Good News
By Laura Daniele and Erika Puiras
The hike at Ruby Lake in Nipigon, ON is a hidden treasure, known by locals for its sweeping, picturesque views overlooking both Ruby Lake and Nipigon Bay. Mikayla Klassen had heard of this hike from her friend Erika Puiras, and on Saturday, June 13th, 2020, they decided to make the drive from Thunder Bay, ON, with Mikayla’s dog Marley in tow. Marley, the spirited black Lab/Samoyed cross with boundless enthusiasm, was also a keen hiking companion. She would often disappear off the sides of trails to roam the bush but would always return shortly to check in on her people. Even when out of sight, Marley’s whereabouts could always be ascertained by the constant jingling of a red bear bell tied to her collar. As they started out on the hike that fateful morning, neither Mikayla or Erika could know just how useful the bear bell would be in helping to save Marley’s life later that day.
The girls parked the car at the end of the road, where it forks in two – the left fork leads to an old marble mine no longer in use, while the right fork leads up a path to the lookout. The trio began their journey walking up the dirt path trail. Roughly 35 minutes later, they had reached the lookout. It was shortly before noon at this point, and they stopped for a moment to take in the breathtaking views and to snap a few pictures. Marley very cautiously approached the edge of the cliff to glance over the steep drop into the gorge, before promptly bounding back to safety. Although adventurous, Marley knew when to use caution. As Mikayla and Erika continued on the path that follows along the edge of the cliff, Marley demonstrated further caution. Neither Mikayla nor Erika had a fear of heights and walked out onto a section of rock jutting out over the drop. Although less than a foot distance from the path, Marley refused to follow.
As they continued down the path, Mikayla and Erika enjoyed the phenomenal views. The rolling hills, covered by green forest growth, framed the shining blue of the lake, as the sun glinted off the water. It was as the girls turned back to continue along the path that they heard a heart-stopping sound.
Thump, thump.
Then, silence.
Marley had disappeared, along with the constant, reassuring jingle of the bear bell. Mikayla called for Marley as both girls immediately started trying to see whether Marley had crawled or fallen down a rockslide off the edge of the cliffs. Erika turned to where she had last seen Marley and could hear a whimper coming from a crevice in the rock, near the cliff edge. The crevice had been entirely camouflaged, covered by low-hanging, ground-covering pine tree branches, and overgrown moss. Marley had walked onto the branches only to find nothing underneath her, as she disappeared.
The crevice opening was about 2 feet wide by 8 feet long and plunged almost straight down into the rock. The girls could hear Marley, but they couldn’t see her. Their phone flashlights were too weak to penetrate through the darkness. Marley was whimpering softly, and they could hear the clang of her bear bell. They had no means of getting to her. The crevice was steep, and they could not see the bottom, or where it might lead.
Realizing the severity of the situation, Mikayla phoned her dad, Steve, and explained what had happened. Steve is a physician and quickly analysed the circumstances before putting a crisis plan into action. He told Mikayla he would get a rescue team together and immediately called Teresa, a good family friend and experienced rock climber. Teresa and her son Jesse, also a rock climber, packed their gear. Steve collected tools, flashlights, and Teresa had recommended that he bring a harness for Marley as it could help in the rescue. He even packed camping gear in case things went south and they had to spend the night at the lookout. After gathering the materials and picking up the rescue team, Steve texted Mikayla at 1:45pm to let the girls know that they were on the way. Marley had been in the crevice now for 90 minutes.
While they waited for help to arrive, Mikayla and Erika decided to prepare the area for possible rescue efforts. They removed all of the surrounding overgrown moss and vegetation near the crevice and pushed aside the overhanging branches. As they cleared the area, some of the moss dropped into the crevice. They noticed that Marley would whimper quite a while after the moss fell. The delayed reaction indicated that she was in deep, very deep. As they worked and chatted, trying to keep panic at bay, Mikayla remembered reading about how to talk to your dog in a crisis situation. It is advised not to instinctively default to the voice you would use to talk to an infant but to use a normal and calm tone. The girls chatted and occasionally addressed Marley with words of reassurance, all the while, letting her know she was not alone.
