|
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) _ A group of Boy Scouts
stranded on a steep Wyoming mountainside headed home to Texas on Saturday.
The Scouts, from the Dallas suburb of Coppell, were rescued
Thursday after spending a night camped on Eagle Nest Mountain, a 10,000 foot elevation east
of Yellowstone National Park.
The group, which
included eight boys aged 14 to 16 and eight adults, was led by a local
trail guide who became lost because he failed to follow established trails,
said Terry Langworthy, 45, who was able to hike
out and find help.
They were part of a
larger group of 46 who traveled to northwest Wyoming for a variety of outdoor
activities.
The planned 50-mile
hike began Monday, but by Wednesday the Scouts were at a point in Cloudburst Canyon south of Pahaska
Teepee where they could not climb farther down without proper equipment nor
could they safely retreat because of loose rock.
``The boys were sliding
down 15-foot slopes, getting all scraped up,'' Langworthy
said.
They camped on the
mountainside that night.
``We had to tie all the
tents to trees because it was so steep,'' Langworthy
said. ``If you slipped you were going to roll off the hill.''
One of the adults
experienced altitude sickness Tuesday and was led 12 miles out by the
guide.
The guide returned but
he also became sick after searching in vain for a safe way out of the
canyon Wednesday, Langworthy said.
``Once he found out he
was in kind of trouble down there, he was scaling all the hills trying to
get out and became totally exhausted,'' he said. ``He went into shock and
had the sweats.''
The decision was made
Thursday morning for Langworthy and three other
adults to strike out for help.
``We took the four
strongest folks that we thought could make it out and we very carefully
tried to retrace our steps,'' he said. They were able to return to their
base camp and notify authorities around 11 a.m.
Within 90 minutes, a
plane dropped a note to the Scouts telling them help was on the way.
``The rescue people
flew over that canyon and found a much safer way to get the boys out,'' Langworthy said.
Rescuers, who were
airlifted in, led the Scouts on foot for a distance, then
transferred them to horseback. The guide recovered enough so that he did
not need to be airlifted out.
About 80 percent of the
group's equipment, including sleeping bags, backpacks, tents and cooking
gear, had to be left behind, but members of a local Boy Scout council were
going to retrieve it, Langworthy said.
The group
drove to Denver and were to fly to Dallas on Saturday night.
Langworthy, speaking by cell phone from Colorado, said he and others with the Texas group met with regional Boy
Scout leaders Friday to discuss ways to improve future expeditions.
Suggestions included
carrying in communications equipment, staying on designated trails and
using checklists to track the hikers' health and supplies.
Parents will receive
letters of apology.
``The good thing is we
never got lost. We knew where we were from the topography maps,'' said Paul Bloss, leader of Troop 840.
``The boys did a good
job,'' he said. ``The boys and the adults actually rescued the trail guide.
``I guess we were able
to do what Scouts are supposed to do.''
|