The Hike

    One day a man named Mike set out for a hike with his son, Josh. They had two granola bars, a mug of hot cocoa, a lighter, water, and a meal where you add water. They also had a pot to cook the meal in. They were hiking on a mountain that was about 8,000 feet above sea level. There was around an inch of snow at the bottom of the mountain but they got reports that there were higher amounts of snow on top. 

    They were about half a-mile away from the top of the mountain when the son stepped into a six-inch deep puddle of water. They stopped there and considered turning around because they did not have a spare pair of socks and the temperature was below freezing. They started down the mountain when the son reported that his shoe was frozen and he could not feel his foot. They stopped on the side of the trail under a balsam fir where the snow was not as deep. Mike took off his son’s shoe and used his sweater from under his coat and put it on his son’s foot. He decided to light a fire and start to cook the meal before trying to continue down the mountain. 

By the time they were done eating, Mike checked his watch and saw that it was 6:00pm. They cleared out the snow underneath the tree and put down their coats underneath them. They decided that they were going to sleep there that night because there were four miles to hike down and it was icy, cold, and getting dark. 

 In the morning, they added some more wood to the fire from the previous night, and waited for somebody to hike up and they would ask them to get someone to rescue them. Joshs foot was very very cold and was very purple and swollen. About two hours later they were considering the dad going down the mountain for help and the son staying there and waiting when a hiker came up and went by them without noticing, because they were tucked behind a tree. They started yelling and he came back. They asked him to go down and get the search and rescue to come to get them. The other hiker was hesitant at first because he wanted to continue hiking, but finally agreed. Help came about two hours later and the son was transported to the hospital because of his feet 

The next day, Josh was released from the hospital with some restrictions and he and his dad went to get ice cream to celebrate the fact that he would make a full recovery. Because of the outcome of the hike and the time they spent together through the difficult night, their relationship and bond became much stronger.