At dawn I jogged back to Eagle Canyon to retrieve Mark’s pack. I wanted to get there and back as early as possible. He seemed to be in good health considering what he’d been through, but I felt uncomfortable leaving him alone. I knew he couldn’t pump up the stove without two hands, so I needed to get back to cook our breakfast. I hoped he was a late sleeper so he wouldn’t be awake and hungry for long. It didn’t take me long to find the pack but it was a long, slow, heavy hike back to camp. How had he managed to carry such a heavy load? I had to stop and rest several times. Experience had taught me not to remove the pack. The process of taking it off and putting it on, then getting used to the weight again was harder than just resting with it on. The pack was too big for me and, though I was able to rest it on my hips, I couldn’t get it well balanced, so it grated on me the whole time I was hiking.
Mark grinned at me marching along under his heavy pack. I bet he took a picture of that, too.
“I wondered if you’d manage all that weight. You’re one tough cookie.”
“Yeah, that was even worse than the packs we carried in the Marines!” I said, setting it down with a sigh of relief. “At least those packs fit.”
I cooked breakfast and we ate and watched for boats. I took down my tent and left his standing in case he needed to rest during the day. We walked down to the pier and watched the seagulls. When the catamaran appeared in the distance we silently celebrated its arrival. We knew it wouldn’t head back to the mainland until late afternoon, but we had a ride.
“Do you have your return ticket?” I asked Mark.
“No, it was in a notebook, but I lost it on the hike. I’ll take care of the fare when we get to Ventura.”
“Oh yeah! You mean this little notebook?” I asked, pulling out the notepad I’d found.
His face brightened. “Yes! I’m glad you found it. It has notes on all the pictures I’ve taken for the past few weeks.”
“I’m glad I found it, too. It meant I was on the right trail.”
He flipped to the back of the notepad and pulled out his ticket from a manila pocket.
The boat pulled up to the pier and we watched all the cheerful hikers disembark, full of energy, ready to take their guided tour of the harbor. When all the passengers were off the boat, I approached the crew.
“We need to get back to Ventura. What’s the quickest way?”
“We’ll be taking off from here about four o’clock.” A crewmember named Dave answered.
“There’s no quicker way?”
“How much quicker?”
“This guy has been stuck out here for two weeks. He’s been stranded on a cliff with no food or water and he has a broken shoulder. He needs to have it looked at.”
“We could radio someone to come out but it would take them a few hours, then it would be a few hours back. You’re only looking at an hour or two’s difference.”
I looked to Mark. He said, “After sitting on that rock for days I’m not going to whine about a couple of hours delay. I’m just glad to be here at all. Do I smell hotdogs?”
“We’ve got a little kitchen. We sell sandwiches, burgers, hotdogs, chips, fruit. Simple stuff in case people don’t bring a lunch.”
Mark followed his nose onto the boat and although he’d just eaten a big breakfast I had to admit even a hotdog sounded better than more backpacker food. Dave made a gesture to stop him but didn’t have the heart.
“Margaret!” Dave called, “you’ve got a customer!”
“How can I have a customer? They all left.” A fiftyish woman wearing a blue polo shirt and tan slacks came down a ladder.
“Have a heart,” Dave said, “he’s been stranded on the island. He needs junk food.”
Mark ate four hotdogs loaded with ketchup, mustard, relish and cheese. Anything they had to go on hotdogs he piled on. They dripped and fell apart but he enjoyed every messy bite. After a while I left him in their charge and returned to take down Mark’s tent. I strapped everything to the packs, then I shouldered my pack and carried it to the pier. I hauled Mark’s pack down the pier and set it near mine. When I climbed back aboard the boat, Mark was telling the crew stories about photographing eagles in Canada. I took my change of clothes to the head and washed as best I could then put my clean clothes on. I wouldn’t smell great but at least I’d feel better.
