How NOT to find an ABANDONED plane wreck
#rvlife #travel #hopeslide #abandoned
2021-06-12
The Hope Slide
This week’s adventure was a return to the Hope Slide. Over the winter, we had set up camp for a day to learn about the history of this massive rock slide that wiped out the highway, a small lake, and killed several people. On that particular visit the snow was too deep for us to go searching for the abandoned plane wreck, but now that the snow has melted we have free range over the entire site. If you want to learn more about the history of the Hope Slide and the plane crash be sure to watch our video about it.
Hiking on the Hope Slide
Hiking on the Hope Slide is no easy task. For starters there is no specified trail, which can be freeing and anxiety-producing at the same time. How do you know which way to go? How do you know if you’re lost? You don’t, that’s the point. You go out in whichever direction your heart fancies and have a look around. The good news is that if you get up on a high point, of which there are many, you can see (almost) everything, including the parking.
The other tricky part about hiking on the Hope Slide is the fact that a lot of the rock fractures into pieces easily, so take care where and how hard you step. It’s the kind of terrain that you should already be comfortable on before heading out. As you’ll see in our video, it’s pretty tough to spot someone from the air, and no cell phone signal would also make it hard to call for help.
Abandoned Plane Wreck on the Hope Slide
So, as I said, we went in search of an abandoned plane crash on the Hope Slide. The only directions that we were able to find online were that it was located to the left (when facing the slide) and a 15 minute walk in. Not much to go on, but Jay had a theory on where it might be based on the story he had read about the crash. So off we went.
We covered a lot of ground, but somehow came to the conclusion that it would be an even better idea to split up so we could cover even more ground... That did not turn out to be a better idea. In fact, that turned out to be a very bad idea. Having no cell phone signal, and having left our walkie talkies in the truck, we now had no way of communicating with each other! We spent more time searching for each other than we did the plane! Lesson learned.
Back to our search for the plane. Have you ever gone searching for something only to realise it was right in front you? Maybe you asked where your glasses were and they were on top of your head. Or maybe you search everywhere for your phone only to realize it was in your other pocket? This was not one of those times… It was like trying to find a small needle in a haystack. In the end, we did not find the plane this time, but we did exclude a large portion from our search area for next time. It will take time and patience, and (hopefully) one day we’ll find it.
Until next time, keep on living the life you’ve imagined!
Mel, Jay & Benny