Ranger Lynn

Chapter 1: Where Is It?

As the sun sank below the peak, Lynn panicked. She was lost and alone high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. She knew the temperature would drop below freezing tonight. Even after an hour of searching, Lynn was clueless about which direction to go. Her heart raced as she realized her predicament.

“Where is it? Where did I leave it!” Lynn asked a squirrel chattering on a nearby branch.

“What kind of crazy outdoorswoman loses her tent?”

The squirrel just flipped his tail and scurried farther up the tree. No help there.

Her day had started at dawn. She had lugged her heavy pack up the steep mountain for hours. While trudging upwards, she remembered childhood camping trips with her dad. She had loved being in the woods. As a young girl, she had wanted to become a forest ranger. Now, years later, she was finally free to pursue her dream. This trip was the first step in her new life. She wanted to prove to herself that she could succeed on her own. Instead she was going to freeze to death on her first night!

How could she have been so careless? After setting up her camp on a ridge, she had spied a tiny blue lake below. It was irresistible. Before she knew it, she was swimming in the icy water. It had felt so refreshing she thought to herself, “This is the life!”

It was only after she got out that she realized she had failed to notice which direction she had come from. Now all the trees looked alike.

She hiked in the direction she thought she remembered, but nothing. After an hour of searching, she was getting more and more frustrated. A light breeze blew through her hair, still damp from the lake. Lynn shivered. All of her self doubts came rushing at her.

“Why did I think I could do this?” she asked out loud startling a flock of chickadees. But they merely hopped a few feet away, intent on gathering a last meal before roosting. Night was fast approaching.

Lynn was rooted to the spot. Her mind was racing in circles. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t think. Suddenly the squirrel began scolding again, breaking into her terrified thoughts.