Narrow Escape on Gabel Mountain
Three young boys go hiking, resulting in a terrifying 30-foot tumble down a ledge for one local youth.
While Kenneth Badger, Roderick Sprague, and Donald McFee were sliding rocks down a precipice on Gabel mountain last Sunday, the ground upon which Kenneth was standing gave way and he slid down the ledge to the bottom, a distance of about 30 feet. He received a severe shaking up and some rather bad cuts and bruises on the face and head. That the results were not more serious is probably due to the fact that instead of its being a sheer fall, he slid and rolled most of the way. The two other boys brought him on a horse as far as the Anderson home, where they phoned for a car. At last reports he was getting along nicely and would be as good as new in a few days.
“That the results were not more serious is probably due to the fact that instead of its being a sheer fall, he slid and rolled most of the way.”
Gabel Mountain remains a prominent, stark feature of the Hanford landscape today, though it is largely restricted access due to its proximity to nuclear infrastructure. The boys' casual exploration of the 'precipice' highlights the rugged, rural childhood experience of the valley before the landscape was fenced off.
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