My Boy Scout Troop Rescued a 78-Year-Old Backpacker (and Former Scoutmaster) Lost in the California Wilderness

The 113,000-acre Emigrant Wilderness in the Sierra Nevada range is challenging terrain for even the most prepared backpackers. Boy Scout Troop 26 of Santa Barbara, California, entered the wilderness area as ready as ever in early August, but they never expected they’d have to rescue someone else — much less a former scoutmaster. One of the troop’s leaders says they came across the older man on day four of their one-week trip.

“There were a lot of red flags. The biggest one was how confused he was,” M-J Hey, Troop 26 scoutmaster, tells Outdoor Life. “He was very polite, but he was quite disoriented. He was all over the place, so I knew something else was going on. And he just had on a pair of trousers and a thin shirt. That was it. That really gave me cause for thought.”

The disoriented hiker was 78-year-old Douglas Montgomery, an Eagle Scout and former scoutmaster who had trekked the same woods with Troop 10 of Burlingame, California, in the 1960s. (The lower the troop number, the older the troop, so both 26 and 10 go back decades in the scouting program.) The organization has alumni all over the world, including Montgomery, who is also a Navy veteran and global explorer.

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Montgomery was on a two-week solo trip when he fell in a lake and his plans were derailed. He lost his pack and he lost his way. Cold and dehydrated, he used the forest to stay warm.

“I crammed myself between several lodgepole pines and covered myself with loam,” Montgomery told the Santa Barbara Independent. “I kept myself busy all night tweaking the loam over parts of my body that were exposed to the air. I complained about the cold many times, yelling out of the darkness.”

By the time Troop 26 found Montgomery, he was wandering cold and confused. He’d been without his pack for two days. The troop was separated into two parties because of group size limits mandated in designated wilderness areas. Five 15-year-olds did a 50-miler with three leaders while nine 12-year-olds, including Hey and his son, did a 35-mile loop with five leaders.

“The idea is you build up the confidence and competence of the scouts,” says Hey, who grew up in the U.K. training as a cadet with the Royal Air Force. “This was by far the longest trip the younger scouts had done. It was a big challenge to carry a week of food, be away from home, and navigate the wilderness.”

As they racked up mileage, the boys earned merit badges for things like fishing, camping, navigating, and fire building. They earned their first-aid merit badges when they tended to Montgomery, who didn’t have any food, water, or his medication on him.

“When we got to him, I asked him where he thought he was and he was a complete 15 miles off course,” says Hey, who’s been a scoutmaster for six months. “He did bump into hikers and they gave him directions but no help. More than anything, I was upset to hear that. He was anxious and concerned. He was in a bad spot.”

Hey took the lead, assigning tasks and organizing the rescue mission. The scouts pooled supplies, put Montgomery in the warm sun, and offered him electrolyte drinks for hydration.

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“I sat down and looked him in the eye and said very clearly, ‘We’re going to be here with you to make sure you are rescued, and we are confident you are in a safe place. You are safe Douglas. It’s okay,’” Hey says. “Just the emotional impact of hearing that, for him, was quite powerful. He knew he was going to be okay.”

Three hours after the troop’s Garmin inReach transmitted a call for help, a chopper retrieved Montgomery from a nearby meadow. He made a full recovery and is now traveling in Europe. As for Troop 26, rescuing Troop 10’s former leader goes well beyond merit badge recognition.

“We sat around the campfire that night and I was peppered with questions,” Hey says. “I thought it was so lovely to be able to go through the entire thought process with the boys. What I saw, what my options were, why I made certain decisions. They were really engaged. It was a powerful moment. What I wanted the scouts to get out of it was how they can really have a huge impact in the real world. I wanted to look after Montgomery and save him, but I also wanted the scouts to see how important their skills are. And they got the message in droves.”