A Look Back

 

 

August 13, 2007: "Our Thoughts, Our Prayers, Our Six" - This was the message woven into the chain link with bed linen as we drove into the town of Huntington, UT. The gravity of what "our six" represented never occurred to us as we passed though the single light town at 80mph, passing three speed limit signs that made it clear we were 45mph past the legal limit. The excitement of getting to Joe's Valley made inconveniences like speed limits easy to overlook; made thoughts of "our six" easy to disregard, and made it even easier to forget those prayers.

 

 

 

Now after being in this town for the past few days, I am all too familiar with "Our Six". They have been trapped underground for seven days now, yet the good people of this town still hold hope for their safe return from the collapsed mine. The thought of their fate reminds me to breathe, and enjoy each breath. At Joe's Valley it is hard not to. The sweet scent of juniper is as invasive as kudzu, and the climbing is as hard and varied as the faces of our elders.

 

 

 

August 16, 2007: A third hole drilled into the mine fails to provide authorities with any further information regarding "our six". Their fate is still unknown and rescue efforts have proved less than fruitful. Hope is slowly filtered out of the towns peoples' hearts, leaving only apprehension and fear behind.

 

 

 

In Joe's Valley, the last bit of air pumps into our inflatable pool float, and now, the only thing separating us from tackling the rapids of Cottonwood Creek is our fear and our apprehension. The fifty-degree water and the instability of the raft fail to allow common sense to prevail over our desire to descend the left fork of Joe's Valley via our Wal-mart watercraft. A hundred yards into our groundbreaking descent, while the waves whipped disrespectfully at our faces, our fear and apprehension is realized. A rock, ill placed in the middle of our water luge, rips through our air ride, sending us scurrying for the grassy shore and back to the dry security of our chalk bags. We retreat to our six, a V6, called Maxipad. Maxipad is a steep boulder problem tucked into a nook of conifer trees off the right fork of Joe's. Thankfully, it proves to be much easier than the Cottonwood Creek.

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, word has spread that a second collapse has occurred at the mine. Nine men, and nine families, fight anguish and sorrow. Three families loose that fight. "Our six" still remain.

Click HERE to continue reading this article and the rest of issue 1