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We've interviewed several 
survivors of extreme outdoor 

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experiences and today I'm 
sharing four of the most intense

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you will ever hear. 
From an individual that was 

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mauled 3 times by the same 
grizzly bear over 30 grueling 

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minutes to someone who knows 
what it's like to be struck by 

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lightning in the middle of the 
mountains. 

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Also, a girl shares her 911 call
from her and her best friend's 

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extreme fall off of a Cliff that
you're going to have to hear 

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just to believe. 
To a mother that had to leave 

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her entire family stranded while
she hiked 26 miles in a winter 

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storm to search for help in the 
Grand Canyon. 

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And she did it with no winter 
gear. 

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Get ready. 
This is a survivor's podcast 

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marathon, and it starts right 
now. 

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In June of 2020, hiker Courtney 
Henderson and her best friend 

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Gavin Caruso started out on what
they thought was going to be an 

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ordinary hike. 
Not a cloud in the sky, we 

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checked. 
The weather wasn't supposed to 

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rain. 
It wasn't supposed to storm. 

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However, things quickly turned 
for the worse. 

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All of a sudden, dark clouds 
rolled in. 

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We're kind of stuck up there. 
Knowing how dangerous it would 

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be to climb down, they called 
911 for help. 

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My name is Gavin Caruso. 
Tried hour to try to get up or 

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down and we can't. 
Starting to get cold and it's 

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raining and that's made like the
rock really slippery. 

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So like we can't get down. 
The 911 dispatcher instructed 

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them to get lower on the 
mountainside to make it easier 

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for a search and rescue, but 
then they fell. 

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OK, ma'am, I need you to take a 
deep breath. 

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No, no, my friend. 
He's unconscious. 

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I'm bleeding. 
It's an emergency. 

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OK? 
What happened? 

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We fell down the mountain. 
The following is my in studio 

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interview with Courtney 
Henderson where she shares her 

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amazing yet tragic story of how 
she fell and made it out alive. 

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Dude, Courtney thanks for being 
here. 

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This, your story is amazing. 
And when I was reading about it,

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I, I, I, I couldn't believe what
had happened. 

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And I think I just want you to 
tell me what happened in your 

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words, because what I read and I
think what you've got to say are

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totally different. 
There. 

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Yeah. 
I mean, you know, all the 

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stories. 
There's more to a story than 

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what the news likes to put out. 
Super excited to be here and 

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tell my story. 
Love telling my story, to be 

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honest. 
So I was with my best friend. 

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I I call him my person. 
You know, we were together more 

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often than we weren't. 
If it was a holiday, that was 

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pretty much the only time we 
were not hanging out. 

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And so COVID hit, we decided, 
hey, flights are cheap, Let's go

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do a little bit of exploring. 
So we went to Miami. 

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Then we shot over to LA for his 
birthday in May. 

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And then right around Father's 
Day, he was like, I want to go 

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surprise my dad in Denver for 
Father's Day were. 

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You into hiking prior to this? 
I was into hiking. 

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I just hadn't really ever gone 
that much other than like our 

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little silly forest preserves 
down in Illinois. 

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I've really always been into it,
camping and all that other 

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stuff. 
We were just like, well, we're 

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over by the mountains, let's go 
on a couple hikes. 

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So we found Bear Peak, El Dorado
Canyon. 

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That's I think that's how they 
kind of say it out there to put 

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the put in location. 
I've heard it called multiple 

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things. 
So that's what I'm just going to

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call it. 
And it was going to be an 8 

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mile, so four in, four out. 
So you had Did you have a map? 

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So we were following with all 
trails. 

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The first part is pretty easy. 
So it's like I'll gravel for the

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first part just to kind of give 
you an idea of the easiness of 

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the trail or the the rate of the
trail there. 

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There were even horse signs like
so you're able to take horses up

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to a certain point until it 
started getting a little more 

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rocky and just switch backs 
after switch back on an actual 

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like dirt trail at some point. 
That day was beautiful, not a 

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cloud in the sky. 
We checked the weather multiple 

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times. 
Wasn't supposed to rain, wasn't 

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supposed to storm. 
You know, we're enjoying the 

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hike going up there and we, I 
kept making sure, you know, 

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like, hey, we're still on trail,
'cause he was, he was the one 

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that had the trail map and I was
the one that was keeping my 

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battery just, you know, in case 
anything happened. 

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Did you have it downloaded too 
or? 

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I had All Trails and I had it 
with me, but we were doing the, 

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he uses it so that he drains 
that battery, but we still have 

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my phone. 
So there was a couple times 

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where I was like, hey man, this 
kind of this kind of looks off 

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trail. 
And he was like, yeah, no, we're

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on trail like and he would show 
me. 

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We had a lot of service 
actually. 

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Surprisingly I never. 
I think I lost service once on 

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one switch. 
Yeah, that's pretty rare out 

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there. 
Oh yeah, Pretty rare. 

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But texts were going coming 
through. 

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My snaps for my story were 
loading and all that stuff, so I

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knew it wasn't a connection 
issue really. 

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And we were on trail. 
That's what I would assume since

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that's what it was showing and 
that's where we were thinking we

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were. 
According to obviously other the

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trees or like the trailhead 
posts, the markers that people 

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have put there. 
All of a sudden the like dark 

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clouds rolled in. 
We're kind of stuck up there. 

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After we scrambled, it had 
started sprinkling. 

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There had been no Thunder or 
anything. 

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So we were like, you know, it's 
just some sprinkles since that's

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what happens, you know, it's 
weather. 

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It'll come and come by and we'll
be good, you know? 

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And then it started to really, 
really rain. 

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And then the Front Range is all 
flat iron. 

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So once those get wet, it's 
black ice, essentially. 

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Were you scrambling up? 
Like, were you like hands and 

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knees kind of thing? 
No, we we were just walking up 

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like. 
So the trail, it was still more 

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of a trail. 
It was still more of a trail. 

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That's why I was under the 
assumption we were on the trail 

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and he was under the assumption 
we were on the trail and our map

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showed we're on the trail, so. 
We're on the trail. 

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Yeah, You know, so storm came 
through and we kind of like, 

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hey, we we can't really get up 
because it ended up, we kind of 

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like dead ended by this dead 
tree. 

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And they had just had a wildfire
a couple years in that area 

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beforehand. 
So we were in an area not, I 

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wouldn't say desolate, but it 
was burnt. 

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The trees weren't sturdy by any 
means, and that actually played 

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a big role in finding a spot to 
rescue us 'cause they couldn't 

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tie in anywhere to go down to 
us. 

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And so it dead ends and we're 
like, really the only way up is 

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a vertical climb and we're not 
doing that. 

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That's not happening. 
And then the only way down, 

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which is kind of a little like 
where we had gotten to, we were 

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doing more like, oh, hands, 
knees, like up. 

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And then we would go like up a 
trail a little bit and then 

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switch back. 
And then it would kind of be 

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like rock, hands, knees, rock, 
and then switch back to the 

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trail. 
Were you getting nervous at this

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point? 
I was, I was. 

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Gavin actually remained super 
calm throughout the whole thing,

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really. 
But I think he was trying to 

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remain more calm for me because 
I finally was. 

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I ended up hugging the tree that
we were by and I was like, I'm 

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like, you're calling rescue. 
I'm not moving. 

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I'm not moving. 
This is. 

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Before you fell. 
This was before I fell. 

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Yeah. 
Oh, wow. 

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So 'cause we had realized that 
it was way too slippery to get 

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down the way we had just came. 
Oh, man. 

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And I was like, I just held on 
to. 

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I was like, you know what? 
We're not. 

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We're not experienced enough to 
want to get ourselves down in 

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the middle of this. 
So you, you had reached a point 

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where you're like, this is as 
far as we can go. 

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I need to hold on to this tree 
'cause I'm freaking out. 

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Yeah, and so we had, we had 
already talked about calling for

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rescue 'cause we were like, how 
are we gonna get down? 

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Like it's way too slippery. 
Cause Gavin went to go try to 

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like see, and I even went to go 
try and it was just like, we put

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our one foot on that boulder and
it was pretty much slid out from

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under us in a way. 
So I wasn't gonna turn my back 

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and, you know, try and make it 
down. 

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And so I finally just hugged the
tree and was like, you're 

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calling rescue. 
We're calling rescue. 

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I'm not. 
I'm not gonna go anywhere. 

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And you had a cell signal at. 
This point we did, we had a cell

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signal the whole time actually. 
And rescue actually said if we 

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fell any further, we would have 
we the way we fell, we fell into

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a channel and if we would have 
fell any further into that 

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Channel, we would have lost 
service. 

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So we were like kind of right on
that area. 

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So we were lucky where we fell, 
where we were. 

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Gavin called for rescue. 
And if I don't know, did you 

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actually? 
Did you listen to the? 

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You listen to the? 
Podcast. 

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No, I didn't know. 
I didn't even know you had 

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another podcast. 
I just read your story. 

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Oh, OK. 
So. 

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Yeah, I did the Out Alive 
backpacker, they actually pulled

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that first 911 call. 
This is going to be Wesley with 

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the transfer. 
I have two stranded individuals 

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on Shadow Canyon. 
Or is anyone hurt or you just 

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need help getting down? 
No, nobody's hurt. 

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We just need help getting down. 
We tried for a good hour to try 

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to get up or down and we can't. 
OK. 

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And what is your name? 
My name is Gavin Caruso. 

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OK. 
And where did you start from? 

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Yeah. 
And then, like, my friend's kind

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of having a panic attack. 
So. 

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And now it's starting to get 
dark and it's raining and we're 

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at a very high evolution. 
Yeah, very dangerous position. 

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And are you dressed for the 
weather? 

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No, we're in short sleeves and 
shorts. 

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And it's starting to get cold 
and it's raining. 

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And that's made, like, the rock 
really slippery. 

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So like, we can't get down. 
And then they're like, OK, well,

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we'll send. 
We're going to send Rescue out 

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for you, which was Rocky 
Mountain Rescue Group, and they 

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had actually started texting me 
'cause we gave them our phone 

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numbers for all the to contact 
us to help them find us, 'cause 

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all we had was our coordinates 
that we were at. 

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And that was pretty much it. 
I mean, we could yell and scream

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where we were. 
Flashlights weren't gonna. 

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So it's dark at this point. 
It is getting dark, sun is 

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somewhat setting. 
So that's also another reason 

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why we're like, we need to call 
for rescue because we're like 

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we're it's going to be dark by 
the time we get down here. 

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I get a text from Rocky Mountain
rescue Group and they had asked 

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us if we could get to a lower 
elevation for them to find us 

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easier. 
And we're kind of like. 

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You're like, I wouldn't have 
called you if I had thought we 

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could. 
Get kind of well, that's what we

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were thinking, but we're like, I
mean, if that's what they're 

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asking us to do, I mean we're 
like, we don't really feel like 

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we should but and then. 
You had a gut feeling like we 

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should stay where we're at, but 
we're going to do what they're 

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telling us to do kind of thing. 
Well, yeah, 'cause I mean, we 

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trust the experts, they're 
trying to rescue us. 

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We're going to help them as much
as we can. 

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Like if that's what they need, 
then I guess you know, that's 

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what we're going to do. 
And so like we 20 or 30 minute 

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mark, we were like were. 
You still hanging onto a tree at

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this point. 
I I told him I wasn't going to 

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let go of the damn tree until 
rescue showed up. 

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Were. 
You kind of at a point right 

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there where like if you felt you
let go of the tree, you were 

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going to fall or. 
Were you just you were just like

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this? 
Is my safe zone that was. 

226
00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:18,760
Just my, that was just my safe. 
Like I'm grounded. 

227
00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:20,720
I'm here. 
Like if I hold the tree, the 

228
00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:22,840
tree's right here. 30 minute 
mark. 

229
00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:24,400
They weren't, they didn't text 
us back. 

230
00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:27,760
We didn't hear anybody, like we 
weren't seeing flashlights even 

231
00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:30,360
down. 
So you, you're like, they can't 

232
00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:32,600
find us. 
Yeah, we're we're like, they 

233
00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:34,760
legit can't find us. 
They need us to get to the lower

234
00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:39,400
elevation to find us. 
So we tried to get that's kind 

235
00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:41,520
of where things went and took a 
turn. 

236
00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:46,480
He positions himself and he's 
like, OK, I'm going to go first 

237
00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:51,600
so that if you, if we fall, I 
can catch you. 

238
00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:53,120
Oh. 
Man, OK. 

239
00:12:53,520 --> 00:13:01,160
And so I was like, all right, So
I turned around and he's right 

240
00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:08,120
there and I feel my foot slip 
out of it was my right foot. 

241
00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:22,160
I remember slipped out off the 
rock, sorry and damn, and we 

242
00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:30,200
fell. 
I bounced around a couple times 

243
00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:34,920
like a tennis ball. 
I remember hitting my head five 

244
00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:42,040
times had like when I, when I 
was in the free fall, I was 

245
00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:47,760
still awake and I, I knew what 
was going on and so I covered my

246
00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:50,040
head. 
I was a skater like I skated all

247
00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:51,120
throughout high school and 
stuff. 

248
00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:56,240
So I kind of knew how to fall. 
All I was thinking of just 

249
00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:01,520
protect the noggin and whatever 
else can be fixed. 

250
00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:07,120
I felt myself hit my head and 
that's kind of like when my body

251
00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:09,320
went limp, but I was still with 
it. 

252
00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:13,480
So like I wasn't able to really 
come up and protect myself. 

253
00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:16,760
And that was when I started 
bouncing around. 

254
00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:23,560
I finally, like, I think I, I 
think I did end up losing 

255
00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:25,640
consciousness. 
I don't remember losing 

256
00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:28,440
consciousness. 
It's hard to ever say you lost 

257
00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:31,040
consciousness 'cause you go to 
sleep and you come too and 

258
00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:34,800
you're like, what happened? 
What happened? 

259
00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:39,200
So, you know, I kind of, it was 
like a movie in my mind, like 

260
00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:45,360
when I woke up, like I wake up 
and I've got blood just pouring 

261
00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:50,120
down my face. 
I have a couple pictures, like I

262
00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:53,840
took a picture down when I was 
out in the mountain after rescue

263
00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:57,680
got to us. 
And just like this half of my 

264
00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:03,320
face is just all bloody. 
I'm actively, I'm actively 

265
00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:05,760
bleeding. 
I'm trying to like quickly do an

266
00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:08,000
assessment. 
Like, OK, I can wiggle my toes. 

267
00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:10,560
I'm obviously moving my hands. 
I'm good. 

268
00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:14,520
Like, I'm OK for now, whatever. 
Like, yeah, I hurt, but I'll 

269
00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:17,800
figure it out. 
I look and I don't see Gavin. 

270
00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:20,520
Did you know that he had fallen 
with you? 

271
00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:22,960
Well, yeah, yeah. 
I knew he fell with me. 

272
00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:29,240
Or I thought he fell with me. 
I was hoping that he either 

273
00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:32,800
tried to grab me and I just 
fell, or I don't really. 

274
00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:33,760
I don't really know. 
So you. 

275
00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:36,000
How did you both fall at the 
same time? 

276
00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:43,520
So where we were, we decided 
that we it's kind of hard. 

277
00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:51,840
So he turned himself to like 
kind of be on that vertical down

278
00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:57,760
to the next rock. 
And he's he was 662, I think. 

279
00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:04,840
So he could actually step down 
and I'm this little 5 three. 

280
00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:06,400
Yeah. 
Yeah. 

281
00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:11,120
So mine's more of a yeah. 
You're a little further down. 

282
00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:15,560
Yeah. 
So he he was kind of he was 

283
00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:22,040
behind me to like catch me if I 
did slip out and I, you know, I 

284
00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:26,480
right before I fell, I feel him 
kind of like try to pin me up 

285
00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:29,320
against the, the, the 
mountainside. 

286
00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:36,000
And then we just he couldn't 
hold him gravity. 

287
00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:38,080
He couldn't hold me anymore. 
We fell. 

288
00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:46,400
So when I came to, I did my 
quick assessment, I realized I 

289
00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:52,720
don't see Gavin. 
I see his shoe like 15 feet in 

290
00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:58,000
front of me maybe if that. 
And I'm like, where's the rest 

291
00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:02,760
of him? 
I turn around and he's pretty 

292
00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:05,640
much under me, behind me, like I
had felt. 

293
00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:08,119
He's like laying here and I'm 
like sitting. 

294
00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:09,800
I'm sitting up at this point. 
So I'm sitting here. 

295
00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:18,280
So he's just right behind me out
cold and I'm like freaking out 

296
00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:21,640
at this point. 
He had taken my phone and 

297
00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:24,640
everything so that it I just had
to deal with myself. 

298
00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:28,800
No extra weight, no extra things
like falling out of my pocket 

299
00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:31,320
that I had to worry about while 
I was trying to make the 

300
00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:35,640
maneuver down. 
So I quickly had to get my phone

301
00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:42,240
out of his pocket to call 911 
and be like, hey, we just we 

302
00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:45,360
fell. 
Rescue wanted to wanted us to 

303
00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:50,440
get to a lower elevation and we 
fell. 911, what's the address? 

304
00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:52,760
The emergency. 
This is this is Jeff Comma, the 

305
00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:56,920
transfer where she is. 
OK. 

306
00:17:56,920 --> 00:18:01,800
Ma'am. 
Ma'am, I need you to take a deep

307
00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:03,880
breath. 
We have a rescue team that's 

308
00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:05,200
supposed to try to find. 
OK. 

309
00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:08,240
They they're on their way. 
They're looking for you right 

310
00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:08,960
now. 
OK? 

311
00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:11,800
But you need to. 
No, no, no, no. 

312
00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:14,120
My friend, he's unconscious. 
I'm bleeding. 

313
00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:15,880
It's gonna emergency. 
Emergency now. 

314
00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:17,480
I'm bleeding. 
I'm gonna die. 

315
00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:19,640
OK. 
What happened? 

316
00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:25,880
We fell down the mountain. 
He's out cold. 

317
00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:29,520
I'm on the phone at this point 
freaking out, you know, I'm 

318
00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:32,600
alone, it's getting dark, it's 
storming. 

319
00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:35,280
I mean, lightning is hitting the
ground. 

320
00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:38,240
Like I've, I saw a couple 
lightning strikes hit the ground

321
00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:48,200
while waiting for rescue. 
So, and then probably about an 

322
00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:53,320
hour into the call after we 
fell, I would, I, I should 

323
00:18:53,880 --> 00:19:00,720
reiterate, is when it started to
clear up, the storm was pushing 

324
00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:08,520
through and you know, it was a 
rainbow came out and all that 

325
00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:12,520
stuff. 
Gavin had started. 

326
00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:18,120
He started to come back to I 
think, 'cause I started like 

327
00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:20,640
shit, I, I was like, wake, wake.
Up. 

328
00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:25,360
Like you have to wake up. 
I can't carry. 

329
00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:30,000
You. 
And he started, he kind of came 

330
00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:36,680
to and he was he, he started 
snoring like having like the 

331
00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:42,920
agonal snoring respirations. 
And I was on the phone with 911 

332
00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:47,640
at the time and I'm telling them
like, hey, he's, he's hurt. 

333
00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:50,680
I'm hurt. 
We need to like, can you guys 

334
00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:52,400
hurry? 
Like where are you guys at? 

335
00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:55,280
I'm going to bleed out. 
Where are you bleeding from? 

336
00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:59,320
My head. 
Do you happen? 

337
00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:02,120
You're OK. 
Stop moving, Gavin. 

338
00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:05,400
Is he the one unconscious? 
Yes. 

339
00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:07,640
OK. 
Is he unconscious or is he 

340
00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:08,800
understanding what you're 
saying? 

341
00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:12,040
Right now he's trying to move. 
He won't even respond to me. 

342
00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:14,120
Gavin. 
Gavin, you have to. 

343
00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:16,200
You have to calm down. 
Gavin. 

344
00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:17,720
You're going to fall again. 
Stop. 

345
00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:21,400
Had you were you had fallen, are
you in a worse place now for 

346
00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:26,640
them to get to you? 
I think actually the next day or

347
00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:31,960
yeah, when they talked to my 
mom, 'cause my mom flew in that 

348
00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:40,400
morning, she, they, they had met
her to give a couple things, 

349
00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:44,040
like give her my stuff, 'cause 
they had some things of mine, I 

350
00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:45,880
think my hat and my glasses or 
something. 

351
00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:48,840
They had something that they 
needed to meet somebody at the 

352
00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:52,680
hospital to give it to him. 
My mom actually ran into him. 

353
00:20:54,360 --> 00:20:57,040
You know, she thanked them for 
the rescue and all that. 

354
00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:03,760
And he said it was the hardest 
rescue, the most technical 

355
00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:07,320
rescue they've had to do in 10 
years. 

356
00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:10,440
Wow, do you? 
Do the markers to tell you where

357
00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:12,320
you're at? 
Is there anything that stands 

358
00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:15,360
out? 
I mean, I see the in the world. 

359
00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:17,040
I, I see like a whole bunch of 
mountains. 

360
00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:19,080
I see the windmill. 
The windmill. 

361
00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:21,720
We are literally on the face of 
a mountain. 

362
00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:28,600
So I think it took about I was 
on the phone with dispatch for 

363
00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:32,600
about 3 hours, I believe. 
So if I, if I'm remembering 

364
00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:35,320
right, since 'cause this 
happened back in 2020. 

365
00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:39,680
So, so I was on the phone with 
her this like I never, we never 

366
00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:42,560
cut out like it was never like, 
hey, can you hear me? 

367
00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:46,360
You hear me now? 
I was on the phone with her the 

368
00:21:46,360 --> 00:21:48,760
whole time. 
I want to call my mom. 

369
00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:52,600
I want to tell her that I love 
her since it's bleeding a lot 

370
00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:55,200
and I'm bleeding a lot. 
We're gonna bleed out and die, 

371
00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:57,000
ma'am. 
We're gonna die. 

372
00:21:57,240 --> 00:21:59,720
I need you to stop thinking like
that, OK? 

373
00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:03,600
They are on their way. 
They're going as fast as they 

374
00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:05,640
can. 
I need you to take a deep breath

375
00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:08,280
in through your nose and out 
through your mouth. 

376
00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:12,880
I want you to focus on doing 
that over and over again, OK? 

377
00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:15,440
Deep breath in through your 
nose, out through your mouth. 

378
00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:24,880
He can RIP his shirt and put it 
on his head to control the 

379
00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:26,480
bleeding. 
OK, give me just a second. 

380
00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:29,200
I'm going to try to put my phone
down so I can RIP off my shirt 

381
00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:31,000
and put it on on his head. 
OK? 

382
00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:35,200
OK. 
And about the two hour mark, I 

383
00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:39,360
saw lights down at the 
trailhead. 

384
00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:44,080
So they had gotten the ambulance
and their cars as far as they 

385
00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:48,000
could drive it and I told her 
that. 

386
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:52,400
So I knew that they were on 
their way. 

387
00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:57,480
So they finally, they end up 
having to come up from the top 

388
00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:02,520
to get us, get to us easier. 
So I'm here in at this is like 

389
00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:08,680
8:00 or 9:00 maybe. 
I think I'm here in Rocky 

390
00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:12,080
Mountain Rescue. 
Does anybody out there let me 

391
00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:14,600
know? 
So I start yelling once I hear 

392
00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:22,960
him yelling out for me. 
They finally realized hey I that

393
00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:25,600
they they see us this. 
Is the last home stretch. 

394
00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:27,080
I promise. 
I see lights. 

395
00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:29,200
I promise. 
I asked dispatch. 

396
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:31,360
I was like, do you, do you want 
to stay on the phone with me, 

397
00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:34,280
like till they get down here 
'cause that was originally the 

398
00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:38,400
plan was we're going to stay on 
the phone until rescue gets to 

399
00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:40,440
you. 
And I was like, well, rescue 

400
00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:42,480
knows where we are. 
Do you want to, do you want me 

401
00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:44,800
to like free you up 'cause I 
don't want to, I don't want to 

402
00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:47,760
tie you up or anything. 
You know, they know where we're 

403
00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:50,000
at. 
I feel comfortable to get off 

404
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:51,880
the phone. 
She's she stayed on the phone 

405
00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:55,520
with me until they ended up down
by us. 

406
00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:03,480
And that was when I had my my 
rescuer Josh was his name. 

407
00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:08,520
And I remember Josh and Paige. 
Those are the two, those were 

408
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:12,200
the two kind of head honchos 
down by us that night. 

409
00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:17,400
They didn't have extrication 
tools to do both of us at the 

410
00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:21,920
same time. 
So it was going to be 1 then the

411
00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:25,600
other. 
And I was actually on the phone 

412
00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:28,880
with dispatch during the time 
they were searching for us. 

413
00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:33,520
I'm telling them that we need a 
we need a helicopter like, and 

414
00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:35,920
she's like, well, we have to 
wait till rescue gets there. 

415
00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:38,360
They have to make that decision.
I'm like, no. 

416
00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:40,080
I'm telling you, I need a 
helicopter. 

417
00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:46,560
I'm telling you right now that I
need the helicopter like he's 

418
00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:50,600
going to need a helicopter. 
I might be fine, but he's going 

419
00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:52,680
like somebody is going to need a
helicopter out. 

420
00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:55,520
You guys, I've I don't think you
guys are going to be able to 

421
00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:59,640
find us without the helicopter. 
They actually before they even 

422
00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:05,080
met went to the summit. 
I should add that she had. 

423
00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:12,120
She had to release flight out to
find us even they had to fly 

424
00:25:12,120 --> 00:25:15,440
over us three times I think. 
Did you hear that? 

425
00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:20,640
I saw, I saw and heard I was, I 
had actually took my phone out 

426
00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:26,320
and put my flashlight out and 
started waving it around and 

427
00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:31,160
they took him three passes and I
think she, I remember her saying

428
00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:36,520
they still can't find you. 
So like at this point, like I'm 

429
00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:38,400
like I told you, we need a 
stupid helicopter. 

430
00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:43,960
He tried to see if we could get 
up but I had been in a car 

431
00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:50,920
accident 2 years prior and had a
neck injury and he wasn't didn't

432
00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:55,880
want to extricate me anymore 
with me standing up and walking 

433
00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:59,160
just because of my prior spinal 
injury. 

434
00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:06,080
So he radios up and is like 
yeah, we're gonna, they both 

435
00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:09,520
need to be extracted. 
But they were like, hey, we're 

436
00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:14,640
gonna work with him first 'cause
he is in the worst shape. 

437
00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:18,840
And I knew that. 
And like, he was like, you know,

438
00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:23,400
it's going to be a while until 
you get out of here. 

439
00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:27,880
Oh man. 
So I think it's, I think they 

440
00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:33,960
said 15 hours, 15 hour rescue, 
250 volunteer hours. 

441
00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:35,280
Oh. 
My gosh. 

442
00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:38,760
Put in that night to get us both
out. 

443
00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:46,440
I didn't end up in the ER till 
5:00 in the morning, four or 

444
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:47,720
five in. 
The morning How did they get? 

