Washington, Olympics—Thirteen boys and five leaders were on a one week hiking trip in the Olympic Mountains. On August 21 they made camp early in the day at the Home Sweet Home campsite near Mt. Hopper. Being early in the day, it was decided that the boys would be allowed to make some side trips from camp. Four older boys with an experienced leader ascended Mt. Hopper and returned about 6:00 p.m. that afternoon. A second group of four other boys, which included Douglas Burleigh and Bertis Wickland with Gil Burleigh, Douglas’ father, as a leader, hiked to a distant lake. This group misjudged their time and were forced by nightfall to stay at the lake throughout the night. The next morning on their return to base camp at Home Sweet Home, they left the established trails and attempted to go cross country. There they ran into trouble in attempting to traverse some steep mountain sides. Douglas Burleigh lost his footing and tumbled about 100 feet down a rocky slope, cutting a bad gash in his leg as his only injury. Shortly thereafter, in the same area, Bertis Wickland also lost his footing and fell down the slope, his head hitting a rock, giving him a slight concussion, and rendering him unconscious. Other boys were immediately dispatched to base camp for help, and boys from there were dispatched to the ranger station which was nine miles away. The boys reached the ranger station about 12:30 p.m. The call was put in promptly to the Sand Point Naval Air Station for a helicopter and the parents were finally contacted at 1:30 p.m. Burleigh and Wickland were picked up by helicopter, arrived at Sand Point Naval Station at 2:30, and were dispatched without delay to a Seattle Hospital. The injuries have not proven to be serious and the boys are back in school.

Source: Hermon Jenkins.

Analysis: In an interview with the scoutmaster and other leaders of this party, it was of course agreed that a code of mountain hiking had been violated, and that these hikers did not stay on trails in country unfamiliar to them. The scoutmaster agrees that this might have been avoided if he as the party leader had given proper instruction to the leader of the party.