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Ian: You're listening to “Coffee with Gringos.” I’m Ian Kennedy.
Paige: I'm Paige Sutherland.
Ian: And today we're joined by frequent guest, special guest, Michael Papale. Welcome back once again and he is going to be sharing with us today a scary, actually a very scary, survival story, something that happened to him recently during the winter in the United States on a hiking trip. So, he had quite the experience and I'm sure there were some lessons learned from that. So really, we're just going to pass the mic over to Michael and let him really describe this harrowing event that he went through. So, listeners as always, if you get lost, make sure to go online and check out that audio guide and transcript at www.dynamicenglish.cl. So, Michael, just set the stage for us and tell us what happened. How did this all go down?
Michael: Yeah, sure. So, Paige is also part of a story so Paige, if you have any details to add or feel free to chime in. So, Paige and I were hiking at the end of October with two of our friends up in the White Mountains in New Hampshire, which is in the Northeast region of the United States. New Hampshire has forty-four thousand-foot peak mountains and we were doing one of those trails just to set some background leading up to it. We went hiking on a Saturday and leading up to that Saturday all week, it had been raining pretty heavily in New Hampshire so the trails were pretty muddy. On the day of the hike, we woke up and the weather, it wasn't supposed to be sunny, it was supposed to rain but we figured when we started it should be good. It wasn't too rainy at that point so, we decided to go for it. And so, we started this hike up the trail. The morning started off great where we were talking about books, different TV shows that we had been watching, passing the time on the hike. On the trail, there is a creek, which is a very small river, that you have to cross a few times to get the mountain. The trail zigzags up the mountain and down the middle of this creek and before we stopped for lunch at one of the creek crossings, I slipped and I fell in the water. So, I got pretty wet and at that point, I got a little grumpy, if you will, so we decided to take a quick hiatus so I could put on some dry clothes that I had in my backpack. We stopped for lunch. This is at the end of October so it's not super warm out but it wasn't freezing out. It was probably in like the low fifties or high forties maybe. And so, since we stopped for lunch, I put on some dry clothes, and I decided to leave my backpack where we ate lunch because at that point, my backpack had fallen in the water and it was soaking wet. And so rather than carrying this heavy backpack around up the mountain, I figured I'll just leave it here and then on our way down, I'll grab it and carry on it our way on the way out. And so, as we were continuing to hike up the trail, we thought we were pretty close to the top and so we ran into one woman—really the only person we'd seen all day on the trail— and she said she was with her ten-year-old son and she said that, “You're almost there, but the top of the mountain is like pretty muddy. It's windy.” She described it as a slog to get up to the top but we were going. I was pretty cold because I was wet already and just was like the conditions weren't great. So, if we got to the top the view wouldn't really be worth seeing in my opinion, so I decided when we got a little bit further that I was going to just hang out where we were and wait for Paige and our two other friends to come back down and on their way down. they would pick me up and then we would journey down together. So, I had my watch on so when I looked at the watch, Paige and our two friends continued on and I had waited about an hour and they hadn’t come down yet and so, I got a little bit concerned because I thought we were very close to the top of the mountain. so, I thought that they should have been to the top and back to me already so, I started getting a little bit concerned that they weren't hadn't made their way back to me and then I was getting a little chilly because at that point I'd just been walking in a very small circle for an hour and then I was also getting concerned about the daylight. It was getting late in the afternoon and we had headlamps but they were in one of the backpacks of our of our friends so I didn't have a headlamp on my person. So, what I decided to do was slowly meander back down the trail that we came up on and every so often I stopped and waited for them again. Each point I waited for twenty minutes and they still weren't there so, I was getting a little bit more nervous more so for the daylight as I was making it further down the mountain. I got to where we ate lunch and my backpack, picked up my backpack and then continued on down the trail. And then as I picked up my backpack, I also remembered that Paige had had my cell phone. So, when we left my backpack at the lunch spot, I took my cell phone out of my backpack and gave it to Paige to put it in her backpack because I didn't have great pockets and just my clothes so I didn't want to leave my backpack or my cell phone just in the middle of the woods. So, when I got to my backpack, I remembered I didn't have my cell phone and so that way, the group we didn't really have any idea where I was or if I started walking down the mountain somewhere. I picked up my backpack, I tied this plastic bag around a tree to let them know that I grabbed my backpack, have down and then at a few spots down the trail I left little piles of Halloween candy to signify to them that it was Michael, Michael was here. Here’s a Reese’s Take Five that we got at the grocery store last night, like I was here, I'm good. Then ultimately what happened was there was one final fork in the trail and I was supposed to go one way and I went the other way and as I started going down the incorrect way. I was realizing that it didn't look too familiar. I probably should have gone the other way. So, I was like alright, I'm going to turn around and go back the other way and when I did that, because the trail was so muddy, that was late in the fall. So, lots of leaves on the ground. I slipped and I lost my balance and I fell off the trail and like slid and so then I ended up off the trail and just wandered around for a while. And then it was getting dark out and I was like oh I already fell once, I shouldn't probably continue walking so, I found a rock on the side of the mountain and I had this big poncho that I put on and at like six-thirty pm. It was getting dark and I said alright, I think I'm going to have to stay here for a little while and I hunkered down. It was dark to go and I didn't have a flashlight or anything. At that point, I was like alright, well Paige and our two other friends are going to get back to the car and see that I'm not there and they're going to know that clearly, I had an issue. So that was a pretty saving grace for my mental state of mind. So, at like eight pm I was like, alright, they know I don't have a cell phone, they know I am not at the car, but I'm somewhere in these White Mountains. And as the night progressed at like ten-thirty, I was like alright, so they probably they will call 911 search and rescue was probably around. And then I was like because it was raining so much, I wasn't sure if they were going to be able to do anything over night. So, at around ten thirty or eleven came to the conclusion that I think I was going to have to spend the night on this rock wearing my poncho and just hope for the best.
