Marshall McClung
People get in trouble during all seasons of the year, but it seemed to me that the winter searches were more difficult.
There was usually bitter cold or snow – or both – to deal with. One plus was that it certainly made tracking them much easier, what with their footprints in the snow. Lost people were more likely to be injured from falls on the slippery surfaces. There was also usually hypothermia to deal with.
Some of the incidents that I recall being involved with did not start out as a search, but wound up finding people in trouble.
One winter several years ago, we had several deep snows in our higher elevations. The district ranger with the U.S. Forest Service sent me alone to check areas of the Joyce Kilmer Forest for hikers that might be in trouble.
I checked the Wolf Laurel Trailhead first. There were no vehicles in the parking lot or tracks in the snow. When I reached the Naked Ground, the snow was over my knees. I saw one set of footprints leading off toward the direction of Stratton Bald. A backpack was lying in the snow there.
I thought I heard someone on the Naked Ground Trail below me. Just under the top of the hill, I found a young woman lying in the trail. She was so exhausted that she had fallen asleep. I asked if she was alone and she stated that a male companion had been with her, but had left her alone to go on ahead.
I told her she couldn’t stay there without any shelter. She said her companion had a small tent. About that time, he returned and I gave him a severe “chewing out” for leaving her. He wanted to go on to Stratton Bald to make camp. I told him that she would never make it; that she would be down again.
I talked him into making camp at Naked Ground for the night and went to make sure there was no one else in the area. When I came back by their camp, they were both in the tent – sound asleep.
As I was returning, the ranger station called about a vehicle over the bank on the John’s Creek Hill section of Big Santeetlah Road. I had the Jeep in four-wheel drive low range, but when I started up the hill, it began sliding. I got the Jeep into the ditch and backed down to the foot of the hill.
I started back up the hill, which was so slick I could barely stand up. There was a sheet of ice under several inches of snow. I made my way down to the wrecked vehicle. There was no one in or around the vehicle, but there was blood inside the vehicle. I radioed the ranger station to check with hospitals in east Tennessee and learned that someone had come upon the wreck and had rescued an injured person.
Never a dull moment – even on a cold day.
Marshall McClung is the historical columnist for The Graham Star. He is retired from the U.S. Forest Service and can be reached via email, mcclungs828@gmail.com.