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Two Idaho fathers and three children set out over the weekend for a leisurely drive and hike, but after getting stranded in the snow, ended up sleeping in their car and then walking 19 miles for help.’
“It was just a long journey, but fun and miserable,”10-year-old Megun Murkle told KTVB-TV.
The nightmare began Saturday when her father, William Murkle, 34, and John Julian (38) and his children (Samantha, 8, and Isaac, 7) went on a ride through rural Idaho – enjoying the scenery and looking for animals — and their truck got stuck on a snowy road near Arrowrock Dam, in the mountains outside of Boise.
“It was freezing,” Samantha said.
They had no supplies, no food and no cell service. They were stuck, and desperate.
They slept in their car that night, huddling together for warmth, and then set out the next morning to look for help.
The pack for anybody who wants to be fully prepared for an unexpected emergency
“The scariest thing was when we came across fresh wolf tracks,” William Murkle told ABC News. “And we could tell wolves had been in the area recently.”
Nineteen miles and nine hours later, they came across a cabin in Prarie, Idaho, and they called their families, who had expected them back the previous afternoon and had been worried all night.
The entire time, they were without food.
“We told them that they’d get a cheeseburger, hot chocolate, fries and a soda,” John Julian said.
They also learned a lesson about being prepared for the unexpected.
“I’m going to bring an extra blanket, sleeping bags, food and more water, and pillows, and a tent, and a shovel and sand,” Megun said.
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