Paige: Hey, Ian. Did you know besides the podcast, Dynamic English offers one-on-one classes with native teachers from all over the world?
Ian: Really? But isn't it just a bunch of grammar lessons?
Paige: Nope, it's completely discussion-based and focuses on topics the student is interested in.
Ian: That's amazing. But what if I'm not living in Chile?
Paige: No problem. Dynamic does online classes. You can be living anywhere.
Ian: Great, but I'm a little intimidated to take the class alone. Can I join with a friend?
Paige: Of course. Dynamic offers group classes of up to four. Plus, for the next month, Coffee with Gringos listeners get 10% off individual or group classes. So go online to www.dynamicenglish.cl and mention that you are a listener and get your discount.
Ian: Well, I'm sold. Sign me up.
Michael: So, I ironically listened to the week leading up to that hiking trip, a “Coffee with Gringos” episode where you guys talked about wild survival stories and I was like, alright, I'm not on Everest. There's no snow on the ground. I was like, it's just raining. It's not going to be super cold out. I was like, people have survived a lot worse for a lot longer so I can just sit here all night and wait it out. I did that so at about one is, I've been sitting on the rock, at that point, for six and a half hours and I didn't have my cell phone, I didn't have a computer, I didn't have TV, didn't have much to do. So, I started to singing songs to myself. I started to practice the Spanish alphabet song that I learned in like fifth grade. I couldn’t get very far. Two o'clock in the morning came and then I did hear the water was rushing pretty loudly near where I was so, I thought at one point that that was a helicopter. So, I was like oh nice, that helicopter is here and I was like oh no, that's just the water is rushing very loudly. And then I also at one point I heard I think they were coyotes or wolves far in the distance and in my mind at first, I thought it was dogs with the search and rescue team and then when I was like, oh no, it’s two am, it's probably coyotes or wolves somewhere. Luckily, I made it out so, at like three am to five am, I really was quite bored, a little chilly, but a lot chilly. And then once five o'clock hit, I was like alright, it's going to get light out within the next hour and a half. I couldn't do this at like six thirty in the morning. So pretty much twelve hours to the dot later I got up off my rock and I continued wandering, following this river down the mountain and I eventually found another trail. So, I hiked on this other trail out of the mountain for two and a half hours that morning and then I eventually got to a parking lot where there's a different trailhead and so, when I realized at that point that I was officially out of the woods, I was very, very relieved, but I still had no idea where I was or how to get in contact with anyone. The only phone numbers I have memorized is my parents to cell phone numbers and my dad's office number so that wasn't going to be too helpful. And then as I got out of the trailhead and was walking down this road, I saw a truck coming down and I flagged the truck down and he pulled over and at this point, I'm soaking wet and covered in mud and the guy pulls over and I'm like, “Hi, do you have a cell phone I can borrow?” And he just looks at me and he's like, “No…” He was like what? And I was like, “Well, long story short, I was hiking, I got separated from my friends and I just spent the night camped out and I need to call someone for a ride.” And he was like, “Oh no, I don't have a cell phone. I'm just coming to look at the look at the water—how high the water levels are on the river.” He was like, “But if you continue walking down this road, it'll take you to the main street and there's a market.” And I was like, “Okay.” And then he continues driving and then once he drove away, I was like, that was really dumb. I should have pressed him more. So then five minutes later, he went in and then he was driving back and I flagged him down again and he pulled over and I was like, “So how long is this road that leads to the market?” And he was like, “It's probably another two and a half to three miles.” And I looked at him and my face fell and I was very dejected and he was like, “Do you want to ride to that?” And I was like, “Yes, please. I do need a ride.” So, then I got in the car and his heat was on and I was like exclaimed and put my hands up to the heaters and then I think he realized that I had had a rough night and that I wasn't just some random person on the side of the road covered in mind—that I probably needed some help. So, he dropped me off at this market and then I went into the market and I went up to the front counter and I asked if they had a phone. The market was like, “Is this going to be a local or a long-distance number?” And I was like, “This will be a long-distance number. I'm not from around here.” So, then the employee was