18 June 2009
Minneosta Father and Son Scouts Earn Merit Award
Posted by admin under: recognition .
There is a long story at TwinCities.com by Jessica Fleming about a father and son who hiked up mountain and came back down heroes. Well prepared, they helped over a score of other hikers when bad weather struck and most weren’t prepared.
Harlan “Hap” Stokes had a “bucket list” long before the movie of the same name.
When he was 15, he and his nearly-50-year-old parents tried to climb the 14,259-foot Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. But they turned back when Hap got altitude sickness. A few years later, his parents returned without him and climbed the mountain, the tallest in the park. That had always eaten at Hap.
So last summer, the Lakeville dad set out, with his then-16-year-old son, Charlie, to conquer the peak and to scatter the ashes of his father, who had died the year before. Hap, now 48, was an Eagle Scout; Charlie was well on his way to achieving the distinction. Like good Scouts, they were prepared.
But even the most careful preparation could not have prevented the fierce thunderstorm that would separate father and son for about 20 frantic minutes.
In that time, Hap helped a hypothermic stranger down the trail. And when he and Charlie reunited, they helped 21 hikers, many unprepared for the storm, stay alive until rescuers arrived.
The pair last month received the Boy Scouts National Medal of Merit for their heroics.
The story continues with details of separation and reuniting, fear of death, painful decisions and more. It’s like a novel or movie treatment or something. Go read it! Good job, Jessica! And great job for Hap and Charlie, the men who really deserve the honor of being called Boy Scouts.
- Hazardous Weather Reminder
- BSA: Mount Whitney Adventure
- Fast Thinking – First Aid – Merits Award
- Hug a Tree or Hike 8 Miles
- Scottish Scout Hiking Accident
One Comment so far...
New York OA Trader | Shared Items From Around The Web – June 19, 2009 Says:
19 June 2009 at 9:02 am.
[...] Minneosta Father and Son Scouts Earn Merit Award [...]
