On this day three years ago, @damonlandau and I went up Mt San Gorgonio and had a very unique experience. We started at the South Fork Trailhead and passed Dry Lake and the C47 crash site. As we neared the summit, the cloud formations overhead gave us quite a show that lasted all the way until sunset at Dollar Lake Saddle, where we stopped to camp. In the middle of the night, we woke up to the sound of an approaching helicopter. Then, all of the sudden there was a searchlight flickering through the trees. We wondered if there was a lost hiker in the area. But then the light hit our tent and stopped! I now knew the feeling that "alleged" criminals have at the end of the car chase. "What'd you do?!" I shouted at Damon over the sound of the helicopter. It was VERY close by this point and our tent was flapping in the rotor-wash. "Is it landing?" I poked my head outside and was immediately blinded. I tried to remember the arm motion to tell them we weren't the droids they were looking for. After what seemed like about five minutes, they got it and eventually took off, covering my face in ice crystals from the underside of the tent vestibule. I assumed I wouldn't get any sleep the rest of the night. I was wrong. I fell asleep immediately. A search of the news over the next couple days revealed nothing as to the reason that the helicopter woke us up. No lost hiker, no escaped fugitive, no car chase terminating at Dollar Lake Saddle. Just two dudes in a tent who are pretty sure they weren't hallucinating. . . . . . . . . . #carchase #americasmostwanted #helicopterblackops #conspiracytheories #imnotsayingitwasaliensbutitwasaliens #allegedly #mountains #peakbagging #yougetoutwhatyouputin #trailrunning #seenonmyrun #trailandultra #hiking #departedoutdoors #wildernessculture #timetoplay #sanbernardinomountains #taur #dirtbagrunners #dirtbagcollective #runsteepgethigh #trailandkale #phantomhogs #optoutside #chaseyourgoat #goatworthy #adventuretime #adventureisoutthere #peakbagger (at San Gorgonio Wilderness)
