Lost Hikers – Two Outcomes, Both with Important Lessons
In the national news this month, two separate incidents occurred that involved two different sets of hikers who had set out for an enjoyable day on the trail. However, in both cases, their fun quickly became an ordeal when the weather suddenly turned against them and they were not properly prepared for conditions.
In the one case, the story had a happy ending. Two sisters were rescued after spending a night on a mountain in California. They suffered the effects of hypothermia, but will likely fully recover.
The other outcome, however, was terribly sad. A man and his two young sons succumbed to hypothermia overnight after getting lost on a remote trail in Missouri.
When I initially read about this latter incident a few weeks ago, I had planned on writing a detailed post about it. However, the more details that I discovered, the more that I couldn’t bring myself to even type. The story was just too tragic. I am having trouble even preparing this post now.
Still, I kept thinking about it because I believe that there are important lessons to share. Plus, the story of the sisters followed a similar path, though with a different outcome, so it also added to the overall lesson and, in some small way, adds a ray of hope.
In any case, I have provided the links to the two stories so that you can read for yourself and let you be the judge. Both have video which add a greater dimension to the events.
