I made it to Cauldare in record time. It was probably about two-thirty in the morning when I reached the base of the mountain. I grabbed my backpack and camping bag, and started heading up.

My goal was to camp just outside of the range of the preserve, surrounded by nothing but trees and nature. I hiked for a few hours in the darkness, just my lantern in hand. By the time I found a pretty good place to make camp, the sun had begun to rise and I could see a small cabin just a few yards away. I trudged through the trees to get a better look, the sun painted the clouds beautiful shades of purple and blue. It was still pretty dark, but I was mostly able to make out my surroundings even without the lantern. The scent of pine needles filled my nose. I sat back in the snow against a tree.

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Finally, I was out of my mothers grasp. Even if only for a little while. I felt exhilarated… And exhausted from staying up all night, but I decided to sit, gazing at the sunrise a little longer before going to sleep. There was no smoke coming from the chimney of the cabin in the distance, so I made a mental note to check it out later. I stood up, and turned to go back to the clearing when the snow under my right foot slid out from under me.

I took a step back, but I couldn’t feel the ground under me. I grasped at a tree branch but it was too late, by the time my brain caught up with my body. All I could feel was air passing by me, before the slam of my body against what I could only assume was a giant boulder. Then the twisting and turning, it was almost as if I was rolling down a hill, only the hill was made of knives. Finally, everything came to a stop when I again slammed against something hard. I had only a minute to try to get my bearings straight before I was compressed, cold, and unable to move at all.