Pod Insights Real Survival Stories Eruption in the Andes: Veil of Ash About this episode Jeff Brydon sets out on a hike across some of Chile’s most awe-inspiring scenery, within touching distance of several of the country’s magnificent volcanoes. But when he awakes to find the world smothered in a haze of ash, Jeff must scramble to evacuate. All signs of the trail have been eliminated. A twisting, terrifying journey ensues…
A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins.
Written by Heléna Lewis | Produced by Ed Baranski | Assistant Producer: Luke Lonergan | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound Supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Matt Peaty | Assembly edit by Rob Plummer | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Ralph Tittley.
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Transcript Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
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1:04 John Hopkins? It's the morning of Wednesday, April 22, 2015. Deep in the Villa Rica National Park in central Chile.
1:13 John Hopkins? Nestled against the Argentine border, in the foothills of the Andes, the park sprawls across 630 square kilometers of rugged wilderness and encompasses a dazzling variety of scenery. Verdant forests carpet the lower slopes, while the high inclines are home to dramatic stretches of rocky plains, meadowland, and a trio of spectacular snow-capped volcanoes.
1:38 John Hopkins? Normally, this place has a striking, otherworldly beauty. But not today.
1:45 John Hopkins? A thick gray veil of ash has shrouded the landscape, leaching it of color and obscuring any distinction between the earth and the sky.
1:54 John Hopkins? This is the lifeless aftermath of an explosive volcanic eruption. It is totally silent. Nothing moves within the dead, drab expanse.
2:06 John Hopkins? Until something breaks the stillness. The distant sound of footsteps.
2:13 John Hopkins? A moment later, a weak beam of light pierces the darkness, illuminating the powdery ash that falls from the heavens like dirty snow.
2:23 John Hopkins? Two men stumble out of the monochrome haze, following the weak shaft of light cast by their headlamps. With their shirts tied tightly around their faces, all that's visible are their eyes.
2:36 John Hopkins? Encumbered by their bulky rucksacks, 25-year-old Jeff Brighton and 24-year-old Aviv Bromberg pick their way over the uneven, alien terrain. Jeff squints through the gloom, trying to spot any indication of the hiking trail. But it's near impossible.
2:54 Speaker 03 It was almost like a submarine in the blackest depths of the ocean. There's just this little bubble of light with nothing beyond.
3:03 John Hopkins? Only able to see a few feet ahead of them, the two men scanned the dense, dull miasma for clues.
3:10 John Hopkins? But uncertain of their direction, they can't tell if they're getting closer to the path or further away. It's all too easy to become disorientated.
3:19 Speaker 03 We just found ourselves starting to go in circles. Immediately starting to feel like, "Okay, are we getting more and more lost? Are we getting closer to the trail or further?" And I had no idea.
3:33 John Hopkins? With dwindling food and water supplies and no cellphone signal, Jeff and Aviv are ill-equipped to deal with this apocalyptic landscape.
3:43 John Hopkins? Unsure which of the region's many volcanoes has erupted or how close it is to them, it's imperative they get out of the area as soon as possible. But if they can't pick up the trail, there is every chance they will simply wander deeper into the harsh, unforgiving wilderness. And if that happens, there is no telling where or how their adventure will end.
4:05 Speaker 03 We're just kind of stumbling around in this hellscape and getting more and more lost. And so at this point, I'm getting really worried and thinking, "This is not going to work. We're going to be completely lost in this blackness."
4:28 John Hopkins? Ever wondered what you would do when disaster strikes? If your life depended on your next decision, could you make the right choice? Welcome to Real Survival Stories. These are the astonishing tales of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations, people suddenly forced to fight for their lives.
4:47 John Hopkins? In this episode, we meet Jeff Brydon. In 2015, the 25-year-old has embarked on a six-month backpacking trip through South America when he decides to hike the Via Rica traverse, a 32-mile, three-day trek across some of Chile's most awe-inspiring scenery. The hike will take Jeff and his new travel companion Aviv within sight of several of the country's magnificent volcanoes, one of which has recently erupted.
5:13 Speaker 03 It was still smoking, and there had been a huge eruption, like hundreds of feet-high lava shooting into the sky. I could see the smoke was lit up orange and kind of got this ominous feeling like, okay, hopefully it's done erupting. What are the odds that it'll go again?
5:34 John Hopkins? But when Jeff and Aviv wake up on the final morning of their trek to find the world smothered by a dense, gray haze, it reaffirms just how active the region's volcanoes remain. What follows is a scramble to evacuate the area as quickly as possible. But with all indications of the trail subsumed beneath a thick blanket of ash, their journey back to safety will become near impossible. Toxic fumes, zero visibility, and the threat of further eruptions all hang heavy in the eerie, ash-filled air.
