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Our Maine Adventure (Wolvenrogue and thelovelyaddison)

wolvenrogue

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Aug 21, 2011
Jason left Interstate 95 at the town of Millinocket and headed out on one of the few paved roads heading into Maine’s remote and unspoiled northwest. He was headed toward the shore of Eagle Lake, where he planned to spend three weeks hiking, canoeing and camping. He had done considerable research on the area, but was unprepared for the absolute remoteness and raw beauty of the area. About an hours drive from Millinocket, the pavement ended. There was gravel a few miles more and the road became a two track logging road, rocking his pathfinder side to side. He looked at the GPS and he was now an icon of a car in a vast empty space. Expanding the map, he could see the Lake, but there was no indication of the road he was on or any others. Looking at his cell phone , the words “No service” flashed on the screen. He shut it off. He was off the grid.


He had wanted to be alone, and he had gotten his wish. He stopped a moment and reevaluated. He had plenty of fuel, 3 weeks of food, plus his canoe and fishing equipment. That and his training as a navy seal renewed his confidence. He put the pathfinder in gear and continued on. It was nearing dark when he crested a hill and the looked out over the expanse of what he recognized as Eagle Lake the sun was setting and turning the sky pinkish. The fall colors were magnificent, simply breathtaking. He stopped and snapped a picture.

It took two more hours to find a way to reach the shore of the lake, and when he finally did it was pitch black. He could hear the water, but until his eyes acclimated, the lake was a black abiss. Taking out a candle lantern, he lit it and the light was nearly blinding by comparison to the night. Then he looked up. The stars were amazing. Unspoiled by city light, there were millions of them. Happily he unpacked his gear, and set up camp. Knowing there were black bears and moose about, he packed all the food and anything with a scent in a canvas bag, and after tossing a rope over a high tree limb, tied it up high in a tree 20 yards from camp. He lit a small fire and sat by it in the cool of the fall evening. It felt wonderful as it crackled and glowed. He put out the candle and just took in the awesome sights and the smell of the pines.


As he looked out over the lake, he saw what looked like a flickering light high up a bank along the southern shore. “Curious” he said out loud, though obviously to no-one in particular. It appeared to be about 5 or 6 miles away across the water, maybe ten if you hiked along the shore. He made a mental note to check it out in the morning. As the fire began to die down, he crawled into his tent, Undressed, and climbed naked into his sleeping bag. He always slept this way when camping, even in cold weather, as his clothes would invariably become damp during exercise, and that dampness would make him cold at night. He was asleep in seconds.


He woke in the best way possible. No alarm clock, just the sun rising over the lake and warming the tent. He got up, utterly refreshed and got back into his clothes. He climbed out, stretched and decided on hiking. He was eager to explore, so he pulled down his food cash and selected trail snacks and dried foods. They were light and easy to carry. He grabbed a fresh apple to get him started, and put away the food. Jason’s healthy habits showed. He was a muscular six foot tall with rippling abs, and agile as a cat. He was a trained climber and could easily swim twenty miles. A shock of sandy hair topped the 27 year old’s head, and his rugged features were set off by crystal blue eyes. Pulling his backpack on, he set off along the southern shore of the lake in the direction of the strange flickering light he had seen in the distance.
 
As the new week approached Addison began getting ready for a camping trip she had been planning for months now. She was going to take a couple weeks vacation so she could have some time to herself, to relax and really take in life. Once she was all packed up and ready to go she set out on her car ride to a camping area out in Maine that she'd always dreamed of going to. She drove down the freeway for about an hour and a half before exiting off a ramp that led off into a small desolate town. Upon entering the town Addison took a road down as far as it would go before she happened upon a dirt road. Driving down the dirt road she kept her eyes open for a spot to set up camp for the next few weeks. After finding a spot Addison found a small space, cleared off trees and rocks the would be perfect for setting up camp.

After setting up her tent and putting all her belonging inside of it Addison stood in the middle of the cleared area and took a deep breath. It had been a while since she got away from all the hustle and bustle of the city. She missed the fresh air, the scent of the pine trees, the feeling of the breeze in her hair, and the sound of the nearby creeks and leaves rustling in the wind. She smiled to herself as she tied her long blonde hair up into a pony tail, then reaching into her pocket and grabbing her phone she turns it off and tosses it inside her tent knowing she won't be needing it.

After completely settling in Addison decided to go on a small evening hike before the sun went down. She grabbed her backpack and loaded it with some snacks and two bottles of water before throwing it over her shoulder and setting off. As she walked through the trees she took small moments to stop and admire the wilderness around her. After walking for a few minutes she reached into her backpack and grabbed a small baggie of assorted nuts she had brought to snack on. As she ate her snack Addison heard the water from the lake progressively getting louder. She smiled to herself and bit her bottom lip knowing she was getting closer to the beautiful site.

After walking for a few more minutes Addison came upon a steep hill, that seamed to go straight down. She looked down to her left then down to her right seeing if there was any other way possible around it. Seeing no way around it Addison sighed softly and figured she would go back to her camp for the night and try again in the morning. As she turned around to head back the way she came her foot slipped on a spot of dirt that gave way, sending her tumbling down the steep hill. Rolling and tumbling down the hill Addison hit her head a few times and landed hard on her knee as she came to a stop at the bottom of the hill. She layed there for a few minutes groaning before open her eyes and looking up at the sky. Her baby blue eyes sparkled in the little bit of sunlight left as she gazed upon the sky. She moved her eyes back down level as she raised her fingers to her lip, she pulled her fingers away and groaned again as she saw blood trickling down her fingers. Taking a deep breath Addison tried standing up only to be thrown back down by an excruciating pain that shot through her leg. "Dammit," she whispered softly as she looked around for anyone or anything that could help her.

