Horror of Alley Creek

To whomever this may apply,

My name is Mitch McCallahan. I'm 25 years old. I'm a seasonal park ranger, a certified WFR (Wilderness First Responder), and now a survivor.

I went into the U. S Forest Service when I was 22 years old after graduating from college, and I loved every part of my job the moment I started it. Even the physical demand that came with it.

At first, I started as an intern in the NPS (National Park Service) at Great Smokey Mountain National Park, working in wilderness and SAR (Search And Rescue).

This is how I found out that working in recreation was the main thing I wanted to do in life, which brought me all the way to the Boise National Forest. Which was after two internships along the way and several months of working on getting certified as a WFR.

Things were going well working with the U. S Forest Service. I would check trails, help educate visitors so that they can plan out their day better, and I would go on different calls for lost hikers or hikers that had a medical emergency. Luckily, none of the incidents I went on were 'newsworthy'.

That was until a few months ago when I went on a call for several lost hikers in a single group. This call is something I will never forget. Even now, just thinking about that day causes my heart to race and panic to settle in.

I don't know if I'm even ready to be in the field again after what happened that almost ended my life and caused the death of several of my colleagues and three of the six hikers myself and several others were supposed to get out of there.

When I woke up from being in a coma two weeks after the incident, one of my colleagues and girlfriend showed me the news clip from that day.

When interviewed, the ranger who was put in charge of explaining what happened denied it being a monster like one hiker that survived claimed. He said the hiker was delirious and hallucinating.

When asked what caused the death of five rangers, three hikers, and the injury that put one ranger in a coma, he could only say that it was a pack of wolves that felt threatened and attacked out of defense and that the Forest Service was working on taking care of it.

The reporter even asked about Alley Creek Trailhead itself, and the ranger said that there was no such thing as Alley Creek Trailhead and that the hikers that were injured went off the trail.

Hearing this report infuriated me. The government was covering up what happened, and the moment I was released from the hospital I went to the place where Alley Creek Trailhead began, only to find that the sign was removed and whatever was left of the trail was made up to be a game trail covered with large logs and brush.

After everything that happened, my supervisor contacted me about my job and said that there was an opening in the Kaibab National Forest and I was offered the job there since my old job in the Boise National Forest might cause issues.

I said I will take the job. He then told me that if I ever tell anyone about what happened, I would be fired and I will have to look at a different field that isn't with the U. S Forest Service.

I'm still writing about what happened although my job is on the line. I would rather tell the truth than lie about what happened to my colleagues and friends, and the hikers that all lost their lives that day.

Even if I did lie, if people say the scar I now have, it would have brought up questions, and it would be difficult to explain them.

I think I've explained enough for you to have a better understanding of my situation and I will tell you in depth of what happened July 19th, 2016.

From,

Mitch McCallahan