6:05 Speaker 03 In the back of my mind, I'm picturing red-hot molten rock just nipping out of the sky and landing on us. There was just this feeling of we should get the hell out of here.
6:18 John Hopkins? I'm John Hopkins. From the Noiser Podcast Network, this is Real Survival Stories.
6:48 John Hopkins? It's Sunday, April 19, 2015, in the small city of Pucón, central Chile.
6:55 John Hopkins? Tourists, touting heavy packs and hiking poles, weave their way along the sun-dappled streets, past the bars blaring Latin music.
7:04 John Hopkins? There's a plethora of signs and shop fronts, advertising extreme sports, adventure experiences, and guided tours.
7:13 John Hopkins? Situated on the eastern shores of Lake Villa Rica and within striking distance of a number of national parks and nature reserves, it's no surprise Pucón has gained a reputation for being the sports-adventure capital of the country. But the real draw is the Villa Rica volcano, located just a handful of miles to the south of the city. This huge glacier-clad beast presides majestically over the surrounding landscape, emitting the occasional cloud of dirty gray smoke. It's considered one of the most active volcanoes in the world, and attracts thrill-seekers from across the globe. One of those is a 25-year-old Californian man who zigzags through the crowded streets, his well-traveled backpack digging into his shoulders. This is Jeff Bright.
8:01 Speaker 03 I was on a six-month backpacking adventure across South America. I had started in Colombia, and I had a vague goal to make it all the way down to Patagonia, on the southernmost end of South America. And I had already completed that, and now winter was coming, and I was kind of making my way back north.
8:23 John Hopkins? In Chile, autumn falls between March and May, with winter beginning in June.
8:29 John Hopkins? With the seasons and the weather soon to turn, Jeff is determined to make the most of his travels before the colder months set in.
8:37 Speaker 03 My destination near the Villa Rica volcano is known as the adventure capital of Chile, Pucón. So I decided to make my way over there, and I had seen some pretty awesome stuff you can do there. There's rafting, and I had read about this really epic hike, the Villa Rica traverse.
9:02 John Hopkins? Beginning near the volcano it's named after, the Villa Rica traverse, can be trekked in either three or five days. Jeff has chosen to attempt the three-day route. The 32-mile trail will take him through a staggering array of different scenery, from luscious rainforests to desolate lava fields. And, most thrillingly of all, he will be blessed with spectacular views of the various volcanoes which define the national park. Jeff doesn't intend to hike the trail alone. With him is 24-year-old Aviv Brumbak, a new travel companion he met by chance on the way to Phuket.
9:37 Speaker 03 The winter was coming on and so I hadn't been able to do a lot of the backpacking and adventures that I wanted to within that last month. And then I saw this epic weather window coming in of sun. And so I hopped on the bus to Phuket. And on the bus, I met Aviv. And just really friendly Israeli guy. He was on a similar journey as me, going across South America. I kind of gave him the rundown of this hike I had read about and he immediately agreed to do it. So we didn't really know each other and but he was friendly and cool and he signed up for this crazy three-day trek into the wilderness.
10:22 John Hopkins? But before Jeff and Aviv can set off on their adventure, they need to secure permits to enter the park. Excitedly talking about their upcoming trip, the two men make their way to the ranger's office and step inside, blinking hard as their eyes adjust to the dim electric lighting.
10:39 John Hopkins? In a mixture of English and broken Spanish, they greet the park officials and explain their intention to hike the Villa Rica traverse.
10:48 John Hopkins? But their plans are quickly shot down. With apologetic shrugs, the rangers tell them the park is closed until further notice. Recent snowfall at high altitude has made sections of the trail too dangerous to hike. There is nothing to be done.
11:04 John Hopkins? Slumped with disappointment, Jeff and Aviv walk back out into the bright Chilean sunshine, the wonderful weather almost taunting them.
11:14 John Hopkins? As they meander back to their hostel, they glance up at the Villa Rica volcano towering above them. They may never be this close to it again.
11:24 Speaker 03 We had this epic weather window that we didn't want to miss out on. And so even though they had told us the whole park was closed, we decided to go for it anyways. It was kind of our last chance before winter and it was this legendary hike. And I kind of had also figured, you know, we're going into the wilderness. Human rules don't apply. As long as you're confident and you have everything you need. And that's what backpacking is all about. You're completely self-sufficient. And so we had this confidence that only young men have, that we could handle whatever came up. Probably a little too much confidence.
