He crawled 8 hours through the Olympic Mountains to call for help
An injured hiker who crawled for eight hours in the Olympic Mountains in order to call 911 was rescued Saturday.
The 26-year-old man fractured his ankle Friday while hiking on the Duckabush Trail, west of Brinnon on Hood Canal, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Unable to walk and unable to get an adequate signal on his cellphone, the man crawled along the trail which follows the Duckabush River in Olympic National Park and The Brothers Wilderness area. The U.S. Forest Service describes the route as steep with loose rock.
A Jefferson County search and rescue team located the man at 4 a.m. Saturday, the Coast Guard said.
A Port Angeles-based Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and its crew arrived at the scene at 7 a.m. The hiker was hoisted into the helicopter and taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
The man was reported to be in stable condition Saturday, according to the Coast Guard.
This story was originally published February 22, 2020 at 7:03 PM.