445
00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:54,320
You out they did a vacuum splint
and then what they did was 

446
00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:58,880
litter us, litter us up the 
vertical 'cause they had to go I

447
00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:03,360
think I think I heard him say 
they had to go 200 feet 

448
00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:09,120
vertically to get us up to a 
point and then they. 

449
00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:11,000
What is a vacuum splint? 
I don't. 

450
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,920
Know what that is kind of it's 
kind of like a coffin in a way, 

451
00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:20,920
but they put it under you around
you and then it's like filled up

452
00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:24,600
with air and then they take the 
air out and you're like sucked 

453
00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:30,640
in and stuck so and you don't 
know what a litter is right the 

454
00:27:31,120 --> 00:27:35,000
the backboard, but it's got it's
more of a box. 

455
00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:36,920
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. 
Yeah. 

456
00:27:37,360 --> 00:27:42,640
So they're able to tie things to
it, hoist it up easier than a 

457
00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:45,640
backboard, a regular back border
stretcher would. 

458
00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:51,160
I remember him saying that they 
had to do about a 200 foot 

459
00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:59,320
vertical uphaul of us, where 
then they had to walk another 

460
00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:06,360
mile or so to go 100 feet 
vertically again. 

461
00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:12,120
And then I think it was a mile 
and a half again to where the 

462
00:28:12,120 --> 00:28:14,480
helicopter could land. 
Oh man. 

463
00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:21,080
And I mean, it took two times 
longer than it should have 

464
00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:25,600
because it couldn't find a place
to tie in. 

465
00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:29,840
Like I said, cause of the the 
fire, the forest fire that 

466
00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:34,920
happened a few years before. 
It's also a big thing. 

467
00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:36,920
Make sure you burn your embers 
out and all that. 

468
00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:41,960
I don't, I don't know if it 
would have changed the outcome, 

469
00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:46,840
but if they could have had an 
easier tie in spot, who knows? 

470
00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:49,720
He could be next to me now 
telling the story too. 

471
00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:57,960
You know, I don't really know 
for sure, but I remember they 

472
00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:04,520
finally had gotten him up after 
a few hours I had right before 

473
00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:08,240
they took him up. 
One of the rescuers was like, 

474
00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:13,920
hey, can you talk to him? 
Like, like calm him down a 

475
00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:17,080
little bit. 
And I think that was their way 

476
00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:23,680
of telling me, hey, you might 
want to just like say goodbye. 

477
00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:26,320
It like I didn't really think 
about it being that. 

478
00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:31,280
But now as a first responder, 
that's kind of the way I would 

479
00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:34,960
word it if I if I ever came into
a situation like that. 

480
00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:38,160
Yeah, tell everybody real quick 
about your job. 

481
00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:41,760
What do you do now? 
Yeah, I'm an EMT full time right

482
00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:44,040
now. 
I'm actually testing into try to

483
00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:47,440
get into paramedic school. 
I want to end up being a flight 

484
00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:51,560
medic out of all this, so I want
to be up in the helicopter 

485
00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:56,920
saving the people that I was. 
Was that sparked out of this? 

486
00:29:57,040 --> 00:30:01,160
Yeah, actually, 'cause I was 
working at Vans, the shoe store 

487
00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:07,720
before all this, not really 
knowing I was 19, didn't know 

488
00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:12,280
what I wanted to do. 
So that that did actually spark,

489
00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:17,720
spark what I wanted to do. 
And I've been pursuing that 

490
00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:24,480
pretty much ever since I got 
medically cleared to do work 

491
00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:32,640
back to normal 100%. 
So I saw the helicopter hit. 

492
00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:37,880
I'd, I'd actually, the, I had 
told him, Hey, Gavin, like 

493
00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:41,520
they're, they're rescue, 
they're, they're here to help 

494
00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:46,160
us. 
Like, because he, he doesn't 

495
00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:48,960
really like hospitals and stuff 
like that. 

496
00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:52,160
So whenever he's hurt or 
anything, there are a couple 

497
00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:56,840
like when we got into the car 
accident, he refused medical 

498
00:30:56,840 --> 00:31:00,680
treatment and ended up finding 
out his back was broken. 

499
00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:02,840
Yes. 
So we got into the car accident 

500
00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:07,800
together, by the way, a couple 
years before. 

501
00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:14,200
So I was like, hey Gavin, like 
they're they're they're here to 

502
00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:17,400
they're here to help us. 
We we need the we need the help 

503
00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:25,240
we need they need to get us out.
And I told him I go, Hey, Gavin.

504
00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:30,840
And he the only time he actually
was kind of like lucid. 

505
00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:34,120
He like turns up my nickname is 
Corn. 

506
00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:36,360
All my friends call me Corn. 
I don't know. 

507
00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:40,120
I don't really know why I I grew
up in Indiana, I guess. 

508
00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:45,040
There it is. 
So I was like, hey, Gavin? 

509
00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:49,600
And he, he actually sits up and 
turns around and looks at me and

510
00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:55,120
goes, what Corn and I, I go, I 
love you, buddy. 

511
00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:57,680
And he goes, I love you too, 
Korn. 

512
00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:03,800
And that was the last, that's 
the last thing we ever said to 

513
00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:11,600
each other. 
Those were his last words unless

514
00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:14,760
he said something to people up 
in the rescue. 

515
00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:22,800
But from what I know, they got 
him up the 200 foot hall and he 

516
00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:34,680
coded, They got him back, Jesus.
And they were able to make him 

517
00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:39,440
make it through that mile hike 
and he coded again. 

518
00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:43,520
Sorry. 
No, you're good. 

519
00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:48,680
You take a break. 
Yeah, she a second. 

520
00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:49,760
OK, cool. 
Do you want? 

521
00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:52,960
To grab some tissues or 
something. 

522
00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:57,320
Like that, I'm gonna be back to,
I mean, where the hard part when

523
00:32:57,320 --> 00:33:01,800
I had to take the the little 
break was he made it the, the 

524
00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:04,440
mile and a half and then coated 
again. 

525
00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:11,800
And I only, I only know this 
because they had given us the 

526
00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:15,640
report the, the the flight medic
gave us to run report. 

527
00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:21,960
So the narrative was in there of
what happened with him, because 

528
00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:25,640
at that point it's, it's a 
together call for them, I think.

529
00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:32,400
And so the stuff that he had, 
they had intubated him, worked 

530
00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:37,960
him and I, he, they, they called
it in the helicopter. 

531
00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:44,600
I didn't know. 
I actually so little fun fact, 

532
00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:48,960
when people have head injuries, 
sometimes they get into a little

533
00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:53,560
brain loop where they constantly
ask the same things over and 

534
00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:57,320
over again whether or not they 
just got the question answered 

535
00:33:57,320 --> 00:34:01,760
to him. 
My loop was has anybody called 

536
00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:04,320
my mom? 
Can I call my mom? 

537
00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:10,560
Is Gavin OK? 
And it was it was just 

538
00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:13,679
constantly is Gavin OK? 
Did somebody call my mom OK? 

539
00:34:13,679 --> 00:34:15,440
Is Gavin OK though? 
What? 

540
00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:17,840
How's Gavin? 
What's like, what's Gavin? 

541
00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:22,880
And every, every time was, you 
know, he's in good hands, stuff 

542
00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:28,280
like that. 
I get to the hospital 'cause 

543
00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:32,239
they finally extracted me the 
same way they did with him. 

544
00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:40,800
The letter appall walk appall 
walk helicopter when I was with 

545
00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:47,280
the flight medic, he, he give 
him, he's like, hey, it's gonna 

546
00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:50,840
be about 10 minute flight over 
to Saint Anthony's in Lakewood. 

547
00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:56,440
I get to the the hospital, they,
they tell me, oh, you, you know,

548
00:34:56,440 --> 00:35:00,680
you're at Saint Anthony's. 
Anybody you want us to call? 

549
00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:02,880
And so I was like, yes, call my 
mom. 

550
00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:09,240
How is Gavin? 
They still didn't tell me that I

551
00:35:09,240 --> 00:35:09,800
think. 
What? 

552
00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:10,800
What answer were they giving you
do? 

553
00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:17,680
You remember at the hospital was
let's let's figure out what's 

554
00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:21,440
going on with you first. 
Yeah, they didn't want you to. 

555
00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:26,720
Wow. 
So I had called my mom that they

556
00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:32,960
had called my mom 4. 
So it would have been 5:00 in 

557
00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:36,200
the morning, I think 5-6 in the 
morning over here 'cause they're

558
00:35:36,200 --> 00:35:42,120
an hour behind over in Colorado.
And so my mom gets a call four 

559
00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:44,480
or five in the morning. 
She's like, hey, this is Brandy 

560
00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:47,600
from Saint Anthony's ER in 
Lakewood, Co. 

561
00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:51,120
We have your daughter here. 
So she had asked to talk to me 

562
00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:53,320
and Brandy came in, gave me the 
phone. 

563
00:35:53,400 --> 00:35:57,600
She's like, what happened? 
I'm like, we, we fell down a 

564
00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:00,720
mountain. 
Gavin's unresponsive right now. 

565
00:36:00,720 --> 00:36:02,520
I don't know what's going on 
with him. 

566
00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:04,800
And my mom was like, we're 
getting on the first flight. 

567
00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:08,560
I'm getting on the first flight 
out of there out like and like 

568
00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:10,200
that was when I was like, oh, I 
have to go. 

569
00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:11,600
They want to take me over to 
MRI. 

570
00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:15,280
So I'll call you later when I 
know anything more. 

571
00:36:15,400 --> 00:36:19,520
Go to my MRI. 
They they do all their imaging. 

572
00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:25,440
I come back and that's when the 
ER, my ER doctor comes back in 

573
00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:35,680
and she, she goes, OK, so I have
some good news and bad news and 

574
00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:45,880
I'm like, OK, she's like, good 
news is you only broke your C7, 

575
00:36:47,720 --> 00:36:53,160
your spinous press in your C7. 
You broke your first rib and 

576
00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:56,840
you're gonna need, we're gonna 
need to stitch your head up. 

577
00:36:57,080 --> 00:37:04,040
And she goes, now the bad news, 
your, your companion you're 

578
00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:08,600
hiking with. 
And I mean, she didn't even need

579
00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:12,920
to say it. 
I knew then and there. 

580
00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:19,680
I mean, I knew deep in my gut 
that he was gone. 

581
00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:26,000
But I was trying to keep myself 
hopeful and in denial until I 

582
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:30,520
heard the word about it or saw 
it myself. 

583
00:37:33,320 --> 00:37:38,480
And that's when she said he 
didn't make it. 

584
00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:49,000
And I look at my nurse, I look 
at my ER doc and I go, can I be 

585
00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:52,680
alone? 
And they kind of look at each 

586
00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:59,920
other super stunned. 
Like I guess I'm like, leave me 

587
00:37:59,920 --> 00:38:02,360
alone. 
Like let me take this in. 

588
00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:07,920
So they, I they left me off for 
5 minutes. 

589
00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:11,720
I would have to say rightfully 
so. 

590
00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:15,360
Worried, you know, they just 
broke that news. 

591
00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:16,320
Yeah. 
What's this girl gonna? 

592
00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:18,560
Do yeah. 
And I'm just I just told them to

593
00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:23,200
leave the room. 
Like I do have trauma from it, 

594
00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:27,280
you know, like go get go get the
therapy. 

595
00:38:27,280 --> 00:38:32,560
Like it's not, it's not 
something to be taken lightly. 

596
00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:35,640
Like I centrally held my best 
friend while he died. 

597
00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:41,880
So I, I go to therapy. 
It's EMDR is what it's called. 

598
00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:47,360
And so it's kind of they put you
back where everything happened 

599
00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:49,600
in a way, but it's like a safe 
setting. 

600
00:38:49,600 --> 00:38:53,560
So there's been a couple of 
sessions where we've mimicked 

601
00:38:54,080 --> 00:38:56,800
thunderstorms. 
Oh man, do you think of it now 

602
00:38:56,800 --> 00:39:02,880
when you hear thunderstorms? 
Yeah, I, I do, I, I've, it's 

603
00:39:02,880 --> 00:39:06,920
taken a couple years and a lot 
of work with my therapist to be 

604
00:39:06,920 --> 00:39:11,360
OK now. 
But there were a few storms that

605
00:39:11,360 --> 00:39:15,440
rolled through when I got home. 
So I got, I was in Saint 

606
00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:19,600
Anthony's Hospital for about 
four or five days. 

607
00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:25,080
And I'm surprised I was there 
for such a short time. 

608
00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:29,840
But at the same time, I had told
everybody I was like, hey, if 

609
00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:31,800
I'm not out by his funeral, I'm 
leaving AMA. 

610
00:39:33,560 --> 00:39:37,120
Like, I don't I'm, I'm going to 
be at his funeral. 

611
00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:40,840
Yeah, I got to say bye to him 
out in the mountain. 

612
00:39:40,840 --> 00:39:44,320
But the coroner had already 
taken him down to the morgue. 

613
00:39:45,800 --> 00:39:49,040
So when I asked, I'd asked the 
ER, I was like, can I see him? 

614
00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:54,800
And you know, now being like 
knowing as a medical, like a 

615
00:39:54,800 --> 00:39:58,680
professional, especially like 
kids and stuff, parents will be 

616
00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:01,360
like, let me see their kid. 
Like let me see my kid. 

617
00:40:01,360 --> 00:40:06,640
And you should let them see like
we're I at least was trained to 

618
00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:10,080
let that happen. 
So, and this was, I didn't know 

619
00:40:10,080 --> 00:40:14,840
that prior, but I asked. 
So when I learned that I'm like,

620
00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:18,200
hey, people do ask. 
Like I asked, I asked to see 

621
00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:21,720
him. 
They came back and they're like,

622
00:40:21,720 --> 00:40:23,920
yeah, unfortunately it was too 
late 'cause I was like, I don't 

623
00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:26,760
know if it was too. 
I told him I was like, can you 

624
00:40:26,760 --> 00:40:29,440
like? 
Wheel me to him like just so I 

625
00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:32,200
can say bye, like if it's not 
too late, if they haven't taken 

626
00:40:32,200 --> 00:40:35,000
him anywhere. 
But it was too late. 

627
00:40:36,120 --> 00:40:40,640
And so my mom came walking in 
the next day and I'm like, hey, 

628
00:40:40,640 --> 00:40:43,160
mom, I've already told my doc 
that I'm going to leave AMA if 

629
00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:47,880
I'm not out by the funeral. 
And she's like, I mean, you're 

630
00:40:47,880 --> 00:40:51,720
19. 
I can't, I can't really worse 

631
00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:54,040
you. 
But the docs, the team was 

632
00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:57,960
really Adam and they, they knew 
I told them and they're, they 

633
00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:00,040
kind of like chuckle and they're
like, oh, no worries. 

634
00:41:00,040 --> 00:41:03,160
We'll, we'll make sure it works 
out like. 

635
00:41:03,640 --> 00:41:05,560
So I stayed there for a few 
days. 

636
00:41:07,360 --> 00:41:13,120
PTOT speech therapy came just to
double check, make sure no 

637
00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:14,760
screws were still a little 
loose. 

638
00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:19,040
Everybody's got screws loose. 
Still got screws loose, but 

639
00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:23,240
making sure they weren't any 
more loose than before. 

640
00:41:24,600 --> 00:41:29,800
I always have to say thank you 
to Vans though, because on the 

641
00:41:29,800 --> 00:41:35,600
way to Gavin's funeral, I get a 
call from California and I'm, 

642
00:41:36,640 --> 00:41:40,600
I'm like, oh, hey. 
And he goes, hey, this is Steve 

643
00:41:40,600 --> 00:41:45,640
Van Doren, the owner of Vans 
Shoe Company. 

644
00:41:47,360 --> 00:41:52,520
And he's like, I heard you. 
I heard you fell and you lost a 

645
00:41:52,520 --> 00:41:56,840
really close friend of yours. 
I'm sorry to hear that and I 

646
00:41:56,840 --> 00:42:00,920
hope you're doing OK. 
I'm going to send you a care 

647
00:42:00,920 --> 00:42:03,880
package to your store that you 
work at. 

648
00:42:05,720 --> 00:42:10,680
Just kind of like up my mood and
all that stuff I had actually. 

649
00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:15,160
That's super cool. 
The week I came back I I made my

650
00:42:15,160 --> 00:42:19,840
mom take me to my store to go 
show proof a life 'cause they 

651
00:42:19,880 --> 00:42:20,800
all knew something. 
Happened. 

652
00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:23,800
I'm not. 
Making this up well. 

653
00:42:24,240 --> 00:42:26,240
No, I mean they, they all wanted
to see me. 

654
00:42:26,240 --> 00:42:28,640
They all wanted to make sure I 
they all wanted to make sure I 

655
00:42:28,640 --> 00:42:32,440
was OK and proof of life like 
type. 

656
00:42:32,520 --> 00:42:36,280
So I went, I was like, hey guys,
I'm home. 

657
00:42:37,160 --> 00:42:40,200
I'll be back soon, I promise. 
I miss you guys, love you guys. 

658
00:42:42,200 --> 00:42:47,200
So Steve on the phone had said 
to me, he's like, you know, we 

659
00:42:47,200 --> 00:42:50,800
really like take pride in the 
fact that we all include 

660
00:42:50,800 --> 00:42:55,000
ourselves as a family and you 
showing up the week you came 

661
00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:59,280
back like really shows that like
peace in you. 

662
00:42:59,920 --> 00:43:04,760
So he like thanked me for that 
and just kind of being the role 

663
00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:06,720
model, like a role model in a 
way for that. 

664
00:43:07,920 --> 00:43:13,960
And then I think 2 weeks later I
get a whole box full of van 

665
00:43:13,960 --> 00:43:15,160
stuff. 
And I mean like this. 

666
00:43:15,160 --> 00:43:20,160
Box. 
Shipment box size like we just 

667
00:43:20,160 --> 00:43:23,520
got a whole box of shoes size 
box like. 

668
00:43:23,800 --> 00:43:25,880
I almost wore my van sweatshirt 
today. 

669
00:43:26,400 --> 00:43:27,600
I did. 
I was like. 

670
00:43:27,800 --> 00:43:31,560
I'm in my van stuff today. 
I'm actually, I actually made 

671
00:43:32,080 --> 00:43:34,920
custom shoes of one of the 
pictures that Rocky Mountain 

672
00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:40,200
Rescue Group got and I'm wearing
them on my my feet today. 

673
00:43:40,240 --> 00:43:42,800
So what? 
Did you bring with you? 

674
00:43:43,360 --> 00:43:49,600
So I actually brought the shirt 
that I fell in is what I took 

675
00:43:49,600 --> 00:43:54,000
off my head. 
Let me turn it this way. 

676
00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:55,600
I don't know. 
Good. 

677
00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:59,520
Alright, so this is the shirt 
that I took I I fell in it. 

678
00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:03,160
You can actually, if you look 
hard enough, you can see where I

679
00:44:04,160 --> 00:44:05,960
the way I fell. 
Oh man. 

680
00:44:06,760 --> 00:44:10,280
And then it's still tied. 
It's still got wrinkles from 

681
00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:11,920
where I. 
Oh wow. 

682
00:44:12,280 --> 00:44:18,520
Wrapped him up and tied it 
around my head like a like I'm 

683
00:44:18,560 --> 00:44:20,600
in survivor. 
Right, right, right. 

684
00:44:22,080 --> 00:44:29,360
So we got that all dirty and 
muddy and bloody, I should say. 

685
00:44:29,600 --> 00:44:32,040
But. 
And then I have his backpack. 

686
00:44:32,040 --> 00:44:33,800
Oh my God, this is the green 
back. 

687
00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:38,160
The bright green backpack and 
the family members and friends 

688
00:44:38,160 --> 00:44:40,400
that are watching, they're all 
going to roll their eyes at this

689
00:44:40,400 --> 00:44:44,120
one, especially his mom, because
his mom was like, oh, there's 

690
00:44:44,120 --> 00:44:47,920
that green backpack. 
But yeah, he fell with this. 

691
00:44:47,920 --> 00:44:50,720
So the wear and tear is from the
fall. 

692
00:44:50,720 --> 00:44:56,000
Like there's stuff in here. 
I actually, I left some of his 

693
00:44:56,000 --> 00:45:00,320
stuff in here. 
Well, I know he's not coming 

694
00:45:00,320 --> 00:45:01,840
back, but like I still got the 
like. 

695
00:45:02,520 --> 00:45:05,040
What's the outdoor life for you 
now? 

696
00:45:05,320 --> 00:45:08,920
What's it like? 
I actually, so my boyfriend now 

697
00:45:08,920 --> 00:45:15,440
is where he's way more into 
camping and outdoor stuff and we

698
00:45:15,440 --> 00:45:17,640
actually, we go fly fishing once
a year. 

699
00:45:18,160 --> 00:45:20,520
We've got a backpacking strip, 
but actually we're planning to 

700
00:45:20,520 --> 00:45:22,680
do the Ice Age Trail this 
summer. 

701
00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:25,680
Part of it. 
We're gonna do a short little 

702
00:45:25,680 --> 00:45:30,720
eight mile stretch I think or 
well 16 all together or 

703
00:45:30,720 --> 00:45:33,200
something like that. 
I have to look at our plan 

704
00:45:33,200 --> 00:45:39,920
again, planning that bucket list
of mine is going on the 

705
00:45:39,920 --> 00:45:42,560
Appalachian Trail. 
I would love to do the Grand 

706
00:45:42,560 --> 00:45:44,080
Canyon. 
Not in the winter, though. 

707
00:45:44,160 --> 00:45:45,400
Yeah, I know. 
I don't do it in the winter. 

708
00:45:46,280 --> 00:45:49,280
Don't do it in the winter. 
I don't recommend it at all. 

709
00:45:49,560 --> 00:45:53,800
At least two years after we 
fell, 'cause I think we're 

710
00:45:53,800 --> 00:45:55,680
coming, we're coming up on the 
four year mark now. 

711
00:45:55,840 --> 00:46:01,800
Wow, time flies. 
Yeah, 'cause we would be next 

712
00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:07,120
month be the four year. 
I actually went back, I think it

713
00:46:07,120 --> 00:46:09,640
was around the two year mark, a 
little bit later. 

714
00:46:09,680 --> 00:46:12,040
I wouldn't have wanted to go 
during the anniversary. 

715
00:46:12,760 --> 00:46:17,160
One of my close family friends, 
pretty much sisters growing up, 

716
00:46:17,960 --> 00:46:20,480
they lived down the street. 
She got stationed in Fort 

717
00:46:20,480 --> 00:46:23,040
Collins. 
We were down in Colorado Springs

718
00:46:23,560 --> 00:46:26,640
and I made an impromptu trip to 
go and see her. 

719
00:46:28,360 --> 00:46:33,720
I hang out with her for a week 
and I don't know why why I did 

720
00:46:33,720 --> 00:46:35,600
it this way now that I think 
about it. 

721
00:46:35,600 --> 00:46:47,000
But the last day we went and I 
redid the hike and we made I, we

722
00:46:47,000 --> 00:46:56,400
made it to the top and that was 
probably the most rewarding hike

723
00:46:56,400 --> 00:47:02,200
for me and probably will always 
be just because once I got to 

724
00:47:02,200 --> 00:47:06,040
the, the summit, the top, the 
end of the trail, I kind of like

725
00:47:06,040 --> 00:47:09,840
looked up and was like I had the
I take this backpack too. 

726
00:47:09,840 --> 00:47:14,720
So like if I, I'm going, if I'm 
going on a trip, not a 

727
00:47:14,720 --> 00:47:17,840
backpacking trip, but just a 
regular trip. 

728
00:47:18,560 --> 00:47:21,280
This is my personal, this is my 
personal, this is my carry on. 

729
00:47:21,600 --> 00:47:24,480
I'll take my work stuff out of 
it, put whatever I need in 

730
00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:31,440
there. 
So, you know, like I, I I looked

731
00:47:31,440 --> 00:47:35,560
at him, I hugged the backpack 
was just kind of like we finally

732
00:47:35,560 --> 00:47:39,880
made it, buddy. 
So that was pretty. 

733
00:47:40,920 --> 00:47:44,920
That one's probably the most 
rewarding and I would say 

734
00:47:44,920 --> 00:47:50,240
healing part of the journey is 
the finally making it up there 

735
00:47:51,080 --> 00:47:57,800
and to the point where we wanted
to sit and enjoy the view and 

736
00:47:57,880 --> 00:48:01,920
take in the world. 
I mean, I have the picture I can

737
00:48:01,920 --> 00:48:03,200
send. 
I'll, I'll give you guys a 

738
00:48:03,240 --> 00:48:05,720
picture for it. 
But there's a the picture of me 

739
00:48:05,720 --> 00:48:10,160
on top like I've got my arms 
spread like I look like I've 

740
00:48:10,400 --> 00:48:13,320
accomplished. 
Right, Mount Everest. 

741
00:48:13,400 --> 00:48:15,520
Yeah, it looks like I 
accomplished Mount Everest, but 

742
00:48:15,520 --> 00:48:23,480
I just did a eight mile in and 
out like so yeah, that that was 

743
00:48:23,480 --> 00:48:28,920
pretty healing in its own way. 
So yeah, I mean, my parents 

744
00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:31,760
also, they got me a compass that
I also bring around everywhere. 

745
00:48:32,240 --> 00:48:35,720
So all my travels that I've been
to since then. 

746
00:48:36,120 --> 00:48:37,320
Oh, that's pretty. 
Yeah, I. 

747
00:48:37,480 --> 00:48:40,160
Like that, I take the compass. 
That's super cool show. 

748
00:48:40,240 --> 00:48:45,120
It to the camera, Yeah. 
And it's got it just says in 

749
00:48:45,120 --> 00:48:50,920
memory of Gavin, your forever 
hero, 'cause I blame every day 

750
00:48:50,920 --> 00:48:55,160
that I have not not blame, but I
give every day that I have now 

751
00:48:55,680 --> 00:48:58,760
to him. 
I mean, he said I'll catch you 

752
00:48:58,880 --> 00:49:02,440
if we fall. 
And that's what he did. 

753
00:49:03,880 --> 00:49:07,600
I actually, I'll take a picture.
I got a tattoo, a memorial 

754
00:49:07,600 --> 00:49:10,160
tattoo for him. 
I don't know if I'm trying to 

755
00:49:10,160 --> 00:49:14,440
show it here for ya. 
It says forever my hero. 

756
00:49:14,440 --> 00:49:18,360
It's a compass. 
The heading is east 'cause we 

757
00:49:18,360 --> 00:49:25,640
fell facing east and this 
picture is actually one of the 

758
00:49:25,640 --> 00:49:29,200
pictures from the trailhead. 
So right before we started, like

759
00:49:29,200 --> 00:49:33,320
we had just started the summit. 
So this is Bear Peak. 

760
00:49:33,320 --> 00:49:37,320
I fell down this mountain and 
then I made the sun setting 

761
00:49:37,320 --> 00:49:40,720
behind the mountains cause. 
What's the He fell? 

762
00:49:40,720 --> 00:49:44,800
During that's his signature, so 
I put the his signature. 

763
00:49:45,240 --> 00:49:49,640
It's kind of like he's signing 
off for the rest of my life, you

764
00:49:49,640 --> 00:49:52,200
know, like here's here's the 
extra life. 

