The Kim Family

The story of the Kim family made the national news, but it dominated things here in Oregon.  It was a story that resonated with many people for many reasons, but I think the reason it was so compelling was that we could all put ourselves in that place.  Right now there are three climbers missing on Mount Hood and while I feel for them and their families, there is an inherent risk in mountain climbing.  My psyche and I can distance ourselves from that event by acknowledging that we would never endanger ourselves that way.  But driving home from a trip through the mountains of Oregon?  Hell, we were on the same part of I-5 (albeit headed in a different direction) on the same day that the Kim family got lost. 

 

We spent Thanksgiving with my family in Lake Tahoe.  We'd broken the drive there into two days by leaving after school on Tuesday and spending the night in Weed(dude!) , California.  The next morning we drove the last few hours to Lake Tahoe.  We took a shortcut on a  small two lane road that made for a glorious drive at high elevations.  This shortcut allowed us to bypass taking I-5 all the way to Sacramento.  Between the holiday traffic and the fact that a stretch of I-5 was down to one lane due to construction, we were hot to avoid that whole area.  Our trip there was uneventful and we easily shaved off an hour of driving time.

 

When it came time to leave, we planned to make the trip all in one day.  We knew bad weather was approaching and Ritu spent a lot of time checking traffic and weather forecasts and studying the available routes.  We were already looking at 12 hours of driving and we toyed with the idea of going back the way we'd come, using that same mountain shortcut.  There seemed to be a chance that we could get up and over the Sierras before the storm hit.  After wavering on the issue for a bit, we ultimately decided to play it safe, drive to Sacramento and pick up I-5 there.  It meant an additional 70 miles of driving, not to mention delays due to construction.   Our trip back was slow going.  We hit snow in northern California and had to chain up to get back into Oregon.  All in all, we spent 14 hours in the car that day, but we made it home safely.

 

How easily things could've turned.  The Kim family didn't do anything that I could point to and say "Well, I never would've done that."  That inability to detach myself from their choices made the story even more unsettling.  When the news came that they were missing it had already been nearly a week.  My trip home from Tahoe had mostly faded into the background.  For some reason, I felt guilty that I had resumed my regular life while they were still out there, lost. 

 

I found myself watching the news and checking websites obsessively.  I didn't see how they could've survived for 9 days.  Not with a baby.  When Kati and the girls were found, it seemed like a miracle and there was hope again.  They knew where to look now; they would find James.  I read news stories and checked again and again.  I found myself with a prayer/mantra:  "Find him.  Just find  him."   It was sometimes silent, sometimes whispered, sometimes yelled at the computer screen in frustration. 

 

I think the worst part was wondering if James Kim died thinking he had failed in his task.  If he was tormented with the thought that he had left his wife and babies to die.  Sure, the experts tell you to stay put if you get lost.  They tell you not to leave whatever shelter you have.  But if you've stayed put for over a week?  If you are watching your children slowly starve?  What then? 

 

In this day and age, we delude ourselves that we can conquer our surroundings.  We have cell phones, GPS, and all sorts of technology to keep us connected.  I think back to the pioneers who lost their lives on the Oregon Trail.  My God, we can travel in a matter of hours what used to take them weeks.  We can gather the information we need and be prepared.  But when that technological crutch is gone, we are no different than those who came before us.  For all of our advances, we end up at a disadvantage.  We ride in comfort in our climate controlled vehicles making the best of this temporary inconvenience we call travel.  We fail to appreciate that there are still parts of this country in which a wrong turn can lead to death.  Unlike the pioneers, we don't travel with months of supplies.  We don't know how to navigate through the wilderness.  We arrogantly believe that we are masters of our environment and it takes a tragic event like this to remember our humble place on this earth. 

 

I don't know what the lesson to be learned from this is.  Or even if there is one.  Maybe the rest of us will venture out better prepared because of this.  Maybe we'll heed the warnings a little more closely.    If nothing else, we'll appreciate just a bit more the health and safety of our loved ones and comforts and security that we too easily take for granted.