12:04 John Hopkins? Decision made, the two men returned to their hostel. Their hopes buoyed and begin making preparations to set out early the next day.
12:12 John Hopkins? Though going against the ranger's instructions obviously carries hazards, for Jeff and Aviv, the chance of hiking the renowned trail is too good to pass up.
12:22 John Hopkins? Besides, Jeff isn't exactly averse to taking risks. Originally from a much more urban environment, he developed an interest in nature from a young age and has come to enjoy extreme sports and outdoor pursuits.
12:35 Speaker 03 I grew up in San Francisco, near a famous street, the Haight-Ashbury area, known for hippies. And so I guess I was kind of living this city life. And yet I was lucky enough that my parents would take me out to Yosemite. And I started from a young age to gain an appreciation for nature. I think it's something you appreciate more when you don't have a lot of it around you in a big city. I've always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie. So part of it is the adventure. And a lot of times when I'm outside, I'm either climbing up the side of a cliff or on a mountain. So yeah, I'm more calm things like just backpacking and hiking. And it's very meditative.
13:18 Speaker 03 But some of my draw is, I guess, this adrenaline and adventure.
13:26 John Hopkins? These personality traits have taken Jeff across the globe and into some intense situations.
13:33 John Hopkins? In 2011, he was on a study abroad program in Christchurch, New Zealand, when he was caught up in an extreme natural disaster.
13:42 Speaker 03 I was sitting down in my first class of the semester, and literally before the class was out, the entire room lurched sideways by several feet and just started swinging wildly back and forth for about 30 seconds. And everyone dove under the desks, and the lights were swinging like crazy back and forth. The city ended up getting pretty wrecked, and some people were freaking out and making strange decisions. And I remember during that experience realizing that I was able to keep calm under pressure.
14:17 John Hopkins? The 2011 Christchurch earthquake was a major tragedy, killing 185 people, injuring thousands, and causing billions of dollars' worth of damage. Jeff was among the lucky ones.
14:32 John Hopkins? But despite his near miss, the experience didn't put him off traveling or seeking adventure. Four years later, he finds himself in South America, preparing to attempt the Villa Rica traverse, despite the recent heavy snowfall. For a young man like Jeff, it's what life is all about.
14:50 Speaker 03 I guess it just makes you feel alive. You're kind of playing with fear, pushing your limits. And yeah, it just feels great in the moment when you're soaring down the side of a mountain on a snowboard or launching off a cliff. I guess it shuts your brain up as well. So you're just completely in the moment. You're in a flow state, if you will.
15:10 John Hopkins? Jeff doesn't know it yet, but the Villa Rica traverse will prove to be his most memorable adventure to date, just not in the way that he is expecting.
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16:28 John Hopkins? After making the last of their preparations for the upcoming hike and eating a hearty dinner, Jeff and Aviv settled down to get a decent night's rest. They have an early start tomorrow.
16:39 John Hopkins? The following morning, the two men wake before sunrise. They quietly lace up their boots and grab their rucksacks, trying not to disturb any of the hostel's other guests. Then they climb into a battered taxi that will take them to the trailhead at the base of the Villa Rica volcano.
16:57 John Hopkins? With an elevation of over 9,000 feet, it's an impressive sight, particularly because of its recent activity.
17:05 Speaker 03 It turned out that the volcano had actually erupted a month before, and it was still smoking. And it had been a huge eruption, like hundreds of feet-high lava shooting into the sky. And so I remember we're cruising out in the taxi in the pre-dawn darkness, and I could see the smoke was lit up orange. And kind of got this ominous feeling of like, okay, hopefully it's done erupting. What are the odds that it'll go again?
17:38 John Hopkins? After parking up in the foothills of the volcano, Jeff and Aviv pay their driver and swing their packs onto their shoulders. Then, they start their hike.
17:50 John Hopkins? The initial ascent follows a demanding incline through a dense moss-covered forest. As Jeff and Aviv walk, the sun starts to creep above the horizon, bathing their surroundings in a warm, soft light. The trees are ablaze with a riot of red and gold, sure signs of the changing seasons.
18:11 John Hopkins? Every so often, they pause to admire the view. The scenery is breathtaking.
18:17 Speaker 03 It was a really cool hike. You could see different snow-capped peaks in different directions. And I remember there was these really weird, alien-looking trees. Overall, it just felt like this really wild wilderness that kind of blew our minds.
18:35 John Hopkins? The two men weave their way along the path, following the red poles that act as trail markers.
