Throughout my life I have spent a good amount of time in the wilderness and I've learned a lot of lessons while there. I learned the most when I was fourteen and spent five weeks at a wilderness camp in Durango, Colorado. We did everything from horseback riding to canoe trips to learning what water we should and shouldn't drink. We even had a emergency while scaling down a mountain when a fellow camper created an avalanche because he took a wrong path down the mountain. He was struck in the back by a small bolder so the other campers and I built a makeshift gurney from our backpack frames to carry him down the mountain. He was later air lifted by helicopter from the base of the mountain and fortunately he wasn't significantly injured. Never the less, my experience on that mountain taught me a lot about mental strength and staying calm while under stress. Even with the danger I encountered, I wouldn't change a thing about my time in Durango. In fact, it prepared me for what I was to face my senior year of high school during what was meant to be a bonding experience in the Stanislaus National Forest.
             Alex was in my high school class and went with us to Stanislaus National Forest. He was normally a quiet guy but was fired up during an impromptu game of pigskin. I don't even remember who threw the pass, but I can still see Alex stretched out for the ball, accidentally wedging his foot under a log that was hidden in the tall grass. The log stopped him in his path like a doorstop. Alex yelled out in pain immediately as he grabbed his ankle. I could tell this was no small sprain. It was the worst case scenario.
             What had once started as a bonding experience had now turned into a rescue mission. It was earlier that morning I had looked around my surroundings in a almost guilty manner knowing how lucky I was to be experiencing Mother Nature and the beautiful views. Once we had come to conclusion Alex's ankle was probably broken,
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