PREPARING FOR OUR FIRST SEARCH

You can only plan so much. Eventually you need to shut down the computers, load up the vehicle, and get on the road.

We had been through the Sequim and Port Angeles area a few months prior, backpacking with our wives. At that point we had a pretty good grasp on how we wanted the podcast to sound and the story we wanted to tell, we even had some locations identified, but that was the first time I had been to the Olympic Peninsula since starting our research. I remember feeling a heightened awareness as we marched single file through the wilderness located not far from Hoodsport, WA. Trying to imagine what it will be like when we are actually searching for Israel’s caches. Taking note of how dense the forest is, something I had always known but it was more pronounced knowing that Dakota and I will soon be stomping through similarly thick undergrowth instead of the well maintained trail.

Fast forward to that first morning, where our story begins, I remember getting to Dakota’s house, feeling confident. Confident in the research we had done and the plan we had in place. We were aiming to scout out a few locations on the first day since the drive up will eat up a lot of daylight. I had a spot picked out that was just outside of Port Angeles, WA. A spot that I noticed on the drive home from camping with my wife from the same trip I described above. A small parking lot that is not far from where the Strait of Juan De Fuca Hwy intersects with the Olympic Hwy. There is a large power line right of way that cuts through the forest not far from the parking area.

This is where we got our first taste of searching - recording in the field - interviewing someone in the field. It quickly became obvious that even small areas will require a lot more time to search and that we would need to plan out bigger searches with more attention to detail. I have to say, It was pretty crazy. I remember feeling accomplished because we felt that our search was thorough and that we were able to cross a big section off of our list. The beginning of what would become countless miles searched, many nights in tents in the middle of nowhere, and plenty more areas crossed off of the list.