18:42 John Hopkins? They discuss how pleased they are that they've gone ahead with this hike, despite the warnings.
18:46 Speaker 03 We were being dumb, as only young adventurers can be. But we were confident we could handle ourselves and make it through this snow and this park. We had everything we needed to survive, and we had some backpacking experience. So we just figured, go for it.
19:04 John Hopkins? Jeff and Aviv emerge from the tree line, and the landscape rapidly alters.
19:11 John Hopkins? They step into a series of black lava fields strewn with volcanic rocks. The exposed rugged landscape is like something from another world. They pause to admire the views of the Via Rica volcano behind them and the Quetripian volcano up ahead.
19:28 John Hopkins? Above, a few wispy clouds saunter through the brilliant blue sky. The sun is warm and bright. It's perfect hiking weather. Jeff and Aviv don't see another soul as they continue on their journey. The silence and isolation leave a lot of room for them to talk and get to know each other better.
19:48 Speaker 03 He was just such a great hiking companion. He was always super upbeat. He was very awed by this beautiful wild landscape. And I remember he had this super old, uncomfortable-looking backpack. And yeah, he was just absolutely tireless. He could have kept going each day well beyond where I got tired. But he was always waiting up for me and a super, super great guy.
20:17 John Hopkins? Eventually, the new friends hit the snow they'd been warned about. The smooth, white surface glitters in the sunshine, pristine and untrodden.
20:27 Speaker 03 We finally reached some snow. And this was why they had closed the park. And it turned out to be fine. We could see these red trail markers every few hundred feet. And so that's what you could use to follow the trail. And we also could see no other footprints in the snow. So we knew we were totally alone out there. But it had just gone super well. We were having a great time, feeling super lucky to have this awesome weather and just feeling alive.
21:00 John Hopkins? In such good conditions, they make excellent progress. By the end of the second day, they've covered about 25 miles. Tomorrow, they should reach their destination in just a few hours.
21:12 John Hopkins? Pleased, they stop for the night within sight of the magnificent, snow-covered Lanin volcano, which stands guard on the border of Chile and Argentina. The exact date of its last eruption is uncertain. All in all, it's an imposing presence.
21:29 John Hopkins? Jeff and Aviv set up camp near a beautiful blue lake. Its smooth, glassy surface reflecting the setting sun. After two long days of hiking, the chance to enjoy a refreshing dip is too tempting to resist.
21:45 John Hopkins? But as they glide through the cool, clear water, an odd noise suddenly makes Jeff look up.
21:53 Speaker 03 We're swimming in this lake near our campsite, and I didn't hear this distant boom. It wasn't like super earth shaking. It was kind of just a very subtle boom. And yeah, I just wrote it off as rockfall. Didn't really think much of it.
22:14 John Hopkins? The enigmatic, distant rumble dies away and is replaced by silence once more.
22:22 John Hopkins? Putting the strange noise to one side, the two men relax and enjoy the rest of their evening. After drying off and having dinner, they crawl into the shelter of their tent and slide into their sleeping bags. So far, this trip couldn't have gone any better.
22:38 Speaker 03 We were just feeling good and glad we had ignored the park service and gone for it and went to bed thinking, wow, we're so lucky.
22:49 John Hopkins? When Jeff's alarm wakes him at 8:00 a.m., he groggily reaches out to quieten it. But when he opens his eyes, he sees only darkness.
23:00 John Hopkins? He blinks. Nothing.
23:04 Speaker 03 I wake up to complete darkness. I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face. It was like being blind.
23:14 John Hopkins? Uncertainly, Jeff gropes for his headlamp and switches it on.
23:19 John Hopkins? The beam carves a path through the darkness of the tent, but reveals nothing out of the ordinary. He checks the time again. It's definitely 8:00 a.m., morning. Confused, he crawls towards the canvas door and unzips it.
23:37 John Hopkins? What he sees outside makes his breath catch in his throat.
23:41 Speaker 03 As soon as I open the door to the tent, I just see this blizzard of ash.
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24:58 John Hopkins? It is the morning of Wednesday, April 22, 2015. The skies above Chile's Villa Rica National Park are ominously dark. The sun swallowed up by a thick cloud of volcanic ash. The fine gray flakes fall silently onto the rocky terrain, draining the world of color and making it impossible to see more than a few inches ahead. From the shelter of his tent, 25-year-old Jeff Bryden gazes out at the shrouded landscape in disbelief. It's virtually unrecognizable, from the vibrant, varied terrain he's been trekking with his friend Aviv for the last couple of days.
