Columnist Susan Snyder: In crisis, safety tips reinforced

Thursday, June 23, 2005 | 8:14 a.m.

I am certain when little Brennan Hawkins decides he is "in the mood" to discuss his ordeal with a least some of the adults who spent four days scouring the Utah wilderness for him, it will all make sense.

My old man would have put me "in the mood" right quick. He'd have celebrated my safe return by grounding my irresponsible self until I was in eighth grade. National humiliation would have been the least of my problems.

But for now, it remains a mystery as to why the 11-year-old Boy Scout flubbed the organization's primary teachings for outdoor behavior:

Don't wander away from the group or beyond the boundaries of camp.

If you're lost, stay put.

If you must move, walk downhill or downstream.

According to Wednesday's Associated Press reports, Hawkins wandered solo away from the artificial climbing wall at the Lily Lake Boy Scout camp in Utah's Uinta mountains. He had no water, food and, according to his family, "did not have a good sense of direction."

His grasp of Boy Scout camp rules evidently weren't so hot, either. He walked some 5 miles, traveling uphill. And when rescuers appeared within earshot, he hid, fearing someone would "steal" him.

Our society's irrational fear of being snatched by the boogeyman -- which rarely occurs in the wilderness by strangers -- eclipsed the real danger of dying without food or water.

Phil Bevins, chief executive of the Boy Scouts Las Vegas Area Council, declined to comment directly on Hawkins' ordeal. But he did say that leaders and Scouts are taught routinely and often about how to respect, and act in, the outdoors.

Hopefully, area Scouts planning trips to camp and even families planning outdoor vacations will take some time to think about what we do -- and don't do -- when seeking solace from the urban environment.

"As it would in any situation, it gives everyone pause to reflect on how important the safety procedures used by the Boy Scouts are," Bevins said Wednesday. "Safety is highlighted in our (camp) orientation manuals. And part of the orientation upon arrival at camp is safety."

The rules for what to do are clearly stated and reinforced, he said.

"If you become disoriented or lost, the No. 1 rule is hug a tree. You are generally safer and more likely to be found if you stay put," he said. "If you must move, head downhill or downstream. But the best rule is to hug a tree."

Hawkins learned that the hard way.

"In Scouting we use the out of doors as more than just recreation. It is really an outdoor classroom," Bevins said. "They (Scouts) learn in the out of doors and in camps that with it comes a sense of responsibility."

Responsibility -- for oneself and others. It would seem that basic Boy Scout rule would surface somewhere in the wake of collective relief and national media attention. At some point we must stop being polite and state the obvious. A blow to a kid's self-esteem is easier to overcome than his death.

"Children need adventure and challenge, but in a safe environment," Bevins said. "It's something we take very seriously."

For outdoor safety tips, check out the council's online "Guide to Safe Scouting," at www.lvacbsa.org.