The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lost hiker stays serene during 6-day ordeal
David Wolfe, 73, accidentally went off a trail in July hiking in Washington state and ended up spending an unplanned six days there.
David Wolfe has the ability to see the bright side of things and to stay calm despite trying circumstances. These traits served the 73-year-old Wolfe well recently when he was hiking in southeast Washington state and ended up spending an unplanned five nights and six days there.
“I was lost,” he said plainly while recounting the experience from his home at Kooskia, Idaho. “However, it was a gorgeous place to be lost. The high country is absolutely beautiful this time of year.”
He knew people were looking for him and worried about him, but he was able to compartmentalize his feelings and appreciate where he was while he worked to find his way out.
Wolfe departed July 19 on the trail that would eventually spit out at the Comstock Mine near Dixie, Washington.
At least it should have.
“The trail goes just under the point and goes down to the creek and then back out onto the Comstock. So somewhere down in that canyon, I got derailed, and I don’t know where,” he said.
During his days of wandering he came across and followed different trail segments. They were largely in the same poor conditions, and all signage had long since faded into the landscape.
Wolfe figures his wrong turn eventually led him to Churchill Mountain instead of the Comstock Mine. He was far enough off course that search parties, dispatched when he didn’t arrive home as scheduled, had little hope of finding him.
“I had a chopper go right square over my head one day, but I was down in the timber so it was the poorest place or timing.”
He had his hunting backpack with him and some basic supplies. He had a bag of trail mix and a bag of mixed nuts that he said kept him satisfied. “I could have gone a couple of more days.”
He used a rain poncho and his light jacket to keep warm at night. When available, he slept on bear grass.
“It was warm and comfortable because bear grass is so springy,” he said. “So I had two nice nights of bear grass beds, the others were just stretching out on the hard ground.”
He found and lit a pine root ball on fire hoping its smoke would be seen by searchers. He also fired shots from a .38 revolver he carried and blew a whistle that was answered only by birds.
“I would stop and listen for anything.
A road. A motor. I was just not hearing any signs of civilization.”
Finally, Wolfe found a marker for a trail used by miners heading to the Thunder Mountain Mining District in the early 1900s. He took the trail and knew his time being lost was over when he saw a parked truck.
“I said, ‘I recognize that truck,’ and there was a boat trailer and there was a big body of water, and I said ‘That has got to be Salmon River,’ then I looked over to my left and here is the roof of the power house at Whitewater Ranch.”
He kept walking until he found ranch owner Steve Shotwell and one of his hands working on a fence.
“He offered me everything and anything he could, and I said, ‘I would really like a shower and a beer.’” That he got, and he was offered a bunk and took a long nap.
“Kathy Shotwell woke me and said, ‘There’s a bunch of people down here that want to see you.’ ”
Idaho County sent a sheriff ’s deputy when Shotwell informed authorities Wolfe had turned up. People actively searching for him also received word and either drove or jet boated to the remote ranch.
“I was amazed at the people that showed up,” he said. “It was a nice homecoming, I’m telling you.”
He attributes his calmness to the teachings of his father, who worked as a fire lookout and smoke chaser.
“He was a good mountain man, my dad was. He always instilled in me, when you were in the forest you were safe, when you were in the forest, there is no threat. It’s a beautiful place to be.”