It is going to be an on the move day! It was a very cold morning when we awoke. The ground was frozen hard and there was ice on the tent. We ate a hot breakfast and had our hot drink. We have gotten into a routine of I (Donna) getting up packing up my gear and then making breakfast while Don packs his gear and takes down the tent. This seems to be the most efficient way of getting the morning tasks done. We were ready to start hiking around 6:10. The days are becoming shorter so we want to maximize the daylight hours. As the day brightens the skies remain blue and clear. Around 8 we pass our hiker friends as they are just starting to make breakfast. We are moving well, as we negotiate the passes and valleys. At one point Donna looks up to see a large deer bounding down the hill, it leaps over the trail just in front of her. Not sure if it could have avoided her had she been in its way. Each high point gives us views of the rugged landscape, including glaciers. We are impressed with the landscape. We just do a stream crossing when we meet a young women called Mustang. It is obvious that she is injured. She is moving, but barely. We ask her to tell us what the injury is. It is her knees which are quite painful. She was hiking this section with another group, but after trying to walk with them, she could not keep up and it was shorter to return to the original trailhead. The problem was it was 30 miles over difficult terrain. By the time we had her take her pack off and talk options, other hikers started congregating. One was Doc who is a physical therapist. He checked her knees out and it was his opinion that she should opt to get a helicopter. We carried a satellite phone. After a few failed attempts to get a phone number for local search and rescue, we called 911. They were able to connect us to the rescue center and Don gave them the info. They were relieved that this was not a life or death situation. Weather permitting they would plan on being here in the morning. We were fortunate to have a landing spot nearby. Siren stayed with Mustang while the others left. Our long day was cut short, but we were glad that we could help. We have now been reading Still Alice. We were able to read a lot tonight.
Mileage 14 miles Near Fire Creek