25:35 Speaker 03 It just looked like a heavy snowfall of ash, and the ground is already covered with about an inch or maybe two of ash. And it's just completely silent. And my headlamp is really only able to cut through about five feet of this blizzard. Horrible visibility. Aviv wakes up as well, and we're both like, oh, this could be bad.
26:05 John Hopkins? It's immediately clear what's happened. One of the many volcanoes which pepper this region must have erupted. In the last two days of hiking, Jeff and Aviv have already passed Ketrupian and Vierica, which has erupted only a month before. But last night, they camped within sight of Lanin, an ice-covered stratovolcano with an elevation of over 12,000 feet, which hasn't erupted in years. Surrounded by the dense cloud of ash with terrible visibility, it's impossible for Jeff and Aviv to tell which volcano has erupted, and therefore, how close they are to extreme danger.
26:44 John Hopkins? Jeff has recently completed a natural disasters course. He's been taught that in this situation, there are many dangers to be aware of.
26:53 Speaker 03 I had learned that it's not actually lava you should be worried about with these eruptions. It's called a pyroclastic flow. That this basically landslide of scorching hot ash and rock can come blasting down the side of the mountain at over 100 miles an hour. And so I was thinking about, are you in the path of what's basically an avalanche? It could also melt a lot of the glaciers on the volcano, so that can create what's called a laharr, and that's also a similarly deadly phenomenon.
27:26 John Hopkins? Jeff narrows his eyes, trying to make out the topography of their immediate surroundings. But everything is swallowed by the toxic fog.
27:35 Speaker 03 In my head, I'm going through, okay, what is the terrain like? Are we actually right next to the base? Or do we have maybe a valley or ridge between us and the volcano? But we also were kind of wondering, could there be molten rock falling from the sky any second? So we're just in this complete blackness and big unknown of how much danger we were really in.
27:59 John Hopkins? The ash falls relentlessly from the leaden sky. They'd been warned about snowfall in the region, but this is far worse.
28:08 Speaker 03 Definitely started to get worried. I tried to keep it under control. I remember turning to Aviv and saying, "What a beautiful day for a hike." Kind of making light of this situation that could be really bad.
28:27 John Hopkins? The men are left with a hugely difficult decision to make. They can either remain in their tent and try to wait out the ash blizzard, or they can make a run for it. Both options are fraught with pitfalls. If they stay, they will at least have some level of protection from the ash, but they have no idea how long it will take to clear, and since this was supposed to be the last day of their hike, their supplies are dwindling. They have less than a day's worth of water. And, most pressingly, a volcanic deluge could hit them at any moment.
29:01 John Hopkins? But walking out is just as perilous. They can barely see a few feet ahead of them, so how will they find the trail again? Added to that are all the other potential dangers that come with such poor visibility: the increased chance of an accident, for instance. Plus, in a wild place like this, what might be lurking out there in the ash clouds?
29:22 John Hopkins? They have no cellphone coverage, and having entered the closed park secretly, nobody knows they're here.
29:29 John Hopkins? Two choices: it's a coin flip with no good outcomes.
29:34 John Hopkins? But eventually, Jeff and Aviv reach a decision.
29:39 Speaker 03 We decided to go for the evacuation. And so we packed up our stuff. We stuffed the tent kind of willy-nilly into our bags. It's already completely covered with ash. We also made these ninja masks out of shirts that we were trying to protect our eyes and our mouths from breathing the ash. We just had these little slits from these makeshift ninja masks that we could see through, and my one headlamp giving us about five feet of visibility, and headed out.
30:11 Speaker 03 I think in the decision whether we should hunker down or try to evacuate, it felt good to be able to take action and not just sit there. Sitting there would have been tough if we thought we were in a potential danger zone for rockfall or hydroclastic flows. So it definitely spurred us to want to act.
30:32 John Hopkins? Weighed down by their large packs, the men survey the wasteland before them and orientate themselves in what they think is the right direction.
30:42 John Hopkins? Aviv's torch is much less powerful than Jeff's, barely cutting through the gloom at all. As a result, Jeff leads, his own small headlamp illuminating a narrow swathe of rocky, ash-encrusted terrain.
30:56 Speaker 03 I had a pretty good sense of direction and I kind of just figured, okay, we know the direction we came from to get to this campsite, vaguely which direction the trail was. But again, our vision was, it was almost like a submarine in the blackest depths of the ocean. There's just this little bubble of light with nothing beyond.
31:19 John Hopkins? Wrapped in a tiny pocket of light, they stumble through the gray.
31:24 John Hopkins? The trail should only be around 200 feet from their campsite, but everything now seems strange and alien, totally different from what they experienced yesterday.
