63-year-old Gravina man OK after long, wet trek to airport

His long, wet walk began at 10 a.m. and ended when he arrived at the airport about 12 hours later.

"It was a hell of an ordeal," Stan Mullins said on Friday. "I wouldn't advise it to anybody."

He admitted feeling quite sore, but otherwise appeared fit and in good humor.

Mullins has lived at his cabin for 10 years, he said Friday. He comes to town by boat every two weeks for fuel, food and other supplies. A Vietnam veteran of the U.S. Navy, Mullins said he receives a Veterans Administration disability pension due to diabetes and a heart condition. He said he is also hard of hearing and has poor vision.

He plans to travel south in the next few days and be gone for about three months, he said. He also needed to come to town to pick up medications.

However, his plans to get a ride to town fell through when he was unable to contact everyone who might have been able to help him.

"The person that I normally catch a ride from already went South," Mullins said. "Another one just got out of the hospital and couldn't do it. ... So, I said, 'Heck, I'll just walk.' "

He carried a walking stick, a change of dry clothes and a bit of food in a backpack. He wore a rain jacket and boots, but was cold and wet in no time, Mullins said. His boots filled up with water.

Mullins went over the ridge on the northwest side of High Mountain and down to the beach northwest of the Pacific Log and Lumber mill site and other industrial-zoned properties.

"Once I got to the top, I figured there's no sense stopping now," he said. "If I do, I wouldn't get up and go anymore. So, I just kept going through those swamps and snow.

"It was kind of dumb," he said. "I shouldn't really have taken off that late in the day."

Mullins said he had hiked around Gravina Island in the past, but down low, along and near beaches, he said. He hadn't hiked over high parts and didn't realize how long a walk it would be to reach the airport.

"I figured it was a lot closer," he said. "But when you go across that top, it levels out and then it drops and levels out and drops. It just took me forever to get across that top."

On the way down, on the Tongass Narrows side, it got dark.

It was very dark, he said. Now and then, he spotted lights of Ketchikan.

"That was a really good feeling when you see the lights. I mean it gave you a great feeling," he laughed. "I was getting closer, finally! "

Mullins then hiked the beach in the dark. "The rocks were horrible," he said.

"I always wanted to live on an island. Now, I kind of regret it," Mullins said, laughing.

Mullins said he changed out of his wet clothes near the airport and felt much warmer.

By the time he arrived, the airport had been closed for about half an hour.

Terry Carlin, skipper of the airport ferry Ken Eichner II, and deckhand Scott McEndree had moored the vessel on the Ketchikan side at their usual quitting time of 9:35 p.m., Carlin said. But their day wasn't over. They'd been told an hour earlier they would return to the airport for an emergency medevac, he said.

McEndree spotted Mullins as the ferry approached the airport ferry ramp at 10:35 p.m. on the first leg of the process. He called up to Carlin and the two watched the man walking gingerly down the ramp with his walking stick.

Mullins told the ferry crew that he intended to walk to a friend's house near Mud Bight, but they didn't think he was in any shape for another long trek and offered him a lift if he would wait until the medevac was over. McEndree invited Mullins into the cabin and gave him some cookies, said Carlin.

"I've been on that ferry for 35 years and I've never seen anyone do anything like that," Carlin said.