Previously
26 year old Julie liked the outdoors. Her day off normally consisted of grabbing her trust bag that was a birthday present from her parents. Then she would find some backroad and trek into the wild to capture photographs of nature.
This day had been no different, well, except for the surprise snowstorm. Her car had gotten stuck and Julie didn't have enough gas or food to stay with her car. So as she braved the cold and attempted to walk to civilization, she wondered what her parents would give her for her 27th birthday... if she survived that long.
Meanwhile, the snow kept falling...
Julie took a moment to determine what the situation was. She had to think back to how she got there to figure out how to get out, how to survive.
She had been planning to hit the trailhead around 10am, but a road had been washed out, so she had to take the long way around. She had been behind schedule when the snow had started falling. By the time she got to the forest access road, there was already enough of a dusting to color the ground white. However, she hadn't expected the snow to stick yet, as it was still early in the year and fairly warm.
She had been hiking for only a quarter of an hour or so when the thick snowflakes started falling. And it had only been a few more minutes before she realized that it was quickly accumulating on the ground. Julie didn't have snow tires on her car, so she decided to play it safe and turn around. However, 20 - 30 minutes out meant she had to hike 20 - 30 minutes back. By the time she got to the car, there was already 1/2 inch of snow on the ground.
The forest road was 12 miles in. Was that right? Because she had been considering so many locations for the hike, she couldn't remember. Regardless, she had to start down the hill. She started the car and began the drive down the gravel road that was rapidly being covered by cold, slick snow. Julie was a cautious driver and took it slow. "Better safe than sorry."
The snow was piling up quickly. At first it was blown aside by her car as she drove past, but it was rapidly becoming more of crunchy piles under her tires. Although they were "all season" tires, they definitely weren't made for an inch of snow.
Julie had made it approximately 30 minutes before her car slipped off the road and into a small ditch. All things considered, it was a soft and gentle exit from the road, but the end result was the car was stuck. Despite being only eight inches deep, the ditch wasn't letting her car free. She tried going forward and backward, but neither would free the car. She tried getting sticks or dirt to put under the tires, but nothing would release her vehicle from where it had stopped.
She decided her best course of action would be to follow the road out and find help. Even if she couldn't get her car out, she couldn't afford to wait there. No one would be able to get to her there. So she grabbed her bag, pulled on her gloves, and headed down the mountain.
Good thing she had her snow boots!
Image Source: Pexels
I decided to continue this story from one I posted a previously. Here's the first part.
