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A Trip They’ll Never Forget
What started out as an amazing escape from daily life quickly turned into a family disaster. This young boy started out on a beautiful adventure with his father. Two days earlier a boulder had crushed his dad, and now he was out navigating the wilderness alone.
Outdoor Love
The father is David Finlayson, the son is Charlie Wilstead Finlayson. Charlie lives in Eagle, Idaho, and is very close with David who is a defense attorney in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are bonded together by their love of outdoor adventure because until now, it had been harmless.
Danger Ahead
The two have a long history of exciting hikes. From Mount Rainier in Washington state to the peaks of Canada, and even the Panamanian jungle– these two have seen it all. Little did they know, what their next adventure in 2015 would hold.
River of No Return
For this trip, the pair were headed on a two-week excursion to Idaho’s Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. By the name itself you can see that it prides itself on being an intense hike. However, the pair believed they were more than prepared.
Disaster Strikes
The trip started out smoothly. For the first week, they safely explored their new surroundings. However, halfway through the trip, the unthinkable happened. While about to climb a cliff, a giant boulder came loose and began falling towards the father and son.
A Horrific View
David jumped out of the way, but the huge boulder managed to hit his left side. He fell down the hillside, harshly hitting the bottom 30 feet below. From the impact, he was immediately knocked unconscious as his son watched this all go down with a terrified look on his face.
Serious Injury
When he descended down the hill, Charlie was shocked by the state of his dad. When the 13-year-old saw his father, he realized that not only had he broken his back, left foot, and his left arm, but David also had a huge gash on his lower leg exposing the bone. Charlie was in disbelief.
Stepping Up
“I saw him lying there and I was pretty scared,” Charlie told People Magazine, “But after a minute, I realized I would have to calm down or I’d make the situation worse. So I took a deep breath and thought, ‘Okay, I have to do this. My dad’s in serious trouble. And it’s up to me to help him.”
Making It Work
Charlie had to come up with a plan of action all on his own. It was late in the afternoon and 13 miles to the nearest park ranger. There was no way he would find help before it got dark out. He would have to improvise for the rest of the night in order to keep his dad alive.
Saving Lives
After running back to their camp, Charlie was able to find his dad’s first aid kit. Thankfully this kid had the skills he needed to disinfect and compress David’s wound. He wrapped his dad in their sleeping bags to protect him as he slept so they could come up with the perfect strategy in the morning.
Scared For Life
David had to keep a strong face on for his son. However, he was terrified that he may bleed to death and not make it through the night. While the thought haunted him, Charlie was keeping his spirits high with his help. “He just kind of coached me along with the pain and tried to help me not pass out – he kept talking to me all night,” David told the Idaho Statesman.
On The Path
When they awoke, David hoped he had enough strength to get to safety. His son helped him struggle his way one mile back to their camp near the lake. Even with his son nursing him and making solo detours to try and find other campers, David could not continue on much longer due to his injuries.
Leaving Him Behind
Since their one-mile trip had taken hours, there needed to be a new strategy. The two decided that the next morning Charlie would have to leave his father behind in search of help. He would be able to move a lot more efficiently and hopefully, find the rangers that could save his dad themselves.
Fighting To Live
When they woke up the next morning, both of them were nervous. Charlie knew that he had to go in order to save his dad, but he was too scared to do so. “He was just afraid to leave me because, he… didn’t know if he’d see me again,” David said.
Saving Grace
Charlie went out on his mission anyways, knowing it was his dad’s best shot. Three miles into his journey, he finally struck luck. He ran into two men from his church back home in Eagle. They agreed to find David and watch over him while Charlie continued on in search of help.
Calling For Help
Charlie was happy to know that his dad was safe, so he confidently continued on with his mission. He was on the lookout for anyone that could alert the authorities and send some type of rescue. He had a note on him with the details of what happened and how to locate his father. Charlie was finally able to reach Crags Campground when the Rangers were alerted to what happened.
Rescue Mission
It seemed like a miracle when he finally located the rangers. Finally he had relief that someone else could go save his father. Now, all David had to do was wait it out until help made their way over. But would they make it in time?
Long Road Ahead
David was completely relieved when a helicopter arrived to take him to a hospital in Boise. The doctors were able to treat his injuries and set his broken bones. They explained he had a long recovery with many surgeries ahead, but David was just happy to be alive.
Unbreakable Bond
The bond that these two had was somehow even stronger now, “We had a pretty solid relationship with each other before this happened,” David told ABC News. “But it’s definitely concrete now. Or granite, maybe, is the way to put it.”
Famous Son
When Charlie went back to school he received plenty of attention from his classmate’s thanks to the news stories, “I just did what I had to do,” he told People. “I don’t feel like I need all this attention. Anybody would have done the same thing. We’re going to go on another trip once my dad is healed up. But it won’t be in the mountains this time. We’re thinking we might go to Hawaii.”
Brittany
Silvia
