Trapped in the Wilderness

Blake Stanfield was so excited. He had organized a surprise rafting trip in Alaska for his father’s birthday, but it quickly became a 5-day nightmare!

On a lovely summer day in 2003, Blake Stanfield took his father, Neil, on a trip to Alaska. They set off on their raft to the Koyukuk River on the first morning. After only a few miles on the river, they crashed into a huge wall of ice and fell into the freezing, icy water. They were sucked under by the fast-flowing water. There was no way they could crawl onto the ice; instead they were carried away by the river. (1) ........ “What am I going to do?” Blake thought at that point. But just then, he surfaced and saw his father holding onto an oar.

Freezing cold and with Neil suffering from hypothermia, the two men made their way to the shore. Blake lit a fire. Blake knew that if his father didn’t get warm soon, he would die from the cold. (2) ........ All of their supplies – their food, tent, clothing – had been lost in the river so Blake knew he had to get help as quickly as possible. Leaving his father, he made his way towards the nearest town which was 104 km away. He sang loudly to scare off wild predators such as bears. He had to catch and eat ants and spiders to give him energy and strength. But, he soon ran into a problem (3) ........

While Blake was trying to make his way to the town, Neil was also battling to stay alive. At one point, he fell asleep and woke up just in time to see his fire was nearly out. As Monday came, both men were becoming weaker and weaker because of a lack of food. “If only I hadn’t left my father!” Blake thought. But then, he had an idea. He decided to build a fire so that any planes flying overhead could see him. On Tuesday evening, a pilot eventually spotted Blake. Then, a rescue helicopter came and got him. They quickly found Neil. (4) ........ “You don’t look so great yourself,” Neil replied.