Chapter 14: The Hike
Cody and Lizzie went hiking through the back country for the day. They often do this on their day off to explore the park. The two really enjoyed hiking and exploring the trails. It was a beautiful summer day. Not a cloud in the sky and temperatures in the seventies. Before leaving they checked Bear Management to see if there were any reports of Bears near the Specimen Ridge Hike Trail. There were no reports of Bears in the area. They climbed up to the top of the ridge. They sat, had a picnic lunch, and admired the beautiful scenery. They looked at the petrified trees at the top of the ridge. While walking down. They noticed some black bears. Cody and Lizzie took caution and stayed a safe distance away. Once the bears moved away from the area where Cody and Lizzie were heading, they continued back to their truck. They kept a more watchful eye on their path and kept a steady pace.
When they made it back into the truck, Lizzie asked, "Have you ever seen a bear so up close?"
"Yeah, once when I was about fifteen," Cody answered as he was reaching for a radio in his glove box, "Dispatch, this is Ranger Hawkes,"
Voice over the radio responded back, "Ranger Hawkes, come back."
"I want to report two black bears spotted in the Specimen Ridge Day hiking trail, over." Cody reported.
"Copy Ranger Hawkes, we will forward the information to Bear Management, over."
"Copy, Ranger Hawkes out." Cody handed the radio to Lizzie. Cody started up the truck and they started heading out.
"So, tell me about your encounter with a bear?" Lizzie asked.
Cody started telling the story, "I was about fifteen at the time. I had been horseback riding when I came across these two deaf teenage girls. They led me back to their camp. I joined them for dinner and talked to the parents. The couple had adopted seven deaf kids and trained the kids to stay together and to use mirrors, flashlights, and handkerchiefs to communicate in the wilderness. While we were eating dinner, a big black bear came into the camp and mulled the father. I should have known something was up as my horse, Cooper was a bit spooked. The kids all took off in different directions. Five of the kids came back, but the two teenage girls did not. The bear was wounded and went in the same direction as the girls. Once Matt got there with the chopper to airlift the father to the hospital, I got a radio and followed the girls. I did not find them until the next day. I found them right before the bear did. We climbed up an old fire tower. I used one of their mirrors to shine a light in the bear's eyes and he ran away. The girls climbed down, as I kept an eye on the bear. The girls got to a safe place and the bear came back to the fire tower, I was walking around the top when some of the boards gave way and I fell through and was hanging about two stories up. Trying to keep away from the bear. My dad came just then and tranquilized the bear. He made me find my own way down and then I had to help him move the bear to the back country where no one could find him, or he would not be a danger to anyone."
"So, your dad let you out there by yourself?" Lizzie asked.
"Yeah, Matt was not too happy about it. He thought I was too young to go out there by myself. No way I was going let him tell me I…." Cody paused mid-sentence as he saw a heard of bison running a crossed the road in front of them. There were some people standing outside of their cars taking pictures when a couple of them were trampled by the bison. "What the…." Cody sped up to get closer. "Lizzie, call it in."
Lizzie got on the radio she was still holding, "Dispatch, this is Ranger Donavan."
"Ranger Donavan this is dispatch come back."
"We are driving on the Northeast Entrance Road, just west of Specimen Ridge Hike Trail and right before the Grand Loop Road. We may have just spotted two visitors being trampled by a heard of Bison. Ranger Hawkes and I are approaching the seen now, over."
"Copy Ranger Donavan. We are on standby until you can confirm. What is your eta, over?"
"Eta less than two minutes, over."
"Copy"
Once they get close, Cody is more cautious as he watches for more bison to come running. The coast was clear. He jumped out of his truck and so did Lizzie. He ran to the back and got his emergency kit. Lizzie ran over to the victims. They were in bad shape.
Lizzie got on the radio and called it in, "Dispatch, this is Ranger Donavan, over."
Dispatched answered back, "Ranger Donavan, this is Dispatch, over,"
Cody started assessing the victims' injuries and had grabbed someone to help him with the first one.
"Dispatch, there are two injured persons. A man around 50 and a woman around 20 that have been trampled by the Bison. We need chopper extraction asap, over." Lizzie said. She gave them their location and then went over and helped Cody. She had a hard time looking at the blood and wounds. Cody could tell she was struggling.
"Lizzie, look at me. You are going to be okay, take a few deep breaths, close your eyes if you need to," Cody said in a calming voice.
Lizzie did what Cody said, and it helped. She shook her head yes, "Okay, how can I help you?"
"Put these gloves on," Cody handed her some gloves. "I want you to put pressure here." Cody placed her hands right where he wanted her to put pressure. "If you start feeling woozy or faint. Just look up, take some deep breaths, and close your eyes if you need to. Just make sure you keep the pressure on the wounds."
Lizzie nodded yes to Cody. Cody went over to check on the other injured visitor. He put some pressure bandages on the wounds. The sounds of the chopper came quickly. The chopper landed on the road. Jerry, Cody's boss, was the pilot and Kevin a paramedic that Cody also knew.