Dave brought the packs aboard and then I heard the engines start up. They brought the boat out into the bay where it could lie at anchor more comfortably. We rested in climate-controlled comfort while Mark dozed, then woke and laid down on a bench in the dining area and went to sleep. I couldn’t possibly sleep. I was on a boat and when things got boring I started getting antsy. I walked the dining area, looking out the windows at the island and ocean, then went out onto the deck and climbed the ladder to the upper deck. I could see the mainland off in the distance, so near and yet so far. It was a lazy, boring day, trapped on the boat, but Mark had a good rest, for which I was glad. While sleeping he wasn’t moving around and in pain. The crew was kept busy performing their chores while the passengers were enjoying the island. I waited, paced, and looked around wishing I was back on the island tracking. I sat on the upper deck and watched the tourists on the island, then realized they were making their way back. Yes! I was ready for the next leg of this journey. I wanted to see Mark in the hands of people who knew what they were doing. And I wanted to see Rusty. As soon as I called he’d know Mark had been found and I was coming home early. Rusty knew that I’d leave no stone unturned, and I wouldn’t give up on Mark, until I completely ran out of resources. He might worry at first, knowing how hard it was for me when a search did not end well, but he’d brighten after hearing the outcome. And I couldn’t wait to be wrapped in that hug, that old familiar Rusty hug that I couldn’t get anywhere else. I was hoping that he’d come from work and be wearing one of his old brown coats, especially the soft tweed one. A hug from Rusty in his brown tweed coat was the most comforting thing in the world. He’d worn that coat when we’d first met and he wore it often. When I pictured Rusty I always pictured him in the old tweed coat. Stop it, I scolded myself, you’re going to make yourself homesick before you know it. Then I realized it was too late.
The tourists began gathering on the end of the pier and I was thankful when the engines started again and I heard the anchor being pulled up. The boat motored over to the pier and it became a friendly chaos as all the hikers boarded and found seats for the ride back. They were more inclined to sit on the way back, having spent the day walking on the tour.
I found Mark sitting with a group of hikers. He’d slid to the end of the bench and placed his broken shoulder to the wall to prevent anyone from bumping it. He kept up a friendly stream of conversation but I could see the care he took and the pinched expression when he forgot to put on his friendly face. He needed to get to a doctor and he needed it yesterday. If I’d just hiked faster, if I’d just found him sooner, we would have been back a day earlier. I went to the captain.
“When we get close to Ventura can you radio for an ambulance to meet us at the harbor? My friend is in pain. He’s been dealing with that shoulder for several days. He’ll be mad at me for requesting an ambulance but it’s the quickest way for him to see a doctor.”
The Captain looked me over to determine if I was serious then nodded his assent; he didn’t stop for wildlife viewing either. It was a quick ride straight across the channel. As the buildings of Ventura came into view I checked my cell phone and placed a call to Rusty as soon as I could.
“Hi!” he said brightly when he answered on the second ring. “You’re early. I hope it’s because of good news.”
“It is. We’re coming into Ventura and I’m going with Mark to the hospital. Call when you get close to town to find out where I am and, if you talk to Hazel and Wally let them know Mark will be fine.”
“Hazel’s been driving me nuts,” he confessed. “She thinks she sent you to your death out there. She’s never been camping and she just knows you’re going to be attacked by man-eating squirrels or something. When she isn’t going on about wild animals she thinks of you as some poor, lost girl out there all alone and vulnerable and that doesn’t help at all.”
“It was skunks, not squirrels. Did you tell her this is what I do? It’s my job to find people?”
“No, maybe I should have. The upside is she feels like if she can’t do anything for you she can at least look after me so she comes over every evening with a different casserole. She says she makes a big one for her and Wally and a little one for me but even the little one is enough for three meals.”
I smiled. Maybe Hazel and Wally weren’t so bad after all.
“I made a big mistake,” I said. “I let my thoughts wander and now I miss you like crazy.”
“I’m just finishing up and then I’ll come get you.”