31:34 John Hopkins? They scan the ash-swelled darkness, looking for any sign of the path or the red trail markers.
31:41 John Hopkins? After a minute or two, they still haven't found anything.
31:45 John Hopkins? And then, with a crunch, they stumble straight into a wall of bushes.
31:51 John Hopkins? Confused, the two men double back. They must have somehow wandered past the trail.
31:58 John Hopkins? But as they try to retrace their steps, nothing familiar emerges.
32:04 John Hopkins? With such limited visibility, it's impossible to get their bearings. They soon run into another dead end, forcing them to turn around once more.
32:13 John Hopkins? As the minutes pass, it happens again and then again.
32:18 Speaker 03 We just found ourselves starting to go in circles. So, starting to feel like, okay, are we getting more and more lost? Are we getting closer to the trail or further? And I had no idea.
32:34 John Hopkins? With each new dead end, panic rises. They ping pong back and forth, from impenetrable walls of trees and bushes, back to the lake they swam in the previous evening. The ashes made the water so turbid and sludgy, it's hardly recognizable.
32:52 John Hopkins? Breathing is difficult, their energy is depleted, and they're making no progress at all.
32:58 Speaker 03 We're just kind of stumbling around in this hellscape and getting more and more lost, probably. And so at this point, I'm getting really worried and thinking, this is not going to work. We're going to be completely lost in the wilderness, in this blackness.
33:14 John Hopkins? But then, Aviv suddenly stops dead. He's had an idea.
33:21 John Hopkins? They may not have any cell service, but that doesn't mean their phones are totally useless.
33:27 Speaker 03 Luckily, Aviv had this awesome realization. He realized he had a compass app on his phone.
33:38 John Hopkins? They pull out their crumpled map and ascertain their very rough location. Then Aviv uses his phone compass to help orientate them. With renewed energy, they set off once again, in what is, hopefully, the right direction. There's a lot of guesswork involved, but at least it's something.
34:00 Speaker 03 After a bit more stumbling around, I don't know how long it was, maybe 30 minutes, maybe more, my sense of time was probably thrown off. But after a while of stumbling around, we finally reached a red trail marker. It was a huge morale boost to find that we we had found at least one of the trail markers, so we were on the trail again. And now, since we had the compass, we could point in the direction of the next trail marker.
34:26 John Hopkins? It's a start. Now, all they have to do is stay on the path, in theory, anyway. They quicken their pace as the trail leads them into a dense forest. But there's no let up from the ash. It's as thick and intense as ever.
34:42 Speaker 03 In the back of my mind, I'm picturing red-hot molten rock just zipping out of the sky and landing on us. There was just this feeling of we should get the hell out of here.
34:56 John Hopkins? But even with the compass, it's still hard to stay on track. The path is vague, sometimes zigzagging unexpectedly or seeming to disappear altogether.
35:07 John Hopkins? Jeff and Aviv stumble into rocks, roots, or trees, which loom out of the darkness like sinister hands and disgorges thick clouds of ash on top of the two men, temporarily blinding them. The darkness presses in all around, broken only by the faint beam of the two headlamps.
35:26 Speaker 03 We definitely lost the trail time and time again because we had kind of run into a wall of bushes or something like that, but there were faint signs of the trail, indentations in the ground, although it was covered with ash, so it was very hard to follow.
35:43 John Hopkins? Jeff keeps his head down, scanning the ground for any clues. Each new trail marker they spot is a small victory, and although they're making painfully slow progress, they're at least moving forwards in the right direction. But then, everything changes.
36:03 Speaker 03 We had been going through a forest, which gave us more indications of the trail because there would be walls of bushes and thickets of trees, and it helped to keep us on trail. So we started to make progress, but then we hit this open clearing.
36:19 John Hopkins? Emerging from the trees, the beam of Jeff's headlamp fans out, illuminating a flat, gray expanse of open ground. They turn to look at each other, their faces etched with concern. There is absolutely no sign of where to go next. The trail has disappeared.
36:40 Speaker 03 Again, it's just our little bubble of light and this flat, ash-covered ground and no indication whatsoever where the next trail marker is going to be. And so all of a sudden, we're back into, oh crap, we could end up getting lost here.
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38:08 John Hopkins? Jeff and Aviv pause, staring out into the dark, depthless void of the clearing as the volcanic ash continues to settle around them. Stumbling in blindly would almost certainly be a bad move. They could end up retracing their steps, or wandering away from the trail and going in circles, undoing all of their progress so far. But Jeff has a trick up his sleeve.
