When the sky turned gray last July, no one in Troop 1, St. Helena, Calif., was particularly worried. Summer storms had brewed before during their lengthy hike - nine days and 72 miles planned in all - through California's rugged Sierra Nevada.

   The rain picked up. So the seven Scouts and five adults gathered under two tarps and a nearby tent along a hillside. They saw little lightning, but dime-size hail began to fall. The group joked around, playing with the ice as it hit the ground. "That's the last thing I remember doing - eating hail,'' says Star Scout David Phelps, 14.

   Then came a dramatic flash, followed soon by another - even brighter and louder.

   "I heard this huge bang,'' says Second Class Scout Owen Hale, 14, who had sought shelter under the upper tarp. "It was the loudest noise I've ever heard. Then I saw a big glow under the tarp.''

   The tarp below had been struck by lightning, injuring all seven people beneath, plus Star Scout Tom Smith, 15, who was boiling water just outside. Four of the five adults were down.

   In the next two hours, the Scouts' efforts would be crucial. They assisted with CPR, ran a mile and a half at 11,000 feet for help and used tarps to guide in helicopters. Their best efforts couldn't save Second Class Scout Ryan Collins, 13, and assistant Scoutmaster Stephen McCullagh, 29.

   It was not for lack of trying. Contact for complete article.