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Four Scouts and Two Leaders Overdue on Hike
By
Jim Fairchild
Astute
Boy Scout leaders, planning to conduct treks in
California's High Sierra, take their Scouts on a
number of conditioning and training backpack
outings during the months prior. This is the case
with a Troop from Orange County. Two groups,
starting at opposite sides of the area between
Fisherman's Camp and Ortega Highway in the Santa
Ana Mountains planned to hike to the other's
roadhead, crossing somewhere along the way, but
using trails mostly separated by a small
distance. They met Saturday night, then split.
The Group heading west along the Tenaja Trail
were greatly delayed, having problems finding the
path, being forced to camp well short of the
highway.
They
were reported to the Sheriff's Office in the
early hours of today, Monday. RMRU was called. We
arrived at a General Store down the far side of
the mountain at 0600. We being Darrell Bell, Base
Camp Operator, Dr. Ray Hussey, Operations Leader,
Phil Thompson, who became the relay, and 'ol Jim.
After a period of organization, the writer, along
with two of the boy's parents Debby and Ron and a
nurse who was a friend, Jean, hiked along the
Tenaja Trail in hopes of either finding tracks or
intercepting the group. Normally, we don't take
relatives or friends of the subjects into the
field, but these folks were good hikers.
The
rather nice hiking was punctuated by dodging
poison oak, listening to bird calls, describing
plant uses, and encountering trail signs that
were sometimes different from trail names on the
topographic quadrangle. No problem, we stayed on
the most traveled path, calling loudly at times.
Finally,
a bit over two miles, we came to a sign where the
trail branched a bit left from an abandoned truck
trail (dirt road). We guzzled some water and then
I gave a call up the road, no answer, down the
road, got an answer. While I radioed Base with
the good news, the others walked down for hugs
and questions. We had them take off packs, become
re-hydrated, eat food, and fix blisters. They
were all O.K., described their frustration in
trying to find the trail, finding that a spring
where they hoped to fill canteens was covered and
locked.
Part
way back to base we met Rick Rhay and Michael
George who had come in to offer any needed
assistance. They, the overdue group, did
everything right, sticking with trying to locate
their trail and staying together. Had they been
truly lost deeper into the wilderness, and out of
water, today's heat could have rendered a
different outcome.
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