As the sun went down and the moon came up Addison became worried, thinking nobody would find her and that she was going to be stuck there. She reached behind her and took her backpack off and set it down next to her, opening and grabbing a water bottle. She poured a little bit of the water on herself before taking a drink of it and putting it back into the backpack. She sighed softly before taking a deep breath "Is anybody there?!" she called out, hoping for a reply. Upon hearing no reply she took a spare blanket out of her backpack and set it across her body. She looked up at the night sky and shook her head, knowing she had to stay up the whole night.

As the sun began to rise Addison slowly dozed in and out of sleep, being exhausted from staying awake all night. She groaned as she rubbed her eyes, and yawning. After looking around again Addison tried to stand back up only to end up falling back down. She felt like giving up, there seemed to be no point in trying anymore. Yawning again and frowning Addison looked down at her leg and shook her head. Getting nowhere with the situation she figured it wouldn't hurt to rest for a little, so Addison closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
 
Following the shore of the lake, he walked easily on the firm wet sand. The morning was clear and crisp, almost frosty. His boots crunched at times on the gravely shore. After walking perhaps a mile, the beach ended, and a sheer cliff some 90 feet tall or so rose imposingly out of the lake. He looked at the situation and realized that without swimming at least a mile there was no way around it on the shore of the lake and so finding a game trail, he followed it back into the woods, reasoning that the deer had long since found a path around this obstacle. Perhaps a thousand yards back in the woods the path took off up a steep hill. The footing was treacherous, as the trail consisted of a sandy loam soil covered by rotting oak leaves, and was extremely unstable and quite slippery. He proceeded with caution, and as the trail grew steeper , and his altitude increased, he took out his rope and tied it off to a stout tree and continued climbing . Each hundred feet or so, he would stop, release the line and tie it off again. After an hour of steady climbing he reach the top of the cliff and followed the game trail along its edge, again keeping himself securely tied off. The view of the lake from this position was awesome, and he forced himself to be very careful lest he fall. As he worked his way along the trail looking for a way back down, he saw the trail begin to head back down, but he could see that the trail was falling away rapidly and that walking down it was going to be nearly impossible without falling.

As he looked for a suitable tree to tie off his rappelling rope to he saw something odd on the ground . It appeared to be a piece of light blue fabric, after picking it up he recognized it as part of a hiking shoe. Looking around he noticed the ground was disturbed and that there were considerable scrape marks along the trail. Looking back across the lake toward where he knew his camp was, he was reasonably certain that this was where he had seen the flickering light the previous evening. If some one had fallen, they had been out all night and were likely in grave danger.

Locating a stout tree, he tied off his 200 foot rope, and throwing it over the edge, he secured him self to it with a carabiner and began a controlled decent. Reaching the bottom, he found that he was still on a narrow ledge some 60 feet above the water of the lake. Looking to his left, he saw the crumpled body of what appeared to be a young woman, huddled under a blanket . Moving carefully, knelt beside her and attempted to shake her awake. “Are you alright?” he asked, as he noted the blood soaked leg of her cargo pants.
 
Addison awakes to the sound of what appears to be footsteps in the distance headed her way. She opens her eyes groggily and looks up as a large shadow comes over her. Seeing a dark figure Addison starts to fill hope rising inside her feeling as though they may be fate for her. She shakes her head slowly, not wanton to dizzy herself, and clears her throat "No, not really." She says softly, managing to smile even during her time of pain and suffering. "I can't get up because I fell and hurt my leg." She looks down at her leg and cringes a little as she moves the blanket out of the way. She turns her head looking back up the steap hill she fell down. Shaking her head she lets out a light laugh "I'm a real cluts." She looks back up at the man and smiles again , warmly. She pushes her hair out of her face as she reaches over and shoves her blanket back inside her backpack. "Do you think you could help me? I'm kind of stuck here." She bites her bottom lip and turns her head, looking away in embarrassment.
 
"Well that's my plan" he said in a reassuring voice. Right now we have to get you stable and safe to move and that leg is bleeding and probably broken. Cover your eyes, Im going to drive some pitons in and tye us off so we don't fall. we can't afford that" . He took out his rock hammer and pitons and within a minute had them both securely anchored to the rock face. "There" he said, "now we can get serious about some first aid." He got out some tyelenol and a a bottle of water. "Take these. and drink that whole bottle if you can" he said, knowing she had lost a lot of blood and would need the fluid. he looked over the injured leg and the angle it was sitting at as well as where it was bleeding, and knew it was serious. "Now miss, I don't want your taking this wrong But I need to cut your pants of and look at that leg. There's no other way to stop that bleeding, and we have to do that, and splint the break before I can move you."

He didn't wait for permission, he knew that there was no other choice so taking out his sheath knife, he slit open the leg of her hiking pants from ankle to just below the waist band and pulled it aside. Looking at the situation, he breathed a sigh of relief, it was bad, but at least there was no exposed bone, and the bleeding was from a large cut in the hollow of her hips which was oozing down her leg, and not a compound fracture. He could tell from the swelling that she had probably broken her shin bone in the fall, but that was easily splinted. He took her hand and holding it tight said, "Your going to be ok, I'll get you off this cliff and back to camp. "
 
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