Rescued

Rescued

I was walking around the upper slopes of Giant Hill watching my Global Positioning System (GPS) unit.  I was within 100 feet of the site where I needed to put the plot center.  I was moving back and forth trying to get the number to less than 10 feet. 

Subconsciously I heard a roaring in the background but I was concentrating so hard on getting to the plot center I was blocking out the noise.  Just as the GPS said I was “arriving at destination” the wind hit me.  I staggered on the steep hillside from the force of the wind and nearly fell.  I looked up to see dark clouds coming over me.  A few seconds later the snow started.  The visibility was going down fast so I shot a bearing with my compass to the road so I would be able to find it. 

I was stunned by the speed of the storm that had engulfed me.  Later I learned the gusts were 50 to 60 miles per hour.  I could not see the top of the mountain I was standing on.  I followed the compass bearing downhill toward the road.  When I reached a patch of young doug fir I stopped behind them to put on my raincoat and rain-pants.  The snow was already getting my jeans damp and I wanted to stay dry at all costs.  I continued downhill toward the road.  The rocks underfoot were slick with the snow by then.  When I reached the road about 15 minutes later the visibility was down to about 20 feet.  The truck was more than a mile away.  I walked along the road until I came to another patch of small trees. 

I was scared and realized I was in trouble. Icy snow stung my face and my fingers were getting stiff with cold.  I debated with myself about calling the office for help.  This storm could blow over as quickly as it had come.  But, if it didn’t, then they would be out looking for me in the dark.  I knew it would be pointless to try to start a warming fire in this wind.  I would just waste all my matches.

The wind was screeching in my ears and was making it hard for me to keep my balance.   I pulled off my backpack a second time and retrieved my hand held radio.  I put the channel on Park Peak and tried to call the office.  I did not hit the repeater.  I changed to the Duck Creek repeater and tried again.  This time both the office and two fire crew members heard my call. 

“I am caught in a blizzard and I can’t make it back to my truck,” I told them.

Chris Davis and Tori Kohn heard my call.  Chris radioed, “We are on our way to pick you up.  We are south of you in the Elkhorns near Prairie Gulch. It will take about half an hour to reach you.”

A sense of relief washed over me. I described my location as well as possible without being able to see any land marks.  Then I took out my GPS and tried to give them an accurate location.  Unfortunately, GPS’s do not work when they are cold.  It would turn itself off only seconds after I turned it on.  In the winter I carry the little “Hot Hands” packets in the case with the GPS.  When it was cold I would activate the packet and slip it in with the GPS unit.  It would keep the GPS warm enough to acquire satellites.  It was April now and I had long ago taken the “Hot Hands” packets out of my pack.

A few minutes later the Townsend Office called me to say they were sending a second vehicle with Tony and Tyler up to look for me in case the first crew was delayed. 

I continued walking up the road to an intersection where I would be most likely to meet at least one of the rigs.  Every time I stopped to catch my breath I would start to get cold so I kept walking up and down the road near the intersection.  About half an hour later both trucks arrived at my location.  I was so happy to see them.  Their cheerful voices over the radio had reassured me that they were on the way.  They gave me a sense of safety even in the storm. Then four Firefighters arrived to take me to my truck.  Tori rode with me back to town.  I was thoroughly rescued. 

This was not the first time I had been rescued.  Decades ago when I was 22 I was rescued.  My oldest son, Cliff, age one at the time, was in his playpen in the shade of the cottonwood trees.  I was picking peas in our garden.  I had recently read a book called “Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth,“ by Hal Lindsay.  It was a difficult book to read, perhaps more so for me as I had dabbled in the Dark Arts as a teenager and had been exposed to and shocked by the powers of Hell.  My dreams had been troubled by a swirling cloud of blackness and many nights I had awakened screaming. As I worked my way up and down the rows of my garden I realized I was a sinner doomed to Hell.  I had been attending a Bible Study with some friends and I knew Jesus had died to rescue me.  In the moments I realized I was a sinner I called out to Jesus to save me.  He did it in an instant.  I felt the darkness retreat immediately.  I knew I was saved.  I knew I was rescued. 

Since I was saved I have walked in some dark valleys and scary places.  The visibility has been poor.  Nobody seemed to be near.  But I have my Bible.  It is better than a GPS, Compass and Handheld Radio combined.  My Lord and Savior, Jesus, always hears me.  I don’t have to hit a repeater, and the cheerful voices of the Christians around me have reassured me that I was not alone.  God the Father loved us so much that he Rescued us, brought us Safe into the Kingdom of His Son, Set us Free and Forgave us our Sins!!!  We have been thoroughly rescued.