Had to go to town yesterday. There was a bit of concern about getting in. The storm had passed but it dropped a lot of snow and the logging road keeps its snow long after it melts everywhere else. As we drove out, we passed three abandoned vehicles where the owners had decided to walk in (or out) and keep going without the aid of a vehicle. Not an easy choice to make when you are looking a long, hard, cold trek in the face at the end of a busy day.

Case in point: A friend of mine underwent an operation in Comox. He’s mid 60’s and the surgery left him bedridden for three days. Big wound. When he recovered enough, he came home. He, his wife and their two children arrived at Quadra island late in the day. They needed to take their vehicle to the top of the island so the mother and children drove it up while my freshly-sliced-and-diced friend loaded the boat and headed out to take the boat up the coast to meet them.

The car-part of the family got stuck about 3/4 of the way there. So they abandoned the car and hiked the rest of the way in the dark. She has a bad leg and hip and walks with a cane. It is not a minor limp. Nothing seems to stop her but the hike in the snow in freezing darkness up and down hills made the going a bit more difficult to say the least.

My friend waited at the dock with worry and a sopping bandage for an extra two hours or so before he saw them coming down out of the forest.

They packed up and headed across to their truck. Their property is on the other side of the island and so they need an old ‘beater’ truck to get back and forth. Battery was dead. Too many days away. Too cold.

So, there they stood, wet, cold and hungry about six miles from home facing yet another trek in the snow. My buddy looked over, saw a neighbours truck parked there and, knowing the neighbour wasn’t needing it for a day or so, he hot-wired it and brought his family home in time to start the fire, get dinner on and in and change the bandages.

After that had been done, he called me to answer a message I had left earlier to see if he was OK after the operation.

“Yeah. Hey, I’m fine. Gotta go back, tho, ’cause they kinda botched it but they’ll give ér another whack in six months when they think I am strong enough to do it again. No, we’re fine. No problems. How are you?”

We talked for a bit and then, in bits and pieces, their story getting home came out. “Well, if you are going in to town, you might wanna check on the road condition. We got stuck last night and had to leave the car. Wife and kids hiked in. I am going in today with #1 son to get the car.”

“But, but, but…………like, you just had your guts opened up and it is freezing and there is a huge storm forecast! You are mad to even consider it.”

“Nah! We’ll be fine. Boat is good. #1 son can hike in from the shore and drive it up. I can get back to wait for him. We’ll have to return neighbouors car, anyway. And I have a new battery to put in the truck. So long as there aren’t too many trees down, we’ll be fine. I’ll have to give #1 the chainsaw ’cause that road is always strewn with fallen trees in these winds but he can do that.”

The really interesting part: none of that information would have been forthcoming had I not mentioned that I might be going into town the next day. A story from which I would have written a novel and a screenplay starring Harrison Ford and Susan Sarandon was considered ‘just another day in the life’.

And this story is like a Johnson and Johnson ad for kids band-aids compared to what happened to my other buddy a year and half ago. That one truly is an epic film waiting to be made.

They breed ém tough out here.