Rocky Mountain Airport is both a practical lifeline and a conspicuous vulnerability in Hig’s survival planning: it holds a potential long-term fuel source, but its scale and exposed infrastructure make every visit feel dangerous.

Setting and Strategic Value

Hig describes Rocky Mountain Airport as a large, aging jetport, with scores of buildings, hangars, and sheds. The fuel pumps and steel fill plates sit in the open, making the facilities difficult to approach without feeling exposed. Unlike his other stops, the airport leaves him vulnerable simply because it is so large and its resources are so visible.

Fuel and the Future

The airport matters because Hig’s aircraft runs on 100 low lead, which remains usable far longer than automobile gasoline, but will eventually deteriorate. He estimates that an additive could help preserve the aviation fuel for perhaps another ten years. After that, he expects to need jet fuel—kerosene, which lasts much longer—and knows where the nearest supply is: Rocky Mountain Airport. He believes he may be the only living person who knows about it, or at least the only one who knows how to extract it.

The Cost of Reaching It

The fuel is not an uncomplicated reserve. Hig anticipates that he and Bangley may have to discuss breaking camp, or that Bangley might accompany him to protect him whenever he refuels. That escort would suit Bangley’s defensive instincts, but it would leave Erie Airport open for at least half an hour. The airport’s value therefore creates a dilemma: securing fuel for the future could weaken the defenses that sustain their present home.

Narrative Significance

Rocky Mountain Airport represents the narrowing margin between technical knowledge and material scarcity. Hig can identify a future source of energy and understands how the aircraft’s fuel needs will change, yet reaching that resource carries a direct security cost. The airport is not simply a distant supply point; it is a measure of how survival depends on infrastructure that remains usable but cannot be approached without risk.