“Are you still at work?”
“Yeah.”
Yes! What coat are you wearing? But I didn’t ask. I could hear sounds of activity in the background as he tried to finish his day. I wanted to talk, but knew the longer I kept him the longer it would take him to hit the road, so I reluctantly told him to drive carefully and that we’d see each other in a few hours. I hung up and watched the buildings grow closer and closer until we were motoring through the breakwater. We saw other boats lined up in the harbor parked serenely in their berths, and then our empty dock appeared ahead and the boat slowed even more.
I was right, Mark was not happy about the ambulance. He had a rental car to consider and his camera gear to keep track of. After loading our packs into the rental I got directions to the hospital and then drove the rental car there. It was a long wait in a busy emergency room and I was still waiting when Rusty called for the name and address of the hospital.
“I’ll meet you in the lobby,” I said.
I quickly went down to the lobby to wait. I knew when Rusty got there because a woman a few chairs down from me said, “Mm, mm, mm would you look at what just walked in the door!”
When I saw him wearing his old brown coat my heart leapt. I was home again. Wherever he was, that was home. I’d never get tired of that hug, the smell of his coat, the feel of his chin resting against my head. How he could stand to hug me after I’d been camping for four days, I didn’t know, but he didn’t seem to mind and I let his presence soak into me.
After checking on Mark and being advised it would be several more hours, we dropped off my film at a one hour photo lab. Then we went to a restaurant for dinner where I told Rusty all about the search. Later we picked up the pictures and returned to the hospital to check on Mark.
“What am I going to do?” I asked after being turned away again. “I need to get my gear and make sure Mark has the car keys. I can’t just take off.”
“Let’s go get your pack. That’ll take care of half the problem.”
I led Rusty to the rental car where I very carefully sorted out Mark’s photography gear from my camping gear.
“We were trying to even out the load so I could carry both packs,” I explained to Rusty as I sorted. “Cameras are heavy! I never packed such a heavy pack before and that was after we balanced it all out.”
He carried my pack to the Explorer while I made sure Mark’s pack and photography gear were locked securely in his trunk. Then we went back to the emergency room to check on Mark again.
The nurse, annoyed with my persistence, said, “I tell you, missy, he’ll be fine.”
“I know. I know he’ll be fine but I have his car keys and I’m leaving town. He at least needs these keys.”
The nurse stared me down but I didn’t give in so she led us down the hall. After peeking in a room, she entered, then she came out again.
“You have two minutes,” she told me.
“Thank you,” I replied, and Rusty followed me in.
“Hi,” I said quietly as I approached the bed. “My ride’s here and I need to go home. I’ll have to talk to your mom and dad in the morning. What should I tell them?”
“Hey, Rusty, good to meet you. Next time it’ll be under better circumstances.” Then to me he said, “Tell them I’ll be up to visit as soon as they let me out of here.”
“Okay, here are the car keys. I sorted out the gear and it’s all safely locked in your trunk.”
“What color’s my car again?”
“Silver.”
“Great, there’s probably a dozen silver cars out there.”
“It’s under a tree out in front.”
“Thanks Cassidy, I’ll see you both when I’m up that way.”
“Okay. Can I see your pictures from the island?”
“Sure thing.”
“Even the ones you thought wouldn’t turn out?”
He wasn’t so sure about that. “Why?”
“While I was tracking you I wondered what you were stalking and I am curious if I’m able to match the pictures up with the tracks. It’s an educational thing. I like to match track patterns to the activity associated with them. It’s just a tracker quirk.”
“You got it. Take care and I’ll see you as soon as they let me out of here and I can get up to Joshua Hills. It better be soon. You know how my mom can be.”
