Remarkable and uplifting story of how a 13-year-old boy scout helped his Father survive three days in the wilderness and hiked out to get help.
idaho hero 2Weighing in at 90lbs and carrying a 40lb backpack, 13-year-old Charlie Finlayson not only had the presence of mind to stabilize his seriously injured dad – he also knew exactly how to survive.

IDAHO – […]  The 52-year-old mountaineer and his son were camped at Ship Island Lake in the Bighorn Crags of the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness northwest of Challis. On Aug. 17, the two were scouting a climbing route when a boulder rolled off the mountainside. They hadn’t started climbing and don’t know what dislodged the big rock.

“Dumb luck. It didn’t come off too far above me, so it wasn’t rolling too fast,” Finlayson said.

But the refrigerator-size boulder knocked him off the ledge, and he tumbled 20 to 30 feet down the mountain.

The blow broke his back, his left arm and left heel. It carved a foot-long gash on his shin, exposing the bone. It dislodged a crown on one of his back teeth, ripped off his helmet and briefly knocked him out.

Their camp at the lake was on the other side of the boulder field, a mile away. They were about 13 miles from the trail head and nearest ranger, where they might be able to summon help. And they were in the middle of a 12-day trip, so they weren’t overdue. No one was going to come looking for them.  (read the rest of the story here)

idaho hero

Video interview story via Fox News HERE

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