The lure of a vast and beautiful wilderness sometimes entices backpackers to press on past the limitations of their bodies and equipment. Many, for example, brave the steep trails of the Grand Valley area, Maynes told me, because that remote northeastern section of the park is thought to be a mountain paradise. The alpine lakes up there are just little jewels,'' she said. I took her word for it, but many people with the time and energy insist on seeing for themselves. One young man went off and got lost, and it turned out his only previous backcountry experience was a short hike.
Searchers start at the trail-head parking lots, looking for a vehicle belonging to the missing one.
But even if they find the car, more than one trail typically begins from the lot and most ramble for miles and branch off confusingly. Fortunately, during her nine years working at the park, Maynes recalls only happy endings to such incidents. After a couple of nights utterly lost, the man in her example wandered into a backcountry ranger station, much to everyone's relief, including his own. Such incidents put the park in perspective. The part seen from the pavement is a tiny fraction of the immense, wild, fascinating and frequently dangerous whole.