Steve and the rescue team drove the hour and a half and parked the vehicle alongside Mikayla’s car, at the start of the trail head. They gathered the gear and began the hike, arriving at the lookout at 4pm. Teresa and Jesse immediately went into rescue mode, securing an anchor point around a large tree. Jesse geared up for the descent. As Steve picked up his Rigid Tool flashlight to light the way for Jesse, the heavy-duty rechargeable battery fell off and tumbled down into the crevice.
Jesse descended 15 feet into the crevice and was able to stand on a small ledge jetting out from the rock face. It was about 2 feet wide. He shone the light from his headlamp and used a cellphone light but couldn’t see Marley. Jesse realized very quickly that he would not be able to safely go any further and he emerged from the crevice. It was now just past 5:00pm.
Jesse had observed that the entire crevice looked like it had been one rock that split in two pieces. Each wall was a mirror image of the other. It was very irregular with about a 2-foot maximum clearance between the two walls. It looked like one side of the rock would eventually break away and fall down the cliff.
Teresa had been reaching out to other members of the rock climbing community to see if anyone else was available to help, but there was no strong commitment from anyone.
Steve brainstormed several creative options for help, but to no avail. He called the non-emergency OPP line and the fire department to see if Search and Rescue might use this experience as a practice drill. After all, it could have easily been a 2-year-old that fell in. Marley was a 60lb dog. Steve also called various plumbers, as they have fibre optics typically used to explore septic fields that may have helped in getting a visual of Marley. He further explored whether he could access some kind of robotics to fit the crevice and help in the rescue.
Eventually, however, Steve began planning for the worst-case scenario. He called Marley’s veterinarian to ask what the most humane way to euthanize the dog would be, if it came to that. A prolonged death with her stuck in the crevice was not an option. The only suggestion the veterinarian had was to use a bullet, but that option posed risks due to this rock cavern environment. They also still did not have a visual of Marley.
Steve gave Mikayla a big hug and told her “It’s not your fault”. To be able to hear your beloved dog and know that she was in crisis, but to not have any means to accessing her was simply heartbreaking. They decided they would hold a vigil, and camp overnight on top of the lookout. They also made plans to have some food delivered.
It was about 7:30 pm and Steve was making the hike back to the vehicle to get the camping gear. On his way, he encountered a young man whom he recognized as Sandro Daniele, Teresa’s climbing friend. Sandro is 30 years old, stands about 5 foot 11 inches, and has a slender build. He spends his work days high up in telecommunication towers, rigging and hoisting steel, heavy equipment and components on to these towers. He has posted photos of himself at the top of these towers overlooking towns and the terrain below with the caption “My office for the day.”
Steve thanked Sandro for coming, although he admitted that he had lost virtually any hope of a successful rescue at this point. He told Sandro that he could go ahead and try, but that there were no expectations. It seemed hopeless. Nevertheless, he appreciated that Sandro came all this way to try and help.
Sandro arrived at the rescue site at 7:45pm. Mikayla had been distraught since the initial failed rescue attempt, but Teresa regained hope at the sight of Sandro. She knew that not only was he an experienced climber and instructor of the sport, he also had extensive knowledge of safety and rescue, and expertise with ropes and knots. He brought his own climbing gear, which included an ascendor, a piece of equipment that she and Jesse didn’t have. Teresa believed that Sandro was a good candidate for a successful rescue.
Sandro wasted no time in getting ready. He inspected the set-up prepared by Teresa and Jesse and was satisfied with it. He quickly went down to the small ledge that Jesse had previously descended to, for an assessment of the situation. One of the rescue team had previously retrieved a second battery for the Rigid tool flashlight from the vehicle. They taped it on tight this time, so that Sandro was able to use the flashlight and survey the darkness. He called out, “Does your dog have a black coat?” “Yes!” replied Mikayla. He could see Marley!
Sandro observed that the rock cut went straight down about 30 feet, and that Marley was right at the bottom. He explored three possible entry points along the 8 foot opening before deciding on one that was more central. It allowed for the best rope path as it was important that the rope went straight down to Marley. Rescuers adjusted the anchor slightly to suit this new entry point. Sandro got ready and was fully loaded with all of his climbing gear, a second safety rope, and a helmet. When Mikayla asked how he would squeeze through the narrow opening, Sandro replied cheerfully that he would contort his way in there.
