Carter Roy

While in the mountains, his group got lost.

Everyone was struggling, but Alfred's feet froze and he developed snow blindness, which is an eye sunburn, ow, caused by overexposure to UV rays, usually as they bounce off snow or ice.

He reached the point where he was too weak to keep up with the others, so they abandoned him.

After that, he managed to survive on rabbits and rosebuds.

He says he has no idea if his companions are still alive.

Now, there's something that doesn't quite add up for people about Alfred's account.

For a man who just spent two months on the brink of starvation, he looks surprisingly well-fed.

In fact, his first stop after reaching civilization isn't to get food.

He's much more interested in whiskey, which people are happy to provide.

It's obvious he's been through a lot.

But something strange happens when Alfred goes to pay his tab.

The man who couldn't pay for his provisions on the trip pulls out a big, fat wad of cash.

In April 1873, Alfred Packer returns from a near-death trip in the San Juan Mountains.

And over the next few weeks, he spends a lot of time getting drunk and answering questions.

Turns out, in 19th century rural Colorado, a man stumbling out of the wilderness is very high on the list of interesting things to talk about.

Now,

When he's sober, Alfred mostly avoids questions, brushes them off, changes the subject.

But when he's drunk, he opens up, which presents a problem for Alfred because, again, he's drunk a lot.

And over time, people start to notice inconsistencies in his version of events.

Nothing major, but when combined with his behavior since coming back...