765
00:49:52,400 --> 00:49:55,360
You're welcome, my hero, in a 
way. 

766
00:49:55,760 --> 00:49:56,560
That's awesome. 
Yeah. 

767
00:49:57,080 --> 00:49:58,400
Super cool. 
Yeah. 

768
00:49:58,560 --> 00:49:59,720
Well, thanks for sharing your 
story. 

769
00:49:59,720 --> 00:50:02,400
I really appreciate it. 
Yeah, man, for sure 'cause I 

770
00:50:02,400 --> 00:50:05,280
think there's people that not 
only have been through something

771
00:50:05,280 --> 00:50:09,760
similar, but also can now be 
better prepared when they go out

772
00:50:09,760 --> 00:50:11,480
too. 
So you're awesome, man. 

773
00:50:11,480 --> 00:50:13,880
Crazy story. 
Glad you're here to tell the 

774
00:50:13,880 --> 00:50:15,520
story. 
Glad I'm here to tell the story 

775
00:50:15,520 --> 00:50:18,040
too. 
Yes, under wish it was under 

776
00:50:18,040 --> 00:50:20,680
better, yeah, under better 
circumstances for sure. 

777
00:50:20,680 --> 00:50:21,400
But. 
Oh, yeah. 

778
00:50:22,000 --> 00:50:23,720
But I appreciate you having me 
on. 

779
00:50:23,720 --> 00:50:24,880
It's yeah. 
It's really cool. 

780
00:50:25,040 --> 00:50:25,680
Yeah. 
Cool. 

781
00:50:25,720 --> 00:50:27,400
Yeah. 
Love telling my story. 

782
00:50:27,560 --> 00:50:28,760
Cool. 
Thank you. 

783
00:50:28,800 --> 00:50:29,480
Yeah. 
Thank you. 

784
00:50:29,920 --> 00:50:31,960
You didn't hear it sneaking back
up on you again. 

785
00:50:31,960 --> 00:50:33,040
They. 
Just float, they're like a 

786
00:50:33,040 --> 00:50:33,520
ghost. 
What? 

787
00:50:33,520 --> 00:50:35,120
Were you thinking at this point?
Right. 

788
00:50:35,120 --> 00:50:36,200
Well, you thought it was over. 
It's. 

789
00:50:36,200 --> 00:50:38,080
One of those things that wish no
one gets to see. 

790
00:50:38,240 --> 00:50:39,800
Is she trying to physically eat 
you? 

791
00:50:39,920 --> 00:50:42,160
I'm sorry, but it's really hard 
to play dead when something's 

792
00:50:42,160 --> 00:50:44,240
chewing on your face. 
You're hardly able to see at 

793
00:50:44,240 --> 00:50:46,160
this point. 
She removed the whole left side 

794
00:50:46,160 --> 00:50:49,360
of my face and one fell swoop I.
Don't know if I remember going 

795
00:50:49,360 --> 00:50:50,960
to talk to anybody else that 
could tell me that they found a 

796
00:50:50,960 --> 00:50:53,120
chunk of their head. 
I'm over 12 kilometers from my 

797
00:50:53,120 --> 00:50:55,360
truck. 
Like what's going to happen? 

798
00:50:58,320 --> 00:51:00,480
Jeremy, thanks for being here. 
I really appreciate it. 

799
00:51:01,200 --> 00:51:04,560
Your story is absolutely mind 
boggling to me. 

800
00:51:05,880 --> 00:51:09,720
When I was just sort of learning
about everything that you went 

801
00:51:09,720 --> 00:51:13,080
through, I was thinking about 
how I was going to ask you 

802
00:51:13,080 --> 00:51:17,040
questions and I just, it's so 
absolutely mind boggling. 

803
00:51:17,040 --> 00:51:19,440
I don't know how to even ask you
questions. 

804
00:51:19,440 --> 00:51:23,440
So just go through your story. 
I think this is going to be a 

805
00:51:23,640 --> 00:51:25,520
pretty wild one. 
I guess my journey starts really

806
00:51:25,520 --> 00:51:29,480
on August 23rd. 
That was the night before my 

807
00:51:29,480 --> 00:51:33,400
sheep hunt and very young. 
I had a very young family, me 

808
00:51:33,440 --> 00:51:35,720
and my wife and I had a daughter
who was eight months old at the 

809
00:51:35,720 --> 00:51:38,520
time and I was packing up 
getting the last many things 

810
00:51:38,520 --> 00:51:40,680
ready to go on a four day sheep 
hunt. 

811
00:51:41,200 --> 00:51:44,200
This is sheep hunting is kind of
one of the biggest things for 

812
00:51:44,200 --> 00:51:47,560
me, even though I spent 17 years
chasing 1 still haven't 

813
00:51:47,560 --> 00:51:50,000
harvested a legal ram yet or got
a ram. 

814
00:51:50,480 --> 00:51:54,320
So this year was going to be 
different because I spent that 

815
00:51:54,320 --> 00:51:56,120
whole entire year looking for 
sheep. 

816
00:51:56,560 --> 00:51:58,960
I found illegal ram. 
I knew he was legal. 

817
00:51:59,840 --> 00:52:04,360
I was on him every couple days 
making sure where he was taking 

818
00:52:04,520 --> 00:52:06,800
a lot of pictures of him showing
my buddies like, hey, is he 

819
00:52:06,800 --> 00:52:10,600
legal just to get his opinion 
because I, I wasn't sure. 

820
00:52:10,600 --> 00:52:12,960
And finally, you know, been way 
through the summer, we got some 

821
00:52:12,960 --> 00:52:14,920
really good pictures of him 
sideways and everybody's like, 

822
00:52:14,920 --> 00:52:19,800
yeah, go kill him. 
So so I was super excited to get

823
00:52:19,800 --> 00:52:26,120
out there and, and I put my 
daughter to bed that that night 

824
00:52:26,160 --> 00:52:29,640
and we sat on the couch, did 
some selfies and then while 

825
00:52:29,640 --> 00:52:31,800
putting the bed, we listened to 
a baby shirt because that was 

826
00:52:31,800 --> 00:52:35,120
her favorite nursery rhyme and a
little cranky kid sometimes. 

827
00:52:35,120 --> 00:52:36,840
So you play that and helps them 
go to sleep. 

828
00:52:38,960 --> 00:52:41,840
So I left my house about 11:30 
that night and drove a couple 

829
00:52:41,840 --> 00:52:45,240
hours out to where I go sheep 
hunting, parked the truck and 

830
00:52:45,320 --> 00:52:49,480
grabbed my bicycle and my pack 
and as I put my gear on I 

831
00:52:49,480 --> 00:52:52,600
noticed my bear spray rolling 
around the back seat of the 

832
00:52:52,600 --> 00:52:55,600
truck and was thinking to 
myself, I don't need that, you 

833
00:52:55,600 --> 00:52:56,600
know, what's the chance? 
Are you? 

834
00:52:56,640 --> 00:52:58,360
Were you really? 
Oh my gosh. 

835
00:52:58,760 --> 00:53:02,760
OK, wow. 
So it I was just sitting there 

836
00:53:02,760 --> 00:53:05,080
thinking about it like, you know
what I've haunted in here for 

837
00:53:05,080 --> 00:53:07,280
like 17 years. 
Yeah, I ran into bears. 

838
00:53:07,320 --> 00:53:10,560
I've never had it. 
I only had to spray 1 bear that 

839
00:53:10,560 --> 00:53:13,200
I surprised. 
And you know, I didn't see one 

840
00:53:13,200 --> 00:53:15,960
on the whole entire summer while
hiking out there every, you 

841
00:53:15,960 --> 00:53:18,480
know, twice a week. 
So I saw that to myself. 

842
00:53:18,480 --> 00:53:21,760
You don't really need it. 
So I stuffed in my backpack and 

843
00:53:21,760 --> 00:53:25,920
normally I wear it on my chest, 
but it's too easy to take off my

844
00:53:25,920 --> 00:53:29,600
helmet and my binoculars and my,
oh, my gear to mount it on my 

845
00:53:29,600 --> 00:53:31,480
chest like I normally do. 
So I just threw it in the 

846
00:53:31,480 --> 00:53:34,280
backpack. 
And my sheep camp was about 14 

847
00:53:34,280 --> 00:53:37,280
kilometers off the road. 
So my bike in the moonlight, in 

848
00:53:37,280 --> 00:53:40,560
the moonlight, got away into the
back and started coming up the 

849
00:53:40,560 --> 00:53:43,720
last drainage. 
And this is walking up the last 

850
00:53:43,720 --> 00:53:47,280
drainage. 
I, I spotted some sheep and you 

851
00:53:47,280 --> 00:53:49,680
know, they're only like 3-4 
hundred yards away and I was 

852
00:53:49,680 --> 00:53:52,560
like, oh, it's pretty cool. 
I was slowly sneaking along the 

853
00:53:52,560 --> 00:53:56,800
edge of the edge of the drainage
up along the tree line and just 

854
00:53:56,800 --> 00:54:00,280
making sure they don't see me. 
And as I'm walking up, one of 

855
00:54:00,480 --> 00:54:05,120
the things I didn't notice was 
all the bear tracks and bear 

856
00:54:05,120 --> 00:54:09,360
poop all along the trail. 
I was too focused on the sheep, 

857
00:54:09,440 --> 00:54:13,040
you know, in order to see that. 
And they made a little further 

858
00:54:13,040 --> 00:54:16,800
way up and got to the top of the
drainage, and I spotted some 

859
00:54:16,800 --> 00:54:20,320
sheep, or I spotted more sheep. 
There was my ram. 

860
00:54:20,320 --> 00:54:23,800
He was in the bunch. 
And I got really excited. 

861
00:54:24,200 --> 00:54:28,640
And that's all I can focus on. 
I'd walk, you know, 10 feet, 

862
00:54:28,920 --> 00:54:31,200
stand for 10 minutes just 
looking at him going. 

863
00:54:31,200 --> 00:54:33,360
Oh, I wish it was opening. 
I wish it was opening day. 

864
00:54:34,120 --> 00:54:34,960
Yeah, right. 
Yeah. 

865
00:54:36,200 --> 00:54:37,960
This was the day before sheep 
season. 

866
00:54:37,960 --> 00:54:41,320
So my goal was to get out there 
early to find him and just to 

867
00:54:41,320 --> 00:54:44,680
follow him until he went to bed 
and harvest the first thing the 

868
00:54:44,680 --> 00:54:47,920
next morning. 
So that's that's how excited I 

869
00:54:47,920 --> 00:54:54,040
was. 
And then I got to a spot where I

870
00:54:54,040 --> 00:54:56,840
could see a long ways and he was
just working his way along the 

871
00:54:56,840 --> 00:54:59,080
hillside or the mountainside 
across from me. 

872
00:54:59,080 --> 00:55:04,680
And I took off my backpack 
leaning against my bicycle and I

873
00:55:04,680 --> 00:55:07,200
had my elbows on the handlebars.
Just nice steady look and 

874
00:55:07,640 --> 00:55:12,120
watched in this, this Ram. 
And I stood up to stretch for a 

875
00:55:12,120 --> 00:55:16,600
second, and when I did, I 
noticed this little brown thing 

876
00:55:16,680 --> 00:55:20,280
right in front of me, literally 
less than 10 feet away. 

877
00:55:21,360 --> 00:55:23,720
And I knew right away what it 
was. 

878
00:55:24,480 --> 00:55:28,760
It was a grizzly bear cub. 
And I got this kind of feeling 

879
00:55:28,760 --> 00:55:32,480
over me that I was in a bad 
place. 

880
00:55:33,040 --> 00:55:36,160
Yeah, I bet. 
Because now, you know, you got a

881
00:55:36,160 --> 00:55:38,080
grizzly bear cub and it ran past
me. 

882
00:55:38,080 --> 00:55:43,600
Now I'm just trying to figure 
out where Mama is and I started 

883
00:55:43,600 --> 00:55:45,920
reaching on my backpack, grab my
bear spray because you know, 

884
00:55:45,920 --> 00:55:50,640
that's where I left it. 
And when I was reaching down to 

885
00:55:50,640 --> 00:55:53,280
open my backpack I heard a 
branch break over my right 

886
00:55:53,280 --> 00:55:56,120
shoulder and literally just less
than arms reach away. 

887
00:55:56,120 --> 00:55:59,440
Was was Mama? 
How, how much time had passed 

888
00:55:59,440 --> 00:56:03,360
there from the time you saw that
cub to the word the mom was 

889
00:56:03,360 --> 00:56:05,160
right there? 
Maybe 5 seconds. 

890
00:56:05,520 --> 00:56:08,400
Yeah, maybe. 
And I remember looking on my 

891
00:56:08,400 --> 00:56:09,840
right shoulder and I could see 
her. 

892
00:56:10,080 --> 00:56:13,200
She had her right paw stretched 
out, ready to grab me. 

893
00:56:13,720 --> 00:56:16,480
I can see your mouth was 
slightly open and then you see 

894
00:56:16,480 --> 00:56:21,280
the whites over over her eye on 
the left side, like she was 

895
00:56:21,280 --> 00:56:23,600
literally like, you know, a foot
away from me. 

896
00:56:23,760 --> 00:56:26,640
Oh my gosh, you. 
Know I didn't really have much 

897
00:56:26,640 --> 00:56:30,080
time to react and it was really,
I mean the only thing I think of

898
00:56:30,080 --> 00:56:33,280
doing is just taking my bicycle 
and drop in front of her and 

899
00:56:33,280 --> 00:56:37,560
stepping aside. 
Her head went through the frame 

900
00:56:37,560 --> 00:56:41,960
of the bicycle and she pick up 
the bicycle, looked at me and it

901
00:56:41,960 --> 00:56:43,440
was around her neck like a 
necklace. 

902
00:56:44,160 --> 00:56:46,840
And the first thing I did was 
grab my backpack and I just 

903
00:56:46,840 --> 00:56:48,640
smashed her in the face as hard 
as I could. 

904
00:56:49,400 --> 00:56:52,280
Wow, were you on the bike 
originally or did you jump off 

905
00:56:52,280 --> 00:56:55,160
the bike and how'd that work? 
No, the bike was, I was 

906
00:56:55,160 --> 00:56:57,320
originally off my bike and my 
backpack was leaning against the

907
00:56:57,320 --> 00:56:58,320
bike. 
Gotcha. 

908
00:56:58,320 --> 00:57:00,600
And it was just in front of me. 
Oh my gosh. 

909
00:57:02,480 --> 00:57:06,280
And yeah, So smashed her in the 
face of the hair of the backpack

910
00:57:06,880 --> 00:57:09,600
as she snapped and managed to 
get a hold of my right hand. 

911
00:57:09,720 --> 00:57:14,040
And remember, I was holding the 
frame of the pack and her teeth 

912
00:57:14,040 --> 00:57:17,000
sinking through my hand. 
And you can feel her teeth just 

913
00:57:17,000 --> 00:57:19,200
like separating my my bones and 
my fingers. 

914
00:57:19,880 --> 00:57:22,440
And you can hear the teeth 
grinding on the frame of the 

915
00:57:22,440 --> 00:57:25,560
backpack. 
That was quite painful. 

916
00:57:26,560 --> 00:57:29,480
I managed to get my hand away 
and then I started beating her 

917
00:57:29,480 --> 00:57:33,680
at the backpack hardened head, 
just smacking her in top of the 

918
00:57:33,680 --> 00:57:37,200
head. 
The on the backpack it's a 

919
00:57:37,200 --> 00:57:40,760
Badlands aux pack and on the 
sides there's like a one inch 

920
00:57:40,760 --> 00:57:43,080
tube 1 flattened like an Oval 
tube. 

921
00:57:43,800 --> 00:57:46,000
And so I was trying trying to 
hit her with that as hard as I 

922
00:57:46,000 --> 00:57:49,600
could just to see if inflict 
some paint on her. 

923
00:57:50,040 --> 00:57:52,120
Sorry, I got a. 
Oh, you're good. 

924
00:57:53,280 --> 00:57:56,480
No. 
Well, yeah, I got like, like 

925
00:57:56,480 --> 00:57:58,360
turkeys are sitting at the door 
here watching me. 

926
00:58:01,240 --> 00:58:03,960
I'm glad it was a Turkey. 
Just saying I'm glad it was a 

927
00:58:03,960 --> 00:58:07,880
Turkey. 
Yeah, it's, it's Anyways, sorry.

928
00:58:07,880 --> 00:58:14,320
They just caught my eye. 
So, you know, being over the 

929
00:58:14,320 --> 00:58:17,400
head of the backpack and trying 
to inflict as much pain I can on

930
00:58:17,400 --> 00:58:20,440
her. 
And then she started to back 

931
00:58:20,440 --> 00:58:23,240
away. 
So I started to back up. 

932
00:58:23,640 --> 00:58:26,120
She turned around and started 
heading back the way she came. 

933
00:58:26,560 --> 00:58:29,480
And I was looking down at the 
back trying to open it up, 

934
00:58:29,480 --> 00:58:32,200
trying to get my bear spray out 
or my gun off. 

935
00:58:32,320 --> 00:58:35,040
I'm either or. 
And then I remember when I 

936
00:58:35,040 --> 00:58:37,520
grabbed the zipper, I took my 
eyes off her. 

937
00:58:37,520 --> 00:58:40,920
And when I looked back up, she's
about 30 feet away. 

938
00:58:41,080 --> 00:58:44,560
And she had spun around and was 
now facing me. 

939
00:58:45,240 --> 00:58:48,000
And she came in charging. 
And this is what I call the 

940
00:58:48,000 --> 00:58:50,240
beginning of round two. 
Oh, man. 

941
00:58:52,000 --> 00:58:54,960
Yeah. 
And I mean that the bear, her 

942
00:58:54,960 --> 00:58:58,400
standing there about 30 feet 
away, she looked pretty big. 

943
00:58:58,560 --> 00:59:01,040
I mean, she wasn't that big, but
like a 300 LB bear. 

944
00:59:01,560 --> 00:59:03,600
But still, when she turned and 
started running towards me, it 

945
00:59:03,600 --> 00:59:05,320
looked like a freight train 
coming through the Bush. 

946
00:59:05,320 --> 00:59:07,320
Oh. 
My gosh. 

947
00:59:08,760 --> 00:59:11,640
Yeah, It it was, it was one of 
those things I wish no one gets 

948
00:59:11,640 --> 00:59:14,240
to see. 
Yeah, yeah. 

949
00:59:14,800 --> 00:59:17,280
And like one step for them was 
like 12 feet. 

950
00:59:17,280 --> 00:59:20,040
Like it's huge. 
Like they're when they run, they

951
00:59:20,040 --> 00:59:22,240
can run faster than the horse. 
Yeah. 

952
00:59:22,240 --> 00:59:26,040
And they can go from a solid 
standstill to full tilt and with

953
00:59:26,040 --> 00:59:27,960
one leak. 
That's pretty crazy. 

954
00:59:29,440 --> 00:59:36,080
So she started to charge me and 
I just thought, well I'm just 

955
00:59:36,160 --> 00:59:38,960
going to throw my backpack at 
her and hopefully she'll just 

956
00:59:38,960 --> 00:59:43,280
eat my lunch instead of me. 
So I threw my backpack and I ran

957
00:59:43,280 --> 00:59:45,480
up the mountainside and my 
object. 

958
00:59:45,840 --> 00:59:48,960
My goal was to run up the 
hillside and was pretty steep 

959
00:59:48,960 --> 00:59:51,560
and jump off to the one of the 
steeper parts of the hill and 

960
00:59:51,560 --> 00:59:54,680
jump into a tree. 
Give me some extra height right 

961
00:59:54,680 --> 00:59:58,080
away and well, I got up with 
this little 8 inch spruce tree, 

962
00:59:58,080 --> 01:00:01,640
about 8 inch trunk and got up 
about 5 and a half six feet off 

963
01:00:01,640 --> 01:00:05,680
the ground and I remember 
looking down and I could see her

964
01:00:05,680 --> 01:00:09,120
running through the Bush. 
You can just hear her. 

965
01:00:10,560 --> 01:00:13,520
Oh my gosh. 
And you just hear everything 

966
01:00:13,520 --> 01:00:17,760
crashing and and I remember 
looking down and there she was 

967
01:00:17,840 --> 01:00:21,480
at the base of the tree. 
She stood up on her hind legs 

968
01:00:22,000 --> 01:00:26,720
and reached up with her paws, 
straight up grabbed my my right 

969
01:00:26,720 --> 01:00:29,680
leg and just kind of wrapped 
from around my leg. 

970
01:00:29,680 --> 01:00:32,280
And then she just guided it into
her mouth. 

971
01:00:32,280 --> 01:00:39,000
And then I mean her mouth and 
she said it, it's like kind of 

972
01:00:39,000 --> 01:00:41,640
like that. 
And she just grabbed right 

973
01:00:41,640 --> 01:00:45,680
around my right knee. 
Which is, is this? 

974
01:00:45,680 --> 01:00:49,160
Is this like, is this all slow 
motion for you at this point? 

975
01:00:49,160 --> 01:00:52,000
Is this, is this happening in 
slow motion for you? 

976
01:00:52,160 --> 01:00:55,520
Is this, you know what I mean as
it's happening, is it slow? 

977
01:00:55,920 --> 01:00:57,240
Motion. 
Man. 

978
01:00:57,960 --> 01:01:01,360
Like, it's it. 
It was like, I mean, it seemed 

979
01:01:01,360 --> 01:01:03,960
like when she lunged up and was 
biting my knee, it just seemed 

980
01:01:03,960 --> 01:01:06,240
like, OK, when is it going to 
happen? 

981
01:01:06,640 --> 01:01:08,280
Yeah. 
And her teeth and her mouth 

982
01:01:08,280 --> 01:01:10,520
dropped around my knee. 
And you just see the teeth sink 

983
01:01:10,520 --> 01:01:13,240
in and I'm thinking, you know, 
this is going to hurt, but 

984
01:01:13,520 --> 01:01:16,920
didn't feel anything. 
You can just hear everything 

985
01:01:16,920 --> 01:01:24,800
kind of pop and crack and she's 
holding on and she's just 

986
01:01:24,800 --> 01:01:27,520
getting 1 little pluck and 
pulled me right out of the tree 

987
01:01:27,520 --> 01:01:29,840
like nothing. 
When I was trying to hold on, 

988
01:01:30,120 --> 01:01:33,480
hold on for dear life. 
And no she pulled me right out. 

989
01:01:34,360 --> 01:01:38,120
I hit the ground pretty hard was
the spruce tree that I was in. 

990
01:01:38,120 --> 01:01:41,160
So I crawled underneath it, 
wrapped my arms and legs around 

991
01:01:41,160 --> 01:01:43,520
the base of the tree hoping that
the spruce brows would protect 

992
01:01:43,520 --> 01:01:46,680
me. 
In the beginning she was using 

993
01:01:46,680 --> 01:01:50,600
her paws trying to trying to 
pull me out, but that wasn't 

994
01:01:50,600 --> 01:01:53,200
very effective. 
She seemed to be like almost 

995
01:01:53,200 --> 01:01:55,560
like frustrated. 
She reached her mouth and 

996
01:01:55,560 --> 01:01:59,400
grabbed me on the left side, 
kind of below the rib cage, 

997
01:02:00,040 --> 01:02:02,480
above the hips, kind of in the 
love handler, I guess somebody 

998
01:02:02,480 --> 01:02:03,880
love handles. 
That's where she grabbed. 

999
01:02:04,360 --> 01:02:06,320
Me the closet, she grabbed me 
with her. 

1000
01:02:06,440 --> 01:02:11,080
With her mouth she'd be very on 
the side and picked me up like I

1001
01:02:11,080 --> 01:02:13,080
was nothing. 
And at the time I weighed 200, a

1002
01:02:13,080 --> 01:02:15,920
little over £250. 
I mean, it was in pretty good 

1003
01:02:15,920 --> 01:02:18,600
shape. 
And she picked me up and she 

1004
01:02:18,600 --> 01:02:24,240
shook her head like a dog 
swinging a toy around. 

1005
01:02:25,280 --> 01:02:30,400
And she threw me few feet and I 
hit the ground and it knocked 

1006
01:02:30,400 --> 01:02:32,920
the wind out of me. 
And before I could take that 

1007
01:02:32,920 --> 01:02:36,840
first breath, she was right on 
top of me like instantaneously. 

1008
01:02:38,000 --> 01:02:41,800
And she reached down with her 
mouth and she grabbed me on the 

1009
01:02:41,800 --> 01:02:45,040
left side of the face. 
Her top 2 canine teeth caught me

1010
01:02:45,040 --> 01:02:49,760
on either side of the left eye. 
Oh my gosh, just like this. 

1011
01:02:51,000 --> 01:02:54,280
And when she bit down, she 
removed the hole left side of my

1012
01:02:54,280 --> 01:02:58,040
face and one fell swoop, 11 
bite. 

1013
01:02:58,040 --> 01:02:59,920
She's kind of. 
Like you, as in crushed it all 

1014
01:02:59,920 --> 01:03:02,040
together down off of your. 
Oh, my God. 

1015
01:03:02,040 --> 01:03:03,640
Just crunch. 
Yep. 

1016
01:03:05,440 --> 01:03:08,920
Yeah. 
And then this is normally where 

1017
01:03:08,920 --> 01:03:12,840
I get my most favorite question 
ever is what's going through 

1018
01:03:12,840 --> 01:03:14,040
your head when she's biting on 
you? 

1019
01:03:17,480 --> 01:03:19,000
Normally it's teeth. 
I don't know what's going 

1020
01:03:19,040 --> 01:03:21,560
through your head. 
I mean, I was just kind of 

1021
01:03:21,560 --> 01:03:23,480
wondering, you know, do I taste 
good? 

1022
01:03:24,040 --> 01:03:29,120
Kind of was wondering actually. 
Thank you for clearing that up. 

1023
01:03:29,120 --> 01:03:31,280
Yeah. 
Yeah, I mean, is it, you know, 

1024
01:03:31,320 --> 01:03:34,000
is that bittersweet? 
Do you need more BBQ sauce? 

1025
01:03:34,000 --> 01:03:36,320
You know, should I have shaved 
that day? 

1026
01:03:36,400 --> 01:03:40,560
Man, I'm glad you can joke about
this because it's got, that's 

1027
01:03:40,560 --> 01:03:43,160
got to be like a coping thing 
for you, right? 

1028
01:03:43,280 --> 01:03:44,800
To be able to talk about it like
this. 

1029
01:03:45,440 --> 01:03:48,440
Yeah, like, to me now, it's, 
it's like playing a video game, 

1030
01:03:48,440 --> 01:03:50,720
you know, I'm just sitting on 
the drone above it watching it 

1031
01:03:50,720 --> 01:03:53,840
all happen. 
Yeah, yeah, I'd use humor to 

1032
01:03:53,840 --> 01:03:56,120
help get through things. 
Yeah, for sure. 

1033
01:03:56,640 --> 01:03:59,080
But it but it's kind of funny on
somebody's podcast, I always get

1034
01:03:59,080 --> 01:04:01,320
that question like no, what's 
going through your head when the

1035
01:04:01,320 --> 01:04:03,520
when the bears chewing on you? 
I don't know, it's like half a 

1036
01:04:03,520 --> 01:04:04,680
second. 
It's freaking teeth. 