They both came running over to Cody, "We have a 52-year-old male named Doug Clark and 19-year-old female, Isabella Clark both trampled by bison. Mr. Clark has been conscious on and off. Ms. Clark had not woken up. She has a broken femur. Both has lost significant amounts of blood. Both their lungs sound clear."
Kevin applied some more first aid to the injured visitors. They put neck braces on them before they moved them onto the backboards. The three men got the 2 injured visitors onto the chopper, "Cody, good job. They have a chance," Jerry said. Kevin and Jerry got into the chopper, and they took off right away.
Cody just nodded as the adrenaline rush was just hitting him. He looked over to Lizzie and could see she was breathing hard. He ran over to her. She pulled her gloves off, bent over and threw up.
When Cody reached her, he began to rub her back as she threw up some more. "Lizzie, are you okay?" She turned and looked at him with tears in her eyes. She was obviously shaking. "Honey, you are going to be okay." Cody just held her until she could settle down.
There were sounds of sirens in the distance. They were quickly getting closer by the minute. Once the rangers got there. One of the Rangers went to be with the wife and took her to the hospital. The investigation crew came and took eye witness statements. Cody and Lizzie were both able to make their statements. They were both covered in blood and wiped out. One of the rangers drove Cody's truck back to their apartment. Cody too was a little shaken and he wanted to keep holding onto Lizzie on the ride back.
Lizzie and Cody made it back to Cody's apartment. They were both quiet and spent, especially Lizzie. Cody helped Lizzie get cleaned up in the shower. She could barely stand by the end, her legs had been shaking so much.
He walked her over to the bed and she just sat at the edge of the bed. He would softly speak to her. "Lizzie, you did so good today. I love you. You're going to be okay."
"Cody, I can't stop shaking," Lizzie said.
"I know. You are going to be okay. Just take a deep breath." Cody said rubbing her head. "I love you."
Cody went to the kitchen and got a glass of orange juice. "Drink some of this." He handed her the glass, and she had a sip. He took the glass and took a sip as well. He gave it back to her. He went into the bathroom and got her hair brush. While she sat there and sipped the juice he went and brushed her hair.
"Cody, I have never seen anything like that before," Lizzie was trying to make sense of it all.
"I know. Are you feeling any better?" Lizzie shook her head yes. Cody led her to the living room and onto the couch where they snuggled close together and processed the day.
"Cody, you were amazing. You knew exactly what to do. You stayed calm through it all," Lizzie said. "Have you ever seen anything like that before?"
"Not to that extreme. But I have seen enough to know, I needed paramedic training for this job. I have not gotten to use it much, except on minor things. I once saw my dad cut a baby out of the mother's wound. The mother died after a plane crash, Robin and I found her just a little too late. The baby was still moving. So, my dad carefully cut the baby out. The rangers still get Christmas cards from the family. The little girl is now ten or eleven years old."
"Wow, that is amazing," Lizzie said. "Why was I shaking so much?"
"You had an adrenaline rush. You just felt the after effects from it. I have experienced it a few times and have figured out how to handle it better," Cody said. "But honestly, I was shaken a bit too. Why I had someone drive us home."
A few weeks later Cody, Lizzie, Jerry, and Kevin were at the hospital where they got to visit the two injured visitors and their family. Both were doing better and were expected to make a full recovery, but still had long ways to go. After meeting with the family, a small ceremony was held to honor the rangers. They each received a metal of honor for their quick thinking and work to save the father and daughter.
The story made national headlines and was featured on the World News Tonight. The news anchor said. "Tonight, we go into the heart of Yellowstone National Park. Two weeks ago, during a family vacation, Nature Photographer Doug Clark and his daughter Isabella were taking photos of flowers alongside a road. When a stampede of bison came over a hill and the Clark family was directly in their path. There was no time for them to react or get out of their way. As faint has it, engaged couple and off duty National Park Rangers Cody Hawkes and Elizabeth Donavan just happened to be driving down the road returning from a day of hiking. Something the couple often does on their day off. The couple had been delayed returning from their hike when they stumbled on some black bears. Because of this delay, they witness the bison stampede. Ranger Hawkes, who is also a first responder, carries a radio with him wherever he goes. He also has a paramedic bag in his truck. Not even 10 minutes after calling in the bear sighting, they called in the bison stampede. That allowed the rescue chopper and paramedic team to assemble and prepare to take off immediately. Ranger Hawkes along with Ranger Donavan went into action and started treating the Clark family wounds."
"I could not be prouder of Ranger Hawkes and Ranger Donavan. I know both well, they are both hardworking and a great couple." Jerry said.
"Ranger Milham is Ranger Hawkes commanding officer," the reporter said.
"We just did what anyone would have done in that situation. You don't see something like that and stand by and do nothing," Cody said.
"Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Toad on TV," Kelly said to her parents has they all watched proudly. There were images of Cody and Lizzie talking to the families and getting their metals.