Hello from HiYo: July 5

July 5 - July 8

Adventures with Jim Vivaldelli at Yellowstone and on the Continental Divide Trail

My great friend of almost 25 years, Jim Vivaldelli, joined Jamye and me for 3 days of unforgettable adventures! We picked Jim up at the Bozeman airport and returned to West Yellowstone for a wonderful evening together, enjoying drinks, a fine meal and outstanding Graycliff cigars. The next morning was day one of the planned two-day mountain-biking extravaganza. Jamye drove us from our campsite at Madison in Yellowstone to the Rendezvous mountain biking trails, where Jim and I had a great afternoon of riding. We then enjoyed coffee at the Free Heel and Wheel in West Yellowstone and returned to the Madison campground for a dinner together in Hiyo. The next morning it was off to the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) at a place called Two Tops, just on the Idaho/Montana border. Jim and I had a fabulous morning climbing the divide, traversing streams and riding through open meadows near the summit. On our return downhill, we met a nice couple on horseback, Pat and Ginger Povah, who warned us of bears, advising me to have my bear spray handy since many bears were in the area. They also suggested we make plenty of noise to avoid surprising any sows with cubs. I clipped my bear spray canister to my chest and Jim and I began the traverse down rocky terrain to meet with Jamye at our designated rendezvous. Jim and I talked loudly to warn bears of our presence. What happened next, in a terrible instant, was a crash into a rock-filled ditch in the center of the trail. Jim was face down, conscious but obviously badly hurt. His pain was severe, and I made sure that he lay still, fearing serious injury. The call to 911 set off a chain of events that resulted in several search and rescue crews attempting to pinpoint our location. When they arrived, they put Jim on a hard board, braced his neck and loaded him onto an ATV that had a mobile sled attached to get patients down the mountain. A helicopter was scrambled to get Jim to the hospital in Idaho Falls ASAP. It turned out that the couple on horseback owned the ranch where the helicopter landed. Even more amazing was what they shared with us at the landing zone. Pat Povah had a good friend who was the Director of the Institute for Spinal Disorders at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in LA (ranked among America’s best in neurology and neurosurgery). A friend of his LA friend was a highly regarded neurosurgeon at the University Of Utah in Salt Lake City. Both of these surgeons were considered among the best in their field. This was certainly God stepping in to make sure that my good friend Jim would receive the best care available. Praise God! Jim spent a night at Idaho Falls and the next day was flown to Salt Lake City, thanks to Pat Povah helping with arrangements to have Jim received there. A special thanks to Pat and Ginger Povah for their selfless support in helping Jim get the best treatment available! Jim had spinal surgery July 12 and after physical and occupational therapy will recover from the accident.