1037
01:04:04,680 --> 01:04:08,920
Like what do you want me to say?
No, like what's going through 

1038
01:04:08,920 --> 01:04:10,040
your head? 
I don't know. 

1039
01:04:10,040 --> 01:04:11,240
It's like a 10th of a second 
man. 

1040
01:04:11,240 --> 01:04:12,840
Do I taste good? 
Is it like chicken? 

1041
01:04:13,120 --> 01:04:14,560
You know, do you want a second 
bite? 

1042
01:04:14,560 --> 01:04:18,320
What's? 
You're good. 

1043
01:04:19,760 --> 01:04:24,320
Oh my gosh. 
So she, she takes, she's got 

1044
01:04:24,320 --> 01:04:27,680
your face off essentially at 
this point, right? 

1045
01:04:28,200 --> 01:04:32,480
Only only AI guess just below 
the from the left eye down to my

1046
01:04:32,480 --> 01:04:35,800
chin or jaw on the left side. 
She's got the whole piece just 

1047
01:04:36,280 --> 01:04:39,960
tore right off. 
You know, I'm curl up in a ball 

1048
01:04:39,960 --> 01:04:43,160
trying to play dead and I'm 
like, you know, this sucks 

1049
01:04:43,160 --> 01:04:44,720
playing dead while getting 
chewed on. 

1050
01:04:44,760 --> 01:04:46,960
I'm sorry, but it's really hard 
to play dead when something's 

1051
01:04:46,960 --> 01:04:49,720
chewing on your face. 
Just yeah, just putting that out

1052
01:04:49,720 --> 01:04:50,000
there. 
I. 

1053
01:04:50,560 --> 01:04:53,040
I would probably, yeah, I think 
that would be true, yeah. 

1054
01:04:54,640 --> 01:04:57,200
So then I rolled over on my back
and I started punch her in the 

1055
01:04:57,200 --> 01:05:00,320
face with my with my right arm, 
poking her in the eye, grabbing 

1056
01:05:00,320 --> 01:05:03,640
her ears, shoved my fingers in 
her nose just to stop her from 

1057
01:05:03,640 --> 01:05:06,120
trying to bite me in the face 
because I mean that that hurt. 

1058
01:05:08,320 --> 01:05:13,720
And then she had her mouth kind 
of over top of me, kind of over 

1059
01:05:13,720 --> 01:05:17,320
top of my face and she's coming 
down to bite me a second time in

1060
01:05:17,320 --> 01:05:19,760
the face and her mouth was wide 
open. 

1061
01:05:19,760 --> 01:05:21,120
And I just saw an opportunity 
where I could. 

1062
01:05:21,520 --> 01:05:23,680
Well, I kind of lighted up in my
left hand and I punched my hand 

1063
01:05:23,680 --> 01:05:26,240
into her mouth. 
And I was thinking to grab her 

1064
01:05:26,240 --> 01:05:28,760
tongue because if I held on her 
tongue, she wouldn't be able to 

1065
01:05:28,760 --> 01:05:32,240
bite me anymore. 
And so I shoved my middle finger

1066
01:05:32,240 --> 01:05:35,360
and index finger down into her 
throat and used my thumb and 

1067
01:05:35,360 --> 01:05:37,120
ring finger and pinky to wrap 
around her tongue. 

1068
01:05:37,120 --> 01:05:40,520
And I held on. 
And I just remember like my 

1069
01:05:40,520 --> 01:05:44,280
fingers sliding down her tongue.
He can, he could feel the like 

1070
01:05:44,280 --> 01:05:46,960
the little bumps in the 
beginning and then the Ridge of 

1071
01:05:46,960 --> 01:05:50,320
the tongue, you know, some of 
the scars. 

1072
01:05:50,320 --> 01:05:52,840
And then on the back of the 
tongue is more like soft 

1073
01:05:52,840 --> 01:05:55,840
leather. 
And you could feel the kind of, 

1074
01:05:55,840 --> 01:05:58,280
I guess, some more of the 
stiffer, harder part of her 

1075
01:05:58,280 --> 01:06:00,600
throat. 
Yeah, and I. 

1076
01:06:01,120 --> 01:06:05,000
Shoved MY2 fingers down there 
and held her tongue and remember

1077
01:06:05,080 --> 01:06:07,520
seeing my forearm. 
You know, about this part of 

1078
01:06:07,520 --> 01:06:09,240
much of my forearm was sticking 
out of her mouth. 

1079
01:06:10,480 --> 01:06:14,520
So it was in there quite far 
and, and, and we're looking at 

1080
01:06:14,520 --> 01:06:18,000
it and just seeing the drool run
down and the saliva run down 

1081
01:06:18,000 --> 01:06:20,840
with my arm. 
And I mean, the smell of her 

1082
01:06:20,840 --> 01:06:25,640
like it just just a rotten, like
a really dirty horse smell, like

1083
01:06:25,640 --> 01:06:32,080
very distinct. 
And her back legs were digging 

1084
01:06:32,080 --> 01:06:35,640
into my right side into my 
stomach and that and that was 

1085
01:06:35,640 --> 01:06:37,600
very painful. 
So I was trying to push her off 

1086
01:06:37,600 --> 01:06:40,880
me just to get her legs off me 
because that was really hurting.

1087
01:06:41,440 --> 01:06:45,160
I mean, the bear's only about 
300 lbs, but I couldn't budget 

1088
01:06:45,160 --> 01:06:48,680
like it was just solid rock. 
And my hands slipped and I hit 

1089
01:06:48,680 --> 01:06:53,240
the belly and I could tell the 
belly is a lot, not as firm. 

1090
01:06:54,480 --> 01:06:56,200
You can feel there's less hair, 
more skin. 

1091
01:06:56,200 --> 01:07:00,000
And I reached up in between the 
legs and grabbed at the time 

1092
01:07:00,000 --> 01:07:03,240
what I thought was balls. 
When I when I grabbed it, I 

1093
01:07:03,240 --> 01:07:04,960
twisted and I pulled as hard as 
I could. 

1094
01:07:05,400 --> 01:07:09,240
And when I did, the bear almost 
been like a gigging, choking 

1095
01:07:09,240 --> 01:07:13,920
sound and a squeal of a pig, 
like a real deep, deep squeal of

1096
01:07:13,920 --> 01:07:14,440
a pig. 
Oh, man. 

1097
01:07:15,600 --> 01:07:19,560
It's just, it's something that 
gives me nightmares, that sound.

1098
01:07:20,160 --> 01:07:23,840
Yeah. 
And I held on for, I don't know,

1099
01:07:23,840 --> 01:07:26,800
a couple seconds. 
I mean, I felt like, you know, a

1100
01:07:26,800 --> 01:07:31,480
minute, but it probably only 
was, you know, say, 2-3 seconds.

1101
01:07:32,200 --> 01:07:37,120
And then I let go and she ran 
back the way she came, just 

1102
01:07:37,240 --> 01:07:40,320
squealing like a pig and 
defecating all across the 

1103
01:07:40,320 --> 01:07:43,040
mountainside, just squirting and
running and squealing like a 

1104
01:07:43,040 --> 01:07:44,640
pig. 
Then I got up right away and I 

1105
01:07:44,640 --> 01:07:48,600
dusted myself off. 
I walked over to my packing gear

1106
01:07:48,600 --> 01:07:50,640
and. 
Are you able to see at this 

1107
01:07:50,640 --> 01:07:52,640
point? 
Yeah, everything was kind of 

1108
01:07:52,640 --> 01:07:56,120
fine. 
Like I stood up and just 

1109
01:07:56,120 --> 01:07:58,840
literally just dusted myself off
and like, you know, getting. 

1110
01:07:58,840 --> 01:08:01,200
So eyes are intact at this point
and. 

1111
01:08:01,800 --> 01:08:03,120
Yeah. 
OK. 

1112
01:08:03,320 --> 01:08:05,520
Just a big chunk. 
Well, OK, well there's quite a 

1113
01:08:05,520 --> 01:08:09,520
few things missing, but at the 
time I thought it was fine. 

1114
01:08:09,920 --> 01:08:13,160
So I touched my pack and I 
pulled on my cell phone and 

1115
01:08:13,160 --> 01:08:15,840
decided to take a selfie on the 
mountainside just to see what I 

1116
01:08:15,840 --> 01:08:18,399
look like. 
And then that picture you can 

1117
01:08:18,399 --> 01:08:21,279
see a large portion left side of
my face is missing in chunks of 

1118
01:08:21,279 --> 01:08:23,520
my scalp. 
Is that the one that's on your 

1119
01:08:23,520 --> 01:08:26,120
Instagram profile right now? 
Yep, that is. 

1120
01:08:26,319 --> 01:08:27,640
Yeah, OK. 
Yeah, I saw it. 

1121
01:08:27,640 --> 01:08:28,760
I look. 
Pretty handsome there. 

1122
01:08:29,200 --> 01:08:36,279
You do, you do. 
I'm certainly looking at that 

1123
01:08:36,279 --> 01:08:38,359
picture, and I'm thinking to 
myself, you know, well, it's not

1124
01:08:38,359 --> 01:08:40,920
that bad. 
I mean, I could at least go 

1125
01:08:40,920 --> 01:08:43,560
shoot that sheep across the way 
before I have to leave or go 

1126
01:08:43,560 --> 01:08:47,240
look for this bear. 
And, you know, I'm sitting there

1127
01:08:47,240 --> 01:08:50,319
and, yeah, I'm probably in 
shock, but I was actually pretty

1128
01:08:50,319 --> 01:08:55,240
disappointed in myself that I 
spent this whole entire year, I 

1129
01:08:55,240 --> 01:08:58,680
guess, from April until August 
looking for this ram. 

1130
01:08:58,680 --> 01:09:01,319
I found him, you know, I spent 
17 years hunting in there, and I

1131
01:09:01,319 --> 01:09:03,120
finally found a ram that I knew 
was legal. 

1132
01:09:03,120 --> 01:09:05,760
I knew where he was. 
Wow, 17 years. 

1133
01:09:06,319 --> 01:09:10,359
My year to get him. 
And, you know, and I could have 

1134
01:09:10,359 --> 01:09:13,240
really prevented all this if I 
actually had my bear spray on my

1135
01:09:13,240 --> 01:09:16,680
chest where I normally carry it 
and not and bottom my backpack. 

1136
01:09:17,279 --> 01:09:20,640
But no, I took a chance and it 
caught up with me. 

1137
01:09:20,840 --> 01:09:24,720
And I wasted 17 years of. 
I wouldn't say wasted. 

1138
01:09:25,040 --> 01:09:27,840
I mean, I enjoyed every second 
of the hunt out there for 17 

1139
01:09:27,840 --> 01:09:29,000
years. 
I still love going out there 

1140
01:09:29,000 --> 01:09:30,880
today. 
But I was just so disappointed 

1141
01:09:30,880 --> 01:09:34,880
myself that I made that big of a
mistake and ultimately almost 

1142
01:09:34,960 --> 01:09:36,560
cost my life. 
Yeah. 

1143
01:09:37,960 --> 01:09:40,520
You know, and I'm sitting there 
and kind of figuring out like, 

1144
01:09:40,520 --> 01:09:42,399
what do I do? 
Do I go back to my truck? 

1145
01:09:42,399 --> 01:09:46,720
Like, where do I go? 
And I had my gun leaning against

1146
01:09:46,720 --> 01:09:49,520
my left shoulder. 
I had the clip to my right hand 

1147
01:09:49,520 --> 01:09:51,520
and I'm just popping in rounds 
into the clip. 

1148
01:09:51,960 --> 01:09:54,800
I got two or three in. 
Is this a rifle? 

1149
01:09:54,800 --> 01:09:56,400
What is this pistol, rifle yet? 
Rifle OK. 

1150
01:09:57,240 --> 01:10:01,480
Yeah, and then the clip only 
holds I think 3 rounds. 

1151
01:10:01,480 --> 01:10:04,480
Anyways, I think it was getting 
the second or third one in and I

1152
01:10:04,480 --> 01:10:09,840
heard the sound of ice breaking.
My hands dropped and went numb. 

1153
01:10:09,880 --> 01:10:13,960
Everything just came out of them
and the bear had come back and 

1154
01:10:14,560 --> 01:10:20,680
she had grabbed me by the back 
of the skull and I remember her 

1155
01:10:20,680 --> 01:10:22,960
teeth sinking in. 
You can just feel them grind and

1156
01:10:22,960 --> 01:10:27,880
just essentially crush things, 
man. 

1157
01:10:27,920 --> 01:10:30,920
You can just feel all this 
pressure and then just pop, pop.

1158
01:10:31,080 --> 01:10:33,760
Like it's, it's like when you 
take an ice tray and you crack 

1159
01:10:33,760 --> 01:10:35,360
it. 
It's very loud. 

1160
01:10:35,360 --> 01:10:37,520
What? 
Were you thinking at this point?

1161
01:10:37,680 --> 01:10:40,480
Well, you thought it was over. 
I did. 

1162
01:10:40,480 --> 01:10:44,320
I mean, this had been probably 
10 minutes after the second 

1163
01:10:44,320 --> 01:10:46,400
round when she. 10 minutes went 
by it. 

1164
01:10:46,640 --> 01:10:49,840
Was about 10 minutes. 
Oh my gosh. 

1165
01:10:50,360 --> 01:10:54,320
So I was, I felt like I was 
safe, like, no, there's no bear 

1166
01:10:54,320 --> 01:10:55,720
here. 
I'm good. 

1167
01:10:55,720 --> 01:10:57,560
You're right. 
Like she's not coming back. 

1168
01:10:58,280 --> 01:11:00,800
So it's probably about, I'm 
going to say, yeah, 10 minutes, 

1169
01:11:02,400 --> 01:11:05,480
maybe more. 
But you didn't hear it sneaking 

1170
01:11:05,480 --> 01:11:06,800
back up on you again. 
It just. 

1171
01:11:07,600 --> 01:11:08,880
Just. 
Crunching on your head. 

1172
01:11:09,440 --> 01:11:13,240
Yeah, the one thing about bears 
is even in the fall, when you 

1173
01:11:13,240 --> 01:11:16,240
got leaves on the ground, you 
can watch a bear walk across the

1174
01:11:16,240 --> 01:11:18,680
ground 20 feet away and you 
can't hear them. 

1175
01:11:18,680 --> 01:11:20,280
They just float. 
They're like a ghost. 

1176
01:11:20,280 --> 01:11:23,160
It's it's crazy. 
It really messes with your mind.

1177
01:11:23,160 --> 01:11:24,880
No, she's going to be by the 
back of the skull. 

1178
01:11:25,840 --> 01:11:29,520
And I remember seeing her paws 
on either side of me and she's 

1179
01:11:29,520 --> 01:11:34,480
just digging in the ground and 
just like, like playing tug of 

1180
01:11:34,480 --> 01:11:37,640
war with me and dragging me when
we have a, when you have a dog 

1181
01:11:37,640 --> 01:11:41,280
and you got a little rope and 
you're pulling on it, how they 

1182
01:11:41,280 --> 01:11:42,920
just get down low. 
Yeah. 

1183
01:11:42,920 --> 01:11:46,240
Well, she was, she was like that
just dragging me back into the 

1184
01:11:46,240 --> 01:11:50,680
Bush. 
Now she did 3 or 4 good poles. 

1185
01:11:51,960 --> 01:11:54,560
I don't know how far he went. 
And maybe, you know, 10 feet. 

1186
01:11:56,280 --> 01:11:59,000
And I was sitting on, on my 
butt, kind of sitting up, 

1187
01:11:59,000 --> 01:12:01,800
hunched over, felt like I was 
leaning against something, you 

1188
01:12:01,800 --> 01:12:04,720
know, probably her. 
And she reached over with her 

1189
01:12:04,840 --> 01:12:08,920
paw over my right shoulder, 
caught me on the bottom left 

1190
01:12:08,920 --> 01:12:14,160
corner of the face. 
And she peeled across my face, 

1191
01:12:14,160 --> 01:12:17,280
going diagonally to towards my 
right eye. 

1192
01:12:17,280 --> 01:12:22,800
And she peeled off all the skin,
my nose, my right eye, right 

1193
01:12:22,800 --> 01:12:27,480
here in a large chunk of my 
scalp on the right side, just 

1194
01:12:27,480 --> 01:12:31,240
one fill soup with her paw. 
And then she started chewing on 

1195
01:12:31,240 --> 01:12:35,920
the left corner here in my head,
just kind of gnawing out like a 

1196
01:12:35,920 --> 01:12:38,000
dog in a bone, just with the 
head side and he's just 

1197
01:12:38,000 --> 01:12:41,600
crunching away is. 
Is she what, What is this bear 

1198
01:12:41,600 --> 01:12:44,160
trying to do at this point 
'cause it's at certain, you 

1199
01:12:44,560 --> 01:12:48,080
know, other bear attacks that 
I've learned about, they're just

1200
01:12:48,080 --> 01:12:51,240
trying to get rid of the threat 
so they can protect their young.

1201
01:12:52,040 --> 01:12:54,240
Is she trying to like physically
eat you? 

1202
01:12:55,480 --> 01:12:58,360
No, she's trying to protect 
herself from from me trying to 

1203
01:12:58,360 --> 01:13:01,760
get to her cub and I'm in her 
way again. 

1204
01:13:02,200 --> 01:13:06,320
And of course, me being me and 
and it sucks in some shoes in my

1205
01:13:06,320 --> 01:13:09,360
face, I fight back. 
Yeah. 

1206
01:13:09,920 --> 01:13:14,480
And so when she when she 
stopped, I fell back and hit the

1207
01:13:14,480 --> 01:13:20,560
ground and I reached up and 
grabbed something soft, my hands

1208
01:13:20,680 --> 01:13:24,040
up between her back legs. 
And whatever I had, I twisted 

1209
01:13:24,040 --> 01:13:26,960
and pulled both hands and try to
pull off whatever I had and wrap

1210
01:13:26,960 --> 01:13:31,520
my legs around her head and neck
and and whatever I had I was 

1211
01:13:31,520 --> 01:13:34,240
trying to tug off. 
She started to buckle like a 

1212
01:13:34,240 --> 01:13:38,000
Bronco and roll around the 
mountainside and just squeal 

1213
01:13:38,000 --> 01:13:39,320
like a deep squeal of a pig. 
Oh. 

1214
01:13:39,840 --> 01:13:42,880
My gosh. 
And then I let go and she ran 

1215
01:13:42,880 --> 01:13:46,160
down the mountainside towards 
where a cub went, just squealing

1216
01:13:46,160 --> 01:13:50,680
like a pig. 
You know, when I grabbed her, If

1217
01:13:50,680 --> 01:13:54,000
I didn't grab her, would she 
have continued trying to eat me 

1218
01:13:54,400 --> 01:13:56,040
or chew on me? 
I don't know. 

1219
01:13:56,440 --> 01:13:59,760
I mean, I never never really 
thought about that. 

1220
01:13:59,760 --> 01:14:04,000
It's more of I'm here today. 
So don't worry about what could 

1221
01:14:04,000 --> 01:14:05,360
have been, what should have 
been. 

1222
01:14:06,200 --> 01:14:08,560
It's because I did everything 
right because I'm here today. 

1223
01:14:09,560 --> 01:14:12,320
So I'm in the bear. 
She didn't do anything wrong. 

1224
01:14:12,320 --> 01:14:15,400
She was honestly, I have no 
nothing against her. 

1225
01:14:15,400 --> 01:14:17,680
She was just being a bear and 
protecting her cub. 

1226
01:14:18,480 --> 01:14:21,360
So I just need to suck it up and
move on. 

1227
01:14:23,720 --> 01:14:27,760
So she ran off. 
At this point in time, you know,

1228
01:14:27,760 --> 01:14:31,560
I'm laying there and I was 
feeling my face and my left eye 

1229
01:14:31,560 --> 01:14:34,880
was hanging out of the socket, 
hanging down my right eye. 

1230
01:14:34,880 --> 01:14:36,840
I was touching. 
I couldn't find my right eye. 

1231
01:14:37,240 --> 01:14:40,360
There was a piece of skin 
hanging down kind of where my 

1232
01:14:40,360 --> 01:14:42,840
nose was. 
I think it was probably part of 

1233
01:14:42,840 --> 01:14:45,240
my eyebrows or something. 
And it was dangling there. 

1234
01:14:46,000 --> 01:14:51,680
And then my whole right side, he
was all like my eye was smashed,

1235
01:14:52,000 --> 01:14:55,480
crushed up into the the eye. 
So I was kind of turned up and 

1236
01:14:55,480 --> 01:14:59,200
then my forehead, they didn't 
think I had a right eye and my 

1237
01:14:59,200 --> 01:15:02,200
ear was removed. 
And then this whole chunk of my 

1238
01:15:02,200 --> 01:15:08,840
head was removed and my fingers,
I mean, I had massive holes in 

1239
01:15:08,840 --> 01:15:14,280
my hands will golf all sides and
they fingers go in different 

1240
01:15:14,280 --> 01:15:15,520
ways. 
Like I think I broke a few 

1241
01:15:15,520 --> 01:15:18,080
fingers. 
Well, I did, but they were 

1242
01:15:18,160 --> 01:15:22,680
sticking out and like the bones 
were. 

1243
01:15:22,680 --> 01:15:24,840
Sticking out or just your 
fingers were pointing. 

1244
01:15:24,840 --> 01:15:27,000
Well, there's some big holes and
they were just broken and 

1245
01:15:27,000 --> 01:15:31,560
sticking on my left hand here. 
The bones were kind of sticking 

1246
01:15:31,560 --> 01:15:33,160
out. 
So she crushed my finger in her 

1247
01:15:33,160 --> 01:15:35,920
mouth. 
So it is all titanium now. 

1248
01:15:38,320 --> 01:15:40,320
So I I knew relatively where I 
was in the mountainside and I 

1249
01:15:40,320 --> 01:15:41,720
tried to stand up and I 
couldn't. 

1250
01:15:42,080 --> 01:15:45,360
I end up just crawling down the 
mountainside to my packing gear 

1251
01:15:46,280 --> 01:15:50,400
and I found my gun right away 
and I started to panic because 

1252
01:15:50,400 --> 01:15:52,960
it couldn't put a shell. 
Bears bear's gone. 

1253
01:15:53,520 --> 01:15:54,920
Bear's gone. 
Well, yeah. 

1254
01:15:55,760 --> 01:15:59,480
Yeah, she's gone. 
OK, and now you're crawling down

1255
01:15:59,480 --> 01:16:01,120
the mountainside. 
Yeah. 

1256
01:16:01,960 --> 01:16:04,840
OK. 
And I found my packing gear 

1257
01:16:04,840 --> 01:16:09,000
right away and I found my gun. 
So I grabbed my gun and I tried 

1258
01:16:09,000 --> 01:16:13,520
to put in a shell in the 
chamber, but on my rifle there's

1259
01:16:13,520 --> 01:16:18,000
a clip and you can slide a shell
in and get into the chamber If 

1260
01:16:18,000 --> 01:16:20,360
you had the dexterity in your 
fingers and if you could see you

1261
01:16:20,360 --> 01:16:22,240
could drop 1 into the tube, I 
call it. 

1262
01:16:23,600 --> 01:16:28,160
But it would hit the, I don't 
know, the front part of the gun 

1263
01:16:28,160 --> 01:16:30,600
and it just fall out with a clip
went and I tried a bunch of 

1264
01:16:30,600 --> 01:16:32,960
times and I was really panicking
because I need the clip because 

1265
01:16:32,960 --> 01:16:34,360
it just the shell kept falling 
out. 

1266
01:16:35,360 --> 01:16:38,600
And so I was feeling around the 
mountainside and I found this 

1267
01:16:38,600 --> 01:16:44,800
chunk of flesh, you know, a 
little bristly and well, it was 

1268
01:16:44,800 --> 01:16:47,360
flesh and it was the corner of 
my mouth and goatee and that, 

1269
01:16:48,040 --> 01:16:50,280
and I found a large chunk of my 
scalp. 

1270
01:16:51,840 --> 01:16:53,400
Where, where? 
Where was this at? 

1271
01:16:53,480 --> 01:16:54,680
This was this? 
Where was all? 

1272
01:16:54,680 --> 01:16:58,400
Where did you find all this at? 
Just on the ground, scattered 

1273
01:16:58,400 --> 01:17:02,560
around on the mountainside. 
But you're you're, you're hardly

1274
01:17:02,560 --> 01:17:06,880
able to see at this point. 
Yeah, I'm just feeling around 

1275
01:17:07,000 --> 01:17:09,560
and, you know, I found something
that was like a almost like a 

1276
01:17:09,560 --> 01:17:12,360
hide feeling, like anyone's ever
worked with deer. 

1277
01:17:12,360 --> 01:17:14,520
What What are the chances? 
What are the chances of you 

1278
01:17:14,520 --> 01:17:18,320
finding that? 
That's that's unbelievable. 

1279
01:17:19,480 --> 01:17:21,840
Maybe she didn't like what she 
was eating and she just spit it 

1280
01:17:21,920 --> 01:17:22,800
out. 
Oh, no, no. 

1281
01:17:25,360 --> 01:17:26,760
Wow. 
And and I found another chunk of

1282
01:17:26,760 --> 01:17:31,480
my head and like some hard 
stuff, so I'm pretty sure it was

1283
01:17:31,480 --> 01:17:35,520
probably part of my ear and 
chunk of my head and. 

1284
01:17:36,520 --> 01:17:39,000
You're, you're, you're the only 
person that I, I think in 

1285
01:17:39,000 --> 01:17:41,400
history, I don't know if I 
remember going to talk to 

1286
01:17:41,400 --> 01:17:43,080
anybody else that could tell me 
that they found a chunk of their

1287
01:17:43,080 --> 01:17:49,240
head. 
And, and then I've managed to 

1288
01:17:49,240 --> 01:17:53,200
find the clip and I slammed it 
in the gun and then the first 

1289
01:17:53,200 --> 01:17:55,720
thing around me that was dark 
got 3 rounds. 

1290
01:17:56,200 --> 01:17:58,400
I just shot it the first thing 
that was dark. 

1291
01:17:58,840 --> 01:18:03,640
And I'm nervous kind of debating
like what's going to happen. 

1292
01:18:04,320 --> 01:18:07,280
I mean, I'm over 12 kilometers 
from my truck. 

1293
01:18:08,720 --> 01:18:11,560
I can't see like everything's 
also fuzzy. 

1294
01:18:11,560 --> 01:18:13,920
I only get the in order for me 
to look forward to that hold my 

1295
01:18:13,960 --> 01:18:19,480
left eye and like I'm bleeding 
profusely out of my head, my 

1296
01:18:19,480 --> 01:18:24,080
hands, my side, my knee, my 
inner thigh, right thigh had a 

1297
01:18:24,120 --> 01:18:27,240
chunk out of big bite mark in 
it, you know, big bite mark in 

1298
01:18:27,240 --> 01:18:29,520
my side. 
And I'm sitting there kind of 

1299
01:18:29,520 --> 01:18:32,520
assessing the situation and my 
blood's pouring out. 

