The Other Side of Lone Mountain

Chapter Five

When they reached a turnout Mandy asked Paul to pull over and park. Paul looked at the beauty that lay before him. The sky was a beautiful azure blue with big white puffy 3D clouds that seemed to just hang between the sky and the mountains. The sun was so bright it lit up the mountains with the clouds creating shadows of blues, purples and pinks. It almost looked surreal. Behind them as they stood on the turnout, stretched acres and acres of lush forest filled with Spruce, Elm, Sugar Maple, Elm and several other varieties. The most prevalent seemed to be the Conifers standing tall, in their majestic green splendor. Paul turned and looked at Mandy, “This truly is God’s country! I never get tired of seeing such beauty.” He took in a deep breath and exhaled. “And no exhaust fumes! The air smells so clean up here”

“Especially after the rains” added Mandy. “We need to continue to the site.”

When they finally reached the site Paul asked, “Mandy, are you sure you mapped out the right location?”

“Yes, why?”

“Because if Mark was here, there should be equipment, his truck or at least a camp site if he’s been staying here. Don’t you think?”

“Well maybe because of the weather, he was forced to move to a more sheltered area.” Mandy couldn’t help noticing the fear in Paul’s eyes. She wished she had a better answer for him. “Well let’s park and start searching the area”, she suggested. “We might be able to find some clues as to where he might have gone.”

Paul parked his Grand Cherokee and they got out. They stood there looking around. They were in a clearing with two trails leading in opposite directions. Mandy suggested that Paul take the east trail while she took the west. “Let’s meet back here in a couple of hours.” She also handed him some flags and instructed him to use them as markers if he found anything. She also warned him not to touch anything and to be careful not to disturb the area. “Just mark the location with one of the flags.” Then they each took off in opposite directions.

Paul had gone about a half-mile when he spotted something on one of the bushes. He carefully approached the area being careful not to disturb anything. On one of the branches he saw what appeared to be a piece of cloth. It looked like a piece of cloth from Mark’s jacket. Once again Paul began to feel the same sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He carefully marked the location with one of the flags Mandy had given him and continued down the trail. Eventually he spotted a ridge that ran along one side of the trail. He looked over the ridge in a couple of spots but saw nothing. He rejected the idea of his friend falling over the ridge so he didn’t bother looking any further on that side. He concentrated his search on the inland side of the trail. He traveled another mile and half before returning to their meeting place. He was disappointed and discouraged that he hadn’t found his friend and didn’t have anything that could suggest what might have happened to him.

Mandy was having even less luck. She had gone almost two miles, checking every bush and little path and hadn’t found a single clue to tell her what might have happened to Mark. Of course the rain had washed out any footprints or tracks they might have found. She looked at her watch and saw that it was almost time to meet Paul back at their designated location so she gave up and started back.

Paul was already there when Mandy arrived. He looked disappointed and she understood how he felt, because she was feeling the same way even though she didn’t even know Mark. She asked him as she approached, “Did you find anything?”

“I think so. I think I found a piece of Marks jacket on a bush about a half-mile down the trail. “How about you? Find anything?”
“No, absolutely nothing.” she said. “It’s almost lunch time. How about we have some lunch and then we’ll take a look at that piece of material you found.”

“Sounds like a plan to me”, said Paul.

Mandy had packed some sandwiches and sodas. Paul wolfed down a ham and cheese sandwich and drank a diet-cola. When they finished, Mandy got rid of the trash and put the rest of the food back into the Cherokee. Then Paul led Mandy to where he had found the piece of material. “Are you sure that’s from Mark’s jacket?” she asked.

“I didn’t get close enough to be sure but it looked like it could be.”

When they arrived at the spot, Mandy pulled a pair of plastic gloves from her backpack and put them on as not to contaminate the item. She then pulled out a plastic bag to put the article in. Being careful not to disturb the surrounding area she carefully removed the material from where it was snagged and placed it in the bag and sealed it. She then handed the bag to Paul and asked, “Is this a piece of Mark’s jacket?”

Paul took the plastic bag from her hand and examined it. “I wasn’t sure before but, yes, this is from Mark’s jacket. I’m positive. It’s from his favorite jacket. Even Vickie teased him about wearing it so much. She always told him that people would think that it was the only jacket he owned.”

As they spoke, Mandy noticed that Paul was beginning to look more and more piqued. “Paul, are you okay?” asked Mandy. “We can continue this tomorrow.”

“Thanks, but I’m okay. Let’s continue we might find something else.”

“Okay. But let me know if you want to call it quits for today. We can always come back tomorrow.”

“Mark may not have until tomorrow.” he replied.

So they continued further down the trail, both looking in every bush and into every little path hoping to find something, anything that would direct them to where Mark might be.
They had gone just over two miles when Mandy spotted something shiny by the side of the trail, almost hidden by the thick bushes. She walked over to it. Paul stayed behind waiting for her to return. When she got to the item she found that it was a pair of wire-framed glasses. It turned out to be one of those famous DKNY designer glasses. She looked back at Paul who was still searching the bushes. She called out to him, “Paul!” He looked up. “Did Mark wear glasses?”

“Yes, why?”

Instead of answering his question, she asked, “What kind were they?”

“They were one of those fancy wire framed Designer glasses. I think they were a pair of DKNY. Why?”

“Because I think I just found them.” Once again she pulled out a plastic bag and carefully picked up the glasses and placed them in the bag. She then brought them over to where Paul was standing and handed them to him.

Paul examined them for a moment before exclaiming, “Oh my God! “Yes these are the ones he always wore!”

Mandy looked at her watch and realized it was getting close to four o’clock. “Let’s head back to the vehicle. By the time we get back and put everything away in the vehicle it’ll be time to head back down the mountain before dark. She realized that Paul might want to stay as long as possible. So she said, “I know you probably want to stay a little longer and keep looking but it is getting on in the day and as bad as these roads are right now we don’t want to tackle them in the dark.”
Paul looked so disheartened that Mandy’s heart ached for him. Finally trying to sound cheerful, but not carrying it off too well, he said, “Already the lady knows me.”

“Not really, I just know what it’s like to lose someone close.”

“Yes, of course you do. As much as I want to stay, I know you’re right. It won’t help Mark if something should happen to us.” So they headed back to the Cherokee.