It was Sajean Geer’s 71st birthday, but she wasn’t celebrating it. No, Sajean had a rather mournful task to complete: she had to scatter her husband’s ashes in Olympic National Park, Washington.
She knew that she had to keep the promise she’d made to her husband, but when she pulled her Ford Explorer to the side of the road that day, she had no idea of the great adventure that awaited her…
Jack
Sajean and her husband Jack Geer had been married for 34 years before Jack succumbed to a heart attack in December of 2016. For months, the widow mourned her loss in a state of shock. She couldn’t believe he was really gone. Finally though, after months of grieving, she decided that it was time to honor Jack’s last wish and move on with her own life.
Spread the Ashes
Before he’d died, Sajean had promised that she would scatter Jack’s ashes at his two favorite places in the world: The Kona coast on the Big Island of Hawaii and near Obstruction Point, inside Olympic National Park. So she carried his urn with her that day and together with their dog Yoda, drove to the national park…
Uh-Oh…
She pulled her car over to the side of the road and wandered into the woods with Yoda in tow. Yet, no sooner had she scattered his ashes, than she found herself completely turned around in the seemingly endless maze of trees. To make matters worse, dusk was beginning to settle in: the sun was setting, and fast.
Tumbling Down
In an effort to see if she could catch sight of the road from a higher point, Sajean climbed a hill, still clutching the urn. She slipped on her way up and the impact sent the urn tumbling below. Overcome with emotion and more exhausted than she thought possible, Sajean stopped to collect herself…
No Provisions
When she got out of her car that day, all she had on her was a pair of sunglasses, a half-dead cell phone, her car keys, little Yoda, and the clothes on her back. It was certainly not an ideal situation for someone her age, or for anyone for that matter. Still, she got to her feet and walked on.
No Orientation
Unfortunately for Sajean, all of her outdoor experience had been on hiking trails, you know, the kind with signs and arrows pointing to the path. She’d never in her life experienced isolated wilderness. All she could see before her were trees and she had no way to orient herself in the darkening wood…
Walking
Sajean and Yoda slept in the open that first night, but spent the entire next day walking. She knew she was in a dire situation from the start. All she had on was a Hawaiian shirt, no jacket, no water bottle, no knife, nothing she could use to start a fire. Even her shoes were so flat and worn that they provided barely any traction.
Helpful Hints
Aching feet and rumbling belly aside, Sajean managed to remain calm. She was always an avid reader and had, by a strange twist of fate, become very interested in books on foraging and survival in recent years. She knew she had four things she needed to do now: find water, avoid being seriously injured, find shelter, and find a visible spot so that she could be rescued…
Keeping Positive
She knew that a positive attitude might be the thing that kept her alive. She wanted to keep motivated, to keep moving and stay alive. So Sajean thought of her family, her friends, her life back home. She remembered her decision to live even if Jack was gone and it kept her moving. It didn’t hurt that she had Yoda with her either.
Hunker Down
Three days in and Sajean decided it was too much to keep walking around aimlessly. She hunkered down and waited for a rescuer. There was just one problem: she hadn’t told anyone about her plans to spread Jack’s ashes that day. It could take days, possibly weeks for help to arrive…
A Shelter
She decided to build her shelter where two logs converged on the banks of a creek that wove its way through a steep, narrow valley. She built walls and a ceiling out of tree branches, and even used moss and bark to plug holes in the wall. It was safe and it was dry. At night, when the temperature dropped to the mid-40’s, she and Yoda would cuddle together.
Scavenge
Every morning, she and Yoda would make several trips up the creek to find water. Hunger hardly bothered her in the first few days, but by the fourth day, she was starving. What she really wanted was fresh cherries, but what she found were currents and young pine needles, which she knew could stave off some hunger. Still, she would need more…
Ant Bites
Sitting by the creek one day, Sajean felt an ant bite her hand. Rather than crush it or flick it away she realized “Well, I’ve got a bigger mouth than you,” and then ate it. She searched for the nest and began to scoop out ants as a source of protein. In the same vein, her previously spoiled and domesticated chihuahua mix had to learn to be wild as well.
Different Side
She saw a different side of Yoda during their ordeal. Her furry little friend would sit on her lap and jump into the air to catch passing flies or else he would help her dig up grubs for food. He learned to be a real dog during that ordeal. She couldn’t keep it up forever though, eventually someone had to find her…
Searching
Luckily for Sajean, even though she hadn’t told anyone her plans specifically, she had received a phone call the day she left. Her brother, Jack S. Eng, had called to wish her a happy birthday. Jack became very worried when he received a phone call from one of his sister’s friends in Hawaii who said she hadn’t answered messages in a few days, as it seemed very out of character.
No Trace
Jack Eng lived in Seattle, which wasn’t close to where his sister lived, so he asked police to check on her. The officers on the scene found no sign of her in her Port Angeles home, but they also didn’t find any sign of foul play. After that, Eng came down to Port Angeles to search for himself. Soon after, a local park ranger spotted her car on the side of the road…
Found Her
The park rangers sent out helicopters to search Olympic National Park. Meanwhile, Jack Eng stayed behind at the visitor’s center, listening intently to the radio for any sign of Sajean. As soon as she heard the helicopters, Sajean climbed up a log and found a spot where she could be seen. She waved at the circling copters and to her delight, they saw her.
Alive and Well
When they got her to a nearby hospital to check on her condition, the paramedics found that Sajean was a bit dehydrated, a bit scraped up and bruised, and covered in mosquito bites, but nothing too serious. She went home that very night, but stopped at the food store to buy a bag of cherries for herself and some dog food for her brave little Yoda. It had been the experience of a lifetime…
Learning About Herself
When Sajean reflects upon her adventure, she talks of how much she learned during the ordeal. “When you’re by yourself up in the wilderness with nobody to talk to except your dog, you learn a lot about yourself,” she explained. “I forced myself to look at … decisions I made that put me in my situation. I made a lot of mistakes.”
Yoda’s Fate
As for little 6-year-old Yoda, he’s doing quite well after spending six nights in the Washington wilderness.“Yoda’s doing good. He’s just tired,” said Sajean. “All he does is sleep these days.”