1300
01:18:32,520 --> 01:18:35,360
Like, what do you what do you 
do, right? 

1301
01:18:37,680 --> 01:18:39,560
I knew at that point, you know, 
I was going to die. 

1302
01:18:39,560 --> 01:18:44,400
I was going to die there on that
mountainside all alone, knowing 

1303
01:18:44,400 --> 01:18:52,120
that I really screwed up. 
And and I mean, what do you do? 

1304
01:18:52,120 --> 01:18:54,760
Like, do you try to endear the 
endearable? 

1305
01:18:54,760 --> 01:18:58,560
Do you lay there and just let 
things happen or do you end it 

1306
01:18:58,560 --> 01:19:04,000
on your own terms? 
So I grabbed my rifle and I 

1307
01:19:05,080 --> 01:19:08,640
loaded it up and put the butt of
it against the ground and I put 

1308
01:19:08,640 --> 01:19:11,520
my chin on the barrel. 
And, you know, I was thinking 

1309
01:19:11,520 --> 01:19:13,680
about my wife and daughter. 
My daughter's only eight months 

1310
01:19:13,680 --> 01:19:16,560
old and my wife, she was first 
12 and met her back in high 

1311
01:19:16,560 --> 01:19:20,120
school and she was never going 
to see her again. 

1312
01:19:20,120 --> 01:19:22,200
I was never going to watch my 
daughter grow up graduate. 

1313
01:19:22,200 --> 01:19:23,960
I was never going to be able to 
kick the, you know, the first 

1314
01:19:23,960 --> 01:19:26,480
boyfriend out of the house and 
walking down the aisle. 

1315
01:19:26,480 --> 01:19:31,880
And I was thinking all that and 
just by pulled the trigger just 

1316
01:19:34,360 --> 01:19:37,720
just like that and the gun just 
went click. 

1317
01:19:39,400 --> 01:19:45,400
At first I was a little confused
on what happened and I grabbed 

1318
01:19:45,400 --> 01:19:48,760
the barrel of the gun and pulled
it aside and I reached down with

1319
01:19:48,760 --> 01:19:51,120
my left hand to cycle the bolt 
again. 

1320
01:19:51,440 --> 01:19:55,720
And the bolt was it was pretty 
tight and I managed to open it. 

1321
01:19:55,720 --> 01:19:58,040
And as soon as I got her, as 
soon as I pulled the bolt open, 

1322
01:19:58,040 --> 01:20:02,160
the gun fired. 
I just send the bullet just 

1323
01:20:02,160 --> 01:20:07,560
inches from the side of my face.
That that scared me. 

1324
01:20:07,560 --> 01:20:10,400
I was thinking to myself like, 
what am I doing? 

1325
01:20:10,400 --> 01:20:17,640
Like this is this is like I owed
it to them to at least try to 

1326
01:20:17,640 --> 01:20:19,240
make it somewhere where they're 
going to find me. 

1327
01:20:19,800 --> 01:20:22,800
Yeah, my wife, my wife deserved 
quick closure. 

1328
01:20:22,800 --> 01:20:25,120
And where I was, no one was 
going to find me there. 

1329
01:20:25,120 --> 01:20:28,200
Like it's I need to at least 
make it across the drainage 

1330
01:20:28,200 --> 01:20:32,640
where more people go and. 
And yeah. 

1331
01:20:32,640 --> 01:20:38,720
And so I picked up with pieces 
of my face off the ground that I

1332
01:20:38,720 --> 01:20:41,880
found these chunks and took a 
sweatshirt. 

1333
01:20:41,880 --> 01:20:44,320
And I put the neck of the 
sweatshirt around my head. 

1334
01:20:44,760 --> 01:20:46,760
And I put the layer of the 
pieces of my face in there and 

1335
01:20:46,760 --> 01:20:49,720
folded it up, tied a knot 
underneath my chin to help hold 

1336
01:20:49,720 --> 01:20:52,880
my jaw because all the skin was 
ripped off on the left hand side

1337
01:20:52,880 --> 01:20:55,480
of my jaw, exposing all my teeth
and that. 

1338
01:20:55,480 --> 01:20:57,280
And my jaw was kind of almost 
like hanging there. 

1339
01:20:58,080 --> 01:21:00,320
So to keep it up, I tied a knot 
underneath my chin as tight as I

1340
01:21:00,320 --> 01:21:02,440
could to hold it up, and then 
two knots in the back of my head

1341
01:21:02,440 --> 01:21:05,680
to help hold my head straight. 
All right, 'cause everything in 

1342
01:21:05,680 --> 01:21:11,080
the back of my neck and base of 
my skull, it was extremely raw 

1343
01:21:11,080 --> 01:21:13,680
and extremely painful when 
things were pretty crushed. 

1344
01:21:13,680 --> 01:21:15,640
So when I tied those two knots 
in the back of my head, it just 

1345
01:21:15,640 --> 01:21:18,480
helped hold my head up straight 
where it didn't hurt as much. 

1346
01:21:20,040 --> 01:21:24,560
And then I tried to stand up. 
And, you know, every time I 

1347
01:21:24,560 --> 01:21:27,800
stand up, I'd fall right over. 
All the ligaments in my right 

1348
01:21:27,800 --> 01:21:31,200
leg were severed at the knee. 
Anytime I put weight on there, 

1349
01:21:31,200 --> 01:21:34,080
I'd just topple over. 
And and I kept getting up, kept 

1350
01:21:34,080 --> 01:21:39,720
trying and eventually got to the
point where I can take a step, I

1351
01:21:39,720 --> 01:21:43,640
would slide my or take a short 
step with my left leg forward 

1352
01:21:43,640 --> 01:21:48,280
and then I'd slide my right leg 
forward using my hand or kind of

1353
01:21:48,280 --> 01:21:53,120
shuffle like a zombie, walk and 
use my rifle as a, as a cane, 

1354
01:21:53,920 --> 01:21:56,400
try to hold myself up. 
Are you having? 

1355
01:21:57,840 --> 01:22:00,680
Is there a concept of time when 
this is happening? 

1356
01:22:01,080 --> 01:22:04,120
Are you able to gauge like how 
much time is going past as all 

1357
01:22:04,120 --> 01:22:08,640
this is going on? 
No, everything was going 

1358
01:22:08,640 --> 01:22:12,360
extremely slow. 
Like everything was in slow 

1359
01:22:12,360 --> 01:22:15,000
motion. 
I was able to kind of calm right

1360
01:22:15,000 --> 01:22:19,840
down and focus and it just very 
everything was passing by 

1361
01:22:19,840 --> 01:22:23,840
extremely slow. 
So like taking a step felt like 

1362
01:22:23,840 --> 01:22:27,320
10 minutes. 
How much time passed from the 

1363
01:22:27,320 --> 01:22:31,680
attack to where you decided that
you were going to try to end it 

1364
01:22:31,680 --> 01:22:38,800
all? 
Maybe from the last part of the 

1365
01:22:38,800 --> 01:22:41,360
attack to now till trying to end
it all. 

1366
01:22:41,360 --> 01:22:46,720
Probably, I don't know, 1520 
minutes. 

1367
01:22:47,160 --> 01:22:51,360
Wow. 
Like it just just slow, 'cause 

1368
01:22:51,360 --> 01:22:52,880
you're sitting there and just 
kind of in shock. 

1369
01:22:52,880 --> 01:22:55,280
Like what do you do? 
Like what's what happens next? 

1370
01:22:55,280 --> 01:22:58,440
Like when you die, do you do you
just pass out? 

1371
01:22:58,440 --> 01:23:00,560
Do you fall asleep? 
Does it hurt? 

1372
01:23:00,560 --> 01:23:03,200
That guy was just kind of like 
the unknown. 

1373
01:23:03,200 --> 01:23:06,680
And why would push me to pull 
the triggers because I don't 

1374
01:23:06,880 --> 01:23:10,160
know that what do you do in that
period of time or how does that 

1375
01:23:10,160 --> 01:23:10,960
happen? 
Right? 

1376
01:23:10,960 --> 01:23:14,600
Like, I think that's what scares
us all is what does that look 

1377
01:23:14,600 --> 01:23:17,960
like? 
Are you a spiritual person? 

1378
01:23:19,960 --> 01:23:23,840
No. 
Nor am I religious. 

1379
01:23:24,560 --> 01:23:26,880
Yeah, but everybody's got to 
believe in something, right? 

1380
01:23:27,400 --> 01:23:30,520
Yeah, I, I believe that for 
sure. 

1381
01:23:30,720 --> 01:23:35,320
Yeah. 
So anyway, so you're so you, so 

1382
01:23:35,320 --> 01:23:38,200
this happens and now you're kind
of crawling away. 

1383
01:23:39,000 --> 01:23:43,440
Trying to, yeah, I'm trying to 
at least walk, but the first 10 

1384
01:23:43,440 --> 01:23:47,680
feet of the trail goes down a 
mountainside right in front of 

1385
01:23:47,720 --> 01:23:48,960
me. 
There was a Cliff that dropped 

1386
01:23:48,960 --> 01:23:52,920
probably, you know, 6070 feet to
a Creek on my left side. 

1387
01:23:52,920 --> 01:23:58,000
There's the drainage I just 
walked up that was probably 4050

1388
01:23:58,720 --> 01:24:03,400
foot drop, not straight down, 
but kind of more of a 85% kind 

1389
01:24:03,400 --> 01:24:08,680
of grade and trail was on was 
probably like AI don't know, 35%

1390
01:24:08,680 --> 01:24:11,000
type grade and just kind of 
going down the hillside. 

1391
01:24:11,840 --> 01:24:16,400
But I got, you know, 10 feet 
down that drainage and I lost my

1392
01:24:16,400 --> 01:24:21,680
footing and I fell and I rolled 
into the drainage and then down,

1393
01:24:21,680 --> 01:24:25,640
around, down around the corner 
of the drainage, you know, 

1394
01:24:25,640 --> 01:24:30,120
probably 203 hundred feet down, 
head over heels down into some 

1395
01:24:30,120 --> 01:24:33,760
large boulders. 
And I found myself face down 

1396
01:24:33,920 --> 01:24:36,440
laying next to a Creek. 
I can hear the Creek. 

1397
01:24:36,440 --> 01:24:39,400
Anyways, laying face down on 
these boulders. 

1398
01:24:40,560 --> 01:24:43,000
My right arm was stretched out, 
had a gun. 

1399
01:24:43,040 --> 01:24:46,400
My gun sling was wrapped around 
my right arm and around my head 

1400
01:24:46,920 --> 01:24:51,120
and my left arm was kind of 
stuck back more towards my 

1401
01:24:51,200 --> 01:24:53,880
center body. 
And I remember just laying there

1402
01:24:53,880 --> 01:24:57,840
and I go to do like a push up to
try to get up and just the pain,

1403
01:24:57,840 --> 01:25:01,240
I couldn't even move. 
It was just, it was horrible. 

1404
01:25:02,880 --> 01:25:05,120
You know, I tried to turn 
sideways because it's really 

1405
01:25:05,120 --> 01:25:08,080
uncomfortable laying face down a
bunch of big boulders and I try 

1406
01:25:08,080 --> 01:25:11,680
to turn sideways and the pain 
just shooting through everything

1407
01:25:11,680 --> 01:25:13,200
like he just I just couldn't 
move. 

1408
01:25:13,440 --> 01:25:19,200
And I managed my left hand 
managed to pull my phone out of 

1409
01:25:19,200 --> 01:25:23,440
my pocket to send my wife a 
final goodbye. 

1410
01:25:25,160 --> 01:25:30,120
You know that message it read, I
tried honey and I knew she 

1411
01:25:30,120 --> 01:25:33,280
wasn't going to get until they 
found the body And I had come to

1412
01:25:33,280 --> 01:25:35,520
terms with that was really as 
far as I was going to make it in

1413
01:25:35,520 --> 01:25:39,480
the bottom of that drainage. 
And I sent that message and then

1414
01:25:39,480 --> 01:25:44,840
I tried to play some music and 
well, the song that came on, 

1415
01:25:44,840 --> 01:25:47,960
actually I was laying there was 
a Baby Shark song that was 

1416
01:25:47,960 --> 01:25:49,400
playing for my daughter the 
night before. 

1417
01:25:49,400 --> 01:25:52,680
I'm putting her to bed. 
And like all things, it was on 

1418
01:25:52,680 --> 01:25:55,640
repeat. 
So just laying there listening 

1419
01:25:55,640 --> 01:25:58,640
to that over and over and over 
again, give me the strength to 

1420
01:25:59,680 --> 01:26:04,320
to actually roll over under my 
side and to reach up for that 

1421
01:26:04,320 --> 01:26:07,160
first rock that was, you know, 
probably a foot away. 

1422
01:26:07,160 --> 01:26:08,840
And I pulled myself to that 
rock. 

1423
01:26:09,640 --> 01:26:11,640
And then I'm like, OK, well, I 
got enough energy, I can reach 

1424
01:26:11,640 --> 01:26:15,360
to the next one. 
And so I started to just pull 

1425
01:26:15,360 --> 01:26:18,520
myself up the mountainside. 
And then I was only focusing on 

1426
01:26:18,520 --> 01:26:21,480
what I could achieve at that 
time, sitting like little mini 

1427
01:26:21,480 --> 01:26:23,360
goals, like, yeah, I can make it
to that rock. 

1428
01:26:23,920 --> 01:26:26,320
And then when I achieved each 
one of these little mini goals, 

1429
01:26:26,320 --> 01:26:29,440
it just gave me the strength to 
go a little bit further and a 

1430
01:26:29,440 --> 01:26:31,640
little bit further. 
Maybe I can make it to the next 

1431
01:26:31,640 --> 01:26:34,120
rock or maybe I can make it to 
that Bush. 

1432
01:26:34,760 --> 01:26:38,400
And I was only focusing on, you 
know, 3 feet, 5 feet, 10 feet in

1433
01:26:38,400 --> 01:26:40,320
front of me, something that I 
could achieve. 

1434
01:26:41,480 --> 01:26:47,520
And in life, there will be lots 
of dark times. 

1435
01:26:47,520 --> 01:26:48,760
I mean, no one has a perfect 
life. 

1436
01:26:48,760 --> 01:26:51,320
And so when you're in those dark
times, you got to remember 

1437
01:26:51,320 --> 01:26:54,240
what's what's that one piece of 
inspiration that keeps you 

1438
01:26:54,240 --> 01:26:57,680
going? 
That's what I call what is what 

1439
01:26:57,680 --> 01:27:00,360
is your rock that gets you going
through those hard times? 

1440
01:27:01,040 --> 01:27:03,960
And just remember that because 
I'll help you get through 

1441
01:27:03,960 --> 01:27:06,280
anything because I mean, my rock
with my family. 

1442
01:27:06,280 --> 01:27:09,960
And one of the things that 
helped trigger that was the song

1443
01:27:09,960 --> 01:27:13,440
Baby Shark, because I love my 
daughter and I want to see her 

1444
01:27:13,440 --> 01:27:15,760
again. 
And that just that power of that

1445
01:27:15,760 --> 01:27:19,400
just gave me the strength just 
to reach up to, just to, to bear

1446
01:27:19,400 --> 01:27:22,520
through that pain, that that 
unbearable pain there and just 

1447
01:27:22,520 --> 01:27:27,760
keep, keep going, you know, And 
eventually I made it to the top 

1448
01:27:27,760 --> 01:27:30,920
of that hill and I was able to 
get to my feet again. 

1449
01:27:31,600 --> 01:27:33,720
And then I was like, OK, I can 
make it to that tree over there.

1450
01:27:33,800 --> 01:27:36,400
And then that stump. 
And it was just more of the 

1451
01:27:36,400 --> 01:27:38,040
whole entire way. 
I was only thinking about that 

1452
01:27:38,040 --> 01:27:39,680
10 feet. 
You know, I can make it to 

1453
01:27:39,680 --> 01:27:41,000
there. 
I can make it to there. 

1454
01:27:41,560 --> 01:27:44,000
Now I'd fall over, you know, 
when I fell in a Creek, there's 

1455
01:27:44,000 --> 01:27:47,240
a Creek at across 11 times just 
because we meandered through the

1456
01:27:47,240 --> 01:27:50,480
trail and I'd fall into the 
Creek and I'd just be laying 

1457
01:27:50,480 --> 01:27:52,960
there and I'd pull myself out 
and OK, I'm just I can make it 

1458
01:27:52,960 --> 01:27:55,120
to that rock or I can pull 
myself up to that Bush. 

1459
01:27:55,600 --> 01:27:59,960
That's all I was thinking about 
was just just, you know, 10 feet

1460
01:28:00,680 --> 01:28:03,720
and I never thought I was ever 
going to make it to the truck. 

1461
01:28:03,960 --> 01:28:06,080
I mean, my goal is just to make 
it somewhere further down the 

1462
01:28:06,080 --> 01:28:07,760
trail where they'd find the body
sooner. 

1463
01:28:09,400 --> 01:28:13,320
It wasn't tell about 1 kilometer
from the truck, there's these 

1464
01:28:13,320 --> 01:28:15,880
two big rocks. 
We're a little bit bigger than a

1465
01:28:15,880 --> 01:28:19,000
shoe box. 
And they sat down on the trail 

1466
01:28:20,720 --> 01:28:24,560
and these two rocks are, you 
know, insignificant to anybody. 

1467
01:28:25,600 --> 01:28:29,120
For 17 years when I ride my bike
into there, I'd almost hit these

1468
01:28:29,120 --> 01:28:32,720
rocks and fall over and one kind
of set partly and trail 1 

1469
01:28:32,720 --> 01:28:36,360
slightly off and, and I hated 
those rocks. 

1470
01:28:36,560 --> 01:28:39,360
But in 17 years I was too lazy 
to move them all the way. 

1471
01:28:39,360 --> 01:28:42,520
But I tell you, I've never been 
so happy in my life to see those

1472
01:28:42,520 --> 01:28:48,720
two rocks. 
I just when I saw him, I was 

1473
01:28:48,720 --> 01:28:51,000
like, I'm going to make it. 
And that was the only point in 

1474
01:28:51,000 --> 01:28:52,400
time I ever thought I was ever 
going to make it. 

1475
01:28:53,360 --> 01:28:55,560
And so I, you know, give my hand
a little kiss and touch the 

1476
01:28:55,560 --> 01:28:58,400
rocks and I fumble the rest of 
the way out. 

1477
01:28:58,400 --> 01:29:04,840
Got to my truck and from there 
was 22 kilometer drive for for 

1478
01:29:04,840 --> 01:29:07,360
help. 
What are you? 

1479
01:29:07,520 --> 01:29:11,560
Oh my gosh, you. 
Know I was on a dead end. 

1480
01:29:11,560 --> 01:29:13,280
Gravel Rd. 
Can you see? 

1481
01:29:13,600 --> 01:29:16,280
I, I, I mean, I'm, I mean, I'm, 
you know, I'm just trying to 

1482
01:29:16,360 --> 01:29:21,200
picture, you know, you, you, you
virtually lost your vision 

1483
01:29:21,200 --> 01:29:23,000
completely right up to this 
point. 

1484
01:29:23,640 --> 01:29:27,440
Yeah, so everything was really 
blurry in order for me to look 

1485
01:29:27,440 --> 01:29:29,920
forward, to tilt my headway back
or hold my eye in my hand. 

1486
01:29:32,160 --> 01:29:37,040
The when I hopped in the truck, 
first thing I did was push the 

1487
01:29:37,920 --> 01:29:41,240
the mirror side mirror away 
because I want to see what it 

1488
01:29:41,240 --> 01:29:43,040
looked like. 
And I pulled the rear mirror off

1489
01:29:43,880 --> 01:29:47,080
and I started up the truck. 
I remember looking at the 

1490
01:29:47,080 --> 01:29:50,240
windshield and I couldn't tell 
where the hood ended and where 

1491
01:29:50,240 --> 01:29:55,760
the road began. 
And I rolled down the driver 

1492
01:29:55,760 --> 01:29:57,680
side window and I looked out the
window and I couldn't tell where

1493
01:29:57,680 --> 01:29:59,400
the ground was. 
I mean everything was just 

1494
01:29:59,400 --> 01:30:03,240
blurry and in front of me. 
What, what, what? 

1495
01:30:03,240 --> 01:30:06,480
I'm, I'm curious, so you were 
saying earlier how you were just

1496
01:30:06,480 --> 01:30:09,320
trying to get to a spot where 
you could die, but you've made 

1497
01:30:09,320 --> 01:30:12,640
it to your truck now, right? 
Is this like, was this like the 

1498
01:30:12,640 --> 01:30:14,640
motivation now that you're in 
your truck? 

1499
01:30:14,640 --> 01:30:17,120
Like, let's just see how much 
farther I can continue to go 

1500
01:30:18,400 --> 01:30:20,520
because your wife's going to 
probably find you at the truck, 

1501
01:30:20,520 --> 01:30:22,360
right? 
Probably, yeah. 

1502
01:30:23,480 --> 01:30:26,520
And I was just thinking when I 
got to my truck, maybe I'll 

1503
01:30:26,520 --> 01:30:28,200
drive down the road and somebody
will find me. 

1504
01:30:28,800 --> 01:30:30,680
Yeah. 
And then maybe I won't have to 

1505
01:30:30,680 --> 01:30:34,040
go as far. 
And sitting in that front seat, 

1506
01:30:34,280 --> 01:30:37,440
all I could see was dark green 
on the other side and a light 

1507
01:30:37,440 --> 01:30:39,360
spot in the middle. 
And everything was so fuzzy. 

1508
01:30:39,760 --> 01:30:42,160
I just aimed for the light spot.
Figured that was the middle of 

1509
01:30:42,160 --> 01:30:43,760
the road. 
I mean, because you got tall 

1510
01:30:43,760 --> 01:30:47,440
spruce trees there and they kind
of kind of almost, I won't say 

1511
01:30:47,440 --> 01:30:48,920
overhang the road, but they're 
on the edge of the road going 

1512
01:30:48,920 --> 01:30:52,800
straight up. 
So just looks like a, I don't 

1513
01:30:52,800 --> 01:30:55,720
know, kind of like a light 
strip. 

1514
01:30:56,440 --> 01:30:59,160
Yeah, yeah. 
And so I just aim for that. 

1515
01:30:59,160 --> 01:31:02,200
And yeah, when I got there, but 
I was thinking like, where am I 

1516
01:31:02,200 --> 01:31:04,000
going to go? 
Like when I started driving, 

1517
01:31:04,000 --> 01:31:06,920
like where am I going to go? 
How are you even the comprehend 

1518
01:31:06,920 --> 01:31:10,640
which I mean I could just see 
getting in a truck and you 

1519
01:31:10,640 --> 01:31:12,960
can't. 
How'd you even know what 

1520
01:31:12,960 --> 01:31:16,600
direction you were facing? 
Well, because every time I 

1521
01:31:16,600 --> 01:31:19,240
haunted, I park in the same same
way, same spot. 

1522
01:31:19,240 --> 01:31:21,840
I face the same way like always 
driving it in the middle of the 

1523
01:31:21,840 --> 01:31:23,680
night. 
And I mean, half the time I 

1524
01:31:23,680 --> 01:31:26,160
don't ever remember getting to 
the place where I hunt sheep or 

1525
01:31:26,160 --> 01:31:28,480
getting home. 
They could just All by muscle 

1526
01:31:28,480 --> 01:31:31,600
memory. 
Yeah, so many times that you're.

1527
01:31:32,000 --> 01:31:34,920
OK. 
I'm going to chalk it up to 

1528
01:31:35,640 --> 01:31:37,320
muscle memory. 
Yeah. 

1529
01:31:39,680 --> 01:31:42,200
And I just remember when I was 
driving, I was like, I hope 

1530
01:31:42,200 --> 01:31:43,840
somebody's on the road here 
coming, right? 

1531
01:31:43,840 --> 01:31:45,040
Because I'm just, I don't know 
where I'm going. 

1532
01:31:45,040 --> 01:31:49,320
And every time I feel to get 
really rough, I would try to go 

1533
01:31:49,320 --> 01:31:51,200
in the direction where it got 
smoother. 

1534
01:31:51,680 --> 01:31:53,520
And so I was thinking like when 
it was really rough, I was 

1535
01:31:53,600 --> 01:31:56,280
riding in the ditch and hitting 
trees and stuff. 

1536
01:31:56,280 --> 01:31:59,480
So I'd go. 
So I so I go to the middle of 

1537
01:31:59,480 --> 01:32:00,840
the road where it's nice and 
smooth. 

1538
01:32:02,560 --> 01:32:05,480
And this road's not exactly 
straight. 

1539
01:32:05,920 --> 01:32:08,840
One side of the road for a 
majority of it is a Cliff going 

1540
01:32:08,840 --> 01:32:10,960
off down. 
There's just like a cable 

1541
01:32:10,960 --> 01:32:13,760
guardrail, Like there's a post 
every 10 feet and just a cable 

1542
01:32:13,760 --> 01:32:16,440
going through it. 
It's really just like to say, 

1543
01:32:16,440 --> 01:32:18,120
hey, if you hit that, you're 
going over. 

1544
01:32:18,800 --> 01:32:21,600
Yeah, yeah. 
There's a couple quick switch 

1545
01:32:21,600 --> 01:32:25,840
backs and I made it all through 
that on a on a good day going 

1546
01:32:25,840 --> 01:32:29,040
50, you could probably do it in 
20 minutes. 

1547
01:32:29,120 --> 01:32:31,880
That's if you're really good 
tires and you know how driving 

1548
01:32:31,880 --> 01:32:35,280
gravel, it took me about 45 
minutes to an hour to drive it. 

1549
01:32:36,280 --> 01:32:38,640
That's not bad. 
No, not too bad. 

1550
01:32:38,880 --> 01:32:42,320
That's pretty good considering 
the situation you were in. 

1551
01:32:43,200 --> 01:32:47,520
It was not bad at all and I 
thought I destroyed my truck 

1552
01:32:47,520 --> 01:32:49,280
because, I mean, it was pretty 
rough and I thought I was 

1553
01:32:49,280 --> 01:32:52,760
hitting things, but when they 
picked up my truck they said 

1554
01:32:52,760 --> 01:32:54,520
there wasn't really a scratch on
it. 

1555
01:32:55,120 --> 01:32:57,320
What? 
Except for the inside was 

1556
01:32:57,320 --> 01:33:01,040
covered in blood and everything 
but and my radio was cranked up 

1557
01:33:01,240 --> 01:33:05,560
extremely loud 'cause Baby Shark
was playing on a repeat. 

1558
01:33:05,560 --> 01:33:10,760
And when I got to my truck, Baby
Shark still played and it was, I

1559
01:33:10,760 --> 01:33:16,640
guess, full blast. 
Wow, did you lose any hearing? 

1560
01:33:17,080 --> 01:33:18,680
I mean just from the from the 
attack. 

1561
01:33:19,240 --> 01:33:21,520
Yeah, I lost quite a bit on my 
right side here. 

