THE FOLLOWING DAWN. HELLS CANYON. 5:20 AM PST. SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2025.
The cliff fell almost
vertically away from their feet. It was still night below but the
river reflected the indigo of the dawn sky. Before them, a great
fan of mighty razor-edged ridges rose directly up from the water
into a high palisade veined with dark rock and darker crevices,
sawing into the dark cloudless sky.
“There’s a path on
both sides that connects to a bunch of rocks that you can cross on,
if you’re lucky and the water’s low,” Debbie
explained.
“Cold as hell down
there, I bet.”
“Yeah. And dark. But
if we start climbing down now, when we get there it’ll be light
enough and warm enough.”
“Is that what you
want to do, Deb?”
“Naw, I want to spend three weeks in pre-Daybreak Vegas
with a no-limit credit card.”
He laughed. “Damn
straight. I’d join you, just for the casino hot dogs.”
Debbie grinned. “On
the other hand, I think what we ought
to do is very carefully climb down to this place I know: a nice
sheltered spot under a rock overhang, about half a mile and three
hundred feet down from here, right by that hidden trail. Since we
haven’t heard a trace of pursuit, I think we could chance a fire.
On my way out of camp I liberated some beef jerky and a box of
Jiffy, so if you’ve got a mess kit—”
“Happens I
do.”
“Cornbread and soggy
warm jerky for breakfast, get all the way warm, maybe a nap, how’s
that sound? You bearing up okay?”
“Better than okay, I
think. Let’s go.” He stretched. “If I’m too old for this stuff, I’m
still too young to admit it.”
Descending a steep
spot wet with spray from the spring, he slid for an instant. She
caught his arm, he found his balance, and he smiled his thanks. Her
surprised smile in response felt like warm lotion on his
heart.