Posted on 11/24/2024 11:52:26 AM PST by Morgana
Donn Fendler credited wild berries and a Boy Scout's 'never-give-up attitude' for his survival after he was separated from his family, aged 12, atop Maine's highest peak in 1939.
They helped him through nine tough days traversing Mt. Katahdin's dense wilderness — battling hunger, fatigue, hallucinations, bugs, and leeches. He even lost his shoes in a river.
Fendler's gripping survival story was front-page news in the build up to World War Two, and the boy's grit earned him an award from President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
His memoir, Lost on a Mountain in Maine, has regaled generations of schoolkids in the Pine Tree State. Trail maps, a graphic novel — and now a Hollywood movie — chronicle the journey.
Taking its name from Fendler's book, the film, which counts Sylvester Stallone among its producers, recreates the drama of a boy separated from his stern dad, twin brother, and others.
Thankfully, there's a happy ending.
Fendler went missing from his group in a fast-moving storm as they neared the summit of Katahdin in July of that year.
He realized within hours that he 'was in trouble' and he started to 'panic,' he told Bangor Daily News in 2009.
So, he turned to his Boy Scout skills, a 'never-give-up attitude,' his faith in God and prayers.
'It taught me to keep a calm head and calm down,' he said.
He ate strawberries and checkerberries and sheltered as best he could though the chilly nights.
The boy followed a stream and a telephone line, which led him out to a hunting camp near Stacyville, some 35 miles from where he started.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Isn’t this the basic theme of many of Disney’s “Sunday Night, Wonderful World of Disney” television series of the 60’s. Shows that seemed to routinely be filled with the ideas of grit, determination, not giving up and hope?
The boy followed a stream and a telephone line, which led him out to a hunting camp near Stacyville, some 35 miles from where he started.The young lad DID know to follow the stream and phone lines.
The boy scouts are smoking pot these days.
I recall paddling on Chuesuncook lake at age 15 on a camp trip. We were right underneath Katadin. Dense trees, no houses anywhere, no lights at night. The stars were amazing. I can see getting lost up there.
It looks like he did. I doubt he will ever let himself get lost again.
Utilizing starlin satellite communication the boy (of tomorrow) will hit 911 and rescue services would be on location in 20 minutes. Unless the world depicted in idiocracy turn out to be true the he is the lone survivor in a world wide rescue attempt where all of Europe and Asia just drive into the sea using a failed maps update via tunnels that don’t exist and all of north/South America starve in the biggest traffic jam known to man.
In the desert you follow a power line. It will lead you to civilization. Or, If it leads to an oil well, hit the emergency stop button on the poll at the edge of a pad. Someone will be there in less than an hour.
“...if you know how to walk in a straight line...”
And therein lies the problem for most folks.
I also grew up in eastern Maine. I’ve hunted, fished, hiked there for years along with my father. He’s the one that taught me the survival skills at an early age.
For awhile in my younger days, I was a hunting/fishing guide up there. To this very day, I can go to places up there right now that one cannot see or hear any sign of human life. Places where the woods are so thick that “IF you don’t know how to walk in a straight line”, you’re pretty much finished.
Just recently, an elderly couple was walking their dog one Saturday morning. Sunny day with mid 60 degree temps....a pretty autumn day.
The dog managed to get off the leash and chased after squirrel into the woods. They both immediately pursued the dog into the woods (their 1st mistake, the dog would more than likely come home). They somehow managed to get the dog back on the leash. Only problem: they were totally lost and “didn’t know how to walk in a straight line”.
In trying to find their way out, he managed to break an ankle going over a rock and could no longer walk. Now, in total panic mode, she took the dog and left him to try to get out as fast as possible to find him help. Needless to say, she walked in circles for hours and couldn’t find her way out, or even find her way back to her husband. That Saturday evening, a cold front pushed thru that area with the temps quickly dropping from the mid-60s to low the 40s/high 30s with a lot of gusting wind and heavy rain as it passed on thru.
Family and friends noticed they were missing on Monday and notified authorities and a search was initiated. They finally found her on Thursday morning, huddled in the fetal position, suffering from fear of death and hypothermia with the dog next to her which probably kept her alive. Her husband perished from hypothermia.
The sad part: The straight line distance from where she was found to their house: maybe just over a mile.
It’s some rugged thick woods in certain areas up there that can be pretty dangerous, especially when nasty weather rolls in, if one doesn’t have a clue how to survive in it.
No thanks. There's no telling how long a walk, and time's not on your side in a desert. Better odds, make a problem that people rush to fix!
I read this book in the ‘70s. Very interesting.
Well that’s why option 2 works. Emergency button on the well
I always thought mountains were older than that.
Those “survival strawberries” in New England woods are typically smaller than a pea.
A woman hiking alone in Maine woods in recent years perished in a couple of days—thinking her cellphone would bring rescue.
Alas, no signal could be reached in that area.
Today’s kids would never go on any hike in the mountains as there would be no cell service, charging for their phones or Starbucks for their lattes. Sad but this generation is mostly a bunch of snowflakes.
Ping...
I will not be supporting this movie as the producers could not be bothered to actually film it in Maine where it originally took place. Most probably because the location they did use was willing to throw gob of government welfare at them.
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