N.C. Scout leaders say they didn't know about weather forecast
GASTONIA,
N.C. -- Leaders of a North Carolina Boy Scout troop and Virginia state park
rangers disagree about whether the troop was warned that dangerous weather
threatened the park where the Scouts held their annual camping trip last
weekend.
Eleven Scouts
and leaders Troop 11 with the First Presbyterian Church of Gastonia had to be
rescued Sunday from Grayson Highland State Park, just across the Virginia line
from the northwest corner of North Carolina. All were treated for frostbite and
hypothermia, and six spent the night at Ashe Memorial Hospital in Jefferson.
Leader Michael Sims, 36, was one of 14 leaders who accompanied the 28 Scouts and another adult. He said he monitored the National Weather Service forecast and talked to park rangers and officials with the N.C. Highway Patrol. No one warned of the blizzard-like conditions to come, he said. But two rangers at Grayson Highland State Park said they told Scout leaders that a cold front would sling sleet, snow, rain and wind gusts up to 66 mph across the mountains that weekend. "They knew what they were getting into," park ranger Roy Kilby said. "They said they thought they were prepared to handle it." At 4 p.m. Friday, the National Weather Service forecast called for a high of 30 degrees Saturday and a low of 16 degrees coupled with 55 mph winds and a wind chill index of almost 10 degrees below zero. The conditions were similar to those during last year's trip, said Scoutmaster Steve Owens, who didn't go this time.
This year, an overnight drop in temperature and extreme winds made a difference, Scouts and leaders said. "The adult leaders did a very good job preparing us for what we thought was going to happen," said Andrew Stoker, 12. "At first, it seemed like it was going to be pretty fun, but problems began to develop fast." The troop slept at the base of the park Friday night and started its three-hour hike the next morning. They set up camp at Rhododendron Gap, in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, a wide open space with few trees where the wind blows constantly, said Chief Ranger Kevin Kelley. "It's a pretty rugged area," he said. "It gets nasty up there. And it got nasty Saturday." After hiking through knee-deep snow, the troop set up camp around 2 p.m. Saturday. During the night, Jack Meakin, 11, and his father, Gastonia physician Chuck Meakin, were among those woke up and found more snow had accumulated. Their clothes and boots were frozen. "I put my hands inside my jacket underneath my armpits," he said. "I couldn't feel my fingers, toes, ears or nose."
By the time people woke up around 7 a.m. Sunday, Sims had gone down the mountain to look for help. Meanwhile, leaders still at the campsite saw that some Scouts had hypothermia and frostbite, so they sent a group down to call for rescuers. In addition to the Scouts and their leaders, three rescuers were treated for frostbite at Ashe Memorial. Matthew Knight, 14, stayed overnight at the hospital and has black spots on his toes from frostbite. "I was fine until I woke up and realized I was getting cold and needed to get off the mountain," said Knight. He said he would use the experience to tell younger Scouts about what can happen to them if they're not prepared Cliff Morris, field services director of the Piedmont Council, said his office would review the Gastonia troops' decision to make the trip, but ruled out disciplinary action.
Leaders of Troop 11 say they plan no changes for next year's trip. They noted that the annual trip is designed to give Scouts the experience of surviving in the snow and cold. A couple of parents who attended a Scouts meeting Monday said they were satisfied with how leaders handled the situation. Knight said he would attend next year's trip, but would be sure to have the right gear and to be prepared for any weather. "It was a great trip, one of the best ones we've had all year," he said.