We always enjoy following Stowe Mountain Rescue. Their latest tale is of a Canadian family hiking on the Trapp Family trails who got a little turned around, but were able to summon the rescue team before their cell phones died.
We earned our keep tonight rescuing a lovely Canadian family who were lost in the Trapps trail network.
Realizing they were in trouble, they put out a call for help just as their cell phone died and darkness fell. We ran our ATV along the trail they had been on but found no sign of them so were launching into a wider search plan when a call came in that they had made it to the cabin and were sheltering in place (saved by the last dying gasp of their thawing cell phone).
With our subjects safe and warm, in a known location, the mission suddenly became easy.
Once we had them bundled up in our rescue boggan and headed downhill, we proceeded to fall in love with the kids (aged 12 and 7 and hopelessly charming). It had been a long day for them but they were in excellent spirits.
We talked about backcountry safety on the way down (the importance of carrying a cell phone battery bank taking center stage) and when we later asked them what they had learned, they exclaimed gleefully “Don’t trust the parents!!”.
They were excited to tell us that they were visiting the Trapp Family Lodge as a surprise Christmas treat in honor of the daughter’s recent role as Gretl (the youngest character, based on Martina Von Trapp) in a Sound Of Music production! She was every bit as cute as the original Gretl.
What with this connection and sheltering in the cabin lit by a single candle and then riding downhill in a rescue boggan - talk about a memorable vacation! Hopefully some of the backcountry safety lesson will be remembered too. We wish them well and hope they’ll be back.