine airplane on final approach.
The ground was relatively flat now, but the tracked ambulance was bouncing a little bit as they hurried along. Danielle looked back at Betsy, who was grimacing a little and Bill was gripping her hand because she was gripping his very tightly. Now the tracked ambulance was on the taxiway and crawling toward the helicopter. The SUSA stopped next to the air vehicle and the crew got out and carefully pulled Betsy out. The blades were spinning, so the rescue crew ducked under them to carry Betsy in the basket rescue stretcher and load it into the copter. Jake Jameson was able to walk and with a hand from Danielle got into the copter. Now all that needed to go directly to the hospital were on board. The pilot powered up the rotor and the blades bit into the air and
lifted the craft gently off the ground, tilted forward to scoot a few feet off the ground until it gracefully arched up into the sky in a smooth turn toward Fairbanks. The rest of the survivors, including Danielle and Bill, waited for the Cessna Caravan that they could see touch down on the runway to take them back to Fairbanks. They would be taken from Fairbanks International via a shuttle to the hospital to be checked out.
The Caravan rolled up and the rear door was opened and the six climbed on board. They were glad to be on their way to Fairbanks. The flight would be about an hour, so they would be at the hospital in about an hour and a half.
Bill was a little nervous about the flight, but the thought of getting back with Betsy overwhelmed that feeling. Danielle's plan was that when she got to the hospital after the doctors had looked her over, she would briefly check in with Jake and then go to see Bill and Betsy. She was very concerned for Betsy. As fit as the sixty-five-year-old was she had received a lot of physical insults in the last several days. She wondered how she would find her new friend. Except for the bruising of the tailbone from the crash itself, Bill was not injured. That had made the hike uncomfortable but not painful. Mostly for Bill, it was worrying about his wife.
The Caravan was descending now and setting up for the approach into Fairbanks International. What an ending to the trip. Danielle had matured more this last week or so than she had in the last several years. She had been a strict follower because of her great respect for her father, and now she had become a competent leader because of the encouragement of the crew leader she respected. The slight bump of the landing signaled the return to her reality.
A Fairbanks Memorial transfer van met them at the terminal, and they got aboard for the twenty minute trip to the hospital. Everyone was checked out by the ER doctors and released except Jake, who they admitted for treatment of the arm and shoulder. After her release, Danielle found out where the Bigelows were and made her way to Betsy's room. She walked up to the nurses station.
“I want to visit Mrs. Bigelow,” She said.
