Boy missing in Forest- Found BH!

amother

↑ Peach

Thu, Jul 25 2019, 11:07 pm

amother [ Seagreen ] wrote:

Except this camp is all about survival and the leaders are highly qualified. This is not an ordinary camp. (My son went there a few years ago.)

So how does it make sense that they lost track of a camper?

amother

↑ Azure

Thu, Jul 25 2019, 11:16 pm

Apparently the kid broke a rule and took a pit stop without informing anyone. He didn't think he was lost, was expecting to catch up to the group any minute.

In a forest, it only takes 2 minutes to get lost. Bend down to tie your shoe, and in the meantime the others have followed the fork in the trail to the right and you assume the left.

Yes it's a good idea to get GPS locators for times like this, but this isn't like losing track of a preschooler in the park.

amother

Coral ↓

Thu, Jul 25 2019, 11:20 pm

Lesia wrote:

First cardinal rule of hiking: never go off the marked trail.
I wish camps and schools which take their charges on hikes would be more educated and prep better. They’re really irresponsible. A disproportionate number of hikers in the northeast who go missing are frum Jews.

Except not. If you need to urinate/defacate, you're supposed to go 200 ft from a trail or water source.

amother

Puce

Thu, Jul 25 2019, 11:31 pm

He was well trained and well prepared for survival in the wilderness. He knew how to build a fire, how to find a safe place to camp and secure his belongings and much more.
Accidents happen and BH this ended well. I don't think we can shake our heads at the boy or the camp and tell them that they should have known better.

amother

↑ Magenta

Thu, Jul 25 2019, 11:33 pm

amother [ Puce ] wrote:

That’s amazing that a boy that young was able to practice the skills he only recently learned

amother

Taupe

Fri, Jul 26 2019, 12:03 am

This is the second frum boy this summer, in a survival /wilderness type camp, that was missing all night. BH both were found safe & well, BH BH!!
But why are we taking such risks???
Every summer there are stories, either we need to quadruple our safety measures, or skip the hikes!!
BH this story ended well. Still think of the thousands of dollars spent to orchestrate every search, the man power, resources, why?? So our kids can have fun?!

amother

↑ Amber

Fri, Jul 26 2019, 12:08 am

I've been saying for years already how irresponsible it is for camps to take kids on hikes. The counselors and campers alike are inexperienced hikers that have no idea what to do in case of emergency and don't come prepared enough in case anything goes wrong chas veshalom.
I'll never forget when I was in camp decades ago, we hiked at hunter mountains. We met up with a bear and we all started shrieking and running in all directions! There were a couple of experienced hikers around and they shood away the bear. By God's grace no one got lost and we made it back safely. Since then I can't understand how a camp can take campers hiking in the woods.

amother

↑ Coral ↓

Fri, Jul 26 2019, 12:25 am

amother [ Amber ] wrote:

This is an outdoor camping wilderness survival camp. This is what the camp is all about - learning the skills and praciticing them. They are very experienced and take experienced people with them on all their hikes.

↑ JoyInTheMorning ↓

Fri, Jul 26 2019, 12:44 am

amother [ Coral ] wrote:

But this incidence was a failure, though thank God it ended well. It showed that the camp leaders did not properly teach kids that going off the trail even for a short time can result in disaster, and did not properly teach safe methods for attending to needs of nature. I don't know if the wilderness camp teaches the buddy method or some other method of keeping track of kids, but clearly that wasn't working either.

It's wonderful that this camp teaches survival skills. But obviously the camp needs to do better.

amother

↑ Coral ↓

Fri, Jul 26 2019, 1:31 am

All we have to go on are Anon posters say so. None of us actually know what happened. But unless you want to keep everyone locked in safe padded rooms, stuff will happen. Things happen. Things go wrong. That's life. Of course camps should take safety seriously, but do u really think it's possible to eliminate all possiblity of things going wrong?

People love to find reasons to explain these things to make themselves feel better because "that would never happen to me! I do xyz." But that's just erroneous and dangerous thinking

amother

Natural

Fri, Jul 26 2019, 8:14 am

JoyInTheMorning wrote:

It's wonderful that this camp is teaching important skills. They can teach them perfectly, and human nature still means that campers won't always implement them perfectly. The same way you can have the best teacher standing in front of the classroom and not every student will pass the test.

amother

Blue

Fri, Jul 26 2019, 8:25 am

There should be precautions in place like the good old fashioned buddy system (everyone has a buddy they team up with and are responsible for), periodic counts of campers,etc. of friend’s kid was accidentally left behind in day camp when she made a bathroom stop - a little girl. I remember going on a school trip where the bus almost left someone behind (teenager).

↑ JoyInTheMorning ↓

Fri, Jul 26 2019, 9:46 am

amother [ Coral ] wrote:

Of course one can't eliminate all possibility of danger. But one can reduce the possibility of bad things happening. And it seems to me clear that it is our obligation to do so.

As an example, we know that wearing seat belts don't eliminate the possibility of serious injury or death in an auto accident. Neither do car seats. But they reduce the risks. Therefore we should wear seat belts, and buy car seats, install them safely, and safely buckle in our kids until they are old enough to ride in boosters.

It is likewise our obligation to make sure camps teach safe behavior.

This is not because I think I can control the world. On the contrary. I know terrible things can happen. But there is a value in dong whatever I can to avoid those terrible things.

amother

Forestgreen ↓

Fri, Jul 26 2019, 9:54 am

im thinking this all summer, stop the hikes! they are fun but not worth the risk. I know there's risk in stepping thru one's front door, or staying inside, for that matter but still. why take this high risk when it isn't necessary?

or maybe they should implement tying every kid to a long rope so everyone stays together at all times. lame but safe!!

↑ JoyInTheMorning

Fri, Jul 26 2019, 10:09 am

amother [ Forestgreen ] wrote:

There is a real value to hiking and being in the outdoors. We don't want to raise our children to be unhealthy weaklings and cowards. But obviously we want to raise them to be safe.

The point is that we need to institute better safety measures, not that we should eliminate hiking.

amother

Dodgerblue ↓

Fri, Jul 26 2019, 10:17 am

amother [ Forestgreen ] wrote:

Its not a high risk if you follow precautions - and they are great and important for overall health.

amother

↑ Forestgreen

Fri, Jul 26 2019, 12:47 pm

amother [ Dodgerblue ] wrote:

Its not a high risk if you follow precautions - and they are great and important for overall health.

I'm know for a fact there are alternatives. teens will stay teens. they don't realize how dangerous it is to wander off for a sec, even if they are told 100 times. we all think that "that" wont happen to us.

or we need more than just precautions and warnings. there needs to be a serious method in place so that no one wanders off. a buddy system is a good first step but I figure two people can get lost just as much as a single person...

amother

↑ Dodgerblue

Fri, Jul 26 2019, 2:37 pm

amother [ Forestgreen ] wrote:

We don't need alternatives to nature walks/hikes. That's just crazy.