Lost on a Mountain in Maine

A heart stopping, tear jerking, cheer-out-loud inspirational true story of a 12-year old boy's terrifying experience of being lost on a mountain for nine days in freezing cold conditions. Half naked with only a blanket he found in a deserted cabin to cover himself at nights while sleeping in beds of moss under trees, fighting starvation, unending mosquitos and other biting insects, he never gave up hope of finding help. He prayed every day and night thanking God for whatever berries he could find to eat and asking why it was taking so long to find help. A great story of adventure, survival and never giving up that young and old alike will find deeply inspiring. I bought 6 books to give to my grandchildren to inspire them with the joy of reading. My one 11- year old grandson is now writing a book report on it that, by the way, is required reading for all school children in Maine.

As a scout leader, avid hiker, prepper, and outdoors enthusiast, I wanted to love this book. It is written rather crudely and tells quite a story. However, I don't personally think it is necessarily one to be revered as there were many mistakes made that led to a life threatening situation. I don't think the actions should be mimicked by anyone else - particularly not children as suggested in other comments. One does not wander off alone when you are travelling with a party (not an intended solo hike) and one should not continue to wander deeper into the wilderness once you realize you are lost. And I never assume that a day hike requires no preparedness - in fact, I attempt to bring necessities in the unlikely event it turns into an overnight hike for some reason (injury, lost, weather, etc.). There is a thread of perseverance and luck that resulted in a happy outcome but I would not suggest any other hiking, scouting, orienteering, or preparedness lessons from this story.

As a scout leader, avid hiker, prepper, and outdoors enthusiast, I wanted to love this book. It is written rather crudely and tells quite a story. However, I don't personally think it is necessarily one to be revered as there were many mistakes made that led to a life threatening situation. I don't think the actions should be mimicked by anyone else - particularly not children as suggested in other comments. One does not wander off alone when you are travelling with a party (not an intended solo hike) and one should not continue to wander deeper into the wilderness once you realize you are lost. And I never assume that a day hike requires no preparedness - in fact, I attempt to bring necessities in the unlikely event it turns into an overnight hike for some reason (injury, lost, weather, etc.). There is a thread of perseverance and luck that resulted in a happy outcome but I would not suggest any other hiking, scouting, orienteering, or preparedness lessons from this story.

"Lost on a Mountain in Main" is the gripping story of a child facing impossible odds to survive. As a hiker and backpacker who had become lost in the wilderness twice in my teens, I found this true story instructive for children (and adults). It would be easy to question why he did what he did, but in his near death situation, it quickly became clear to me he did what he thought he had to do to survive.

I found the story interesting and would be a good story as part of a young reading program. Unfortunately, the book could use a little editing of the repetitive use of cold and wet and the word "fellow". I'm not looking for major re-writes, just a little massaging could make the book cleaner and better.

A quick read but interesting story; scary situation for a young person to be in. Written for young audience and in the form that the boy narrated his story,complete with grammatical errors and poor sentence structure.

In 1939 12-year old Donn Fendler became separated from his father and Scout companions while hiking on Maine's most formidable peak. This short book presents an as-told-to narrataive--reconstructed in comfortable and safe hindsight. One can imagine the anguish of his parents--contemplating variouis fates for their son during his nine-day ordeal, during which time he endured loneliness, exhaustion and starvaiton (he lost 16 pounds!) During fog and even sleet he sought his way down the unforgiving slopes haphazardly, while rangers and hundreds of volunteers scoured the craggy heights of Katahdin.

The lost youth was actually less at risk of freezing or fallngin to deep gorges once he descended below the welcome timbewrline. His rambling route when retraced on a map showd a desperate, meandering path--partly induced by his mist-obscured vision. It was only when he discovered a stream that he recalled the advice to follow a stream downhill--to another larger one. In time he found a tote road, abandonded cabins and a telegraph wire--all of which provided hope that he was approaching (recently abandoned) civilization.

This 100-page book includes an extensvie Afterword which descibes the frantic rescue efforts by adults in the outside world--accomplished in a era of comparatively minimal long-range communication. Donn's worst enemies prove the myriads of vicious flies and bugs which mercilessly attacked his scantily-protected skin. His narrative includes references to mostly peaceful encounters with widlife, spells of crying interspersed itermittent bouts of irrationality. He even spouted entrenched Scout lore when not featheirng the narrative with his moral
observations on the emeregency use of other people's property. To sum up: an excellent Middle School survival tale set in simpler times, suplemented by actual b/w photos of his rescue and celebtratory parade. One wonders at the list of Lessons Learned which he might have compiled in the weeks of recuperation following his ordeal on Katahdin.

