When The Fault Breaks: Life Will Never Be The Same Page 10

  The next six days went without any problems. The valley was incredible, beautiful plains with cattails, skunk cabbage, and fiddle ferns to name a few. Between all the edible plants and wildlife, we were able to eat well for the first time in months.

  The lush valley floor was almost flat for over twenty miles with an elevation gain of only one hundred feet over that distance. Not surprisingly, the easy going and need to rely on each other, helped us grow into a closer group. We began to think that maybe we COULD make a brave new world for ourselves.

  On our tenth day of travel we approached our next major obstacle. Ben was at the wheel, I was riding shotgun, and Fred was riding solo in the back seat looking at the map. Other than stopping to sleep, we had been traveling without rest, but we were still happy with our decision to leave.

  "I'm so glad to be out of that camp and on our way to our new home."

  I replied "For sure Ben for sure."

  "Hey Fred look up. It looks like we are coming up on that first set of rapids you told me to look out for. If I remember right, you said we have to climb almost two hundred feet in over a half a mile."

  Fred replied, "Yea Ben this will not be a vertical climb it'll be more like a set of steps with little plateaus."

  "Sounds like it will be more challenging than coming down those faces."

  Fred replied, "Much more so Peter, not only do we have to go up but there are more dangers involved in dealing with fast moving water."

  "Can't we go around and stay away from the water?"

  "Maybe Ben, but remember we don't want to leave any sign that we were ever here. If we drive in or near the water it will cover most of our tracks so it will be harder to find us."

  As we arrived at the rapids Fred grabbed his radio and called for some of his men to join us.

  "Sarg to Tom and Andy."

  Tom is a smart looking man with well cut hair and brown eyes from Glendale AZ; he was a rigger at a metal yard before the quake. He was one of Sarg's men picked for his expertise in getting heavy things from one location to another.

  "Tom here, what da ya need Sarg?" came crackling back.

  "I need the two of you to come to the front of the column, we've reached the rapids I showed you on the map this morning."

  "Yes sir Sarg, da ya want Henry, Bill, and Rick too?"

  "Yea you better have them come up too."

  "Alright Sarg, we'll be there as soon as we can."

  While we waited for the men to arrive we took a look around. Fred determined that it would be a great place to rest and I agreed. By then the rest of the convoy started to arrive so Fred stood up on the back of the ATV and called out.

  "Let's get everyone up here and circle up the rigs. I'm sure there are bear and cougar here so we may need some protection. This next part is going to take a while so we will be spending a few nights here. To continue up we will need to rig the equipment up a series of rapids to get to the next large plateau."

  A couple minutes later the scouts arrived.

  Andy exclaimed, "We're here Sarg, what's the plan?"

  "I need you guys to do a quick scout out of the rapids. All I want you to do now is just check it out. Tomorrow we can start planning how to get past them."

  Henry replied, "No problem Sarg we'll find a safe way past these."

  With that Fred turned back around and continued.

  "As I said we will be making camp here for a few nights, so I need you all to get started on that now."

  Everyone formed a big ring around where we were going to be making camp and started unloading gear. It was mid-day so everyone began by either setting up camp or hunting and gathering for our stay. George and Christen prepared the camp kitchen while others put up tarps to cover the entire eating area.

  As dinnertime approached they all made their way to the big fire we built on a large powdery soft sand bar. It was like our own little beach party. Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville was playing loud and everyone was enjoying the down time on the beach with some skinny-dipping in the stream.

  That night we feasted on lots of grilled rainbow trout with a fresh blueberry sauce and all sorts of greens that were collected around us. Like we have so often, after dinner we relaxed by the fire socializing long into the night.

  I decided it was time for a pep talk, "I'm so happy to see us all here with no one getting badly hurt. The first thing I want to do is thank whoever it was that caught all the fish for dinner tonight."

  Someone yelled out, "That would be Michael, Susan, and Paul."

  "Well thank you three for your hard work."

  Paul replied, "It wasn't work Peter it was fun."

  "Next I would like to thank Christen and George for that delicious meal they made for dinner tonight. And to everyone else, you have all done an incredible job getting us this far. We have traveled at least thirty miles so far, which is a bit under a third of the journey, and we have made good time.

  While we sit around this fire I can't help but think about where we have been and where we are going. Many here remember how things were before the lake camp had become so over crowded. Tonight is the first time in a long time that we have all enjoyed a good meal and a relaxing night with only the sounds of nature to fill the air."

  "And we have you to thank for that Peter, if it had not been for you we would still be in that hell hole."

  "Thank you Phil but you guys are who got us here not me. Every one of you has done your part in getting us past all the obstacles. I hope this night will mark the beginning of a new life for all of us, one that we can all be proud of."