Once back home I walked from room to room enjoying the homey feel of it. I started wondering if I was getting soft and turning into a regular housewife. I told myself that I better watch out, next I’d be noticing babies at the stores. I wasn’t sure how I felt about children, though. I knew Rusty would make a great dad, but I wasn’t so sure about myself as a mom. It wasn’t the day-to-day nitty-gritty things I worried about. I just didn’t want to be tied down. When I needed to get up in the mountains, I wanted the freedom to go. If Strict called, I didn’t want to arrange for a babysitter for possibly several days and work out all the little details. It was important to hit the trail as soon as possible to increase our chances of success. Nope, children were definitely not in the picture any time soon.
“Cass, are you all right?” Rusty asked as I walked through the house.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said sitting down on the couch next to him. He held out his arms and I snuggled into them. “I’m just glad to be back. Even with all the unexpected people and twists this search threw at me it was lonely. The island felt remote. The animals were strange.”
“Strict called while you were gone.”
“Did he have a search for me?”
“I don’t know. He seemed hesitant, like he didn’t want to send you, so it’s probably just as well you were off doing something safe like hanging off a cliff. Cass, why didn’t you just go for help? You didn’t have to climb down there by yourself.”
“It would have added another day to the search. The closest help was either three miles behind me or a mile and an overnight wait in front of me. I didn’t feel I was risking much. The climb didn’t scare me. I had a rope. Helping Mark back up was the scary part. I couldn’t pull him up because he was too heavy. He couldn’t climb without help. So I helped him the only way I knew how.”
“What made you think up that plan with the rope?”
“I’d read your rock climbing books and it made sense. I need to go through a training day on cliff rescues. It would really help if I knew the proper way to do things.”
“Oh! Oh my! Dear, you’re back!” Hazel squealed with delight when she answered her door. “Come in! Come in! I made a casserole for Rusty but he wasn’t home last night.”
“He was in Ventura picking me up from the search. Mark will be fine. He’s in the hospital right now but it’s nothing serious. We think he broke his shoulder and we know he was dehydrated, but he was in good spirits when I left. He said he’ll be up to visit as soon as he’s released.”
“You have to tell me all about it!” she said and dragged me into the kitchen. It was painted in a barnyard theme and Hazel collected chickens. She had chicken wallpaper borders and a chicken cookie jar that crowed when it was opened. The thought occurred to me that if my cookie jar crowed whenever I opened it I’d definitely eat fewer cookies!
“Hazel, before starting I want you to know that I’m a tracker. That’s why I was able to find Mark. I’ve tracked people all my life and I do tracking here for the search and rescue operations in Joshua Hills. That’s why Rusty and I know so many police officers. I found Mark by following his footprints. Considering his location, I doubt anybody else would have found him in time. He couldn’t be seen from the ocean or from the trail so he’s lucky you made such a fuss. If you hadn’t followed your heart and instincts, he wouldn’t have survived. As it is he will be here in a few days, with his arm in a sling, maybe a little skinnier, too.”
“If you’re a tracker, what does Rusty do? I always thought he should be a male model, like in the JC Penney catalog.”
I laughed. “No, I don’t think that would be the kind of life for Rusty. He works with the police department, too but it would be great for his kid brother.” Then, before getting into further details about Rusty’s job, I told her all about the search. It was foreign to her and she couldn’t imagine a woman wanting to follow a bunch of tracks. She couldn’t envision carrying a heavy pack over miles of trail, cooking on a stove with only one burner and then eating food from a foil pouch with only a fork. She cringed after learning I only had two sets of clothes for the entire trip and covered her ears when I told her about the cliff. I didn’t go into detail about how we got Mark back up off the cliff side, but simply said that we met the boat and that he was in the hospital impatiently waiting to come visit them.
“I don’t know how to thank you. How can I repay you? I want to do something.”
“Nothing. There’s nothing for you to do. I find people because they need it. Mark needed finding, so I found him. It’s what I do best, and I think it’s good for people to do what they enjoy for the benefit of others, not for some material benefit. If it were money or material things I was worried about I’d have a career. But I don’t. That’s not what’s important to me.”
“I’ll think of something,” she said, “just you wait.”