38:33 Speaker 03 I had recently done a wilderness first responder training. It wasn't exactly about dealing with volcanoes, but it was about keeping calm in emergency situations and approaching things methodically. And so, I was able to just take a few breaths and think what's the best way to get through this clearing and not get lost. And then I realized, okay, this is sort of like being lost in a cave system. And what you can do in a cave system is follow a wall.
39:07 John Hopkins? By keeping one hand against the wall of a cave and never breaking contact, the exit will eventually be reached.
39:16 John Hopkins? Realizing they can apply the same logic to getting across the clearing, Jeff and Aviv set out, keeping the forest close on their left and scanning for any breaks in the tree line.
39:29 Speaker 03 Instead of trying to head out straight into the blackness, I stuck to the edge of the forest. We went left and went along the edge of this clearing, ruling out all the gaps in the trees and places where we thought the trail might continue. And eventually, it brought us all the way around this wide area. And there, right at the edge of the forest, there's a trail marker. So boom.
39:58 John Hopkins? Their tense shoulders slump in relief. It's another little win.
40:04 John Hopkins? Jeff and Aviv press onwards, squinting into the gloom for the next red marker. Skeletal trees loom out of the ground all around them, the branches snagging on their clothes and rucksacks. And still, the ash rains down, smothering the landscape in a dull gray blanket.
40:23 John Hopkins? And that's not all. Deep in this wild, remote part of the world, there is an abundance of animal life, including the native big cat, the puma.
40:35 John Hopkins? Now and then, there are rustles in the half-glimpsed vegetation all around, a reminder to Jeff and Aviv that they are not alone here.
40:45 John Hopkins? And then, something in the darkness moves.
40:52 Speaker 03 I see this dark shape just shoot through the edge of my vision because we just had this small pocket of light. And I just thought, what the hell was that?
41:02 John Hopkins? Jeff pauses, his pulse hammering. But there's nothing. Everything is still once again.
41:11 John Hopkins? Perhaps he imagined it.
41:13 John Hopkins? Trying to shake it off, the two men press deeper into the unknown.
41:18 John Hopkins? But then a few minutes later, another shape darts out of the blackness, swooping past the edge of his vision.
41:26 Speaker 03 It was like something out of a horror movie. It moved so fast, I wasn't exactly sure if it was real. Then finally, a third shape explodes out of the bushes near me, and it swoops past my head, and then it flies back and actually clips me in the head.
41:44 John Hopkins? Reeling from the impact, Jeff raises his eyes, scanning the sinister overhanging trees and the somber sky.
41:53 John Hopkins? As another shape darts from the darkness towards his head, it suddenly becomes clear what is happening.
42:00 Speaker 03 There's these tiny birds that are shooting towards my headlamp, like moths to a light. And they had been sitting in complete darkness, so they hadn't been able to move or fly all day. Basically, they had been blind. So this was the first thing they had seen all day, is my headlamp, and they decided to fly at my head. And so we kept having these little demon birds popping out of the bushes and kind of attacking us. Turned out to be not as much of a horror movie, more of a comedy. And I joked with Aviv that, you know, soon there would be pumas and deer and all kinds of animals just coming out of the forest with us.
42:40 John Hopkins? Jeff and Aviv continue on their long, dark path, trying to ignore the birds which occasionally dart towards them like tiny missiles.
42:50 John Hopkins? They plod wearily through the gloom, losing and finding the path more times than they can count.
42:57 John Hopkins? Around midday, about four hours after leaving their tent that morning, Jeff looks up.
43:04 John Hopkins? Is it wishful thinking? Or does the sky seem lighter than before?
43:10 Speaker 03 We saw this extremely faint light start to appear. And so over the course of about 30 minutes, maybe, we just see more and more light start to creep back into the world. Everything is still completely gray, but apparently the ash cloud that had been totally blocking out the sun had dissipated, or the wind had changed direction. And so we were not saved, but this was like the moment of, wow, okay, this is gonna be a lot easier now that we can actually see.
43:45 John Hopkins? As the world around the men gradually brightens, they're able to increase their speed. They tramp across the dreamscape of sullen, ash-covered terrain.
43:56 Speaker 03 It kind of just turned into this world that was completely still, completely silent, and everything was gray. But now we can see enough that kind of felt like we were just hiking through this apocalyptic dream of sorts.
44:13 John Hopkins? Beginning to feel faint from lack of food, the two men pause to eat some uncooked oatmeal and take a few sips from their canisters of water. It's not much, but it'll have to keep them going. They've almost exhausted their meager supplies. On they go, through the thinning ash, along the rocky trail, closer, closer, muscles aching, until... The pair suddenly emerge onto a tarmac road. It marks the end of the trail. After five grueling hours, they've made it.