like, “Alright, well why don't you use my cell phone instead? But the cell phone number is going to be a random New Hampshire number.” And I just looked at him and I was like, “People I'm going to call I think are going to pick up any number from this area.” And he was like, “Okay.” So then, like I said earlier, I only knew my parents cell phone numbers and I figured since I didn't make it back to Paige and our friends for the night that they probably alerted my parents. I figured that was a good guess that they called my parents and so I called my dad’s cell phone and he answered on the first or second ring and I was like, “Hi, it's Michael.” And then he kind of screamed and was like “Oh my God!” And so, then my mom had been in communication with Paige and our other friend and she called our other friend to let them know that I was at this market and then our friend and her dad then came to the market and picked me up. And then we drove to the trailhead, and we got there and search and rescue had set up like a whole headquarters and I got out of the car and looked around and it was like, “Oh, I've really made quite a mess.” And then when I got there, they said that Paige and our other friends had been on these other trails looking for me and they didn't have cell phone service too so we couldn't call them and let them know that I was fine. So, we had to wait for a little bit and then they came out of the woods and they saw me in the parking lot and I saw them and it was a real glorious review.
Ian: I'm sorry, I’m sure it was quite a quite a night. That is terrifying. That's like a real-life example of hiking gone wrong where it gets very serious really quick and like the things that you mentioned happen or things that when I've gone hiking with friends, you think about but you don't think it's going to ever happen to you. It's like, we’ve got to be careful because it's getting dark. We need to get out of here but the little things like you slipping in the water, having to give your phone away, all these little things add up and it's sort of like Murphy's Law. Once one bad thing happens, the ball keeps rolling and the next thing you know you're hunched under a rock in the rain and in the woods. I mean that could happen to anybody and that's what I think is so scary for people to hear that.
Paige: Yeah, it really was a series of unfortunate events because it feels like if you didn't fall in the water, maybe you would have continued onward but the biggest thing was that you would never have given me your phone. Your phone was 100% charged, it had a map, it had a light, GPS. That was the first thing search and rescue asked for when we told him our friend was lost was, they have their phone we'll just get the coordinates. So, it was just that one thing that was just ahhh. But I will say you leaving the candy was really helpful. Not only that we knew that you were alive at certain points, but just where you were at certain points. And so, I took a photo of the candy and the photo had a coordinate and so when we sent it to search and rescue, they knew he got down this far enough so he had to have turn that way and so they knew where you got lost. And they went right by you, Michael. Remember? You just couldn't hear them because of the rain.
Michael: Yeah, so they said when talking with them that basically they were very close to me, but because the rain and the water was coming down so heavily and then the water was rushing so loudly that I couldn't hear them yelling for me.
Paige: So, it was unfortunate in that regard for sure but yeah, it's amazing that this picture that you thought was funny at the time that I left behind Halloween candy they were able to narrow the search radius of where to go rather than, who knows, at what point things went gone.
Michael: So yeah, hindsight is always 20-20. We should have not split up, I should have had my cell phone, the woman that we talked to, we should have asked how long to the top of the mountain because we thought we were much closer than we were which is why I decided to hang back. I thought they were only going to go up for twenty minutes or thirty minutes. If I knew that it was going to be over an hour, I would have probably kept going with them or when it got to the hour point, I wouldn't have gotten too concerned because I would have known that that was expected.
Paige: I know. It is one of those things that's so difficult when you've never hiked a certain trail before because you, obviously, have a map and you have estimates, but the conditions were just so different. I mean, it wasn't that far, Michael. The issue was it was a swamp and to get through the swamp, we had to physically plan out routes and fully stop and go in between trees and things that. It was probably a mile from where we left you and it took us almost an hour, I think each way, which would never have taken that long on a normal day. Because we were shocked to hear, where is this fucking summit?
