Lost Scout

[Bob White]

Not at all Marlene. What I am saying is that no amount of training will make a difference if individuals do not follow through with personal action.

 

Adults and youth alike need to understand the importance of ALL safety precautions not just ones about whistles.

 

Leaders have to be committed to seeing that the safety measures are followed. I know a SM who had a scout die on an outing from a hiking accident. I was not there and did not press for details at the time. But going only from the description of the accident given me by the SM I can tell you that mistakes were made. If you talk to someone in the safety profession you will hear that there are no such things as accidents. There are choices made that lead to a sudden injury.

 

We need to learn how to make better choices. We need to learn how to motivate others to make better choices. I really believe that from this tragedy many lives will be saved. Judging from some of the posts we've seen this scout will change lives. I can think of no greater legacy that a person can leave.

 

 

 

 

 

[evmori]

To answer your question, Marlene, for me there were two - Scoutmaster Fundamentals & Woodbadge. Both were fantastic & I learned tons! The format was in the outdoors with a lot of hands on!

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[wasatchcougar]

I have been out searching for Garrett and will continue to do so on Monday (Labor Day). We are searching for a body, and an explanation of what happened . . . so that the family will have closure.While it seems likely that Garrett became lost, there is no guarantee that is what happened. Until a body is found, there will always be questions. I am a long-time scouter who has held many positions at all levels. This incident has caused me great concern regarding how the BSA manages and approves back-country outings.A tour permit is simply not enough. Leaders and scouts should be required to complete basic orienteering and survival training before venturing even one foot into the kind of terrain that Garrett and his troop faced in the High Uintas of Utah. With proper training, these types of adventures can be safe and rewarding. I do not want to discourage these types of outings . . . I just want to make them safer.To give you some idea about the situation: I myself would not dare venture into this part of Utah without a GPS and very careful planning. The terrain is dynamic and extremely confusing. There are rocks, trees, and boulders of all sizes everywhere you look with many fallen trees. There is no way to navigate a straight line, even with a compass. Moving across this country requires frequent small turns every step of the way. Disorientation comes quickly.After walking about 1/4 mile into this terrain, my mental assesment of the correct way back to my starting point was 40 degrees off what my GPS was telling me. I could hardly believe it. And, based on waypoints that I recorded on a contour map (using a standard compass and pacing), I was 10 degrees off what the GPS was telling me.  Note:  Yes, I am well trained in orienteering and land navigation.  Don't be too quick to just my degree of error until you yourself have been out in this country.In any case, either level of error could have been catastrophic if I did not have my GPS with me. Aggressive and effective action needs to be taken on the part of the BSA to ensure that leaders and scouts are properly trained. When I look at pictures of Garrett, I see every scout that I have ever worked with. Let's fix this situation and greatly minimize the chances that this could every happen again.Thanks, Stephen Greenwalt

[Marlene]

Stephen: I think you feel the way I do about Garrett. I don't know why but for some reason his story has been a very emotional one for me. Maybe I am showing my age and my frustration after years of having to challenge Scout Leaders on their ability to take boys, mostly mine, out in the mountains. Perhaps it is because I am a woman and find myself merely tolerated when I raise questions. I remember a scout master who thought I over reacted when I confronted him about a winter igloo outing where some boy snaked the tarp out from under my son when he was sleeping. My son woke up about four in the morning in a soaked bag shivering so badly he couldn't talk. The scoutmaster said it was all a joke and boys will be boys. No concern about hypothermia and how lucky he was that my son woke up. No follow-up training was done, no discipline was meted out. The same scoutmaster told all the boys to wear wool clothing on the snow outing and then showed up to pick my boy up wearing his wool pants, about knee length, over his cotton jeans.

 

Scouting does have lots of training opportunities but you are not required to take them to go out with the boys. Perhaps each local council should rate the trails in their council area like the ski patrol rates trails or slopes or river runners rate rapids. If the scout master wants to take the troop on a high level trail he and some of his adult and junior leaders have to have the training for that level. There is nothing that 12 year old Garrett needed to learn at his level of scouting that he couldn't have learned car camping or on a basic trail.

 

Would it do any good to require that the scoutmaster pass a basic hiking leadership and safety orientation before he can apply for a tour permit? Around here a scoutmaster can be called to lead a troop and be out with them the next weekend without ever knowing about the buddy system requirement. And what about no boy goes ahead of the front leader and no boy drops behind the rear leader? Our troop lost four boys for 24 hours because they violated that one.

