If I'm Not Back By Wednesday

Book excerpt: On December 16, 1967, five adventurous boys from one of the Island's elite high schools, Jamaica College, set out into the majestic Blue Mountains in search of a mythical trail, endeavouring to reach its highest point, the Peak, at elevation 7402 feet. They never made it. A platoon of soldiers dispatched to the area where it was believed that the boys began their hike along the Blue Mountain Ridge, reported that they were never there or had vanished into the jungle. The soldiers turned back. After almost ten days in heavily forested terrain described as "inaccessible as any place in the world, and perhaps where no man has ever trodden," they found themselves hopelessly lost, trapped, and far from a living soul. Cold and starving, they probably only had hours to live. This is the story of the harrowing journey that would make headlines and test the character of five boys as they faced down death on their way to manhood. Using eyewitness accounts, maps and never-before-seen photographs, the author tracks the action from an innocent plan hatched during Christmas break to the dramatic, last-ditch efforts to rescue the boys. In 1967, Geoffrey Haddad was a curious Jamaica College student with a passion for the outdoors. He was one of the five....