The boys had decided that this weekend would be perfect for a weekend camping gear trip. They carefully followed the weather forecast to make sure the weather would be favorable. They packed their gear, and on Friday morning they headed out.
Bill made sure their Coleman stove was in good working order before they set out. He had bought extra cans of propane gas so they would not run out. He also gathered up camping cookware, plates, utensils, and other things needed for setting up their camp kitchen.
Joe’s responsibility was to see that the tent, the sleeping bags and the camp chairs could all be brought along with no problem. He spent a great deal of time making sure all the tent stakes and poles were with the tent. He even went to the store and bought some tent clips to make it easier to set up the tent.
Ian’s job was to make sure they had . He also made sure that all their fishing gear was in good working order. At the last minute he decided to purchase an emergency flashlight and an emergency radio. He had no idea how glad they would all be that they had brought that flashlight.
When they arrive at the camp site, they immediately set up camp. When everything was in order, the boys decided they would do a little fishing. After all, it was late afternoon by the time the finished getting camp all arranged and they were getting hungry. Between the three of them, they caught enough fish for the evening meal. Bill was chosen as camp cook, and soon supper was ready. The fish were delicious! After all the fish was eaten and everything was cleaned up and put away, the boys enjoyed sitting around their campfire swapping stories.
After carefully dousing the fire, the boys settled down for a good night’s rest. Sometime in the middle of the night, Ian woke up. He wasn’t sure what had awakened him, but now he was sitting up wide awake. He looked over at Bill and Joe to see if they were awake too. They were sound asleep. Ian decided to have a look around outside to make sure everything was okay. He took his Coleman wide beam flashlight with him. As he stepped outside the tent, he realized that the wind was getting stronger. Ian realized that a storm was brewing. Bill and Joe woke up at the first loud clap of thunder.
The boys did what they could to secure their belongings and especially the tent. They sat inside the tent while the storm raged. They could hear branches snapping off the trees. With their emergency radio, they contacted the local ranger station. The ranger said when the storm subsided, they would send someone out to help them. He told them to stay where they were, so the searchers could find them. The rescuers didn’t find them until the next evening. The boys had kept the emergency flashlight from the time it started getting dark until the rescue workers found them. They never forgot that camping trip, and every camping trip after that, they made sure they always had their emergency flashlight with them!
