Luckily, at about that time, I buddied up with a somewhat cantankerous, but very helpful, guy named Rod. He had become a local legend for his ability to consistently find gold.

The temptation to enter the dark interiors beckoned to me before the day was finished but I resisted.

He could tell that the top part just slid partway down over the bottom half. So, he tried to twist it apart with his hands. No go!

My right rib cage took the brunt of the blow from the fall, which left me feeling partially paralyzed and in immense pain.

I noticed an area which I could crawl through to keep going in a straight line. I got about three feet into the pile and Bob yelled for me to stop…

Making matters worse, we could feel the truck moving very slowly down the mountain along with the trees and mud. It was an uncomfortable sinking feeling, as you might guess.

I learned the next day that I was not the only one that had crossed paths with a bear. Dick told us about his harrowing experience from the previous night.