  "Most of you will not need to do anything tomorrow while we figure out how best to get everyone past the rapids above us. So for now everybody relax, enjoy the quiet and get a good night's sleep."

  Almost everyone dispersed and went to their own tents. Many stayed up well into the night looking at the stars and socializing. The original eight that founded the lake camp, stayed up late that night for a nightly fireside chat. Fred and Brandon had joined us as well and were officially welcomed in to the fellowship.

  "So Fred we have been busy today and have not had a chance to talk much. What is the word on getting past these rapids?"

  Fred replied, "The first two sets look fairly simple to get past, with everyone being able to walk mostly on the bank and leave no tracks. The last set is a different story. On the bright side there is another large sand bar like this one in between the second and third rapid so we can move camp there."

  "That sounds great how long do you think it will take to get past all of them?"

  Brandon replied, "We figure it will take a few days, I think we should stay here at least two nights and then we can set up camp on the second plateau. We should stay there for a couple more days to get past the hard section. There is no reason to rush this one and take chances."

  "Sounds like a plan to me."

  Brandon asked, "Hey Peter didn't you say you were retired Navy?"

  "I did, twenty years of fun in the sun; I loved almost every year of it."

  He continued, "What did you do?"

  "Well that would take a while to go over, let's just say I wore many hats besides my Dixie Cup."

  "Did you ever see any really nasty storms?"

  "I did, I have ridden out several really big storms."

  Sandy asked, "What was the worst storm you ever went through? Or is it hard to remember any specific time?"

  "No that is a very easy question to answer."

  Excitedly Tam said, "Tell us about it, I have never heard any of your sea stories."

  "Okay. I was riding the U.S.S. Nimitz around Cape Horn at the tip of South America."

  Sandy replied, "Crap that is the roughest water on the planet."

  "It is and we transited in between two large tropical cyclones, it beat the shit out of us. I don't care what anyone thinks, I can tell you that even a ship as big as an eleven-hundred-foot long aircraft carrier can and does bounce around like a cork in the water.

&
nbsp; The flight deck of a carrier is one hundred fifty foot off the water and I watched wave after wave wash the length of the flight deck. The storm was so bad it sheared one-inch diameter steel stow pins we installed on our satellite antenna, spun it round and round and ripped all the wiring in it in two."

  Fred asked, "Did you get sick?"

  "No I never once got sea sick and I have sailed around the world."

  Sandy called foul, "I doubt that."

  "Really, I have never gotten sea sick. I came close once but never did. I was on my first ship, a smaller six-hundred-foot sub tender standing watch. We were rolling back and forth fairly fast and I was watching the bubble that told me how much of an angle we were tilting. We were going back and forth from thirty degrees to thirty degrees and I started to feel a bit queasy so I got up and cleaned to take my mind off it.

  Just as I started to feel better a roving watch burst through the door, grabbed the nice new clean clear trash bag I just put out, then stood up and barfed. The worst part was seeing it ooze down the bag. I yelled get out and almost lost it that time."

  Everyone but Sandy started to laugh, instead Sandy jumped in.

  "HAAA!! You did get sick."

  "No smarty, I never blew chucks."

  With that we all retired to our tents. The next day Fred sent his scouts to figure out how best to get the ATVs past the rapids. They spent the day exploring all the options then briefed Fred and I on how best to move forward. That night, after dinner, we sat around the fire and filled everybody in on what was found and how to proceed.

  "It will be much more difficult and far more dangerous than descending the cliff faces, because of the close proximity to the raging rapids. Everyone not actively transporting the equipment will be traveling on foot. Some of you will assist Sarg's team in rigging up the ATVs.

  Sarg will continue to be in charge of the operation so I want everyone to listen closely to him tonight. I do not want anyone unsure of what their job is or how to do it. Now I am going to turn this all over to Sarg, you are in his capable hands."

  "We will be splitting everyone into three groups. Some of you will be high-lining the gear up the rapids using a series of cables and pulleys leapfrogging up stream. The next group will be rigging the ATVs over the rapids.

  The rest of you will take whatever you can on foot to the plateau above. You will be staying on a marked path to minimize our footprint as much as possible. You will all have to make several trips to get everything up there but I am sure we can do it."

  "Angie, Tom, Sidney and Joe, I want you guys to divide everyone that's walking into four groups. Explain to them what they need to do to get all the gear moved."

  After everyone was assigned their jobs, and knew what was expected of them, we were ready to call it a day. Just before retiring, I wanted everyone to be ready for the next day's tasks and shouted out one last message.

  "It is getting late and I know everybody is tired. We have some very hard work ahead of us so everyone needs to get a good night's sleep."

