Mountain Rescue Doctor: Wilderness Medicine in the Extremes of Nature by Christopher Van Tilburg

Author:Christopher Van Tilburg [Tilburg, Christopher Van]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Medical (Incl. Patients), Health & Fitness, First Aid, Medical, Emergency Medicine, Sports & Recreation, Outdoor Skills
ISBN: 9780312358877
Google: jz_r_Hvha44C
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2007-11-13T00:23:31.866523+00:00

FALL

CHAPTER 10

Disappearance in Gifford Pinchot

On day five in the search for a missing woman, Roger Nelson, Helmut Reidl, and I are tromping amid huckleberry fields and enormous groves of hemlock and fir. I have a ridiculous assortment of electronic gear strapped to my chest, that at sporadic moments make extraterrestrial noises: SAR radio, GPS, cell phone, camera. Every twenty minutes, I call in GPS coordinates; but without the manual, I can’t remember how to activate the electronic compass. So Helmut pulls out his trusty old liquid-filled compass and points us to our assigned bearing, 270 degrees.

Ground searches in the forest may not be as exciting as technical rope rescues, but these searches are costly and they take much more time. The three of us are helping a neighboring county in Washington State with this search for a missing woman. More than a hundred rescuers have gathered from Washington and Oregon. We are ground pounding, or searching by foot, the thick woods around Steamboat Lake, a remote area of Gifford Pinchot National Forest. One of the oldest national forests, it was originally part of the Mount Rainier Forest Reserve, established in 1897, and renamed after Gifford Pinchot in 1949 after the United States Forest Services first chief, an environmentalist and conservationist who thought the forest should be used for “the greatest good of the greatest number in the long run.”

The 1,312,000 acre forest includes the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument and seven wilderness areas including Mount Adams and Indian Heaven Wilderness, where the kids and I go backpacking. The area abounds with campers, backpackers, fishers, hunters, mushroom gatherers, huckleberry pickers, and in winter, snowshoers, backcountry skiers, and snowmobilers.

The subject, a forty-nine-year-old woman, was camping near Steamboat Lake with her family. On her way home, she turned off the gravel road. Her family, following in another car, said they thought she was stopping for a bathroom break or to collect some wood. The family also said that she had left home unexpectedly in the past, so when she didn’t show up at home they didn’t report her missing for five days. When deputies found the car—full tank of gas, no flat tires, and her cigarettes on the seat—it started right up. Now we are ten days removed from the last sighting and five days into the search. After driving up Forest Road 88 in a daze, having just worked the night shift at the hospital, I find Roger and Helmut.

“Doughnuts,” Roger offers with a smile. “Help yourself. I’ve already signed you in.”

“Thanks, might have one.”

“I’ve already had a couple.” Helmut smiles. A native of Austria and our current Big Squeak, or president, he is a jovial and organized man who speaks with a thick accent. He has brought the deep love and rich culture of European ski mountaineering and ski instruction to our group.

“Anyone else show up?” I ask, noticing only three Crag Rats amid a dozen searchers gathering for the morning briefing.

“Three’s pretty good for a weekday morning, don’t you think?” says Roger.

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