“You were doing a survey to determine if an archaeological site would be harmed if an emergency shelter was built near a trail.”
She smiled. “You were paying attention.” She crossed the room to a table that was stacked with brochures for tourists, unharmed by the battle that had taken place here. She grabbed a stack from the tabletop and returned to the group, setting the trifold pamphlets on the coffee table in front of the hearth, between the facing couches where everyone had gathered.
“This is a park guide for trails in the vicinity of the lodge.” She opened one and pointed to a dotted line a fair distance from the line drawing of the lodge.
Flyte grabbed a map, as did others. Audrey moved to stand by Xavier so he could look over her shoulder at the page.
“They weren’t just building an emergency shelter for hikers caught in a storm. The plan was to put in cellular antennas, giving my project area a bigger footprint. It’ll be one of the few lower elevations where a cell signal is possible—there isn’t much point in putting up a tower in the middle of the trees where the signal won’t carry far.”
“But the terrain is better there?”
“Yes, there’s a decent rise and clearing.”
“How far is it from here?”
“Roughly seven miles. Four by road—backtracking toward the gate. There’s a wide pull-off for parking where there’s a mile long trail that gets you halfway to the ridge, then it’s nearly two miles of backcountry hiking to reach Lost Goat Trail and the proposed emergency shelter location.”
“But avoiding both road and trail, how far is that?” Xavier asked.
“All backcountry? Five, maybe six miles. You still can’t go as the crow flies because it’s steep and heavily forested. The ground will be really slippery, requiring a lot of switchbacks instead of hiking straight up.”
Cohen frowned at the brochure. “Please tell me there’s an antenna in place there now?”
She shook her head, “Sorry. No. But it’s a hike no one would expect. They’ll be watching for us to head west, toward the edge of the park and the towns along the coast, or to go north along Lake Olympus Road toward the gate. Like last night, when we sheltered far from the lake and lodge, it’ll be safer. Unexpected because it’s such a difficult hike that seemingly goes nowhere that would help us.”