'Survival in the backcountry'

“STOP: Stop, Think, Observe and Plan.” That’s a good motto to use to survive in the backcountry, as two hikers from Virginia recently demonstrated after spending five more nights than planned in Glacier National Park.

It also helped that Neal Peckens and Jason Hiser were well prepared for what was expected to be a 17-mile hike that became complicated by foul weather that led them off their planned route.

Unsure of how to get out of the situation, the two men rationed their food, collected firewood and hunkered down in their tent until help arrived.

And help did arrive, thanks to a dedicated effort involving personnel from the park and local search and rescue organizations. Peckens and Hiser are expressing their thanks, with plans to donate $30,000 to those groups. It’s a happy ending to a story that could have turned out much differently.

THE FLEET FEET of a pair of local runners raced into the record books on Saturday.

In the state cross-country finale, Bigfork’s Makena Morley won the Class B state title and Flathead’s Zach Perrin won the Class AA state championship.

For sophomore Morley, it was her second straight cross-country individual championship. Perrin, a senior, finally topped the state meet to cap a storied running career.

Perrin outdueled two longtime rivals, including Glacier’s Troy Fraley, to cross the line first among Class AA boys.

Also earning honors on Saturday was the Whitefish High School boys cross-country squad, which won the Class AA team title.

Congratulations to all these champion runners.

THE WISHER family in Kalispell knows how to pay it forward.

When Sabrina Wisher needed an $8,000 SleepSafe bed for her disabled daughter Mikayla and Medicaid refused to pay, her friends, family and the Flathead Valley community rallied to raise well over $15,000.

Mikayla, 21, suffers from a rare genetic condition that causes multiple seizures and uncontrolled movement. Having a bed that can keep her safe was a necessity.

When a SleepSafe salesman heard about Mikayla and the generous outpouring of support, the company’s board voted to give her the bed.

The Wishers are using the money raised to set up a foundation to buy similar beds for other disabled Montana children.

“We’re going to make a difference,” Sabrina Wisher declared.

With that the kind of perseverance and compassion, we have no doubt this new foundation will truly make a difference for so many families.