Ranger

Normally I wouldn't have.

Normally a permit group at that time of year, with a clean forecast, goes up alone.

But these three had applied separately.

None of them had listed an emergency contact who was a relative.

Two of them had requested the same specific bunk.

All three permits had been filed in the same 40-minute window on a Tuesday afternoon, nine days before.

My supervisor flagged it as unusual and asked me to accompany them.

I agreed.

I hadn't been up to Elk Pass since July, and I wanted to check the stovepipe before winter closed the trail.

I met the three of them in the parking lot at the trailhead at 7.30 in the morning.

I'll give you the names as they appeared on the permits.

Trent Weller, 29 years old.

Address in Bozeman, Montana.

Occupation listed as seasonal laborer.

He was a thin, tall, sharp-featured man with a beard that hadn't been trimmed recently.

He carried a 70-liter pack that was visibly well-used and organized in a way that told me he had done this before.

He shook my hand, made eye contact, and didn't say more than he needed to.

Elise Varga, 34 years old, address in Portland, Oregon, occupation listed as freelance editor.

She was shorter, maybe 5'5", with shoulder-length brown hair tucked up under a wool cap and a steady look that a person gets after they've been doing something difficult for a long time.

her pack was lighter than trent's but put together with the same economy she thanked me for meeting them and introduced herself by her first name clark morrison fifty-three years old address in boise idaho occupation listed as regional sales manager