44:47 Speaker 03 Huge relief. We kind of cheered and high-fived each other, and we could finally look at each other and realize we looked like total apocalypse survivors, just absolutely covered in ash.
45:01 John Hopkins? Jeff and Aviv's good fortune continues. About an hour after stumbling across the road, a bus rumbles past. They're able to flag it down and head back to Phuket.
45:17 John Hopkins? After arriving in the city, they return to their hostel, still covered in volcanic ash.
45:24 John Hopkins? They find everyone watching the news of the eruption on TV, and are finally able to discover the events that led up to their narrow escape.
45:32 John Hopkins? It turns out that the distant boom they heard on their second night was the sudden and unexpected explosion of the Kalbuco volcano, which last erupted in 1972.
45:44 John Hopkins? Thankfully for Jeff and Aviv, it was miles away from them, but the violent eruption emitted a vast plume of ash. Had the two men been any closer, they may not have made it out.
45:57 Speaker 03 It was just so much ash that it had completely blocked out the sun and dumped ash across the landscape. We were just directly down into it.
46:09 John Hopkins? After recovering from their ordeal, Jeff and Aviv split, going their separate ways to continue their adventures. Jeff carries on with his trip through South America and makes it to the coast of Chile before heading home to San Francisco a few weeks later.
46:24 John Hopkins? Back in the US, life for Jeff resumes as normal, and he begins saving up money for his next expedition. But then he receives some shocking news. It's about Aviv.
46:38 Speaker 03 I hadn't really kept in touch with him, but it was just a few months later I heard that he had passed. Not long after our little adventure, he had continued his adventure north up to Peru, which I had already come through. He died due to high-altitude sickness.
47:00 John Hopkins? Having successfully survived the aftermath of the Kalbukko eruption, it is a cruel twist of fate that Aviv's young life should be cut so short. As for Jeff, he says his recollections of the experience are vivid but surreal.
47:18 Speaker 03 It kind of feels like a movie or something. It's a little odd looking back on that time of my life. It is such a wild adventure, the whole backpacking trip across South America and then that towards the end of it. So it feels oddly unreal.
47:35 John Hopkins? Although he made it out safely, Jeff acknowledges that his adventure in the Via Ricon National Park could have ended very differently. In the intervening decade, his attitude towards risk-taking has changed.
47:49 Speaker 03 I think over the years, in terms of risk mitigation, I've learned to not be as dumb. And like, I used to kind of take it for granted that I would injure myself at least once a season snowboarding because I was doing big jumps and stuff. And I've learned that it's not worth it. So I dialed back the risk.
48:11 Speaker 03 I would say being able to stay calm and approach the situation as methodically as possible, just being able to kind of take one step after another and figure it out as we went. Maybe it has to do with all my adventure activities, extreme sports over the years, because that's just like a little taste of fear and danger, but it's manageable. Let's say you're on the side of a cliff, rock climbing. You have this innate fear, but you have to kind of push through it and work methodically and know how to stay calm. But I think doing those kinds of sports that gives you a dose of fear, but in a manageable
48:51 Speaker 03 environment, is probably good practice for when you end up in a more gnarly situation.
48:59 John Hopkins? After returning to San Francisco, Jeff also meets his wife, who shares his love of nature. Their passion for outdoor pursuits leads them to move to Washington State. And together, they have built a life that revolves around the exploration of stunning scenery and landscapes, both across the US and further afield. In short, Jeff's search for excitement and discovery lives on.
49:25 Speaker 03 Well, I've been lucky enough to continue all the same adventures, meet my beautiful wife, who loves to do all these kinds of things with me. So rather than having to travel solo, now I'm with her and we love going abroad and doing big hikes and also just we're constantly getting outdoors in the mountains around us here in Washington, just in search of even more mountains and more adventures.
49:58 John Hopkins? In the next episode, we meet Johan Otta. In 2005, the 43-year-old physiotherapist and his daughter Jenna are enjoying an ambitious hike in Glacier National Park to celebrate her graduation from high school. But when they accidentally stumble upon a wild, dangerous beast, determined to protect its young, everything changes in an instant. Desperate to save his daughter from the hideous death, Johan confronts the vicious animal, hoping he might buy Jenna enough time to escape. Locked in a brutal battle, Johan and the beast go head to head, each willing to sacrifice their own lives in order to protect their offspring. That's next time on Real Survival Stories.
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