Hanging out in Orlando airport waiting connections and having a Sam Adams. Time for a "lost keys" story before I start reading another book.

Working at Mt Rainier and me and another guy leave the park in my Toyota and drive a gravel road to a steep little trail and hike up to the last of 3 small lakes, about 2 miles tops. We catch our bunch of little cutthroat trout and hike back to the truck in the evening only to discover the keys are gone. I figure they must be where we went through the little tackle box on that flat rock lakeside and Reece goes sprinting back to retrieve them.

I wait for what seems like a long time and then start to become concerned that he's not back. Then I remembered one switchback where the trail splits and you can keep going straight instead of doubling back and I get worried he went the wrong way. I take off at a run and reach the junction and shout his name, only silence. Now I am worried that he had a fall and is hurt. I continue to the upper lake and there is no sign of Reece and now my worst fears are confirmed. I look around where I think the keys should be but no keys. I sprint back and am freakin out because it is almost totally dark and I can hardly see the trail. With no spare and convinced my friend is hurt I start the long walk out. I trudged all night and got to someone's house that i knew just as dawn was approaching and collapsed on their front porch which had a huge couch complete with pillows. A few hours goes by and the owner of the house sees me crashed (we worked together) and I relate the story. We drive up to the trailhead and he is surprised by how far I walked and we get to my truck and Reece is sitting in the front seat...........the keys were in the tackle box the whole time!

When I asked Reece where he was he said he had become disorientated at the upper lake and then he thought he heard a bear and became quiet. The "bear" was of course me and he ended up spending a pretty cold night in the mountains in a t-shirt and I ended up walking an entire night convinced he was bruised and bleeding in pile of rocks trying to go and get help. What a bunch of dopey kids!