Sandro began his journey down at 8:15pm, weaving and twisting through bumps on the rock faces’ front and back. The rescuers at the top could hear him let out a few grunts and his equipment was making clinking noises. Watching Sandro descend into the dark unknown was terrifying. They feared for his safety and cautioned him to stop if he ever felt unsafe. Sandro would back track every now and then to get around obstacles and through narrow spots. Despite everyone else’s fear, Sandro remained calm in demeanor.
Sandro depended solely on his rope and equipment for his safety in this fully suspended experience. Little did anyone know, he was fighting his own demons as the confined space made him feel claustrophobic and he had a fear of being buried alive. The crevice narrowed to a space of about 18 inches. It was very dark, and the rock was wet to the touch. When he felt anxious, he focused on the confidence he had in the set-up of his gear. This helped him overcome his fear and carry on with the task at hand.
The rescuers at the top cheered him on, promising him the title of being an official Spelunker (cave explorer). He finally reached the bottom of the crevice and had Marley on his right-hand side. She was lying down and shaking. He patted her and cleaned the moss off her back as she stood to greet him. Sandro untied his safety rope and asked the crew above to use it to send down Marley’s harness. After they had lowered it down, he took the harness off the rope and tied the flashlight to the rope so he could see what he was doing. Sandro had some difficulty putting the harness on Marley, as he was not able to face her squarely, and had to lean sideways to do his work. He finally managed to get the harness on through her front legs, but it was too loose. She would slip out when they tried to pull her up. Thankfully, Sandro had brought a series of climbing slings down with him and was able to put one sling in a basket formation and set her back legs into it. He then placed a number of other slings around her and joined them to Marley’s harness, creating a full body harness for her. He attached this full harness to a singular point, which he tied to the rope. Marley could now be lifted evenly and securely.
While Sandro was down in the crevice, Steve had returned to the site and was overwhelmed by the progress. With Teresa’s help, the rescuers at the top had rigged up a pulley system so that both Steve and Mikayla could help hoist Marley out. Sandro called to them to begin the lift.
On the way up, Marley was panting loudly and started to whine. From Sandro’s perspective, Marley’s legs were flailing as if to help herself run up the crevice. At one point during her ascent, Marley got stuck. As the rescuers pulled from up above, she began whining and whimpering more. Eventually, they were able to reach her and drag her out of the crevice. It was 9:04 pm. Marley had been stuck in the crevice for 9 hours. Everyone was relieved to see that she could walk, as she immediately moved away from the crevice and the cliff edge. Marley did have a more obvious injury, with a flap of skin dangling from under her jaw. It was a fresh wound and blood spattered everywhere. It likely happened when she got stuck during the ascent.
As the girls comforted Marley, providing her with water and hugs, Sandro prepared for his climb out of the crevice. He attached his ascendor to his rope, which is a clamp-like device that allows for fluid travel in one direction. It can be pushed freely up the rope and will bite on the rope when you pull down on it. The slack rope would be guided through a second device at his waist, called a Gri-gri. It was a long, slow journey to reach the surface. Inch by inch, he finally emerged at 9:15pm, having been in the crevice for one hour.
The first thing the rescuers saw as Sandro emerged was his hand, reaching up and holding the battery that was dropped earlier that day. He had wrapped it in his t-shirt. He then began to exit the crevice, lifting himself on the sides of the rock as he slowly rising to safety. According to Steve, watching Sandro pull himself up and considering the shape of the crevice, it looked as though he was being birthed. A physician’s perspective!
The rescue was a success. Marley ended up needing several stitches for her jaw, and was fairly timid for the next couple days, but was otherwise not seriously harmed. Before long, she was back to her usual joyful self. The Klassens are immensely grateful for the amazing support they received from Teresa, Jesse and Sandro. They are also very grateful for others not mentioned in the story, who supported them in other ways as best they could throughout the day. It was a collective effort, with Sandro putting everything on the line to help save Marley’s life. In recounting the story, Sandro’s humour shone through: “I went down for the battery, and while I was there, I rescued the dog too. Those batteries are expensive.”
