Two hours earlier.
“I see you still have that horseshoe stuck up your ass.”
Ash ignores me and scans the area. “Where are the snowmobiles? And why are you messing with the cameras?”
I’m strapping on my chest harness with a GoPro attached to it. We didn’t wear the cameras on this trip, but we didn’t leave them behind just in case. And just in case just happened.
Ash showing up out of the blue like this is good luck, but then Ash has always had good luck. One of these days, we should make another trip to Vegas.
I finish with my harness. “Snowmobiles?” I don’t know what he’s talking about, and I don’t have time for one of his long explanations. Right now, I need him to suit up, and quick. “I was about to head back to the lodge when a Pacific fisher ran behind the shelter. Its head is stuck in a can.”
I’m glad to see he brought hisbag. It means he has his GoPro.
Ash is scanning the area with disappointment written on his face, or maybe it’s relief, I can’t tell. “That little…” he mutters under his breath.
“What’s wrong?”
He lets out a sigh. “Forget it.”
Whatever it is, we don’t have time. “Hurry!”
He drops his canvas currier bag to his feet and quickly reaches in the top. “I’m on it.”
As he pulls his GoPro and chest harness out, I point my flashlight into the trees. Even though my light isn’t much larger than a roll of quarters, it has a powerful 1800 lumens that lights up the forest like noonday. Ash and I invented the compact light two years ago. We made it for ourselves, but now Elsie sells them to the military, along with several of our other inventions.
Ash adds his light to mine. We can see just about everything now, so where is the little guy?
“If I remember right, there are only about three hundred Pacific fishers left.”
“I googled the wildlife in this area before we came,” he says. “It’s half that.” He drops to a knee, pointing his light into a dense thicket to our right. “Over there!”
It may be blinded by the can over its head, but it still hears us thrashing through the snow and trees. As expected, it takes off running. Ash and I split up trying to cut it off. I’m crashing through one low-hanging tree limb after another and Ash is doing the same while the fisher darts one way, turns, then bounces off a tree and keeps going. For a little guy with little legs, it’s fast.
After about thirty minutes of chasing the poor animal, I stop to lean against the trunk of a majestic Jeffrey pine to catch my breath. Runningthrough the snow is taking a lot of effort.
“Got it!” Ash calls out.
I point my light his way to see he has the fisher clutched to his chest. Thank goodness.
He carries the animal to the camp and sits on one of the camp chairs. “Dang, the can is really stuck. The sharp edges are cutting into its hide.”
I bend down and shine my light at it. “Looks like it’s been on there for a while. Look how emaciated she is.”
Ash rolls the fisher over. “Yep, she’s a she. Let’s take her back to the lodge. I think we’re going to have to call a vet.”
“Good idea. The Forest Service will want to know about her too. Pacific fishers have been on the endangered list for a while.”
As soon as we step through the doors at the lodge, staffers recognize the problem and call the manager. She comes down, gets a quick rundown on what’s happening, tells someone to call the forest rangers, and then instructs a guy at the front desk to see if he can get a hold of a veterinarian. A crowd has gathered around us, and there are more than a dozen cell phones recording everything.
After a while, I look up and see Blondie in the crowd. She’s with that cute, curvy girl, Rhonda. Figures they would be here. I’m glad to see Blondie again, but at the same time, it was kind of nice to have said our last goodbye.
Ash is sitting on the floor with the fisher in his lap while I examine the animal for obvious injuries.
“Forest rangers are on their way,” the lodge manager informs us. She’s a thin, gray-haired woman wearing one of the lodge’s red polos. She carries herself like an older version of Elsie, so there’s no mistaking who’s in charge. “And wewere able to reach a vet. She and the forest rangers should be here in about an hour.”
As soon as the crowd hears it’ll be an hour, they lose interest and start walking away.
Then Ash hands the fisher to me with, “Take her for a minute. I’ll be right back.”