1562
01:33:22,480 --> 01:33:25,200
I've lost a fair bit of my 
hearing loss cause the gun going

1563
01:33:25,200 --> 01:33:28,560
off right beside there and plus 
with the bear pulled out and all

1564
01:33:28,560 --> 01:33:33,040
the damage in my left ear. 
Like they can't wear certain 

1565
01:33:33,040 --> 01:33:34,280
headphones because they won't go
in. 

1566
01:33:34,280 --> 01:33:36,480
Like they just fall out because 
the your canal is closed off 

1567
01:33:36,480 --> 01:33:38,320
quite a bit because of all the 
surgeries and put things 

1568
01:33:38,320 --> 01:33:40,200
together, all the scar tissue 
and that. 

1569
01:33:40,200 --> 01:33:43,280
So yeah, quite a bit of hearing 
damage. 

1570
01:33:43,280 --> 01:33:46,800
But what do you do, eh? 
Oh my gosh. 

1571
01:33:50,720 --> 01:33:54,120
So you so you're where did the 
truck end up? 

1572
01:33:54,760 --> 01:33:57,440
So it ended up at a place called
a Panther River Resort. 

1573
01:33:58,080 --> 01:34:00,360
It was basically the first 
resort when you come went out. 

1574
01:34:01,280 --> 01:34:04,680
It's a resort. 
They have like cabins you can 

1575
01:34:04,680 --> 01:34:07,200
stay in and tents that you can 
stay in and you can rent out and

1576
01:34:07,200 --> 01:34:10,200
go horseback riding. 
So I pulled into the parking lot

1577
01:34:10,200 --> 01:34:13,200
there and I tried to Pike Park 
in the parking lot, but I 

1578
01:34:13,200 --> 01:34:14,960
couldn't get between two 
vehicles because I couldn't 

1579
01:34:14,960 --> 01:34:19,840
tell. 
So I, I drove past the employees

1580
01:34:19,840 --> 01:34:22,800
only sign and no vehicles 
allowed sign and I drove right 

1581
01:34:22,880 --> 01:34:27,840
to the lodge and park my truck 
right at the base of the at the 

1582
01:34:27,840 --> 01:34:31,760
ramp going in. 
And I and I actually this is not

1583
01:34:31,760 --> 01:34:34,280
a lie. 
I felt quite bad driving past 

1584
01:34:34,280 --> 01:34:38,400
that sign and blocking off the 
ramp getting up to their place. 

1585
01:34:40,080 --> 01:34:42,240
I don't know why. 
That's unbelievable. 

1586
01:34:43,760 --> 01:34:47,360
Like I was, I was. 
So I got out and I I had my 

1587
01:34:47,360 --> 01:34:51,920
wallet and my keys to my truck 
and my cell phone and I walked 

1588
01:34:51,920 --> 01:34:54,360
into the place and the first 
person to see me was a nine year

1589
01:34:54,360 --> 01:34:57,000
old boy. 
He was actually at the window 

1590
01:34:57,000 --> 01:34:59,440
and you saw me kind of hobble 
past and I looked like a zombie 

1591
01:34:59,440 --> 01:35:02,160
at the time. 
And I always open up the door 

1592
01:35:02,160 --> 01:35:04,920
and the 2 ladies standing there 
were like, Oh my God, are you 

1593
01:35:04,920 --> 01:35:07,280
OK? 
And and it's like I got mulled 

1594
01:35:07,280 --> 01:35:08,560
by a bear. 
I need some help. 

1595
01:35:10,400 --> 01:35:12,840
And they asked you? 
Were you you were able to speak.

1596
01:35:13,520 --> 01:35:17,960
I was so part way out I got into
an Outfitters tent and I managed

1597
01:35:17,960 --> 01:35:21,680
to put my jaw back in place and 
and tape up some of my face with

1598
01:35:21,680 --> 01:35:25,120
bounty sheets and toilet paper. 
And I managed to kind of wrap my

1599
01:35:25,120 --> 01:35:27,560
face up to stop the bleeding of 
my face and hands. 

1600
01:35:28,560 --> 01:35:31,160
And so I walked into there. 
I looked like a zombie, you 

1601
01:35:31,160 --> 01:35:34,680
know, I was wearing shorts and 
AT shirt and bounty sheets and 

1602
01:35:34,680 --> 01:35:36,640
toilet paper wrapped all over my
face trying to hold it all 

1603
01:35:36,640 --> 01:35:39,080
together. 
My hands are taped up, you know,

1604
01:35:39,080 --> 01:35:41,080
all covered in blood and 
everything and dirt and all 

1605
01:35:41,080 --> 01:35:46,320
kinds of crap. 
So I was able to talk, but 

1606
01:35:46,320 --> 01:35:49,360
almost like a mumble talk. 
How much time has gone by since 

1607
01:35:49,360 --> 01:35:52,560
the attack to now? 
This is so I got attacked at 

1608
01:35:52,600 --> 01:35:55,760
well, I took a picture of the 
selfie at 9:36 AM. 

1609
01:35:55,760 --> 01:35:59,720
This is probably around 5:00. 
What? 

1610
01:36:00,200 --> 01:36:02,680
What? 
That's that? 

1611
01:36:04,880 --> 01:36:06,600
Wow, man. 
OK. 

1612
01:36:08,280 --> 01:36:10,400
And so, like, the ladies are 
freaking out and they ask me 

1613
01:36:10,400 --> 01:36:12,920
like, you know, do you need 
anything? 

1614
01:36:13,480 --> 01:36:17,200
And I said, yeah, I need a glass
of water, medium temperature and

1615
01:36:17,200 --> 01:36:23,000
no ice in a straw, I guess. 
Yeah, that's how I like my 

1616
01:36:23,000 --> 01:36:23,640
water. 
So. 

1617
01:36:24,960 --> 01:36:27,840
You really said that to him? 
I that's the first thing I said.

1618
01:36:27,840 --> 01:36:31,520
I like a glass of medium 
temperature water, no ice in a 

1619
01:36:31,520 --> 01:36:35,680
straw. 
And so they got me that and then

1620
01:36:35,680 --> 01:36:39,760
I handed him my wallet and my 
keys to my truck and my phone. 

1621
01:36:40,200 --> 01:36:44,600
I said call my wife, her name is
Joyce and I told him my name and

1622
01:36:44,600 --> 01:36:47,120
I think I gave my Alberta 
healthcare number at the time 

1623
01:36:47,120 --> 01:36:49,800
too because they needed that. 
Like I was rambling off stuff 

1624
01:36:49,800 --> 01:36:52,760
and they're writing it down and 
had. 

1625
01:36:53,080 --> 01:36:55,320
You been thinking what you were 
going to say like this whole 

1626
01:36:55,320 --> 01:36:57,720
time. 
I mean, if you if you met up to 

1627
01:36:57,720 --> 01:37:00,880
somebody you like, you had 
already you, you already knew, 

1628
01:37:00,880 --> 01:37:03,160
like if I see somebody, this is 
what's going to happen. 

1629
01:37:03,480 --> 01:37:04,600
Yeah, I wrote a little script 
out. 

1630
01:37:04,600 --> 01:37:05,520
You know what? 
I was just going to. 

1631
01:37:05,520 --> 01:37:06,560
No, I had no clue. 
Yeah. 

1632
01:37:07,040 --> 01:37:09,920
Oh man, I I that just blows my 
mind that you would say all that

1633
01:37:09,920 --> 01:37:12,200
stuff. 
Well, I mean, when you're in the

1634
01:37:12,200 --> 01:37:14,560
situation like you got to give 
them information so they can 

1635
01:37:14,560 --> 01:37:16,720
help you. 
You want to know your name. 

1636
01:37:17,200 --> 01:37:20,080
And I want them to call my wife 
and let her know that I made it 

1637
01:37:20,080 --> 01:37:22,240
just in case you got the text 
messages, because some of the 

1638
01:37:22,240 --> 01:37:24,000
text messages I sent to were 
pretty awful. 

1639
01:37:25,840 --> 01:37:28,520
And I just wanted to let her 
know that I was all right. 

1640
01:37:29,360 --> 01:37:31,880
And I want to tell these people 
who my name was. 

1641
01:37:31,880 --> 01:37:34,280
You know, like my church parked 
Outback, it's on the ramp. 

1642
01:37:34,280 --> 01:37:35,720
I'm sorry. 
Here you go. 

1643
01:37:35,720 --> 01:37:38,600
Here's my keys, here's my 
wallet, just so they have all 

1644
01:37:38,600 --> 01:37:42,920
the information for me. 
So if I do pass out or die at 

1645
01:37:42,920 --> 01:37:45,040
this point, at least they know 
who I was. 

1646
01:37:46,800 --> 01:37:48,160
It's just a weird thing. 
I don't know. 

1647
01:37:51,120 --> 01:37:54,440
I've been shockingly calm. 
I guess from what the ladies 

1648
01:37:54,440 --> 01:37:57,080
tell me, they were at the lodge 
that they said I kept them calm 

1649
01:37:57,080 --> 01:38:01,960
because I wasn't freaking out. 
They were running around calling

1650
01:38:01,960 --> 01:38:05,000
stars, calling for the 
ambulance, you know, dial 911 

1651
01:38:05,000 --> 01:38:06,880
trying to get stars, trying to 
get an ambulance. 

1652
01:38:07,600 --> 01:38:10,960
They were having no, no luck 
because the ambulance can figure

1653
01:38:10,960 --> 01:38:13,920
out where we were because we're 
in the middle of nowhere and 

1654
01:38:13,920 --> 01:38:18,320
stars was busy at the time. 
That's our air ambulance, the 

1655
01:38:18,320 --> 01:38:20,200
helicopter. 
We have two in Alberta, but they

1656
01:38:20,200 --> 01:38:23,320
were both busy, unable to 
assist. 

1657
01:38:23,320 --> 01:38:25,880
So they're, of course, they were
panicking because here's a guy 

1658
01:38:25,880 --> 01:38:29,600
you know, in, in their lodge is 
bleeding to death and, and 

1659
01:38:29,640 --> 01:38:31,400
they're freaking out. 
So I just kept telling like, hey

1660
01:38:31,400 --> 01:38:36,000
guys, just like stay calm, It's 
OK, I'm fine, I'm just missing 

1661
01:38:36,000 --> 01:38:38,200
my face. 
So just like just need you to 

1662
01:38:38,200 --> 01:38:44,080
focus. 
And I, I told him that like I 

1663
01:38:44,080 --> 01:38:46,440
said, you know, just, I'm just 
missing my face. 

1664
01:38:46,440 --> 01:38:49,120
It's no big deal. 
Just calm down, I'm OK. 

1665
01:38:50,240 --> 01:38:52,800
So they, they managed to make 
the right decision and they 

1666
01:38:52,800 --> 01:38:56,320
called for a private helicopter,
which the owner of the place 

1667
01:38:56,640 --> 01:38:59,680
owned a helicopter and he was, 
you know, about 1/2 hour or so 

1668
01:38:59,680 --> 01:39:02,160
away. 
So he hopped in his helicopter 

1669
01:39:02,160 --> 01:39:05,520
and flew out there. 
While we're waiting for him. 

1670
01:39:05,600 --> 01:39:08,600
They moved me to my truck and 
perked me out back by the 

1671
01:39:08,600 --> 01:39:11,000
helipad. 
And I'm sitting there at the 

1672
01:39:11,000 --> 01:39:12,520
truck. 
I'm in the passenger's seat. 

1673
01:39:12,520 --> 01:39:17,040
And you know, I'm, I got ADHD 
and I hate sitting around doing 

1674
01:39:17,040 --> 01:39:20,120
nothing. 
And so that this young lady who 

1675
01:39:20,120 --> 01:39:23,040
was had the door open, she's 
leaning against the door and she

1676
01:39:23,040 --> 01:39:26,440
was supposed to be there to, you
know, if I pass out to go holler

1677
01:39:26,440 --> 01:39:31,160
at somebody, I'm not sure, but 
she was there and it was like I 

1678
01:39:31,160 --> 01:39:33,520
was asking her questions, like, 
you know, what's your name? 

1679
01:39:33,520 --> 01:39:35,520
How old are you? 
You know, what you'd like to do 

1680
01:39:35,520 --> 01:39:37,840
for fun. 
And I was getting like one word 

1681
01:39:37,840 --> 01:39:40,080
answers out of her area, like, 
and she just want to keep eye 

1682
01:39:40,080 --> 01:39:41,480
contact. 
So I don't know what was going 

1683
01:39:41,480 --> 01:39:46,000
on there. 
And I like, I tried to like tell

1684
01:39:46,000 --> 01:39:47,200
her, Hey, can you take off my 
boots? 

1685
01:39:47,200 --> 01:39:49,880
Because my feet were hurting and
she's so she started to. 

1686
01:39:49,880 --> 01:39:51,640
And then the other lady was 
yelling at her like, don't take 

1687
01:39:51,640 --> 01:39:53,040
off his boots. 
Just leave him alone. 

1688
01:39:53,040 --> 01:39:56,000
Just like, can you at least open
that bottle of Gatorade? 

1689
01:39:56,000 --> 01:39:58,280
So they open up some Gatorade 
for me and I was drinking that 

1690
01:39:58,280 --> 01:40:00,640
and, and then they told me it's 
been like 1/2 hour till the 

1691
01:40:00,640 --> 01:40:03,720
helicopter gets here. 
And so I got out of the truck 

1692
01:40:03,720 --> 01:40:06,120
and opened up the back door of 
my truck and I tried grabbing my

1693
01:40:06,160 --> 01:40:08,360
fly rod out because I was going 
to do some fishing. 

1694
01:40:08,640 --> 01:40:10,440
There's a Creek right there and 
it's really good for fishing 

1695
01:40:10,440 --> 01:40:12,760
and, and I just wanted something
to do. 

1696
01:40:13,080 --> 01:40:13,680
Yeah. 
Really. 

1697
01:40:14,400 --> 01:40:15,240
I did. 
Is that true? 

1698
01:40:15,360 --> 01:40:19,240
Like yes it is. 
I had it like half out and this 

1699
01:40:19,240 --> 01:40:21,720
lady Amanda come out and she's 
like, what the hell are you 

1700
01:40:21,720 --> 01:40:23,840
doing? 
I'm like going fishing. 

1701
01:40:23,840 --> 01:40:25,320
And she's like, no, you're not 
like. 

1702
01:40:25,320 --> 01:40:27,160
Were you, were you 
hallucinating? 

1703
01:40:27,160 --> 01:40:28,360
Were you out? 
I mean, what was? 

1704
01:40:29,040 --> 01:40:32,000
No, I was having an argument 
with her and I had my fishing 

1705
01:40:32,000 --> 01:40:33,560
rod trying to get it out to go 
fishing. 

1706
01:40:35,120 --> 01:40:37,520
Like really actually go fishing 
in this? 

1707
01:40:37,520 --> 01:40:39,840
Moment actually go fishing. 
Yeah, like this isn't like a 

1708
01:40:39,840 --> 01:40:41,960
coping mechanism. 
This isn't like. 

1709
01:40:42,360 --> 01:40:45,440
Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. 
I mean, I got time, I'm going to

1710
01:40:45,440 --> 01:40:46,240
wait. 
For a helicopter? 

1711
01:40:46,960 --> 01:40:48,840
Wow, man. 
Wow. 

1712
01:40:49,960 --> 01:40:53,840
The helipad was literally 15 
feet from the Creek and we're 

1713
01:40:53,840 --> 01:40:55,880
in. 
We were parking at the helipad 

1714
01:40:55,880 --> 01:41:00,360
so I had like a 20 foot stumble 
to the Creek and I was hell bent

1715
01:41:00,360 --> 01:41:03,880
on I was going to go fishing and
I was arguing with this lady. 

1716
01:41:04,080 --> 01:41:06,320
Lady called the man and she's 
like no, just get back in your 

1717
01:41:06,320 --> 01:41:08,920
truck and just sit there. 
Like just I'm like OK, like 

1718
01:41:08,920 --> 01:41:12,000
relax, it's OK. 
So then, you know, I got back in

1719
01:41:12,000 --> 01:41:14,440
the truck and sitting on my 
Gatorade, really disappointed 

1720
01:41:14,440 --> 01:41:16,440
because I could probably caught 
one or two fish before the 

1721
01:41:16,440 --> 01:41:18,400
helicopter. 
You know, I would have tried 

1722
01:41:20,320 --> 01:41:24,720
helicopter lands and I mean, I 
can't see like I can like I 

1723
01:41:24,720 --> 01:41:26,920
said, it's everything's so 
blurry and I can only see the 

1724
01:41:26,920 --> 01:41:29,320
one with the one eye. 
And and so anyways, this 

1725
01:41:29,320 --> 01:41:33,080
helicopter lands and I go to get
in and the whole back seat is 

1726
01:41:33,080 --> 01:41:36,240
like a Big Blue tarp, right? 
So, you know, I don't know why 

1727
01:41:36,240 --> 01:41:38,160
they put a tarp in there. 
Maybe because it's bleeding over

1728
01:41:38,160 --> 01:41:39,520
the place, but. 
See. 

1729
01:41:39,640 --> 01:41:43,320
I bet that's the reason, yeah. 
I get in this real fancy 

1730
01:41:43,320 --> 01:41:45,760
helicopter, it's got four seats 
in the back, you know, two in 

1731
01:41:45,760 --> 01:41:48,600
the front. 
And so we take off, everybody's 

1732
01:41:48,600 --> 01:41:50,640
got these little headsets on, 
and I got nothing. 

1733
01:41:50,640 --> 01:41:57,240
I mean, yeah, so I'm sitting 
there and I'm looking out the 

1734
01:41:57,240 --> 01:41:59,440
window because I'm, I'm like, 
we're in a helicopter in the 

1735
01:41:59,440 --> 01:42:01,440
mountains and there's a nice 
scenery. 

1736
01:42:01,440 --> 01:42:02,640
So I'm trying to look out the 
window. 

1737
01:42:02,640 --> 01:42:05,600
And I mean, I can't see nothing,
but I'm trying, you know, I'm 

1738
01:42:05,600 --> 01:42:06,960
trying to move around, look out 
the window. 

1739
01:42:06,960 --> 01:42:10,280
And every time I lean over, I 
get this real sharp pain on my 

1740
01:42:10,280 --> 01:42:12,960
left side. 
And, you know, I turn to look 

1741
01:42:13,280 --> 01:42:15,200
and Amanda be sitting there and 
she'd be looking at me. 

1742
01:42:15,200 --> 01:42:17,560
And she pulled his Big Blue tarp
up over her face. 

1743
01:42:17,560 --> 01:42:20,200
And I was like, well, screw you.
Like I'm looking out the window 

1744
01:42:20,200 --> 01:42:21,720
then. 
So I'd lean over, look out the 

1745
01:42:21,720 --> 01:42:23,720
window, and I'd feel this poke 
again. 

1746
01:42:23,720 --> 01:42:26,560
And I look at her and this blue 
tarp would come back up. 

1747
01:42:26,560 --> 01:42:29,000
I'm like, I'm playing peekaboo. 
Like what's going on? 

1748
01:42:30,440 --> 01:42:33,080
I didn't realize this at the 
time, but when I was trying to 

1749
01:42:33,080 --> 01:42:35,480
look out the window, it looked 
like I was passing out. 

1750
01:42:36,560 --> 01:42:38,840
And so she was poking me and 
pinching me, trying to wake me 

1751
01:42:38,840 --> 01:42:40,920
up. 
And then when I turned to look 

1752
01:42:40,920 --> 01:42:44,520
at her, she pulled the tarp up 
because I'd cough and squirt out

1753
01:42:44,520 --> 01:42:46,440
blood all the time. 
So she's pulling the tarp up to 

1754
01:42:46,440 --> 01:42:49,240
protect her, but it literally 
looked like we're playing 

1755
01:42:49,240 --> 01:42:52,880
peekaboo and. 
I still bugger. 

1756
01:42:53,400 --> 01:42:55,640
Still bugger about that today 
because it was funny like at 

1757
01:42:55,640 --> 01:42:57,840
least 3-4 times, you know, I 
turned and she pulled the fire 

1758
01:42:57,840 --> 01:42:59,520
pump. 
I'm like what the what are you 

1759
01:42:59,520 --> 01:43:00,000
doing? 
Oh. 

1760
01:43:00,680 --> 01:43:03,960
My gosh. 
So then we land the helicopter 

1761
01:43:03,960 --> 01:43:08,240
in sundry at the hospital. 
And I remember the helicopter 

1762
01:43:08,240 --> 01:43:10,600
landed, and you can just see a 
bunch of people with a Gurney 

1763
01:43:10,600 --> 01:43:13,240
just kind of like doodling down,
like, yeah, we got to be here 

1764
01:43:13,240 --> 01:43:16,120
for this kind of thing. 
They weren't. 

1765
01:43:16,560 --> 01:43:18,640
No one was really excited. 
Just like, you know, another day

1766
01:43:18,640 --> 01:43:23,520
at work, my helicopter door 
opens up and I turned and looked

1767
01:43:23,520 --> 01:43:25,480
at the person who opened the 
door and I said hi. 

1768
01:43:26,360 --> 01:43:29,240
And then that's when everybody 
just started going crazy. 

1769
01:43:30,720 --> 01:43:33,720
A doctor tried cutting back 
behind the helicopter but we had

1770
01:43:33,720 --> 01:43:36,400
an open tail rotor. 
So he was running for. 

1771
01:43:37,080 --> 01:43:39,920
To run around. 
Amanda was sitting in the back 

1772
01:43:39,920 --> 01:43:42,320
seat beside me. 
She jumps out, dives underneath 

1773
01:43:42,320 --> 01:43:46,880
the helicopter, takes out this 
doctor like rugby, tackles them 

1774
01:43:47,280 --> 01:43:49,720
and knocks him down. 
She's trying to hold everybody 

1775
01:43:49,720 --> 01:43:51,200
back. 
What? 

1776
01:43:51,360 --> 01:43:53,880
The pilot's trying to shut 
things down, the Co pilot's 

1777
01:43:53,880 --> 01:43:56,240
jumping out trying to stop 
people because like, it was just

1778
01:43:56,240 --> 01:44:01,240
mad chaos and they're trying to 
pull me out of the helicopter. 

1779
01:44:01,240 --> 01:44:04,760
But my right leg now was seized 
forward and I had to lift it up 

1780
01:44:04,760 --> 01:44:08,640
over the seat to get out to turn
and I couldn't do it. 

1781
01:44:10,080 --> 01:44:12,520
So then I was like, I'm I'm 
trying. 

1782
01:44:12,520 --> 01:44:14,040
And Amanda's like just leave him
alone. 

1783
01:44:14,040 --> 01:44:15,600
He can get out. 
Just leave him be. 

1784
01:44:16,320 --> 01:44:19,640
And I managed to kind of turn 
slightly and this little nurse, 

1785
01:44:19,760 --> 01:44:23,200
maybe 5 feet tall, 5 foot, 
2:00-ish, picked me up like I 

1786
01:44:23,200 --> 01:44:26,520
was nothing and slid me out 
backwards out of the passenger 

1787
01:44:26,520 --> 01:44:29,160
door, the helicopter. 
And they laid me in the Gurney 

1788
01:44:29,160 --> 01:44:31,480
and brought me into the 
hospital. 

1789
01:44:31,720 --> 01:44:36,000
And then from there they threw 
me in an ambulance and shipped 

1790
01:44:36,000 --> 01:44:39,480
me off to Calgary, which where I
live, to the Foothills Hospital.

1791
01:44:40,000 --> 01:44:42,320
And I arrived there pretty late 
in the evening. 

1792
01:44:45,200 --> 01:44:46,400
Yeah. 
Rode into there. 

1793
01:44:46,400 --> 01:44:51,280
And from there, you know, into 
surgery and then surgery into 

1794
01:44:53,520 --> 01:44:56,040
the the. 
I was in the burn unit for five 

1795
01:44:56,040 --> 01:45:00,920
weeks in recovery. 
And then from there out running 

1796
01:45:00,920 --> 01:45:05,360
around like a crazy maniac. 
I mean, I from what I saw, the 

1797
01:45:05,360 --> 01:45:07,920
pictures to what you look like 
right now, they've done an 

1798
01:45:07,920 --> 01:45:09,800
amazing job. 
They did. 

1799
01:45:10,360 --> 01:45:13,640
I mean, I mean, it's, it's 
legitimately next level stuff. 

1800
01:45:13,720 --> 01:45:18,320
I mean it based on what you're 
describing to me, it it doesn't.

1801
01:45:18,600 --> 01:45:21,480
I mean, that's that's 
unbelievable it. 

1802
01:45:21,880 --> 01:45:23,960
Was really funny right before 
you go to get out of the 

1803
01:45:23,960 --> 01:45:28,200
hospital, the surgeon that 
stitched me up, he stitched me 

1804
01:45:28,200 --> 01:45:30,400
up, did the two surgeries and 
then he went on holidays for two

1805
01:45:30,400 --> 01:45:34,760
weeks. 
And then he he was back And 

1806
01:45:35,320 --> 01:45:37,880
there's a picture of me on the 
wall with my wife and daughter 

1807
01:45:38,240 --> 01:45:40,560
just before the bear attack. 
And he looked at me and he says,

1808
01:45:40,560 --> 01:45:43,280
you know, I could have done a 
better job if I had this 

1809
01:45:43,280 --> 01:45:48,120
picture. 
It was really good. 

1810
01:45:48,120 --> 01:45:53,600
Like that doctor was awesome. 
Part way through this part of my

1811
01:45:53,600 --> 01:45:58,120
head here on the right side, 
kind of from I guess my forehead

1812
01:45:58,120 --> 01:46:00,160
too, partly to the back. 
That was all removed. 

1813
01:46:00,160 --> 01:46:06,600
And that was, it was just skull 
and skin or skull and meat, no 

1814
01:46:06,600 --> 01:46:08,560
skin. 
They didn't know what to do with

1815
01:46:08,560 --> 01:46:12,240
that till September 24th. 
They brought me in for surgery 

1816
01:46:12,240 --> 01:46:14,360
and they tried taking the chunk 
of my head here and moving it 

1817
01:46:14,360 --> 01:46:20,120
over because skin doesn't grow 
on bone and these blood full and

1818
01:46:20,120 --> 01:46:22,200
that piece of my head started to
die. 

1819
01:46:22,200 --> 01:46:26,400
So they moved it back and then 
they took a chunk of skin off my

1820
01:46:26,400 --> 01:46:30,360
leg and they covered just to 
cover it up because I mean, you 

1821
01:46:30,360 --> 01:46:33,800
just can't have bone and meat. 
They're sticking out forever. 

1822
01:46:34,360 --> 01:46:36,640
So they did that. 
They closed it up and the next 

1823
01:46:36,640 --> 01:46:40,080
day I decided I'm going out with
my friends. 

1824
01:46:40,080 --> 01:46:42,280
I had a hall pass from the 
hospital. 

1825
01:46:42,280 --> 01:46:45,600
So you get to go out for the day
and we went out to the shooting 

1826
01:46:45,600 --> 01:46:49,520
range and they, they came and 
picked me up, my buddies and 

1827
01:46:49,520 --> 01:46:51,040
they got my guns and they picked
me up. 

