Many years ago (late '60s to '70s), I read a story about a boy with a group of hikers on a ridge who get caught in a lightning storm. They all run off the ridge, and, apparently, the boy went down the wrong side, and he got lost.
The boy ended up needing to survive on his own. He used a paperclip that was on a letter from his parents to make a fishhook. When the hook (his lifeline) got caught in the water, he had to dive down to retrieve it, and on the way up, he cracked his head, getting a bad concussion, and that led to the bad decision of moving from his spot (always stay where you are so the rescuers can find you).
Last year, I attended something, and one of the presentations was by a very old man on Wilderness Survival. It was a very good presentation, and he talked about a few stories he read. I told him about this one, and he really wanted the name of it, but I simply have no idea what it is. If anyone has any idea about this story, I would really appreciate it so I can tell this man.
Edit:
It was written in English and set in the U.S., which is where I read it, but I really do not remember if it was a short story or novel. Remember, this was around 50 years ago. I get accused of remembering everything, but, unfortunately, it is not true. It may have been in the library of my elementary school or junior high school, or maybe the public library. I was reading at a college level in elementary school, and, as I remember it, it was written at least a high school level.
