PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Tiara Dargan had never been on a trip without her parents. So when she and about 30 other Philadelphia high schoolers went on a camping trip in North Carolina on Sept. 23, it was sure to be memorable.
And it was — just probably not for the reasons she anticipated.
The group of Girard College students were stranded in the Smoky Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina for days due to Hurricane Helene.
They arrived back home in Philadelphia around 1 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2 — four days later than expected.
“A lot of them were crying when they found out we wasn’t leaving, but after that we settled in,” recalled 14-year-old Tiara.
Trip organizers had planned to leave North Carolina on Friday, Sept. 27, but the onslaught of rain from Helene washed out their exit routes, forcing the group to remain on the mountaintop for four additional days.
Tiara said she and her classmates had to hike on foot for about 2 miles to reach their bus, maneuvering around debris and downed trees.
“One mile downhill, one mile uphill. And we had to go through a bunch of obstacle courses. Like, there was a bunch of mud, landslides, so you have to be careful,” she said.
Her father, Terrell Dargan, got emotional when they were finally reunited in Philadelphia. “It was a relief just hugging my daughter,” he said.
Tiara said she will not go camping again anytime soon, calling the experience “humbling.”
“I missed my parents a lot,” she added. “I realized I can’t live without them. So every time I get mad, I just appreciate them for what they’ve done for me.”