Scott Robertson

Boy Scout leader dies

By: Posted On: 2013-06-15

I saw on the news about a Boy Scout Leader who died while hiking at Lake Mead. The Park Service rescue the 5 Scouts and recovered his body down the trail. This happened June 8, 2013. You can find the full news article here.

Here are my two cents...

I live in Las Vegas and this whole thing seems kind of odd too me. Lake Mead is hotter then Vegas, usually by 5 to 10 degrees depending where in the lake you are, the particular day, etc. We train all our Scouts to recognize the signs of heat related conditions including dehydration and heat stroke and on top of that how to handle it when it does come up. Also in our planning we make sure to plan locations depending on time of year. Hiking during the summer is limited to places like Mt Charleston where its a lot cooler.

One year when I was on summer camp staff at the local Scout camp, which at best is only 20 degrees cooler then the valley, so if its 110 in Vegas the camp is 90... During one of the special events, we were at the top of the loop. A Scout Leader grabbed me and told me something was up with one of his Scouts and that he thought the kid of high on paint. Because they had been doing a service project earlier that involved painting. The leader and I got the Scout down to the medics office. I then returned to my post helping with the event, later I found out he was rushed to town and was on multiple fluid IVs all night, as he had not drank or eaten anything since the night before. I was also told he could have passed out at any time which probably would have lead to his death.

The heat is not something to play with, it will and does kill. Frankly we would never take Scouts down to the lake this time of year, as its just to hot.

Regardless I pray for the family of the leader, and am glad none of the Scouts died.

Our friends at OutdoorsGeek would like to remind every one "Safety First, Safety Always". Please tell us what you think on facebook.


 
 

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