The Associated Press | Posted: Wednesday, November 26, 2003 12:00 am
EMERY, Utah (AP) - Rescuers braved bitter cold Monday to retrieve a hiker stranded in a canyon with a broken leg, after his brother hiked for 22 hours to call for help.
The ordeal began Saturday when brothers Justin and Jeremy Harris were hiking in the Baptist Draw area of Chute Canyon. The canyon is located in the heart of the San Rafael Swell, about 20 miles from Interstate 70 and about 100 miles west of Moab.
The men, described by authorities as experienced hikers, were rappelling down an 80 foot cliff around 5 p.m. when Justin, 31, fell about 10 feet to the bottom and broke his leg. Knowing it was impossible for his brother to hike any further, Jeremy, 27, hiked back up the cliff and out of the canyon to get help.
"He left him food, water, and as much heavy clothing as he could," said Emery County Sheriff LaMar Guymon. "The temperatures there have been about zero or below" at night.
During the daylight hours, the hike back to the car's location would have taken roughly five hours, Guymon said. But in the dark and cold, it took 22.
"It was dark, and he took a wrong trail for a ways and had to backtrack," Guymon said.
Complicating the trek out of the canyon was Jeremy's synthetic hip.
He reached his car mid-afternoon Sunday and used his cell phone to call police. Two rescue teams were launched as Jeremy was taken to a hospital for observation.
Using Jeremy's directions, searchers reached Justin late Sunday night, but couldn't remove him from the spot until Monday. The searchers camped out overnight beside Justin.
"They had to wait until the sun came up to see what they were doing and make sure he's OK," Guymon said.
Rescue teams hoisted Justin out of the canyon, and carried him on a stretcher to a clearing several miles away where he was airlifted to a Salt Lake City hospital.
The area has recently grown in popularity for hikers, Guymon said, and rescues are becoming fairly common. The area can be treacherous for inexperienced hikers.
"We were very, very fortunate to find him in as good a shape as he is," Guymon said.