Greetings all. My granddaughter led me here, told me it's a place where people who enjoy the spooky and the supernatural come to get their fix. She is helping me share my own story, thought you folks might be tickled by it. These events came back to me at a recent family reunion. For fun, the last of us awake that night went in a circle and swapped our scariest moments stories.

It was a good time, and as family members shared UFOs and creaky attics and near-death experiences,

a trick floorboard in my mind popped up, exposing something my subconscious had long kept hidden, perhaps for my own good.

So when their eyes all turned to Grammy K, likely expecting tales of past-era poverty or teenagers with tattoos or the trials of childbirth,

I leaned in and recounted to them the time I found a lost man in the woods. It caused

quite a stir with the family, and at the insistence of my darling granddaughter, I share it with you now.

This is something that happened when I was in my 20s. I won't embarrass myself by telling you

how long ago that was, but suffice to say, I am quite a bit grayer above

the ears these days. My first husband, Ronald, was a ranger, and for five years, we lived together

on BLM land. Our regular backcountry excursions instilled in me a passion for the out-of-doors

that was uncommon for a lady back then.

Women might be found on a long walk or at a national park with their husband and children in tow,

sure, but I was partial to taking a knapsack and charging into pure, isolating wilderness,

often spending two or three days at a time following trails or inventing my own.

Those excursions were often my greatest peace three days at a time following trails or inventing my own. Those excursions were often my greatest piece, especially after Ronald passed in our sixth year together.

It was about a year after Ronald's passing and I was setting out for a two-day trek in the Pacific Northwest.

Washington or Oregon, I think, though that detail still remains beneath the floorboards.

The trail looked attractive on the map, as it followed a river through a vast mountain valley

that separated two small towns.

I believe it had once served as a supply route between the towns before the road system came,

after which it was merely a recreation trail, though not one to be

taken lightly. The locals would warn all but the most avid outdoorsmen to avoid the route,

...