The boys became disoriented.
Herr slipped and fell into a river,/and they were stranded on the wilderness side of Mt. Washington.
Cell phones did not yet exist,/so the boys were on their own/as the winds howled and the temperature dropped.
“We survived/by building snow caves/and hugging each other to stay warm,”/Herr said later. They lost track of time. One day passed and then another.
“When you’re hypothermic,/you can’t think clearly,”/Herr said. “So even though we were approaching four days,/we thought we were still in the same 24-hour day.”
Hypothermia gave way to surrender. “We were no longer able to walk,”/Herr said. “We just gave up all hope/and we actually stopped hugging each other to stay warm. We just reasoned the sooner we died,/the better.”
Almost by a miracle,/the two boys were discovered by a snowshoer,/and that evening they were airlifted to a hospital.
“We survived/by building snow caves/and hugging each other to stay warm,”/Herr said later. They lost track of time. One day passed and then another.
“When you’re hypothermic,/you can’t think clearly,”/Herr said. “So even though we were approaching four days,/we thought we were still in the same 24-hour day.”
Hypothermia gave way to surrender. “We were no longer able to walk,”/Herr said. “We just gave up all hope/and we actually stopped hugging each other to stay warm. We just reasoned the sooner we died,/the better.”
Almost by a miracle,/the two boys were discovered by a snowshoer,/and that evening they were airlifted to a hospital.