Chances and Changes: My Journey with Molly

I tell the others we should let the dog go. His injury won’t slow him down, so he’ll be able to find his way home. Molly, Linda, and I stand up and re-shoulder our rucksacks and canteens. The dog looks at us and wags his tail, and then trots off into the woods. He soon disappears. Watching him go, I say a silent thank you to Gem for teaching me how to care for animals.

Linda turns to us. How are we going to get ourselves back to camp? Molly doesn’t know. She says Barbara and Judy are probably worried. Linda asks if I have ever been lost in the woods. I confess that I once was when I was seven. Gem and I went for a walk in the spring before the trails were cleared. She told me to stay close, but I wandered off. I tell them that I was lost for a couple of hours because I was trying to find my way back. I was just walking in circles. When Gem found me, she taught me the first lesson of getting unlost in the woods: stop moving. It makes it easier for searchers to find you.

So I tell the girls that we should probably stay in one spot and just let ourselves be found. The good news is we’re on a marked trail. We’re not deep in the woods or stuck in a bush. But my friends don’t look reassured. I think I’ve scared them.

I tell them the second lesson is not to panic. We should just find a shady spot to sit and wait so anyone who’s looking for us can see us. We pick up our rucksacks and retrace our steps through the undergrowth to the trail. Linda spots a fallen log and we trudge over. I ask them how much water they have left. They uncap both of their canteens and take turns pouring some of the water into my canteen. Molly smiles. She says that at camp last year, they had classes in survival skills. Water is the most important thing to have when you’re out in the woods.

Linda nods and opens her rucksack. She says food is important, too. It’s a good thing she volunteered to carry some of the lunch supplies. We can make sandwiches. Linda suggests that we ration the food to make it last. I clarify that we’ll be found before we need to do any rationing. Linda looks doubtful, but she hopes I’m right. I explain that we haven’t been separated from the others for long. And Judy and Barbara are careful about doing camper counts. They probably already know we’re missing. As soon as they walkie-talkie back to camp, the counselors will know that we’re missing and they’ll start to look for us.

Molly asks if they’ll find us before it gets dark. I nod and say I think so. I glance at my watch. It’s barely past noon.

The bread for the sandwiches is pretty squished, but we all feel better after we’ve eaten. Molly says that she hopes the dog made it home and had some food. She would have given the dog some of her sandwich. Linda comments that he probably lives close by. There are a lot of farms around Camp Gowonagin. He’ll be home soon. I can tell she’s trying to make Molly feel better about letting the dog go. I chime in and say that he looked healthy and well-fed, so he probably wasn’t gone from home very long before he got stuck. Molly’s face brightens. She guesses it’s a good thing we got lost so we could find him.

Speaking of being found, Linda points up the trail and we turn to see two camp counselors walking down the hill towards us. Betty and Miss Archer have come to save us!