Who said only cats had nine lives?!? The living example who seems to have disproved this oft and time again is none other than Ernie "Punch" McLean, BC's illustrious hockey coaching legend and member of the BC Hockey Hall of Fame. The 77-year old was out inspecting property in the northern wilderness of BC south of the Yukon border when he went missing. It so happened that after coaching other hockey greats like Wayne "The Great One" Gretzky and numerous others who went on to stardom, prospecting for gold in British Columbia's wildernesses had become another of Ernie's passions , and it was during one of those jaunts that he failed to return.
Do not forget that this was the man who crawled out of a plane crash suffering the loss of an eye and two teeth, plus a broken shoulder bone, and walked out of the bush alive. Throw in a few car accidents, plus surviving a 240 volt shock from a faulty control panel, and you know this 77-year old was too much of a survivor to be written off. The mountainous area where he was working on a gold claim was rugged terrain that was not easily accessible and could be searched only by all-terrain vehicles, and by air. With a massive search and rescue operation launched, BC waited with bated breath.
With no food, no satellite phone or GPS, and with just the clothes on his back, Ernie walked out of the wilderness after four days and was spotted on a horse trail by a helicopter pilot. It looks like Ernie had been surveying the area with his geologist and having parted ways with him, promising to return to camp by evening, he had fallen down a ravine and become disoriented. He had climbed back up out of the ravine on the opposite side and had started walking in the wrong direction. Using the sun for direction and guidance the next day, he had walked 12 hours each day till nightfall till he was found. Greatly relieved on hearing the news of his being alive, his wife promptly promised to smack him on the head when she saw him!!!
Stories like Ernie's inspire me a lot and make me think of the resilience of the human mind and the indomitable courage one can exhibit while facing insurmountable odds. Just two weeks shy of his 78th birthday, Ernie had the will and the determination to walk out alive of yet another ordeal. His memorable quote is that he "was not lost, but just went missing!" Ernie has promised to rest for a few weeks and be back out there in the wilderness again, doing what he loves the most - working on gold claims! Who said only cats had nine lives?!?
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