 

The fact that we have very few reported injuries and lost scouts doesn't mean it doesn't happen often. It just doesn't have such a public spotlight.

[AP-128]

I think everyone who actually is following and heard about Garrett is a little emotional about it. I am from Utah and so I followed the story when I heard it and now I just can't get it off my mind. I, like others, feel so useless wanting to do something for him but can't except pray.

[Twocubdad]

Stephen;

 

Thank you for trying to bring our Scout home. Everyone here appreciates what you are doing.

[oldutahscout]

Having lost my 18 year old son recently, I am afraid I know all to well what Garrett's family is going thru. My prayers are with them and if my health had been better, I too would have been out at pass lake helping to search for him.

 

I agree that if the safety quidelines had been followed, Garrett might still be with us today. My son failed to follow safe driving quidelines to wear his set belt and not drive when he was tired; he fell asleep at the wheel, rolled his car and sadly paid with his life. Sadly, when you fail to follow safety quidelines, life will sometimes demand the ultimate from you.

 

In my opinion the high unitas here in Utah are not the place for new scouts or inexperienced people. The area is very easy to get lost in. Storm's can move in quickly catching you off guard and fog can totally get you lost in a hurry. I would only take experienced scouts or varsity scouts in such an area.

 

May God guide those still looking for Garrett, that he wouldn't have to lay there thru the winter.

[scoutldr]

Bob is correct. We in the Safety profession teach that there is no such thing as an "accident". There are only "unsafe acts" and "unsafe conditions" which pose risk of a "mishap". We do the best we can to mitigate that risk by training, awareness and rules. But there is only so much we can do when someone still insists on making a poor choice.

 

 

[John D]

This sad situation reminds me of a lost scout incident in our troop a few years ago. Two tenderfeet got tired on a hike in open desert and I sent them bck to camp with a 1st class scout as escort. We pointed out the mesa they should hike around and they took off. As they approached the base of the mesa the leader became confused and took off the wrong way. An hour or so later we returned to camp and an ASM climbed the m

[John D]

................try again......................

 

This sad situation reminds me of a lost scout incident in our troop a few years ago. Two tenderfeet got tired on a hike in open desert and I sent them bck to camp with a 1st class scout as escort. We pointed out the mesa they should hike around and they took off. As they approached the base of the mesa the leader became confused and took off the wrong way. An hou

[aps1590]

I too am greatly saddened by the loss of this boy, I can think of little that is more terrible than this. My heart goes out to this child, his family, his unit and his friends.

 

The buddy system is all important and this story is so moving that it will be a topic for one of our unit meetings. I have significant wilderness experience / training both BSA and non BSA, so I can give a lot of advice even for adults.

 

Even adults should have a buddy when traveling in the wilderness, and particularly when traveling in the back country a minimum of four to six adults should be present. Wilderness trained adults are a must when traveling with children. Back country registrations should always be filled out and submitted to the appropriate agency. Whistles are great, but of little use to an injured non responsive single person.

 

When hiking as a unit, leaders must enforce trail discipline - expelling children from the hike for repeated failure to abide by safety rules - one strike for a serious offense, and offenders are then marched out under adult supervision to the pickup/dropoff point where they will remain under supervision. These rules must be spelled out clearly in advance. One primary rule for trail hikes - the unit moves at the speed of the slowest individual! Slowest boys in front, fastest boys in back - forced to go slow by the unit pace. A leader ALWAYS is placed in the rear and the front of the unit. Any buddies that go off by themselves without leader approval, or singly by themselves will stand before the entire unit to explain the transgression. If this sounds harsh, then consider the alternatives - which indeed happen. Parents / Leaders - lead by example - you too must have a buddy. This scout was not alone in this kind of peril - these kinds of losses have happened before to both scouts and private citizens.

 

There is nothing to compare with back country hikes and climbs, but always 'saftey first' - OR NO TRIP! Leaders must PLAN for emergencies. What do we do if ...? how can we get immediate assistance (radio / satellite cells / adult runners) ... BSA is a great place to learn, but ultimately the adults are responsible!

 

BSA should consistently deny trip permits for lack of appropriately trained leaders and suspend units for safety / permit infractions.