Donn Fendler’s memoir Lost on a Mountain in Maine is based on the true events of a 12 year old boy while lost in the Maine wilderness. Donn and his friend Henry had just reached the top of Mt. Katahdin minutes before the rest of the boy scout group. It was cold, and fog surrounded the lower part of the mountain. Despite Henry’s protests, Donn decided to head down by himself, soon losing sight of the trail in the fog and becoming lost. The rest of the story is about Fendler’s adventures and struggles of being lost for almost two weeks.
The book was a very good read and I would recommend this book to everyone, especially young boys because they can relate to Donn in many ways. I also would especially recommend the book to anyone who is familiar with northern Maine, because they would be able to follow along with the location of the journey better.
Throughout the book, Donn goes through many hard struggles like losing his pants in a river and having to complete the rest of his journey in only boxers. Another struggle Fendler goes through is cutting his feet to the point where they hurt so badly that he could barely walk. Nevertheless he persists and never once even thinks about giving up. This memoir does a very good job displaying the theme of never give up, and clearly supporting the theme with many examples.
I really connected with the story on an emotional level. At times I felt really bad for Donn and admired his effort to keep pushing, for example when he was so hungry that he just stopped and went to sleep because he had no energy. Throughout his almost 2 week, 50 mile trek the only food he ate was berries that he found.
Overall, Lost on a Mountain in Maine was one of the few books that I actually enjoyed reading.

In this true story, Donn Fendler is a twelve-year-old boy in 1939. He is on an expedition to climb Mt. Katahdin, at 5268 feet the highest peak in the state of Maine, with his father, brothers Tom and Ryan, and guide Henry Condon. Henry and Donn run ahead and meet another climber, Charles Austin, minister with the Church of All Nations in New York City, NY. Donn gets cold and decides to find his own way back to camp rather than wait for the rest. Henry cautions him against doing so and remains with Mr. Austin, but Donn leaves anyway. Unfortunately, a thick, fast-moving fog obscures the path. Donn falls down an embankment that hides him from sight. Then he takes a wrong turn that leaves him alone to wander aimlessly for nine days in the empty mountain wilderness. Will he make it to his camp or be found by the others?
This book is Donn's own description of his struggles to survive after being separated from his companions, as told to Joseph B. Egan. For years I saw it advertised in the Christian Book Distributors catalogue and finally decided to purchase it to read as a family read aloud. With no food and no shelter, Donn survives by remembering his Boy Scout skills and by drawing on his faith in himself, his family, and God. His shoes and then his feet were cut to shreds on the rough stone outcroppings. He was tormented by insects, encountered a bear, and tumbled in an icy river. His "dungarees" were impossible to walk in, once wet, and he lost them. He suffered from cold, hunger, loneliness, and hallucinations. Toward the end of his ordeal Donn followed telephone wires and a stream, hoping that both would eventually lead him to what civilization there was in the great woods of Maine.
Donn's harrowing story, as told to Joseph Burke Egan, who was an author and I think a journalist, apparently was first published later in 1939 and has been a beloved family and school classic in Maine since that time. Through the years, Fendler himself visited schools and libraries to share his experiences, and generations of Maine children have learned lessons about courage, faith, and will from Lost on a Mountain in Maine. I especially like the way in which Donn emphasizes the fact that he put his trust in God and said his prayers daily for God's protection and deliverance. In 2008, Donn's story wes retold with illustrations by Ben Bishop for a graphic novel entitled Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wilderness, published by Down East Books. I guess that this all right for a generation that doesn't want to read words, except for a few in a cartoon bubble every now and then, bur prefers just to look at pictures. However, we really enjoyed the original and thought it quite exciting.

Mt. Katahdin, at 5268 feet, is the northern terminus of the Appalachian trail and the tallest mountain in Maine. Though it's a much-climbed mountain at the center of the popular Baxter State Park, its wildness and danger should never be underestimated.