Michael: Yeah, and then I was just very lucky that it didn't get too cold overnight because we were we were up north in New Hampshire so it does get cold so very lucky that it never got too cold. The thing that I was most concerned about overnight was getting frostbite on my hands or my toes. I didn't want to have issues with that. So, thankfully I had, because we knew we weren’t going to be super warm, I had packed hand warmers and toe warmers for the hike. So, throughout the night, I changed those a few times. I had a few clean pairs of socks so my feet weren't sitting in wet cold socks all night. They were wet and cold by the end of it but yeah. And then, not that we should do it again, but I also think in the summer. If we went in July where it doesn't get dark out until like eight-thirty, it could have ended very differently because ultimately what my biggest obstacle was the darkness. I didn't have any light so I had already fallen one so I didn't want to continue walking in the darkness and potentially step in a hole and twist my ankle or something. So, if it was in July, who knows if I could have gotten to the parking lot at least in somewhat day light and then you can follow the road at night but lots of lessons learned and hopefully the listeners, if they're hikers take all of these lessons and don't make our mistakes because we were very lucky.
Paige: You would have made it to the parking lot because that was four hours. I mean the sunset is at four-thirty. I mean, in summertime that could be a nine-thirty. So, having for extra hours of hiking is crucial, but you're having a redemption hike, right? We're going to do the same hike this summer.
Michael: That’s a goal of mine for 2022 is to do that hike again and not have to call 911 at any part of it. When we're up at the top and then down at the bottom, we can send a little picture to the search and rescue teams and say #redemption.
Ian: Well, Michael. Obviously, we're really happy that you made it out okay, nothing really bad happened in the end and more than that, even that you have a good sense of humor about it and that you want to go back and tackle it again. That's the right attitude to have. So, I think a lot of good lessons learned and the right attitude to have in that kind of situation.
Michael: Yeah, sure. Got to get back on the horse and now that everything is okay, it's a funny story. That night I also did have that thought I said if I make it out of here okay, it'll be funny but if not, I'm going to be pretty pissed.
Ian: Well, I think we can all relate to that. So, like I said, we're so glad you made it out okay and you have these lessons to share with the rest of us and listeners at home. This just goes to show anything can happen so always be prepared. Be careful, take care of yourself, bring candy and bring a poncho just in case. So, Michael, thanks as always for being on with us. We really appreciate it.
Michael: Awesome. Thanks for having me.
Ian: And listeners. As always, go online and check out the audio guide and transcript online at www.dynamicenglish.cl. Thanks for listening.
Paige: We'll see you next time.
Paige: Coffee with Gringos was brought to you by Dynamic English, where you can learn English simply by using it. If you're interested in taking classes or just want to learn more, go to our website at dynamicenglish.cl. Thanks for listening.
Key Vocabulary, Phrases & Slang:
1. mic (noun): microphone.
a. We are going to pass the mic to our guest to explain his story.
2. harrowing (adjective): traumatic, distressing, painful.
a. The man told us a harrowing story of survival and fear.
3. to set the stage (idiom): to introduce important details and context to a story.
a. Let me set the stage for you all so you can understand what happened to me.
4. to chime in (phrasal verb): to add input or details to a story.
a. Please feel free to chime in if I forget any important details as to what happened.
5. to zigzag (verb): to move back and forth, left to right; not in a straight motion.
a. The mountain trail zigzags for more than five hours.
6. grumpy (adjective): bad-tempered; irritable; not happy.
a. He was very grumpy because he fell into the cold water with all his clothes.
7. hiatus (noun): a time pause or gap in a sequence, series or process.
a. We decided to take a short hiatus in order to eat lunch and gather more energy.
8. slog (noun): a spell of difficult, tiring work or effort.
a. The hike up the mountain was a real slog due to all the rain and mud.
9. to meander (verb): to wander at random without direction.
a. He began to meander through the woods, looking for an exit.
10. to hunker down (phrasal verb): to stay in one place and take cover without moving.
a. He decided to hunker down under a rock to stay out of the wind and rain.
11. saving grace (noun): an encouraging or redeeming quality.
a. His saving grace was having good knowledge on how to survive in the wild.
12. chilly (adjective): uncomfortably cool or cold.
a. The night air became chilly and I needed to put on another jacket.
13. to the dot (idiom): exactly on time.
a. I made it down the mountain at six am to the dot.
14. to flag (verb): to get someone’s attention usually by using one’s arms as signals.
a. We need to flag someone down so we can find some help.
15. to press (verb): to question someone or something in order to get more information.
a. We should have pressed the woman to get more information on where to go.
16. dejected (adjective): sad; depressed; dispirited.
a. I felt so dejected after learning that I still had many hours to walk to find safety.
17. Murphy’s Law (noun): a supposed law of nature that says that anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
a. This entire trip has felt like Murphy’s Law as things keep getting worse and worse.
18. hindsight (noun): understanding of a situation or event only after it has happened.
a. In hindsight, I should have not left the group.
19. swamp (noun): a very wet area of ground where water collects.
a. The trail basically became a swamp due to all of the rain and mud.
20. frostbite (noun): injury to the body tissues caused by extreme exposure to the cold.
a. He was most worried about getting frostbite as the night became very cold.