I first heard about the cave on Kenelty Mountain almost 50 years ago and had always wanted to see it. However, the instructions I had were too ambiguous for me to seek it out.

This year, I finally had good coordinates, a reliable map, great hiking companions, and a vehicle capable of handling the unpaved forest roads. With my son, his wife, and their two young daughters, we drove as far as we could, then left the car and hiked up the badly rutted road to the trailhead.

Despite having a pretty bad cold, I decided to take on the adventure nonetheless.

The trail was steep and slippery, and we soon had to stop to catch our breath. I sat on a convenient trailside rock, and I don’t remember much of what happened after that.

Apparently, I fainted and went rag-dolling down the steep mountain slope.

Fortunately, my son, a search and rescue volunteer back home, was below me and was alerted to my fall. After a 20-meter or so free fall, he was able to control my descent and guide me to a safe spot on the trail. He activated the ResQLink 400 PLB, and I slowly regained consciousness. After an hour, a deputy sheriff and local SAR leader arrived at our location. He and my son guided me to his vehicle, which took me to an ambulance waiting by the highway.

In addition to numerous lacerations and contusions, I had cracked a cervical vertebra. I spent a day and night in the hospital and am grateful my injuries were not as severe as they could have been