November 9: Day 4

Waking up at 6:30 in a public restroom, Harold decided to forgo breakfast while still feeling pretty good about the fact that he was able to keep a small amount of mashed potatoes down. Harold doubled up on the electrolites in his water with hopes of preventing cramping and hitting the energy wall, after all he had not kept much food down for the past three days.

Going about the business of melting snow and sending an e-mail from the SPOT satellite transmission device to notify the pickup team that they were exiting and needed picked up later that day, Harold and Derek set out on the last day at 9:00am.

Having stopped off at Horseshoe Lake for it's public restrooms, the duo had 8 miles to hike that day, Derek with blisters from his wet boots, Harold with a broken boot and the flu, both with a 100 lb pack on a sled dragging behind, and a huge sense of disappointment.

Not the easiest of days.

With all the snow that had fallen, the two had to hike out past the trail head and down the road knowing that the pickup team (Harold's family) would not be able to get to them through the drifts.

Just as Derek spotted the gate at the highway, Harold's brother, wife, and daughter pulled up in the envoy. Harold's wife Mickie said, "Geez! I didn't recognize you! I don't know why. You just don't look like you." Harold's brother agreed saying Harold looked sickly and white.

Harold broke down saying, "I didn't want to come back." Even though after four days and three nights he had kept down food for only one!

"I know that we made the right decision to turn around, with the broken boot and being sick, but especially the wet sleeping bag," says Harold looking back, "Still, that was a hard decision, emotionally, to make. It was exactly then that I vowed to myself that I was gonna come back."