3 hikers plucked off ledge
Helicopter saves trio stranded more than two days in Escalante canyon
By Mark Havnes - The Salt Lake Tribune
ESCALANTE - Cold and wet is how Mike Macy described being stranded for more than two days on a ledge in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Macy, 30, Clarkston, Mich.; and hiking companions Fred Harsh, 32, Lehi; and Brad Crawford, 29, Annapolis, Md.; were rescued Tuesday morning by a helicopter from their lofty perch a day after being spotted from the air.
"The pilot touched one skid of the helicopter on the ledge and we got on board," said Macy after being dropped off with the others at the Escalante Airport about noon.
The trio started hiking on Thursday and planned to return two days later, but soon discovered that they had been dropped off by a guide at the wrong trailhead and they found themselves in Death Hollow Canyon.
After consulting their maps, the three plotted out a route to connect with the Boulder Mill Trail that they wanted to be on originally, but about 2:30 p.m. things started to turn bad.
"We hit water pools about 30 feet long and five feet deep," said Harsh. "We'd get across one pool and go a while and there'd be another one. We had to keep stopping to stave off hypothermia."
Harsh described the water as so deep in places that it nearly went over his head. The only way to proceed in some areas was pull themselves along the steep walls of a slot canyon characteristic of the many deep chasms in the Escalante canyons.
"We didn't have wet suits or ropes, because we were not expecting the water," said Harsh. "It was more extreme than anything we were planning on."
By Saturday, the three had rappelled to a spot where they could not go down or retreat.
Crawford said by 1:30 p.m. to fight off hypothermia and avoid a potential flash flood, the three scaled a rock wall to a ledge about 50 feet above the floor of a slot canyon.
"We warmed up in our sleeping bags and drank hot water," said Crawford. "We just stayed put."
When they did not return by Sunday, Macy's girlfriend in Michigan, Robyn Hidock, called the Garfield County Sheriff's Office late in the afternoon and reported the hikers overdue.
A search was launched Monday morning, including a Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter flown by Steve Rugg, who spotted the stranded hikers on the ledge about 5:30 p.m.
"We had all our bright clothing spread out all over to attract attention," said Macy.
After being spotted, volunteers with the Tropic Fire Department rappelled 450 feet down to the ledge from above to check on the trio's condition and to deliver food and water.
Sheriff's deputy and incident commander Ray Gardner said when rescuers reached the stranded trio they determined none of the hikers was injured.
"There was no urgency at that point and because it was nearing dark, we opted to bring them out in the morning," said Gardner.
He said about 15 people were involved in the rescue effort. On Tuesday morning, Rugg finessed his machine, with a 60-foot rotor span, into the slot canyon which was only 100 feet wide, and touched one of the helicopter's skids on the ledge.
After being plucked off the ledge, they were flown to the airport. They then treated their rescuers to lunch at the Cowboy Blues restaurant in Escalante.
"We couldn't be more appreciative," said Harsh.
U.S. Bureau of Land Management ranger Jeff Lauersdorf said the three hikers helped themselves by obtaining a permit into the backcountry of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
"It saved your butts," Lauersdorf told the three. "We knew where to look."
Lauersdorf said the permit has information that aids potential rescuers, including dates of when a hike starts and ends, where vehicles will be parked, and emergency contact information.