The journey to the crash site is all up hill traveling along the side of one mountain through the forest, it overlooks a large valley area and then across to the next mountain.  We crossed over several small streams and by a couple of waterfalls resting from time to time and enjoying the views as we hiked. We spotted a few deer along the way. After about 4 miles, we came to the first checkpoint in our directions- a partially completed mine shaft along the trail where it splits to the right or left, our path was to the right. We pressed on, knowing we were probably just a couple miles from the crash site now. The next couple of miles went fairly quickly considering the anticipation, we kept figuring that the crash site would be around each and every  bend of the trail. It was then that we came across a debri trail in the forest. At first, we found small pieces of metal amidst groups of large boulders, then larger pieces, but they were too heavy and not of the right type of metal to have come from the B-17. We were getting close to the abandoned mine shaft. There were a couple of campsites in this area, but it was difficult to tell where the trail led from there as it seemed to branch out in all directions. We decided to dump our gear at one of the sites so that we could do a little recon without our cumbersome packs. We also decided we could cover more ground if we split up.

  Ed headed more or less along the side of the valley and I headed up the side of the mountain that we had been paralleling. We both found more evidence of the mine, some really cool old mining cars that were built to last. They were probably around at least 80 years old. There were more twisted up old rusting pieces of debri as well. I came across an opening in the forest that went up a couple of hundred feet across the side of the mountain. It didn't seem like a natural feature and I pondered it for a moment, then I recognized what I was looking at.  This huge open area was probably the tailings from the mine shaft opening located some where up above, but out of sight. Ed and I met back up at the appointed rendezvous spot and decided to check out the area I  had found. Grabbing our gear, we headed to the area with renewed enthusiasm. The tailings pile was made of broken, crumbling, loose rock. It was nearly vertical and at least a couple hundred feet tall. There didn't seem to be any way to go around it to the top, but there was a chute that loose rocks had been falling down to one side, and this seemed to be our best shot at getting up there . So, up we went! This is where things started to get a little sticky. We would basically crawl on our hands and knees about 5 feet forward and then slide about 3 feet back. Who ever was in the lead knocked loose rock and rubble down on to the person following. Several times the person following  would catch the person in the lead as they slid down the chute and into the person following. Eventually, we made it to the mine shaft. Our boots and pockets filled with sand and gravel and our faces looked like we had been eating dirt. Come to think of it, we had! The entrance to the mine shaft was about 6 ft tall by about 4 or 5 ft wide with a stream trickling out of the mouth. There was a small pool in front of it. We took a well earned rest and soaked our feet in the cold water (needless to say we didn't drink from it). After a time, the lure of the mine shaft got to be too much for us. Of course, we were looking for the crash site, but we were here and adventures of opportunity really shouldn't be ignored. We stashed our packs, dug out our flashlights and headed in. The water was about a 1 or 2 ft. deep, certainly less hardy souls would not want to get their feet and boots wet. Who knows what we might find in here, the shaft was carved out solid rock and there was no evidence of there ever having been any shoring or support timbers. As we got further in, the shaft narrowed and the roof got lower. The light from the entrance was now shrinking behind us, Ed said -what if the floor has a hole in it and we drop through? Hmm, a deep thought I said, guess we'd be swimming then . Ed said he could use a bath at this point, anyway. We pressed on. The entrance was way behind us now, about the size of a postage stamp. The water was getting deeper and the entrance disappeared altogether. It was about then that I had a strange thought, I asked Ed if he had ever seen a Gary Larson cartoon (Farside) that had a mother bear with a human skull on each paw  puppet like (wearing hunters caps) entertaining her two cubs. I believe the caption said "hey, Ed what do you think's in that old cave?... I don't know lets go see."  Not long after that, we decided we had a crash site to find and started to work our way back out. We vowed someday to return with dry suits, masks, snorkels, and dive lights (not to mention everything else we'd think would have to be brought along -see packing light), but that's another story. Who knows what's back there!

  After extracting ourselves from the mine shaft, we were faced with a dilemma. The directions we had said to go the left of the mine shaft and up the mountain from there. Above the mine shaft, the mountain was a sheer rock cliff for about a 1000 ft. -no humanly possible way to go on the left side. There was a small notch along the right side. Maybe we could traverse our way along the face from right to left. We climbed as far as we could, but turned back when we could go no father up the left side. What to do??? Upon further examination, It appeared we might be able to work our way up the right side, but the directions clearly were to the left. We decided to climb up the right side as far as we could. Maybe there would be a break to the left at some point further up. We began to climb, after several hundred feet we found a break to the right. It was the only way to go, so we did. At this point, the forest partially encroached on the cliff and we found a small trail right through blackberry thorns and stinging nettles. We pressed on, coming to an area where there had been a slide that had brought down several trees and large boulders all hung up in this notch in the rock face. There seemed to be no way to pass so we took five to rest. Once again dropping our packs for some recon, we found if we crawled under this whole mess dragging our packs behind us, we were able to get about half way through. Then, if Ed gave me a boost and handed the packs through to me I would be able to barely climb the outside of the fallen tree and pull the packs up behind me one at a time (I swore at this point to practice some light packing in the future). I stashed the packs on a rock outcropping just above the slide area and went down the tree for the third time to figure out how we'd get Ed up without someone to boost him. We locked hands, he jumped and I pulled from above. After a great amount of struggling, some skinned knees and elbows, he was up. We regained our composure and kept going. Eventually, we ran into a crevasse in the rock that headed still nearly vertical but across to the left and we followed that. After several hundred more feet and a couple more hours, we were nearly to the top. Again, we made our way through an area of giant fissures in the rocks that broke out to the top of the cliff face. We had made it(!), but where had we made it to?

  The area we were at was very rugged with a view that I am quite sure no other human had experienced before (maybe a mountain goat, but no other human). You could see the valley and the mountain across from it. By looking straight across at it, we judged we were not far from the top of the mountain we were on. Just one problem, the forest where we were at was virtually impenetrable, the slope of the mountain from where we were to the top wasn't too bad when compared to what we had just come up, but the terrain was SO rough and the forest SO dense that we could not make any head way against it. Every time we thought we were making some head way, we ended up back along the cliff face and it was really tough going. Where the hell was the trail? We were looking for it (the trail) and the B -17. Had to be up here somewhere! We had really eaten up a lot of daylight getting up there. The weather was starting to change and change quickly. The clouds where dropping into the valley between the mountain we were on and the one across from us and you could actually see the clouds dropping. The clouds where not so many feet above us now. The top of the cliff was extremely exposed to the weather and there was no place to bivouac down for the night. The sun was now disappearing over the mountain and into the clouds and it would be dark in short order. Ed and I had some choices to make, stay there at the top of the cliff exposed to the wind and weather or climb down the same impossible cliff we had just conquered, in the dusk with night hot on its heels. We might possibly get stuck in an even worse spot along the cliff face. We didn't have any good options, but what would be the best choice of the bad ones?????

                                find out in part III -Ed and Randy's Big Adventure or How I Wet Me Kecks