Lost Eagle Scout Hiker

Scout Skills Help Lost Hiker Survive
By DAVID TIRRELL-WYSOCKI,


Scott Mason, of Halifax, Mass., headed up the popular mountain for a long day hike on Saturday, but decided to take a shortcut down after spraining his ankle. He chose a route he had discussed with the staff at the Appalachian Mountain Club lodge where he began his hike. "They had information that it was clear at the time," he said in a telephone interview Wednesday. But that emergency route led him into unexpected trouble: rising water and deep snow caused by unseasonably warm weather. "When I got down there, the rivers were much more rapid than should have been," he said. He decided instead to cross earlier than he had planned, putting him in an area of no trails. Wearing plastic bags inside his boots to keep his feet dry, he began trying to find a way out. Mason said even though he was stranded, he wasn't lost because he had hiked the area before and recognized the landmarks. He sank several times into mountain runoff that was hidden beneath waist-deep snow. "The runoff was about 2 1/2 feet deep and probably running 30 mph," he said. "The guides confirmed I could have gotten sucked in if I had fallen all the way in, and I would have been gone." Saturday and Sunday nights, Mason crawled beneath snow-covered pine trees and hunkered down in a bivvy sack, a waterproof sleeping bag shell. To keep warm, he started fires with a hand sanitzer gel. "You can put it right on what you are burning, and even on the snow you can make a fire," he said. "I was able to make a fire just because I ripped down some big evergreen branches." By Sunday afternoon, his snow-covered route down still blocked by raging runoff, Mason decided he had to go back up the mountain. On Monday, he tried signaling a helicopter, waving his hiking poles and reflective bivvy sack. But the crew was focused below his level, more concerned that he might have tried to take a trail across a river and been swept away. "It was a little disappointing," he said. He found a large crevice in a rock that night that was partially protected from the wind, built a higher windscreen with rocks and slept until well after daylight Tuesday, when he resumed his slow trek toward the summit to reach the weather observatory. "I was going to hike to the observatory and kind of knock on their door and try to get some hot cocoa and a ride down," he said. That's when he and a search team spotted each other. The rescuers give him a ride down the 6,288-foot mountain Tuesday morning into the waiting arms of his parents, sister and aunt. Mason thanked rescuers who endured the treacherous conditions to look for him. "Anyone can go through the ice into an underground stream," he said. "They were risking their lives to try to save me."

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616
Great Alaska COuncil
Eagle Scout OA Brotherhood Member
NSJ '05 WSJ '07 Philmont AA '08

Distingushed Eagle Scout Award

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award Recipient Urges Juniors to Mentor Others

Story Number: NNS090429-15
Release Date: 4/29/2009 8:41:00 PM
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Thomas J. Miller GREAT LAKES (NNS) --


The commander of Navy Region Midwest was awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award by the Boy Scouts of America April 28.

The award was presented to Rear Adm. Douglas T. Biesel by his former Scoutmaster Thom Helmacy of Coudersbort, Pa., during the 2009 Northeastern Illinois Council Eagle Scout Recognition Dinner at Naval Station Great Lakes.

The award is granted to Eagle Scouts who, after 25 years, have distinguished themselves in their life work and who have shared their talents with their communities on a voluntary basis.

"I challenge you to think about integrity as you are faced with challenges; do not compromise your integrity because it's rare if at all possible to get it back," Biesel told the new Eagle Scouts. "Without integrity all other attributes are nothing."

Biesel, who earned his Eagle Scout in 1972 in has distinguished himself throughout his career as a naval officer.

"We are so pleased and honored to learn of the selection of Admiral Biesel by our National Boy Scouts of America organization for the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award," said John H. Mosby, chief executive officer, Northeast Illinois Council, Boy Scouts of America.

"In studying the history of the award since its inception in 1969, only the highest quality of individuals have been selected for this distinct and rare award, and Admiral Biesel most certainly fits that mold."

The National Eagle Scout Association Committee selects the award recipients. The members of the selection committee are all recipients of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.

"Admiral Biesel's leadership by example and personal ethical and moral values reflects the same standards we apply in scouting, and so it is a natural choice for him to have been selected for this honor," Mosby said.

"The relationship between the Navy and the Boy Scouts has been long-standing, especially here locally. Admiral Biesel has been a key part in continuing that strong relationship since arriving here earlier this year."

In addressing this year's Eagle Scouts, Biesel challenged them to lead by example.

"Lead by example; mentor others, and congratulations to all the new Eagle Scouts. God bless you, your families and the Navy and the finest country on the earth," Biesel said. "I am really, really honored. Thank you for this distinguished Eagle Scout award. It has been a great pleasure serving this great nation as a naval officer."

The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award was implemented in 1969 and since that time approximately 1,793 nominations have been approved. Only the local council of the Eagle Scout's principal residence may nominate. Nominations may not be made for posthumous awards.

"I am really, really honored. Thank you for this distinguished Eagle Scout award," Biesel said. "It has been a great pleasure serving this great nation as a naval officer."

Distinguished Eagle Scouts include former President Gerald R. Ford, former Chiefs of Naval Operations Adm. Jay L. Johnson, Adm. Carlisle Trost and Adm. Elmo Zumwalt, Jr.; astronauts and naval aviators Neil Armstrong and Capt. James Lovell and Secretaries of Defense Robert Gates and Donald Rumsfeld.

Biesel enlisted in the Navy in 1975 and attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School (NAPS) in Newport, R.I. Following NAPS, he graduated with honors from the U.S. Naval Academy in May 1980 with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering and was designated a naval submarine warfare officer in 1983.

Following nuclear power training, he completed sea assignments aboard USS Lapon (SSN 661), USS Michigan (SSBN 727-Blue), USS Annapolis (SSN 760) and a command tour aboard USS Philadelphia (SSN 690). He has also served on numerous staffs and as commander of Naval Submarine Base Bangor, Wash. Prior to assuming command at Navy Region Midwest, he served on the staff of the chief of naval operations in programming and budgeting.

For more news from Commander, Navy Region Midwest/Naval Station Great Lakes, visit www.navy.mil/local/midwest/.
Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616
Great Alaska COuncil
Eagle Scout OA Brotherhood Member
NSJ '05 WSJ '07 Philmont AA '08