  The next day we began the process of transporting everything up stream. The first two days went like clockwork with no problem. Everybody on foot made it safely to the plateau with all their cargo and began setting up camp for the night. It was on the last leg of the last day when things changed for the worse.

  "What do you think the chances are it's going to rain today Peter?"

  "It rained some last night but seems to be clearing up now Fred, but it looks like it is still raining up valley so that does concern me. Do you want to hold off today and see how things go?"

  "We have one more ATV to get past the last rapid and it's in the middle of the stream so we can't just walk away from it. We need to keep moving and get it up to the second plateau. We'll watch the stream level closely and continue, so far the stream level hasn't changed any."

  "Okay Fred I will bow to your expertise on this matter, let's keep going then."

  Fred continued handing out orders.

  "Ramon, Henry, Alex, Ken you four get moving with bringing that last ATV up the final leg. I want you all to pay very close attention to the stream and be ready to abandon everything if the stream level starts to come up, even if it's only a little bit."

  Ramon asked, "It's not raining right now, so why do we need to still watch out for the water level?"

  "Because those clouds up valley look very dark, so I'm concerned it could be dumping up valley and will make its way down here."

  "I see Sarg we'll be very careful… who wants to take the plunge?"

  Alex replied, "I will Ramon, everything will be fine, all we have left is to get this over that edge and we can all take a break."

  "Alright Alex jump in let's get this going."

  "Pay out the cable Henry."

  "Alright it's all yours Ken."

  "Alex, pull the cable up stream then give it to Henry. Henry, wrap it around the tree behind you and give it a tug."

  "It's hooked up Henry, start pulling it up with the winch."

  Ramon called out, "All is going good so far guys."

  Just then they heard a few loud thuds, a couple of large boulders in the bottom of the stream came bouncing downstream.

  Ramon yelled out, "Look out Alex some big rocks are heading your way."

  "I hear them let's hope they don't hit me; I could be crushed."

  Then it happened, we heard a loud crash as a large boulder smashed into the ATV and pinned it down. The force ripped the winch loose, which washed into the stream.

  "Alex, get out of there."

  "I am trying to Ramon, but my leg is caught."

  Ramon started stripping down.

  Henry called back, "What are you doing Ramon?"

  "What do you think I'm doing? I'm going in to free Alex."

  "Are you nuts that could kill you!?"

  "Whatever, he needs our help."

  Ramon called out, "Hang on Alex, I will get you out of there."

  Alex hollered back, "No way Ramon stay out, I can get out myself."

  Ramon had already made his way into the ATV and came up behind Alex. In a loud but soft and reassuring voice he said, "Too late I'm already here."

  Henry called out "Guys I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the water is rising, fast."

  Alex said, "Ramon he is right, the water is coming up and fast, you better get out of here before it's too late."

  "No way, I'm going to get you free."

  With the water coming in faster, Alex was struggling to keep his head out of the water. Meanwhile Ramon kept diving down to find what was holding him down. As Ramon dived down yet again the rushing water shifted the ATV. Alex popped free and was washed out of the ATV.

  "I'm free Ramon get out of there, Ramon. RAMON!? Where are you!?"

  Alex tried to swim back into the ATV, but could not swim against the current.

  Alex was now screaming franticly, "RAMON, GET OUT OF THERE NOW!"

  Kim, Alex's girlfriend, was watching it all from the shore. She was pulling her hair and screaming at the top of her voice.

  "Alex get out of there, you can't get to him."

  Alex was not giving up, he fought the current but by the time he made it to the ATV it was fully under water, then it rolled and washed down stream. No one could believe their eyes. Ramon was gone; he died a hero saving Alex's life.

  "It's my fault, if I hadn't sent them in Ramon would not have been there and would not have lost his life."

  "It is not your fault, you asked me if it was safe to go and I made the decision that it was. If anyone is to blame here it is me."

  Soaking wet and shivering Alex came over, "Neither of you are at fault I was the one stuck in that damn thing. If I hadn't been there Ramon wouldn't have come out."

  Ramon's girlfriend Sally was hysterical. Sally, a nurse from Colorado, had come to us in one of the waves of people. After meeting Ramon, they had spent all their time together at the lake camp. Not wanting to be far from Ramon, Sally demanded to watch Ramo
n from the shore as he worked on the ATVs, so she had seen the whole thing.

  "ALL OF YOU STOP IT. Ramon did what Ramon would have done for anyone. He jumped into the water knowing the danger. Alex you even told him to stay out."

  "I know Sally but…"

  "No buts he died saving your life, it was just who Ramon was, he would put his life at risk for anyone."

  "But..."

  Now clearly irritated Sally screamed, "I SAID NO BUTS any of you, and that includes you Peter. I don't care if you are in charge. Ramon is a hero; no one is at fault. You got it? NO ONE."