A Christmas Without SAR

Since the round-the-clock SAR missions involving the dozens of stranded hunters a few weeks ago, there hasn't been a peep from SAR central. Which drives home the fact that Search and Rescue really has become a big part of my life. When we go through a quiet stretch, I sure notice the difference. Too much time on my hands. (Isn't that a song?)

I also realize how often I've not done things--not gone to the movies, not gone out of town for a weekend--so I wouldn't chance missing a SAR call. And that's just plain silly. So one of my own New Year's resolutions is to go about my life and not worry about when there might be a call-out. I do love to participate, but that definitely shouldn't get in the way of doing other things. Right? But I'll still continue to keep all of my gear in my car ... just in case.

Anyhow, during this lull, I've read another SAR-related book, though this one is very much from a victim's perspective and doesn't involve a lot of Search and Rescue action. Angels in the Wilderness: The True Story of One Woman's Survival Against All Odds is a gripping firsthand account about being severely injured deep in the backcountry, while no one knows where the injured, solo hiker is and won't miss her for days to come.

This hiker was Amy Racina, who fell sixty feet in a remote part of King's Canyon National Park, breaking both legs. Battling pain, fear and exhaustion, she survived for four days, pulling herself inch-by-inch along a ravine until her calls were heard by a man who was partially deaf.

One of the most riveting aspects of the story, in my opinion, was the fact that one difference amongst a number of events that led to her rescue could very well have cost Amy her life. I mean, what if the hiking party who found her had canceled their trip for some reason or chosen another route? Or left even one day later? What if Amy hadn't been calling for help at the time the hikers happened to pass by above--hikers she couldn't see or hear from the ravine? What if she hadn't dragged herself up the ravine but had stayed where she'd fallen? The hikers would probably never have heard her. Amy questions those and other circumstances that fell into place to ultimately save her life at close to the last minute.

I really found this book interesting and inspiring, which is why I read from sundown to sunup until I'd turned the last page.
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If you want to read my opinion of other SAR-related and wilderness survival books, I review each one I read here.