1828
01:46:51,040 --> 01:46:54,800
And so we head up to the 
shooting range and I got this, 

1829
01:46:55,040 --> 01:46:57,760
you know, huge Band-Aid. 
I got drains hanging from my 

1830
01:46:57,760 --> 01:47:01,720
face and I'm all cross eyed and 
you know, I can't see very well 

1831
01:47:01,720 --> 01:47:03,760
because my eyes are so swollen 
up. 

1832
01:47:03,760 --> 01:47:08,200
And we walk into the gun range 
and I'm looking a little like I 

1833
01:47:08,200 --> 01:47:12,160
shouldn't be there. 
And we shot guns for a couple 

1834
01:47:12,160 --> 01:47:14,720
hours. 
And then I got back and I had my

1835
01:47:14,720 --> 01:47:16,880
target with me. 
And I'm so happy I had my target

1836
01:47:16,880 --> 01:47:19,040
in my hand because I can 
actually hit something at 50 

1837
01:47:19,040 --> 01:47:22,360
yards. 
Or maybe it was like, yeah, 50 

1838
01:47:22,360 --> 01:47:25,520
yards. 
And I was hanging up on the 

1839
01:47:25,520 --> 01:47:28,600
wall. 
And the charge nurse comes in 

1840
01:47:28,600 --> 01:47:30,360
and she's like, oh, So what did 
you do today? 

1841
01:47:31,280 --> 01:47:32,880
Because she can check on me 
right away. 

1842
01:47:32,880 --> 01:47:35,000
And I said, I went to the 
shooting range and I can hit 

1843
01:47:35,000 --> 01:47:37,720
something, you know? 
And she's like, you're going to 

1844
01:47:37,720 --> 01:47:41,000
the shooting range in your state
with your head the way it is. 

1845
01:47:41,280 --> 01:47:43,320
I'm like, Yep. 
And she's like, don't leave your

1846
01:47:43,320 --> 01:47:46,080
room. 
Like I didn't know what was 

1847
01:47:46,080 --> 01:47:49,120
going on. 
About 1/2 hour later, here comes

1848
01:47:49,120 --> 01:47:51,040
my Doctor Who stitched me up. 
We said he could have done a 

1849
01:47:51,040 --> 01:47:54,760
better job. 
He walks into the room and he 

1850
01:47:54,760 --> 01:47:56,440
says, where'd you go today? 
I said, I went and shooting 

1851
01:47:56,440 --> 01:47:58,520
guns. 
And he goes, oh, yeah, where I 

1852
01:47:58,520 --> 01:47:59,920
is. 
Oh, I went to this indoor range 

1853
01:47:59,920 --> 01:48:01,360
and I can hit a target. 
And I showed him. 

1854
01:48:01,360 --> 01:48:03,880
I was so proud of myself. 
He's like, how's your head 

1855
01:48:03,880 --> 01:48:06,200
feeling? 
Like it's still there because 

1856
01:48:06,200 --> 01:48:07,720
does it hurt or anything? 
I'm like, Nope. 

1857
01:48:07,800 --> 01:48:10,680
He's like OK, awesome job dude, 
have a nice day. 

1858
01:48:10,920 --> 01:48:13,800
And the nurse is like, aren't 
you going to do anything? 

1859
01:48:13,800 --> 01:48:15,640
He goes Nah. 
If you can get out and go and 

1860
01:48:15,640 --> 01:48:18,440
shoot guns and not have anything
hurt, he's doing pretty good. 

1861
01:48:19,040 --> 01:48:23,800
Oh man, wow, so are you, are 
you, were you normally this 

1862
01:48:24,960 --> 01:48:26,840
determined? 
Are you a determined type 

1863
01:48:26,840 --> 01:48:29,760
person? 
Like I, I, I feel like other 

1864
01:48:29,760 --> 01:48:32,080
people would have legitimately 
given up. 

1865
01:48:32,080 --> 01:48:33,640
Like they never would have 
tried. 

1866
01:48:35,160 --> 01:48:37,000
Yeah, there's not a lot of 
things that get in my way. 

1867
01:48:37,000 --> 01:48:38,600
I always try to find a way 
around. 

1868
01:48:38,800 --> 01:48:41,840
If I can't do something or 
there's a roadblock. 

1869
01:48:41,880 --> 01:48:47,600
I've always tried to get around 
that's oh I am I guess. 

1870
01:48:48,040 --> 01:48:53,000
I mean, it's got to be a, a, a, 
a personality thing with you 

1871
01:48:53,000 --> 01:48:55,320
that that determination came 
through that pulled you through 

1872
01:48:55,840 --> 01:48:58,000
all of that to a degree. 
I would say, like, I mean, you 

1873
01:48:58,000 --> 01:49:00,320
just somebody, somebody that 
goes through something like that

1874
01:49:00,320 --> 01:49:03,960
and is able to push themselves 
through that and, and hike. 

1875
01:49:04,040 --> 01:49:06,240
How how would you say 12 
kilometers out to? 

1876
01:49:06,240 --> 01:49:08,480
The 12.8 kilometers, Yep. 
To the truck, yeah. 

1877
01:49:08,480 --> 01:49:10,160
What is that like? 
Probably 9. 

1878
01:49:10,160 --> 01:49:11,640
Miles or something? 
7. 

1879
01:49:11,640 --> 01:49:13,600
Miles Point 87.8 or. 
Something like that. 

1880
01:49:13,600 --> 01:49:17,040
OK, so almost 8 miles out. 
I mean, you know, I hike a lot 

1881
01:49:17,040 --> 01:49:20,400
and that's, I mean you did that 
in what? 

1882
01:49:20,560 --> 01:49:22,560
Like in nine hours? 
Something like that. 

1883
01:49:22,880 --> 01:49:25,800
Something like that. 
That's incredible in your state.

1884
01:49:26,200 --> 01:49:30,360
I mean, you, you, you've got to 
have some sort of a personality,

1885
01:49:30,640 --> 01:49:33,680
something in you that's sets you
apart from other people to give 

1886
01:49:33,680 --> 01:49:36,000
you that level of determination 
to be able to get out of 

1887
01:49:36,000 --> 01:49:38,320
something like that. 
I mean just naturally within you

1888
01:49:38,640 --> 01:49:40,800
that you probably maybe you knew
you had, maybe you didn't. 

1889
01:49:41,000 --> 01:49:43,960
Yeah, I think it just maybe it's
stubbornness too, a little bit. 

1890
01:49:44,360 --> 01:49:46,440
All right. 
What was it like when you What 

1891
01:49:46,440 --> 01:49:48,520
was it like when you saw your 
wife and daughter? 

1892
01:49:49,720 --> 01:49:51,880
Well, that was amazing. 
I mean, my wife was there at the

1893
01:49:51,880 --> 01:49:56,680
foot of the bed from day one and
I couldn't see for probably the 

1894
01:49:56,680 --> 01:50:00,200
first two weeks in the hospital.
My eyes were swelled, rate shut.

1895
01:50:00,320 --> 01:50:02,840
And when I could, they had to 
clean them out every day and I 

1896
01:50:02,840 --> 01:50:07,160
couldn't really see. 
And it was until late September 

1897
01:50:07,160 --> 01:50:11,080
when I was able to actually make
out my wife and daughter because

1898
01:50:11,080 --> 01:50:12,400
like I said, I physically 
couldn't see. 

1899
01:50:12,640 --> 01:50:14,560
But hearing their voices, you 
hear my daughter giggle. 

1900
01:50:14,560 --> 01:50:15,200
That was. 
Oh. 

1901
01:50:15,640 --> 01:50:19,400
Man, that was something. 
I mean, like the, as soon as 

1902
01:50:19,400 --> 01:50:22,200
they got me up to the walk, 
which was I think after the 

1903
01:50:22,200 --> 01:50:24,640
first week, they stood me up for
the very first time. 

1904
01:50:25,560 --> 01:50:30,080
And my wife came there to see 
that and she was hungry and 

1905
01:50:30,080 --> 01:50:32,360
waiting around for the therapist
and everybody show up and they 

1906
01:50:32,360 --> 01:50:34,360
weren't. 
So she's going to run down, grab

1907
01:50:34,360 --> 01:50:37,200
a quick bite to eat. 
Well, when she left, not even a 

1908
01:50:37,200 --> 01:50:40,480
minute after she left, the 
nurses and the physical 

1909
01:50:40,480 --> 01:50:42,240
therapist come in to help get me
up on my feet. 

1910
01:50:42,800 --> 01:50:46,800
So here I am to get me up on my 
feet and I'm on a Walker and, 

1911
01:50:47,840 --> 01:50:50,960
and they want me just to walk to
the end of the bed or at the end

1912
01:50:50,960 --> 01:50:53,720
of the room and come back. 
I mean, the room's probably, you

1913
01:50:53,720 --> 01:50:56,960
know, 15 feet maybe. 
So I got up on the Walker. 

1914
01:50:56,960 --> 01:50:59,480
I took 3, four steps. 
I got to the end of the room and

1915
01:51:00,120 --> 01:51:02,440
then my wife wasn't there. 
And I really wanted her to see 

1916
01:51:02,440 --> 01:51:05,440
me walk again because I, I was 
actually afraid that she was 

1917
01:51:05,440 --> 01:51:07,800
going to leave me because I, you
know, look like a monster who 

1918
01:51:07,800 --> 01:51:10,400
wants to be married to somebody 
in my state, right? 

1919
01:51:10,400 --> 01:51:12,040
Like that's all those things 
that go through your head and 

1920
01:51:12,040 --> 01:51:13,320
that you're laying there every 
day with. 

1921
01:51:14,240 --> 01:51:19,280
And, and they're like, OK, come 
back to the to the bed. 

1922
01:51:19,280 --> 01:51:23,080
And I'm like, excuse that. 
So I pushed to the doorway. 

1923
01:51:23,400 --> 01:51:26,560
I managed to get the Walker to 
the doorway and they're like, 

1924
01:51:26,720 --> 01:51:29,360
don't push it. 
I got out in the hallway and I 

1925
01:51:29,360 --> 01:51:33,640
got about 30 feet down the hall 
and my wife and the walk was 

1926
01:51:33,640 --> 01:51:35,840
walking up the stairs. 
And she comes around the corner 

1927
01:51:35,840 --> 01:51:40,440
and she sees me in the hallway 
on my Walker. 

1928
01:51:40,680 --> 01:51:42,920
And, you know, I was trying to 
give it all I got because I 

1929
01:51:42,920 --> 01:51:45,680
wanted to show that I could, 
that I could still do it. 

1930
01:51:47,160 --> 01:51:49,720
And it was a very emotional 
moment. 

1931
01:51:49,720 --> 01:51:52,040
I didn't make it back to my bed.
I thought a lot of help, but I 

1932
01:51:52,040 --> 01:51:55,280
just, I just pushed just to 
prove to her that, you know, and

1933
01:51:55,280 --> 01:51:56,520
to prove myself that I can do 
it. 

1934
01:51:58,000 --> 01:52:02,280
And so every day from that 
point, I'd get up, they'd bring 

1935
01:52:02,280 --> 01:52:05,000
me the Walker right after I ate 
Prefix and I would try to walk 

1936
01:52:05,000 --> 01:52:08,000
around the unit by myself with 
the Walker. 

1937
01:52:08,000 --> 01:52:12,320
And it used to take me from 
Prefix till lunch to do 1 lap. 

1938
01:52:12,320 --> 01:52:15,640
So I did that every single day 
until the day they released me. 

1939
01:52:15,800 --> 01:52:19,120
I was able to walk around that 
unit in 12 minutes. 

1940
01:52:19,400 --> 01:52:23,560
Wow, yeah, it's awesome. 
Now today I can walk around the 

1941
01:52:23,560 --> 01:52:25,240
whole entire unit in less than a
minute. 

1942
01:52:25,600 --> 01:52:30,360
So just to tell you how much, 
yeah, taking me 3 1/2 four hours

1943
01:52:30,360 --> 01:52:35,000
to do it in, to do it in 12 
minutes and then now to do it in

1944
01:52:35,400 --> 01:52:38,160
45 seconds. 
Man. 

1945
01:52:39,040 --> 01:52:43,360
It'd be equivalent to walking 
down 3 aisles in the grocery, 

1946
01:52:43,360 --> 01:52:44,960
maybe 4 aisles in the grocery 
store. 

1947
01:52:44,960 --> 01:52:48,600
So if you're in a Safeway store,
just four complete aisles or 

1948
01:52:48,600 --> 01:52:51,600
basically the width of a 24 hour
Walmart with a grocery unit. 

1949
01:52:51,600 --> 01:52:55,840
If you walk across long way, 
that would be roughly the the 

1950
01:52:55,840 --> 01:52:58,120
walk that would be around the 
whole unit. 

1951
01:52:59,000 --> 01:53:03,160
Oh my gosh, what? 
What's what's life like? 

1952
01:53:04,120 --> 01:53:06,480
What's life like today for you? 
Pretty much the same. 

1953
01:53:06,480 --> 01:53:08,280
I mean, there's some limitations
that I have. 

1954
01:53:08,280 --> 01:53:10,920
I don't let them stop me. 
Like making a fist. 

1955
01:53:10,920 --> 01:53:12,880
I can't make a really tight fist
in my hands. 

1956
01:53:13,160 --> 01:53:17,080
My pinky sometimes sticks out 
when I close my fist, so I have 

1957
01:53:17,080 --> 01:53:19,480
to push it in, you know, 
sometimes it cooperates, 

1958
01:53:19,480 --> 01:53:22,760
sometimes it doesn't. 
My eyes don't fully close. 

1959
01:53:22,760 --> 01:53:25,960
So this is me sleeping. 
I mean it. 

1960
01:53:26,160 --> 01:53:30,600
It's wicked for babysitting. 
I got to tell you when you have 

1961
01:53:30,600 --> 01:53:35,760
kids and you can baby what's. 
Your vision like. 2023 so my 

1962
01:53:35,760 --> 01:53:38,440
vision's good, but my eyes are a
different height because they 

1963
01:53:38,440 --> 01:53:41,480
replaced my eye sockets with 
titanium in that and so they're 

1964
01:53:41,480 --> 01:53:47,520
slightly out and when I if I 
take my glasses off, people look

1965
01:53:47,600 --> 01:53:51,880
2 dimensional like flat when I 
put their prism glasses so they 

1966
01:53:51,880 --> 01:53:54,520
help see. 
It just makes things a little 

1967
01:53:54,520 --> 01:54:00,280
more detailed. 
Yeah, I can still walk and all 

1968
01:54:00,280 --> 01:54:02,600
that like I never be able to run
another 5 minute mile again 

1969
01:54:02,600 --> 01:54:05,760
because well, I'm just too beat 
up until you steal parts. 

1970
01:54:06,440 --> 01:54:11,040
But but I mean just because I 
can't run a 5 minute mile 

1971
01:54:11,040 --> 01:54:13,240
doesn't mean I can't ride a bike
a 5 minute mile. 

1972
01:54:13,240 --> 01:54:15,720
I mean I can still do it, just a
different means of doing it. 

1973
01:54:16,200 --> 01:54:18,520
Have you have you gotten back 
out to hunt? 

1974
01:54:19,640 --> 01:54:21,840
48 hours after being out of the 
hospital, I wouldn't read back 

1975
01:54:21,840 --> 01:54:24,200
at it. 
Oh man, I I knew you were going 

1976
01:54:24,200 --> 01:54:25,520
to say that. 
I knew you were going to say 

1977
01:54:25,520 --> 01:54:28,000
that. 
Have you had another bear 

1978
01:54:28,000 --> 01:54:32,800
counter? 
I, I have actually this last 

1979
01:54:32,800 --> 01:54:37,760
year, 2023, it's been so the, 
the book came out in 2022 in 

1980
01:54:37,760 --> 01:54:42,840
September and I spent that whole
entire fall and winter doing 

1981
01:54:42,840 --> 01:54:45,320
podcasts and interviews. 
So I had very limited time to 

1982
01:54:45,320 --> 01:54:48,600
hunt. 
And last year, same thing, 

1983
01:54:49,000 --> 01:54:50,960
anniversary of the book. 
So everybody wanted to talk to 

1984
01:54:50,960 --> 01:54:52,840
me in interviews. 
So I had very little time to 

1985
01:54:52,840 --> 01:54:55,720
hunt and we were moving to a new
place. 

1986
01:54:55,720 --> 01:54:59,080
So we moved out to an acreage 
out in the country and so 

1987
01:54:59,080 --> 01:55:03,840
there's some crown land close to
us got called the Porcupine 

1988
01:55:03,840 --> 01:55:07,960
Hills. 
So I was it the second day of 

1989
01:55:07,960 --> 01:55:10,040
the hunting season, I was like, 
I'm going to go out hunting. 

1990
01:55:10,040 --> 01:55:12,520
It took it was the weekend and 
the wife said, yeah, I'll look 

1991
01:55:12,520 --> 01:55:14,160
after the kids. 
You go ahead and go hunting 

1992
01:55:14,160 --> 01:55:18,200
because it's the first time. 
So I never haunted there before.

1993
01:55:18,200 --> 01:55:20,440
Looked on a map, kind of figured
out this is the area where the 

1994
01:55:20,440 --> 01:55:22,640
deer are going to be. 
So I got out there, you know, an

1995
01:55:22,640 --> 01:55:24,640
hour before daylight, hiked into
a spot. 

1996
01:55:24,640 --> 01:55:28,680
I'm sitting down looking for 
some deer right at the crack of 

1997
01:55:28,680 --> 01:55:32,040
dawn. 
I hear like something walking in

1998
01:55:32,040 --> 01:55:34,960
the snow. 
And there's like a soft, like a 

1999
01:55:34,960 --> 01:55:37,880
soft walk, kind of like a person
sneaking, you know, I thought it

2000
01:55:37,880 --> 01:55:40,680
was somebody else walking. 
And then I hear like this little

2001
01:55:40,680 --> 01:55:43,680
kind of a almost like a whine 
growl. 

2002
01:55:45,280 --> 01:55:51,640
And I just just the tone of it, 
I knew, I knew exactly what it 

2003
01:55:51,640 --> 01:55:53,240
was like. 
It was just a bear, just a 

2004
01:55:53,480 --> 01:55:56,840
curious bear. 
And when I looked behind me, 

2005
01:55:56,840 --> 01:55:59,720
there was a grizzly bear less 
than 12 feet away on the other 

2006
01:55:59,720 --> 01:56:02,080
side of the tree. 
I have seen grizzly bears since 

2007
01:56:02,080 --> 01:56:04,160
the attack. 
I mean, a year later, we are 

2008
01:56:04,360 --> 01:56:06,480
hunting sheep, and we ran into 
some grizzly bears. 

2009
01:56:06,480 --> 01:56:10,080
And that was fine. 
I mean, you always think you 

2010
01:56:10,080 --> 01:56:12,360
prepare yourself, right, that 
you know what I'm going to do 

2011
01:56:12,360 --> 01:56:15,520
next time. 
So this bear is there. 

2012
01:56:15,920 --> 01:56:18,000
I have my rifle. 
I have my bear spray on my 

2013
01:56:18,000 --> 01:56:19,480
chest. 
I popped my bear spray out. 

2014
01:56:19,480 --> 01:56:21,680
There's bears 12 feet away. 
I'm thinking to myself, like, 

2015
01:56:22,120 --> 01:56:23,960
I'm prepared for this, right? 
Like, oh, I've seen this. 

2016
01:56:23,960 --> 01:56:25,920
I play this a million times in 
my head, what I'm going to do, 

2017
01:56:25,920 --> 01:56:27,480
you know, spray the bear, shoot 
it, whatever. 

2018
01:56:28,200 --> 01:56:32,800
And that bear was there and I 
froze like I just didn't know 

2019
01:56:32,800 --> 01:56:35,000
what to do. 
I was thinking, do I spray it? 

2020
01:56:35,000 --> 01:56:36,960
Will that stop it? 
Should I shoot in the head? 

2021
01:56:36,960 --> 01:56:39,840
Will that kill it? 
But the bear wasn't being any 

2022
01:56:39,840 --> 01:56:43,840
wasn't any threat. 
He was just more curious. 

2023
01:56:43,880 --> 01:56:46,160
And so we had to stand off there
and he started walking around 

2024
01:56:46,160 --> 01:56:47,400
the tree. 
So I walked around the other 

2025
01:56:47,400 --> 01:56:49,240
side of the tree, got behind 
another tree. 

2026
01:56:49,600 --> 01:56:52,960
We kind of circled for about 45 
minutes till I got back to my 

2027
01:56:52,960 --> 01:56:55,040
truck. 
Yeah. 

2028
01:56:55,040 --> 01:56:57,440
And he just, he was only, you 
know, he got to the point where 

2029
01:56:57,440 --> 01:57:01,760
he's about say 30-40 yards away 
and he just just curious, 

2030
01:57:01,760 --> 01:57:07,280
falling in my tracks, just just 
a bore, you know, middle-aged, 

2031
01:57:07,280 --> 01:57:10,680
bored, just curious more than 
anything of what I was. 

2032
01:57:11,520 --> 01:57:14,080
And like I said, you just you 
think you're prepared for that. 

2033
01:57:15,560 --> 01:57:20,000
So I I got home only after being
out there for a couple hours and

2034
01:57:20,000 --> 01:57:22,960
it's like I was out there like 7
in the morning kind of thing. 

2035
01:57:22,960 --> 01:57:25,240
And I'm back in my house. 
It's like 10:00. 

2036
01:57:25,720 --> 01:57:27,440
And I come home. 
My wife's like, I thought you 

2037
01:57:27,440 --> 01:57:29,480
went hunting all day. 
I'm like, yeah, I'm done. 

2038
01:57:29,920 --> 01:57:31,120
You know, I don't need to go 
hunting anymore. 

2039
01:57:31,120 --> 01:57:33,320
She's like, OK, well, I'm going 
to go and take the kids. 

2040
01:57:33,320 --> 01:57:34,320
We're going to go grocery 
shopping. 

2041
01:57:34,320 --> 01:57:35,720
We're going to be out with some 
friends for the day. 

2042
01:57:35,720 --> 01:57:38,520
So yeah, no problem. 
I sat on the couch. 

2043
01:57:39,560 --> 01:57:41,760
She came back about 6:00 that 
night. 

2044
01:57:42,440 --> 01:57:43,840
I was still sitting on the 
couch. 

2045
01:57:43,840 --> 01:57:46,520
I have not moved. 
The TV set wasn't on and I was 

2046
01:57:46,520 --> 01:57:50,240
staring at the wall and she came
in front of me. 

2047
01:57:50,240 --> 01:57:51,520
She's like, are you all right? 
I'm said yeah. 

2048
01:57:51,640 --> 01:57:55,320
She goes, it's like 6 O clock at
night. 

2049
01:57:55,760 --> 01:57:58,240
Have you eaten anything? 
Like, have you? 

2050
01:57:59,040 --> 01:58:00,960
No, I'm good because it's that 
late. 

2051
01:58:00,960 --> 01:58:03,400
She's like, yeah, it is. 
Are you OK? 

2052
01:58:04,160 --> 01:58:08,880
I'm like, Nope, I'm not. 
I told her what happened and we 

2053
01:58:08,880 --> 01:58:12,240
worked it out and did some of 
our PTSD and mindful training. 

2054
01:58:12,760 --> 01:58:16,240
And, you know, that night I had 
a couple flashbacks. 

2055
01:58:16,240 --> 01:58:22,800
Nothing serious, just little 
ones, but I was more, I guess 

2056
01:58:23,120 --> 01:58:25,600
scared like the reaction. 
I just, I froze. 

2057
01:58:25,600 --> 01:58:27,760
And that scared me because I 
just, I've been through all the 

2058
01:58:27,760 --> 01:58:29,800
training, you know, all the bear
awareness, all that how to use 

2059
01:58:29,800 --> 01:58:31,560
bear spray, what to do. 
And you play it in your head 

2060
01:58:31,560 --> 01:58:33,960
over and over again. 
And I tell you that bear 

2061
01:58:33,960 --> 01:58:36,600
standing in front of me there, I
just, I broke down. 

2062
01:58:36,600 --> 01:58:41,880
I just, I didn't know what to do
and so like I, that scared me. 

2063
01:58:41,880 --> 01:58:44,760
So I haven't been back there 
since I I headed back out to the

2064
01:58:44,760 --> 01:58:46,880
prairies to hunt again where 
there's where you can see a bear

2065
01:58:46,880 --> 01:58:49,280
a long ways away. 
Hey, there's nothing wrong with 

2066
01:58:49,280 --> 01:58:52,720
that. 
No, but yeah, I mean. 

2067
01:58:53,560 --> 01:58:55,280
Your story is incredible, so 
you've got a book. 

2068
01:58:56,240 --> 01:58:59,040
I do, It's called Life Lessons 
Learned from a Grizzly Bear 

2069
01:58:59,040 --> 01:59:02,680
attack, and I do. 
I don't have any books with me 

2070
01:59:02,680 --> 01:59:05,280
right now. 
Actually I sold all one the 

2071
01:59:05,320 --> 01:59:06,400
other day. 
I'm still waiting for another 

2072
01:59:06,400 --> 01:59:09,480
order from my publisher. 
And I also do inspirational 

2073
01:59:09,480 --> 01:59:13,960
speaking where or keynote. 
I mean, also a keynote speaker 

2074
01:59:14,040 --> 01:59:19,640
does inspirational speaking 
where I, you guys tell people my

2075
01:59:19,640 --> 01:59:22,960
story and teach them the 
invaluable life lessons that I 

2076
01:59:22,960 --> 01:59:25,320
learned. 
I'm like asking for psychiatric 

2077
01:59:25,320 --> 01:59:27,440
help is not a weakness but a 
strength. 

2078
01:59:28,400 --> 01:59:31,080
When you set small goals, you 
can achieve incredible things. 

2079
01:59:31,080 --> 01:59:34,320
You know, don't need to save any
of your passions in life because

2080
01:59:34,440 --> 01:59:38,840
of, you know, a bear attack. 
Yeah, and I do more and more 

2081
01:59:38,840 --> 01:59:42,880
work with PTSDI, started up my 
own charity, registered with the

2082
01:59:42,880 --> 01:59:47,120
University of Calgary and my 
goal is to raise $5,000,000 for 

2083
01:59:47,120 --> 01:59:49,880
research into evidence based 
treatment methods. 

2084
01:59:51,280 --> 01:59:53,320
We want to make sure we get it 
right the first time or what 

2085
01:59:53,320 --> 01:59:56,520
treatments would work best with 
that individual so that we can 

2086
01:59:56,520 --> 01:59:59,080
get it right the first time. 
So you don't have to suffer 

2087
01:59:59,080 --> 02:00:02,520
through multiple treatments. 
I guess we won't say suffer, but

2088
02:00:02,520 --> 02:00:04,840
you have to experience multiple 
treatments. 

2089
02:00:06,080 --> 02:00:10,360
Because when you put yourself 
out there having PTSD, it's hard

2090
02:00:10,360 --> 02:00:13,600
to do once, let alone doing it a
second or a third time. 

2091
02:00:14,480 --> 02:00:18,520
But sometimes we need several 
different types of treatment to 

2092
02:00:18,520 --> 02:00:21,800
be able to overcome our PTSD 
because they need to work 

2093
02:00:21,800 --> 02:00:24,360
together. 
And I tell you, when the puzzle 

2094
02:00:24,360 --> 02:00:26,960
pieces come together, man, it, 
it's, it's amazing. 

