In life, sometimes what seems familiar and easy to you can become very tough and impossible just like what happened with this local Hawaii couple.
What seemed like a short hike on Waimano Trail in August turned into a nightmare for the couple who were lost after it became dark and were left with no food, no water, a dead cellphone, and an injured dog.
Their 100 lb. dog, Smokey, had injuries on its feet and was unable to walk. Things would have taken a tragic turn if they hadn’t come across a mother and her boy scout son who were at the right place, right time.
Waimano Trail above Pearl City has different trails and local residents JD and Aimee were seven miles into that trail and had not seen a human being for hours but suddenly they spotted 12-year-old David King and his mother, Christine.
David recalled the encounter saying, “We asked ‘oh do you need any help?’ They said ‘yeah,’ they showed us the dog’s paws had some cuts on them. So, it hurt when the dog would walk. When the dog would walk, it would just be really painful,” David said.
The Kings were on a mission to earn David a Boy Scout Merit Badge for hiking with the St. John Vianney troop 311 in Kailua and for that they had just completed a three-mile trek from the end of their 15-mile hike.
The mother and son were a true God-send for this stranded couple because if they hadn’t met them then God alone knows what would have happened to them and their dog Smokey.
Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
Although JD tried carrying the dog on his back, it became too difficult for him because the blue pitbull was extremely heavy and then David came up with an amazing idea that saved the day.
David’s Boy Scout training came in handy and he suggested building a stretcher using a big tree branch that they broke in half and then they used their shirts and used the armholes to fit the sticks through.
He learned this life-saving technique from his older brother, an eagle scout but Christine didn’t think it would work well.
She said, “It was his idea to make the stretcher. We didn’t think it would work because we didn’t think the dog would get onto the stretcher. Smokey was just very happy to get on the stretcher. We just carried him out,” Christine added.
None of them had any cell phone service in the Trail and so all of them helped out in carrying Smokey three miles to the beginning of the trail. David was exhausted because he had just finished playing a game of soccer before he went on the hike but he pulled along and reached the end.
“It was really tough, but we rotated,” David said. “Sometimes we did four people, two on each side, two people — my mom and the man — and then the dog would get off and walk some which was really helpful and let us relax.”
Once they were out of the trail, Smokey got the medical help he needed and is doing fine now. David has an important message for all those who wanted to trek. He said, “It is a good reminder to be prepared for hitting the trail by packing plenty of food, water, and knowing the route.”
“Make sure that whenever you’re doing an activity, think of what can go wrong and how you can prevent it,” David said.
David’s young mind was impacted the most by this incident as he says that he felt really good about helping others in need. “I think that when you help someone out it’s like joy in you that just like you know you did something good that day,” he stated.
Hebrews 13:5-6 “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’”