Boy Scout Troop 26 rescued a stranded 78-year-old backpacker who had spent a night without food, water or shelter in the Sierra.

Douglas Montgomery, an experienced wilderness survivor and former scoutmaster, lost his pack and his bearings.

The incident was a powerful lesson about wilderness preparedness and how quickly emergencies can develop.

At first, Charlie Hey, 12, didn’t think much of it when his Boy Scout troop passed an elderly man standing at the edge of a trail deep in the Emigrant Wilderness.

The man, Douglas Montgomery, 78, was lightly dressed for the conditions in the high Sierra and, more curiously, was carrying no water.

“I thought, ‘Oh, he’s doing a day hike,’” Charlie said.

Following a few steps behind the boys, Scoutmaster M-J Hey —Charlie’s father— wasn’t too alarm

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