Santa Barbara-based Boy Scout Troop 26 stumbled upon an experienced 78-year-old outdoorsman, a former Eagle Scout himself, battling hypothermia after losing his gear and wandering 15 miles off his intended route in California’s Sierra Nevada, according to multiple media reports.
Nine members of Troop 26, all around the age of 12, were about halfway into their foray into the Emigrant Wilderness with Scoutmaster Michael James Hey and four other adult leaders, the Santa Barbara Independent reported.
The troop, each carrying 40-pound packs, set out on their journey on Aug. 2, navigating their way around alpine lakes and through meadows while learning all the skills taught to generations of Boy Scouts before them.
The man, now identified as Douglas Montgomery, had set out on a two-week solo backpacking trip. Days before the troop came across him, he’d put down his backpack containing his food, water, camping gear and GPS-enabled communications so he could walk around a bit and get a better idea of where the trail was, SFGATE reported.
When the Eagle Scout from Troop 10 in Burlingame returned to where he thought he’d put his backpack, he could not find it.
“I checked and checked and checked and looked and looked,” he told The Independent. “It was very, very disconcerting not to be able to find it. But I had to make a decision at the last minute just to stop looking and get where I could save my own life, and that’s what I did.”
While lost without food, water and other essentials, Montgomery had covered himself in loam and foliage and tried to sleep in the cold temperatures.
“I complained about the cold out loud many times,” he added, “yelling out of the darkness.”
He drank what water he could find from puddles.
It wasn’t until Aug. 6 that Troop 26 ran across Montgomery in a high-altitude meadow, with Scoutmaster Hey telling SFGATE that the 78-year-old looked like he was struggling.
“We started realizing very quickly that he wasn’t all right,” he explained. “He was looking really bedraggled. He’s got cuts all over his hands. He’s very unsteady on his feet, and he’s being polite, but he’s pretty out of it.”
Noticing that Montgomery was having difficulty walking, Hey said he got some electrolytes and food into the 78-year-old and helped him warm up. However, when he learned that Montgomery had gone several days without his needed medications that were in his backpack, the decision was made to call authorities.
Officials with CHP said they were notified by the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office of the situation and that ultimately the decision was made to fly a helicopter out of Fresno and airlift the 78-year-old to safety.
During the three-hour wait for the rescue chopper, Hey and the boys prepared a checklist of information that first responders would need from Montgomery, including his emergency contacts and medical history, as the young scouts all learned in real-time how easy it is for anyone, even an Eagle Scout, to get lost in the wilderness.
“They saw how useful that stuff really was when you get into trouble, all the preparation and having some navigation tools with you and knowing which way is north, and how it’s important to have a plan,” Hey told the NorCal outlet.
CHP airlifted Montgomery to a pack station at Kennedy Meadow, where he declined any additional medical assistance and was met by his niece who drove his car out.
A veteran of the Navy, the 78-year-old said he’s always loved helicopter rides.
“I got in my ‘84 Volvo and drove home the next morning,” he told the Santa Barbara outlet.
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