In 1939, twelve-year-old Donn Fendler was climbing Katahdin with a party including his father and brother. Reaching the summit with a friend ahead of the main party, he was cold and bored and decided to go back to meet his father. He lost the trail in fog, and spent a grueling nine days in rugged terrain on the north side of Katahdin before finding his way out to a hunting and fishing camp. The press was full of the search for young Donn and his rescue was celebrated with headlines, a parade, and a chance to meet the President of the United States.

Donn credited his Boy Scout training and his faith in God with bringing him through the ordeal. His shoes and then his feet were cut to shreds on the rough stone outcroppings; he was tormented by insects, frightened by a bear, tumbled in an icy river. His "dungarees" were impossible to walk in, once wet, and he lost them. He suffered from cold, hunger, loneliness and hallucinations. Toward the end of his ordeal Donn followed telephone wires and a stream, knowing that both would eventually lead him to what civilization there was in the great woods of Maine. Though he lost 16 pounds and was severely cut and bitten, he made a full recovery.

The boy's story, as told to James Egan, was published later in 1939 and has been a beloved family and school classic in Maine since that time. Fendler himself still visits schools and libraries to tell his story. Generations of Maine children have learned a lesson of courage, faith and will from Lost! on a Mountain in Maine. This audio presentation is engagingly read by another twelve-year-old, Amon Purinton. I recommend this story for family listening or reading.

Linda Bulger, 2008

When I was Scout age, my gradeschool principal read this amazing tale to our class. I couldn't wait to hear the end so I got a copy from the library and read it straight through one night. I read it several times the next couple of years, during which I hiked to the top of Katahdin five times myself. I bought this book to read to my own son, who is now a Scout himself. We both enjoyed being "Lost on a Mountain in Maine."

So often we are used to reading survival books where the backpackers get their noses frozen off, wander into a wilderness and have to eat their friends to survive or get their arms pinned under rocks which their only way to free themselves is by carving through their arms with a rusty can opener. This story is the opposite. Little Donn does suffer his share of lumps (big toe gets cut into pretty good and he loses his pants so his body gets bitten to bits by the flies). Little Donn actually comes face to face with a bear and luckily the bear is terrified of him and actually jumps sideways on his hind legs to avoid little Donn. I have to say that I loved the photos at the end, especially the one of Donn in a wheel chair by his nurse, his father and a law enforcement agent.

Probably the most chilling part of the book is when Donn passes the same sign on his second day and realizes he's walking in circles. I had a similar experience on a hike in Yosemite Valley (Hetch Hetchy). The point at which I realized I was lost was when I found myself wading through a swamp, waist deep and getting swarmed by mosquitoes.

Little Donn actually is hallucinating heavily as he walks out of the woods on the 9th day, saying that he's having difficulty focusing on things before they start going "wavy."

I read the entire book in about 4 hours, this is a record for me, I have never completed a book so fast.

This is a fantastic story about the true struggle a twelve-year-old boy endured for nine days while lost in the Maine wilderness. While reading the story, you can't help but feel yourself being right there with him. It will really open your eyes and make you appreciate the food we have on the table and roofs over our head each day. It is a real eye opener with a heartwarming ending. A must read for children and adults.

By Keegan, a sixth grader in Maine

LOST ON A MOUNTAIN IN MAINE is one of the best books i have ever read. The begining of the book is clear of how every thing started. The mittle of the book told the problems on the mountain. This book has the zing that grasps you into reading more. Some parts of the book are dull but it fires back up and hooks you into reading more.

When I was a kid, our school librarian would read this book every year to the second grade class. I remember my classmates and I being spellbound by this story. Every child can identify with being lost and afraid even if they've never been in as dangerous a situation as being alone on a mountain top.
I also learned some valuable survival lessons even at that young age. Last year I was hiking with some friends. They wanted to take a shortcut through the woods, but I insisted on staying on the trail. A lesson I learned from this book!

Growing up in Maine, every child read this book in school. And now that my children are at the age here they should read it, we used it as one of the family books that I read to them before bed at night. They loved it as much as I did, when I was their age. This book is a classic, and a must read.

and now @# years later, I still love it! For any lover of the outdoors and for those of us that like to have "Survivor" weekends, it is a fun, quick read that encourages the question, "what would you do?".

This book keeps coming back with each generation. I read this book as a child and both my boys have read it as well. A well written account of a true life adventure providing suspense, adventure and thoughtfulness. A perfect summer read for young people, it's fairly short and they could get through it in an afternoon.