Greetings from Yosemite National Park

On November 13th, , 2009, I was helping at the Valley Visitor Center sales counter during employee lunch breaks. A man approached me carrying a bear canister, and I greeted him, asking if he was returning it. He said yes, and this conversation ensured:

“I may owe some money on this. It’s a bit overdue” he said

“Don’t worry. The rental is for the duration of the trip, even if it extends a bit over the due date.”

“It’s got some scratches on it. I will gladly pay for it if you want.”

“Oh, these get scratched up all the time. Don’t worry. Just as long as it still closes, it’ll be ok.” (I hadn’t closely looked at the canister at that point).

While the man waited for me to log in the canister return, I opened it to ensure it was clean and that it still closed ok, and placed it on the table behind me. I then returned his white rental agreement, with his personal information on it.

I then asked: “Did you have a good trip?”

“I just left the clinic. It was a long trip…I got lost. Search and Rescue had to come get me” “Oh wow. What happened?”

“I was lost in the snow for 14 days. I’ve been out since the end of October. I woke up and found snow was waist deep and couldn’t move. I only had two days worth of food in my canister, and I ate most of that early on, before I started rationing. I made my way out into a meadow and tried to carve out an SOS with my boots. I lost a lot of weight” (He stepped back to show his pants ballooning out a few inches).

“How did you survive? Did you build a snow cave?” “After a while I did. After a while, I didn’t think I was gonna make it. I even was scratching my will into the bear canister.”

(It was then that I realized the significance of the canister…I picked it up and started examining it…he pointed out a few things to me. Sure enough, his last will and testament were carved in the plastic. He also scratched out debt forgiveness to friends, expressions of love and regret, along with pleas for forgiveness from family and friends. It was so beautiful and moving.

“How did they find you?”

“Well, they didn’t start looking for me for a few days. Not until I didn’t make it back to work (in Georgia), and it was then that they found out I missed my flight.” (He hadn’t told any colleagues where he was going or when he was expected back).

“That is an amazing story. I am glad you made it. Thanks for telling me about it”

Word quickly spread among Yosemite employees who stood on line to see it…to touch it. It soon became a powerful symbol of the dynamics of the power of nature, the endurance of man, and the compassion of brotherhood.

It is a precautionary tale of respect for the wilderness, the importance of planning, and the limitations of self reliance.

The returned canister is now in the Yosemite Archives for posterity.

Sincerely,
Tom