Một Ngày Bị Kẹt Giữa Thung Lũng Long Valley

Life Alone Among the Mountains

A few weeks ago, I took a solo trip to the Sierra Nevada mountains for the weekend. Sometimes, I truly enjoy that solitude. The place where I usually go skiing is about a five-hour drive from L.A. Each time I go, I often set off on Friday evening and usually stop to sleep in my car at a rest area or public campground. The next morning, I wake up to find the mountains right before my eyes.

Exploring Long Valley

On this trip, after a day of skiing, I decided to explore Long Valley. A caldera is essentially a large hole formed by a volcano collapsing. The Long Valley caldera occurred about 700,000 years ago. It is truly one of the largest calderas in the world, measuring 20 miles wide and 11 miles long, located near my favorite ski area, Mammoth Mountain.

On the surface, it appears to be a vast flat field covered in forest. But beneath the ground, there is still an active magma reservoir, heating the groundwater and creating my favorite features: hot springs and little ponds that pop up all over the field where the hot water bubbles up. I can soak in them on chilly days.

Searching for Hot Springs

Although there are good maps of Long Valley, I didn’t have one. Instead, I decided to search for 'hot springs' on Google Maps and just go for it. I drove down the highway, turned left at an old green church I remembered, and continued a few miles down the paved road. Then, I reached a fork that Google Maps indicated would lead to some hot springs.

The Challenge on the Difficult Road

The ponds here have names like Crab Cooker, Wild Willy’s, and Hilltop. But the issue was that the road hadn’t been cleared of snow. It was covered in snow and ice. My vehicle wasn’t four-wheel drive. I should have thought it through more carefully… but I didn’t. In fact, I had ventured down many roads I shouldn’t have. As an international reporter, I’ve witnessed many harsh situations.

An Unforgettable Experience

Upon reaching the caldera, I drove along the rough road. Despite the bumps, I managed to keep going. Finally, I arrived at the first hot spring, and it was amazing. It was a small warm water pool surrounded by smooth stones, nestled amid the snowfield with the Sierras on the horizon. The vast blue sky welcomed me, and I had the pond all to myself.

I sent some selfies to my friends, saying, 'Look what I found.' A few people had just finished soaking in the pond and were preparing to leave. They mentioned they were going to try the next pond a few miles away. They also didn’t have a four-wheel drive but were eager to give it a go.

The Crisis Begins

I waved goodbye to them, saying I wasn’t brave enough to take the risk. But when I returned to my van, I was in good spirits. The first spring wasn’t warm enough, and I knew the ponds deeper in the caldera would be warmer. The sun was shining, and the sky was so blue. I decided to venture a bit further. When my vehicle got stuck, I didn’t think it was a big deal. Even though I was in the middle of nowhere, I still had cell service. I figured I’d call AAA, and everything would be fine, as it usually is.

Then Things Went South

Seven hours later, I truly began to question my life choices. I don’t believe in running out of luck, but it felt like my luck had run dry. A crucial tip: if you’re in the middle of a caldera on a small road, AAA won’t come to help you. They consider it a shortcut.

Help from Strangers

The road was very narrow, and my tires were stuck deep in the icy ruts. Strangely, there were others around, so I waved them down. After a while, a group of people drove up and said they had a tow rope. They managed to pull my vehicle out of the stuck position, but then I got stuck again. We tried back and forth, but they began to worry they would get stuck too. It was starting to get dark. Eventually, they had to leave because they had a child in the car.

The Final Challenge

At this point, I had to be honest with myself. I started to worry that I might have to spend the night here. While I had been in worse situations, like once sleeping overnight in a school in Syria, this was nature. What if it snowed again? I could survive in my car for a while, as I had a bed, blankets, a stove, and a refrigerator with food. But how would I get out?

A Final Hope

Before the guys with the tow rope left, they actually gave me the number of a professional who might come and tow me out. For a fee. I called her. She said her truck was in the shop. But she gave me the number of another guy. I called him, and he quoted a hefty price. Like hundreds of dollars. So I tried to get myself out. I let the air out of my tires. I put my floor mats under my tires and tried to use those for traction. I attempted to put the chains on, but that only works when you can actually move the vehicle forward to get the chains into place. I even tried digging out with a dustpan. Why do I have a dustpan? Eventually, I called the expensive guy back. His name was Tim. He sounded like he knew I was going to call him back. It took him a couple of hours to arrive, but he finally showed up in this jacked-up Jeep with a hefty tow rope and big treads to put under the tires for traction. I was so close to the part of the road that was safe to drive, but it still took about an hour for Tim to get me out. By this point, it was fully dark. Tim was super cool. He had worked on search and rescue teams. He was into marathon training at elevation. He had been in Iraq too. We traded some cool stories. I even later visited his house to continue our conversation.

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