“I’m more worried about the trip back to the top,” she said to Gwen. “A two-mile grueling StairMaster trip like that might kill me.” Val grew irritated as she watched Jack. He wasn’t even out of breath as he quickly moved down the stairs.

“I’m already feeling like I could spit up a lung,” Gwen said. “I don’t know how I’m going to get back to our car.”

They pressed onward, silently. The further she went, the worse it was getting. All Val wanted to do was reach the end. She was determined to just get this over with. She kept her head down, eyeing each stair, checking her footing to make sure she wouldn’t fall.

When she finally reached the bottom, Val hobbled to the nearest rock to sit down. She rested her head and her hands, pushing the sweaty strands of hair that managed to escape from her rubber band, from her face. Her legs felt wobbly and she needed a moment to catch her breath. Gwen made Val scoot over and share the space on the rock.

Jack laughed at them and after a few minutes said, “Well, come on. We still have a way to go.” He held the map out, pointing with his finger at their destination.

Val reluctantly rose from her seat. Gwen did too and they both followed Jack wearily down the trail along the water’s edge.

The more Val walked, the better she felt. It was much cooler down by the water and the trail was fairly flat here. She looked around and thought the view really was breathtaking this close-up. White caps covered the rushing water as it sped past them at about twenty-five miles an hour. Ten- to fifteen-foot waves churned, rolling forward. It appeared as if they would swallow and destroy anything in their path. Val stared, mesmerized, when the sound of Jack’s voice made her jump.

“There. That’s where it was discovered!” he exclaimed.

“How do we get over there?” Gwen asked.

“I don’t know. It looks kind of dangerous,” Val said. She’d thought the walk down the stairs was treacherous but seeing where someone had to go to find this skull gave a new meaning to the term “unsafe terrain.” Along this part of the trail a section of rocks jutted out into the river. To get to the water, you’d have to walk a short distance out onto the rocks, some of which were mostly covered by the rushing water. Though it was close to the shore, the likelihood of slipping and being swept away by the current was pretty big.

“How would a hiker have retrieved this? Who in their right mind would even go out there?” Gwen said. “The other remains have been purposely placed so they would be seen readily. But this is impossible to get to.”