Like a group of LDS Boy Scouts, I went hiking on Saturday morning during the extreme temperatures. Unlike the scouts, we didn’t reach our destination before turning back. You see, the ultimate goal of every hike is to return safely back to the car, and I am more than willing to turn back before the goal rather than take the risk. Unfortunately for one of the leaders, this group made a different choice.
Scouting exists to teach boys how to make choices. Sometimes, it’s a better choice to do something else, go somewhere else, or turn back. My friend and I, after two miles, were down to half our water and turned back rather than regret hiking. Years ago, I quit running in a half marathon at 11 miles because my knee hurt, and I knew that if I pushed it I might need many weeks or months to recover. By June, my friend and I never go hiking down at Lake Mead; by July, we only go hiking at Mt. Charleston where the high is 85 and where you can get water at a resort or out of the creek if necessary. I only go to the hot springs in the fall and winter; it’s not refreshing or inviting when the air temperature is 112F. I learned to do differently my second summer in Vegas. We went hiking to this same hot springs in May but left too late in the day. I was the only person who brought a flashlight, and our progress meant we still had a few miles to walk in the dark. One hiker tripped and sprained her ankle, and I ended up carrying her the last mile on my back. Of course, I was the only one who had any water, so I shared what I had to keep the rest going, knowing that I was in the best shape of the group. I got lucky.
Over the past few years, I have seen a shift from scouting skills to entertaining the boys. The local troop based out of my congregation plans summer camping trips to the Valley of Fire or summer hikes in the Grand Canyon, both of which I find incredibly ill-advised. Years ago, another group planned a trip to Yosemite in May, unaware and uninterested in the fact that snow would prohibit their plans and that their delay in commitment left them unable to procure a backwoods permit. They go shoot guns and on high adventure without first teaching scouts the skills to successfully accomplish the venture. Some of these outings are very ambitious, and the boys come to rely on the expertise of leaders. Just because you make testosterone, grow a beard, and sire children doesn’t mean you are prepared or qualified to lead boys into the wilderness. Out there, it can become survival of the fittest, and the wilderness doesn’t care if you’re attractive.
It’s very sad to lose this leader, and it’s sad about how this will create backlash against congregational affiliations with the scouts. However, the BSA has gone far from where it was when Lord Baden Powell founded it, and I think we’ve lost more than electrolytes, the trail, and a leader. We’ve really lost sight, lost vision, and lost our way in what we mean scouting to mean. What is the purpose anymore? Back in my day, scouting was to “keep physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight”. It existed to teach us how to be self-reliant, prepared for eventualities, and plan well. Today it seems like everything is hasty and superfluously assembled and revolves around trinkets and beads; my dad told me about an activity organized out of his congregation where the focalpoint of excitement was that they were going out to Lake Mead (which is usually 5F hotter than Vegas) to make chili cheese fries. Excuse me? When did that become relevant to scouting? I’ve been around Lake Mead, and although I don’t know everything about it, I know these trails, these areas, and the risks.
One of the greatest lessons I learned as a scout was to stay within your means. As my skills and abilities increased, I was able to go further, traverse more challenging terrain, and visit things I never could as a beginner. This tragedy is tragic because it doesn’t look like they considered the risks and rewards and abilities of everyone involved. In an era of GPS, how did they not know where they were? In an environment such as this, why did they split up? Considering the age and fitness level of the scouts, why this hike at this time of year under these conditions? I am sorry for the loss of a leader, and I can only hope that the boys learn to be wiser when they become adults. The city had cooling stations up during the heat, and yet too often we try to be macho and end up six feet under.
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