A frightening week in Yellowstone...
While waiting for Old Faithful to erupt, 6 people were hit by a
secondary lightning strike. 4 were injured, including a small child
who was resuscitated by a Doctor and a Nurse who happened to be
nearby. At least 2 were airlifted out to a nearby hospital, and all
have survived. Thank goodness.
There was a 13-year old scout that became missing on Friday who
doesn't appear to be as lucky. While pushing logs into the
Yellowstone River with some fellow scouts (which has already claimed
2 lives this year), he was hit by one log and knocked into the
river. He was last seen rounding a corner of the river with his
head still above water. Over 200 people have spent the last 3 days
looking for him, but thus far they've found 2 sneakers and a sock.
I have strong doubts that his body will be found anytime soon. Two
canoeists (without lifejackets) who capsized downstream and outside
of the park several weeks ago still have not been recovered.
On a somewhat lighter note, I managed to hike Sepulcher Mountain, a
9600-some-odd foot high peak on Yellowstone's Northern border. It
was a 12-mile loop with a 3400 ft elevation gain over an 8 hour
trip. I received 2 lovely blisters on each foot, but had some great
views of the Yellowstone backcountry.
My park league softball team has started off well, with a 8-5 win
last Wednesday. Two more games this week, hopefully with a couple
more wins to boot.
Until next week.
Nick