2095
02:00:26,960 --> 02:00:28,840
You feel so much better. 
You're able to sleep clear 

2096
02:00:28,840 --> 02:00:31,880
minded. 
It's amazing. 

2097
02:00:32,240 --> 02:00:34,720
And then there's a second part 
of that charity to where how do 

2098
02:00:34,720 --> 02:00:37,840
you navigate the complex medical
system when you're in there? 

2099
02:00:38,360 --> 02:00:41,760
Because if you have PTSD, it's 
hard to pick. 

2100
02:00:41,960 --> 02:00:43,840
It's hard to choose or where do 
you go? 

2101
02:00:43,840 --> 02:00:47,560
How do you reach out for help? 
And so research and how to make 

2102
02:00:47,560 --> 02:00:50,720
it easier for somebody with PTSD
or suffering from a mental 

2103
02:00:50,720 --> 02:00:53,080
illness to be able to get the 
help they need. 

2104
02:00:53,720 --> 02:00:56,720
I mean, I had a lot of help and 
I want to make sure everybody 

2105
02:00:56,720 --> 02:00:59,840
can get the same kind of help or
know how to get access to that 

2106
02:00:59,840 --> 02:01:02,000
same kind of help. 
So that's my goal is to raise 

2107
02:01:02,000 --> 02:01:08,000
$5,000,000 and that $5,000,000 
will get invested and the, and 

2108
02:01:08,000 --> 02:01:12,080
the money generated off that 5 
million will run their research.

2109
02:01:12,400 --> 02:01:16,240
And so this will be there 
forever because all the money 

2110
02:01:16,240 --> 02:01:21,160
raised will get vested, and only
the money generated off of the 

2111
02:01:21,160 --> 02:01:24,040
investment is what runs it. 
So I would have to ask for money

2112
02:01:24,040 --> 02:01:27,280
once and never again, and it'll 
be there forever. 

2113
02:01:27,800 --> 02:01:30,920
And so my goal is to raise, 
yeah, $5 million. 

2114
02:01:31,520 --> 02:01:34,680
What's your what's your charity?
Well, tell us about it. 

2115
02:01:34,680 --> 02:01:38,320
How can we find it? 
So the charity is the Grizzly 

2116
02:01:38,320 --> 02:01:40,640
Dude Fund. 
So if you go on Google and type 

2117
02:01:40,640 --> 02:01:42,200
in the Grizzly Dude Fund, you'll
see it. 

2118
02:01:42,200 --> 02:01:44,600
It comes up to the crowdfunding 
website at the University of 

2119
02:01:44,600 --> 02:01:46,240
Calgary. 
Also, if you go on to 

2120
02:01:47,400 --> 02:01:52,680
grizzlydude.ca, you can find out
more about Keynote speaking, 

2121
02:01:52,880 --> 02:01:55,840
what I've been currently working
on and of these links to the 

2122
02:01:55,840 --> 02:01:59,320
charity on there. 
And you can also order a signed 

2123
02:01:59,320 --> 02:02:01,960
copy of Mold. 
I'm sorry, I can't compete with 

2124
02:02:01,960 --> 02:02:05,920
the Amazon shipping, so it's a 
little bit extra, but if you 

2125
02:02:05,920 --> 02:02:10,760
don't want to sign copy, you can
go on Amazon.com and order the 

2126
02:02:10,760 --> 02:02:13,680
book Mold. 
I think it's got a 4.7 rating 

2127
02:02:13,680 --> 02:02:16,280
right now currently on there. 
So it's doing pretty good. 

2128
02:02:16,840 --> 02:02:18,720
Yeah, I can. 
I can imagine why. 

2129
02:02:18,720 --> 02:02:22,440
It's an incredible story. 
Yeah. 

2130
02:02:22,480 --> 02:02:24,120
I I have. 
I have one more question for 

2131
02:02:24,120 --> 02:02:29,120
you. 
I I this may seem like an odd 

2132
02:02:29,120 --> 02:02:30,320
question. 
Maybe it's not an odd question. 

2133
02:02:30,320 --> 02:02:31,440
Maybe you've even asked this 
before. 

2134
02:02:31,440 --> 02:02:35,840
I don't know. 
But if you could, like, pull 

2135
02:02:35,840 --> 02:02:38,000
this event from ever happening 
out of your life. 

2136
02:02:38,000 --> 02:02:40,200
Now, from an outside 
perspective, you would think, 

2137
02:02:40,400 --> 02:02:43,200
yes, I could totally pull this. 
I want to pull this out of my 

2138
02:02:43,200 --> 02:02:46,560
life because I don't ever want 
to be mauled by a bear. 

2139
02:02:46,920 --> 02:02:52,680
But seeing what's happened with 
your life now, it's seems, you 

2140
02:02:52,680 --> 02:02:56,280
know from at least what I'm 
hearing, overwhelmingly positive

2141
02:02:57,600 --> 02:03:00,920
from being able to do this type 
of stuff to help other people 

2142
02:03:00,920 --> 02:03:02,720
and all the people that you've 
been able to help through this 

2143
02:03:02,720 --> 02:03:06,640
traumatic experience. 
Would you if you could go back 

2144
02:03:06,640 --> 02:03:09,240
and pull that entire experience 
out of your life? 

2145
02:03:10,400 --> 02:03:12,880
The only thing I would pull out 
would be the suffering from the 

2146
02:03:12,880 --> 02:03:15,920
PTSD part. 
I wish that never happened to 

2147
02:03:15,920 --> 02:03:20,000
anybody. 
That's the one part that that 

2148
02:03:20,480 --> 02:03:23,680
I'd hope no one has to go 
through, not in the worst enemy,

2149
02:03:24,120 --> 02:03:26,920
but the bear attack part. 
No, leave it in there. 

2150
02:03:27,520 --> 02:03:33,120
I mean, it may have been a bad, 
it's a was a it was an event 

2151
02:03:33,120 --> 02:03:36,040
that happened in my life, but I 
would do it again knowing the 

2152
02:03:36,040 --> 02:03:38,240
outcome, as long as I didn't 
have to do the PTSD side, the 

2153
02:03:38,280 --> 02:03:41,000
mental health side. 
And that's, you know, I'd go 

2154
02:03:41,000 --> 02:03:43,600
fight a bear tomorrow knowing 
how messed up I would be. 

2155
02:03:43,880 --> 02:03:46,760
As long as I didn't have to 
suffer with PTSD, I'd do it in a

2156
02:03:46,760 --> 02:03:50,680
heartbeat. 
I mean, I, I just, I, I think, I

2157
02:03:50,680 --> 02:03:52,440
don't know, man. 
I, I feel like, I feel like the,

2158
02:03:52,480 --> 02:03:56,000
the struggle that you went with 
that bear is a, is, is a way to 

2159
02:03:56,000 --> 02:03:58,320
not only just inspire people, 
but help people in that 

2160
02:03:58,320 --> 02:04:00,560
direction. 
But I also feel like this long 

2161
02:04:00,560 --> 02:04:03,840
term struggle with PTSD with you
is, is sort of similar in a way 

2162
02:04:03,840 --> 02:04:06,680
that even though it's a much 
longer struggle, they made the 

2163
02:04:06,680 --> 02:04:09,520
bear attack was a day, right? 
I mean, you obviously had to, 

2164
02:04:09,760 --> 02:04:12,960
you know, recover over several 
months, probably years and 

2165
02:04:12,960 --> 02:04:17,200
whatever, but this, this PTSD, I
think, I think you've got a, a 

2166
02:04:17,640 --> 02:04:21,040
big future ahead of you on this 
thing, helping other people that

2167
02:04:21,120 --> 02:04:23,480
like you're saying that have 
gone through PTSD to the point 

2168
02:04:23,480 --> 02:04:27,040
where I think I, I don't know 
that that may change. 

2169
02:04:27,080 --> 02:04:28,960
I, I can see how that could 
possibly change for you, where 

2170
02:04:28,960 --> 02:04:32,320
you would say, you know, I, I 
think I want, I, I, I, that is 

2171
02:04:32,320 --> 02:04:34,640
something I wouldn't pull out of
my life as well, because if I 

2172
02:04:34,640 --> 02:04:37,640
had, I would not be helping all 
the people that I'm helping this

2173
02:04:37,640 --> 02:04:40,520
fund and everything else. 
And man, you're an amazing 

2174
02:04:40,520 --> 02:04:42,360
person. 
You are, you are an, you are an 

2175
02:04:42,360 --> 02:04:45,720
incredible person. 
The determination, the strength,

2176
02:04:45,800 --> 02:04:47,760
what you've been through your 
life. 

2177
02:04:47,960 --> 02:04:50,400
I mean, your daughter, she's 
probably what, 8-9 years old 

2178
02:04:50,400 --> 02:04:52,000
now, right? 
7. 

2179
02:04:52,960 --> 02:04:56,520
OK, 7 Yep, I've got an 11 year 
old, my youngest and I can just 

2180
02:04:57,480 --> 02:05:00,920
I mean, she's she's obviously 
heard the story by now, I'm sure

2181
02:05:00,920 --> 02:05:02,040
to a degree, right. 
Yeah. 

2182
02:05:02,360 --> 02:05:06,360
So I mean, I mean, I mean just 
you're, you're, you're, you're 

2183
02:05:06,360 --> 02:05:12,320
the, the inspiration that you 
are is, is is indescribable. 

2184
02:05:12,480 --> 02:05:16,640
And I, I'm, I, I mean, I'm 
excited for what you've got 

2185
02:05:16,640 --> 02:05:18,320
ahead of you. 
All the cool stuff. 

2186
02:05:18,320 --> 02:05:19,800
So I'm. 
Looking I'm looking forward to 

2187
02:05:19,800 --> 02:05:24,040
what the future brings. 
Like I I've done quite a few 

2188
02:05:24,040 --> 02:05:28,560
podcasts and shared some 
personal things and I think this

2189
02:05:28,560 --> 02:05:31,960
is actually the first place you 
shared about my wife that day 

2190
02:05:32,480 --> 02:05:35,280
meet with the Walker trying to 
make sure she sees like that was

2191
02:05:35,280 --> 02:05:40,680
a big moment for me. 
I share these personal things to

2192
02:05:40,680 --> 02:05:46,040
let people know that it does get
better and if it helps somebody 

2193
02:05:46,160 --> 02:05:49,160
from jumping off that ledge, 
that's what I do it for. 

2194
02:05:49,160 --> 02:05:51,680
Even though it's really hard for
me, it's I want to make sure 

2195
02:05:51,680 --> 02:05:53,480
people know that you can get 
through it. 

2196
02:05:53,480 --> 02:05:56,400
There is dark times, but there's
light at the end of the tunnel. 

2197
02:05:57,080 --> 02:06:00,280
Yep. 
And to look out for your mental 

2198
02:06:00,280 --> 02:06:02,040
health, like that's a huge thing
for me. 

2199
02:06:02,800 --> 02:06:04,720
Just because you're a big tough 
dude that goes out and fights 

2200
02:06:04,720 --> 02:06:07,240
bears on the weekend doesn't 
necessarily mean you're 

2201
02:06:07,240 --> 02:06:10,760
physically fit or mentally fit 
to look after a family or a 

2202
02:06:10,760 --> 02:06:13,480
young one. 
You need to be mentally fit 

2203
02:06:13,480 --> 02:06:16,720
first before reaching A handout 
or looking after a family. 

2204
02:06:17,280 --> 02:06:20,320
It's like the masks on airplane 
when they come down. 

2205
02:06:20,760 --> 02:06:23,360
Put yours on 1st. 
Be assisting before assisting 

2206
02:06:23,360 --> 02:06:24,880
others. 
So treat your mental health the 

2207
02:06:24,880 --> 02:06:26,800
same way. 
Treat yours before helping 

2208
02:06:26,800 --> 02:06:28,960
somebody else. 
And you know, that's one of the 

2209
02:06:28,960 --> 02:06:32,040
biggest things is get that point
across because I know there's a 

2210
02:06:32,040 --> 02:06:35,240
lot of there's a lot of tough 
guys out there. 

2211
02:06:35,320 --> 02:06:36,960
And I don't mean this in a bad 
way at all. 

2212
02:06:36,960 --> 02:06:38,760
There's a lot of guys out there 
that don't want to. 

2213
02:06:39,320 --> 02:06:42,400
They say they're all right, but 
they don't know how to ask for 

2214
02:06:42,400 --> 02:06:45,600
help, and they're afraid that if
they ask for help would be 

2215
02:06:45,600 --> 02:06:48,920
looked down upon. 
But sometimes reaching out for 

2216
02:06:48,920 --> 02:06:51,240
help when it feels impossible 
can be the catalyst of 

2217
02:06:51,240 --> 02:06:54,440
transformation. 
It can change your life, and no 

2218
02:06:54,440 --> 02:06:55,960
one's going to hold that against
you. 

2219
02:06:55,960 --> 02:06:58,560
It's OK. 
We all need help at some point 

2220
02:06:58,560 --> 02:07:01,840
in our lives. 
Yeah, man, that's powerful, man.

2221
02:07:02,000 --> 02:07:04,160
And I know you said earlier 
you're not a spiritual person. 

2222
02:07:04,560 --> 02:07:06,760
I am a spiritual person. 
I believe fully in God. 

2223
02:07:06,760 --> 02:07:08,360
I believe in heaven, I believe 
in all that stuff. 

2224
02:07:08,360 --> 02:07:15,080
And man, I, I just hearing your 
story, man, I hope you become a 

2225
02:07:15,080 --> 02:07:17,480
spiritual person one day, 'cause
I could see God in that whole 

2226
02:07:17,480 --> 02:07:21,400
thing just protecting you, his 
hand on you that day, that, that

2227
02:07:21,400 --> 02:07:27,760
whole, that whole experience, 
the fact that that gun jammed 

2228
02:07:28,760 --> 02:07:30,680
where you ended up today, all 
these things. 

2229
02:07:30,720 --> 02:07:37,320
And I, I think that we've, we're
all on this road and man, I, I 

2230
02:07:37,320 --> 02:07:39,960
really do hope you become a 
spiritual I, I think, I think 

2231
02:07:39,960 --> 02:07:43,480
God had his hand on you that day
in a massive way. 

2232
02:07:43,600 --> 02:07:47,520
And I think that he gave you a 
second chance. 

2233
02:07:47,680 --> 02:07:53,760
And man, incredible, absolutely,
absolutely incredible. 

2234
02:07:54,120 --> 02:07:58,200
I, I, I am so grateful that you,
you, you gave me this time. 

2235
02:07:58,200 --> 02:07:59,720
I feel honored that you gave me 
this time. 

2236
02:08:00,240 --> 02:08:02,200
And I really appreciate you, 
man. 

2237
02:08:02,200 --> 02:08:04,280
We really do. 
So thank you for doing that. 

2238
02:08:04,840 --> 02:08:06,800
Thank you very much, Dan. 
This was this was an awesome. 

2239
02:08:06,800 --> 02:08:07,960
This was great. 
Thank you. 

2240
02:08:08,400 --> 02:08:11,400
Imagine you're hiking peacefully
on a beautiful trail that you've

2241
02:08:11,400 --> 02:08:13,760
hiked 1000 times, except for 
this time. 

2242
02:08:13,760 --> 02:08:17,960
A storm rolls in and the next 
thing you realize you're waking 

2243
02:08:17,960 --> 02:08:22,000
up laying on trail, but your 
body is literally burning and 

2244
02:08:22,000 --> 02:08:24,240
smoking. 
This is exactly what happened to

2245
02:08:24,240 --> 02:08:27,400
my friend Minko Nikolov, who was
struck by lightning while hiking

2246
02:08:27,400 --> 02:08:29,000
in the beautiful mountains of 
Colorado. 

2247
02:08:29,040 --> 02:08:33,520
And this is his amazing story. 
Minko, thanks for being here, 

2248
02:08:33,520 --> 02:08:34,560
man. 
I really appreciate it. 

2249
02:08:34,920 --> 02:08:36,760
Your story's crazy. 
It's pretty wild. 

2250
02:08:37,240 --> 02:08:43,280
I'm just absolutely astonished 
by what you went through, and I 

2251
02:08:43,280 --> 02:08:44,600
would love to hear you talk 
about it. 

2252
02:08:44,600 --> 02:08:47,240
So tell me a little bit about 
you, what you were doing out 

2253
02:08:47,240 --> 02:08:49,160
there. 
Sort of Share your story and we 

2254
02:08:49,160 --> 02:08:50,480
can go from. 
There, Absolutely. 

2255
02:08:50,600 --> 02:08:54,720
So my name is Minko. 
I have lived in Colorado for 12 

2256
02:08:54,720 --> 02:08:58,800
years and I call Colorado home 
since very young age. 

2257
02:08:59,040 --> 02:09:03,000
I'm a rock climber and I love 
the mountains and that's why I'm

2258
02:09:03,000 --> 02:09:05,960
here in Colorado, just to go 
rock climbing and enjoy the 

2259
02:09:05,960 --> 02:09:07,960
weekends. 
So where are you originally 

2260
02:09:07,960 --> 02:09:09,800
from? 
I was born and raised in 

2261
02:09:09,800 --> 02:09:13,360
Bulgaria. 
I got the love for the mountains

2262
02:09:13,360 --> 02:09:19,480
there and ever since I moved to 
America to go to college, I'm 

2263
02:09:19,480 --> 02:09:22,600
just an outdoor advocate. 
I love camping, I love being 

2264
02:09:22,600 --> 02:09:25,680
outside and I try to spend as 
much time outside as possible. 

2265
02:09:26,080 --> 02:09:27,960
So tell me. 
Tell me about that day. 

2266
02:09:27,960 --> 02:09:31,720
Tell me what you were doing. 
Tell me you were hiking out, you

2267
02:09:31,720 --> 02:09:34,360
decided to climb, and what 
happened to you? 

2268
02:09:34,720 --> 02:09:39,480
It was probably around 1:00 in 
the afternoon and I really 

2269
02:09:39,480 --> 02:09:43,240
wanted to go climbing. 
I really, really want to go 

2270
02:09:43,240 --> 02:09:45,400
climbing. 
And I drove to Rocky Mountain 

2271
02:09:45,400 --> 02:09:50,000
National Park and I was there on
the parking lot around 2/30, 

2272
02:09:50,000 --> 02:09:55,080
3:00 in the afternoon. 
And right when I park, this huge

2273
02:09:55,080 --> 02:10:00,560
storm came in like a hail storm,
which it's very typical for 

2274
02:10:00,560 --> 02:10:05,040
August. 
I think once you live in western

2275
02:10:05,040 --> 02:10:09,840
United States, Arizona, Utah or 
Colorado, you always have the 

2276
02:10:09,840 --> 02:10:12,680
afternoon showers. 
But after that sunshine and 

2277
02:10:12,680 --> 02:10:15,600
rainbows and everything dries 
out and it's really good. 

2278
02:10:16,320 --> 02:10:19,120
So that's what I did. 
For any of your listeners that 

2279
02:10:19,120 --> 02:10:22,480
never been there, Rocky Mountain
National Park, it's a very 

2280
02:10:22,480 --> 02:10:27,040
popular place in case a lot of 
hiking, a lot of tourists and 

2281
02:10:27,040 --> 02:10:29,280
where we go climbing, it's above
tree line. 

2282
02:10:30,480 --> 02:10:34,280
There's the most popular 
locations, barely parking lot 

2283
02:10:34,280 --> 02:10:39,120
and you start hiking from there.
And after the storm, everything 

2284
02:10:39,120 --> 02:10:44,200
clear and I start my hike. 
It takes about 45 minutes for a 

2285
02:10:44,200 --> 02:10:48,840
fifth person, maybe 2000 feet of
elevation and you go up to 

2286
02:10:48,840 --> 02:10:52,240
almost 10,000 feet. 
Oh, wow, I start my heartache. 

2287
02:10:53,000 --> 02:10:58,880
And on the way up, I saw two of 
the climbing Rangers that I know

2288
02:10:58,880 --> 02:11:04,680
for many years. 
They were going down and they 

2289
02:11:04,680 --> 02:11:08,520
were extremely weak from the 
storm that just went through. 

2290
02:11:08,800 --> 02:11:10,480
And they were like, hey, where 
you going? 

2291
02:11:10,560 --> 02:11:12,200
And I'm like, hey, I'm going 
climbing. 

2292
02:11:12,640 --> 02:11:16,520
And they're like another storm 
started to build up on the other

2293
02:11:16,520 --> 02:11:19,720
side. 
Maybe you should reconsider. 

2294
02:11:20,440 --> 02:11:21,880
And I was like, oh, it's all 
good. 

2295
02:11:22,560 --> 02:11:29,120
So I continue my hike and right 
around a very famous place 

2296
02:11:29,120 --> 02:11:33,000
called Lake Hayasa, very famous 
tourist, tourist attraction. 

2297
02:11:33,000 --> 02:11:35,120
People go there, get there, 
hike. 

2298
02:11:35,880 --> 02:11:41,200
I went all the way to the lake 
and I looked up and on the 

2299
02:11:41,400 --> 02:11:44,840
continental divide on the other 
side, I started seeing the 

2300
02:11:44,840 --> 02:11:46,920
clouds build up and the store 
coming. 

2301
02:11:46,920 --> 02:11:50,720
Oh man. 
And from previous experience, I 

2302
02:11:50,720 --> 02:11:55,840
knew I hit like 20 to 30 minutes
to see if we go down and I hit a

2303
02:11:55,840 --> 02:12:00,080
decision to make, should I go 
with the storm somewhere and 

2304
02:12:00,080 --> 02:12:02,240
wait to climb? 
But I'm like, oh, it might get 

2305
02:12:02,240 --> 02:12:03,480
lead. 
I need to go home. 

2306
02:12:03,480 --> 02:12:06,320
My folks are at home waiting for
me. 

2307
02:12:06,760 --> 02:12:09,360
So I was like, it's all good. 
I came here. 

2308
02:12:10,160 --> 02:12:15,400
I'm I'm hiking down and after 
the 1st 10 minutes of the hike 

2309
02:12:16,000 --> 02:12:18,840
virtually where the whole 
downhill starts. 

2310
02:12:19,080 --> 02:12:26,080
There was a tree and I hit my 
Gorti's jacket in my backpack 

2311
02:12:26,240 --> 02:12:29,160
and the last thing that I 
remembered is I open my 

2312
02:12:29,160 --> 02:12:34,640
backpack, I put the jacket and 
someone passed me and that's the

2313
02:12:34,640 --> 02:12:37,400
last memory I hit. 
Really. 

2314
02:12:37,440 --> 02:12:38,880
Pretty like. 
Yes. 

2315
02:12:38,960 --> 02:12:40,600
Oh wow. 
Oh my gosh. 

2316
02:12:41,920 --> 02:12:48,360
And then from that point on, 
everything blinked right, like I

2317
02:12:48,360 --> 02:12:56,840
have no memory until I woke up. 
And I think that's where the 

2318
02:12:57,200 --> 02:13:01,800
real suffer starts. 
And after I've been to that 

2319
02:13:01,800 --> 02:13:05,880
location maybe 35 to 40 times 
after the accident, which it's 

2320
02:13:05,880 --> 02:13:09,960
approaching 5, the five year 
mark, and I know for a certain 

2321
02:13:10,440 --> 02:13:15,840
that from where I put my jacket 
to where I woke up, it's no more

2322
02:13:15,840 --> 02:13:19,480
than two minutes or maybe 3. 
Wow. 

2323
02:13:20,600 --> 02:13:27,080
So I give a little bit of 
missing information and what 

2324
02:13:27,080 --> 02:13:29,760
happened. 
There are a lot of questions 

2325
02:13:29,760 --> 02:13:34,600
that people ask me like did you 
hear got all high and did you 

2326
02:13:34,600 --> 02:13:37,960
feel the electricity? 
That's something that I don't 

2327
02:13:37,960 --> 02:13:41,480
have memory. 
I don't have any memory from the

2328
02:13:41,480 --> 02:13:46,120
complete lightning strike, so 
maybe it's for good, maybe it's 

2329
02:13:46,120 --> 02:13:50,880
too traumatic and. 
When did you realize I was 

2330
02:13:50,880 --> 02:13:53,120
struck by lightning? 
I mean, because you didn't, you 

2331
02:13:53,120 --> 02:13:56,520
didn't hear a clap of, I mean, 
you heard nothing. 

2332
02:13:56,520 --> 02:13:59,320
You didn't see anything. 
It was just you're there and 

2333
02:13:59,320 --> 02:14:01,320
then the next minute you sort of
woke up somewhere else. 

2334
02:14:01,320 --> 02:14:03,360
Is that how I'm understanding 
this? 

2335
02:14:03,440 --> 02:14:06,240
Yeah, so virtually the the week 
happened. 

2336
02:14:06,280 --> 02:14:09,920
It's, it's a kind of waking up 
when you're hungover. 

2337
02:14:10,840 --> 02:14:15,000
You, you, your mind comes into 
consciousness, but you have an 

2338
02:14:15,000 --> 02:14:17,400
open your eyes. 
It's we do that every morning 

2339
02:14:17,440 --> 02:14:20,440
right before we wake up and hear
the alarm. 

2340
02:14:21,160 --> 02:14:26,040
But when I lift my head, I was 
faced down. 

2341
02:14:27,400 --> 02:14:33,400
And when I lift my head out, 
what happened was I just start 

2342
02:14:33,400 --> 02:14:40,680
seeing blood coming down into a 
puddle of my own blood and I was

2343
02:14:40,880 --> 02:14:44,280
covered in blood. 
I didn't knew where I was, I 

2344
02:14:44,280 --> 02:14:47,560
didn't knew what deed was. 
And I kind of the whole team 

2345
02:14:47,560 --> 02:14:51,240
felt like I'm still dreaming but
unconscious. 

2346
02:14:51,640 --> 02:14:56,400
Yeah. 
And it was a large confusion of 

2347
02:14:56,480 --> 02:14:59,720
where I was and why I'm not at 
home. 

2348
02:15:00,240 --> 02:15:04,280
I I really feel like I'm waking 
up at my house, but I wasn't. 

2349
02:15:05,800 --> 02:15:09,720
I lift my head. 
I look around and I recognized 

2350
02:15:09,720 --> 02:15:14,400
the place and where the largest 
confusion still to this day is. 

2351
02:15:15,120 --> 02:15:19,160
Somehow in my head. 
I thought it's April, but it was

2352
02:15:19,160 --> 02:15:20,680
already August. 
Oh my. 

2353
02:15:21,000 --> 02:15:23,160
Gosh, I couldn't put the events 
together. 

2354
02:15:23,680 --> 02:15:27,360
I figured it out where I was, 
but I wasn't even sure. 

2355
02:15:27,560 --> 02:15:30,720
Is it a dream or is it true and 
what is going on and why I'm 

2356
02:15:30,720 --> 02:15:33,120
there? 
There was a lot of blink at the 

2357
02:15:33,120 --> 02:15:40,480
time and it was a scary but also
so quiet and peaceful moment. 

2358
02:15:40,480 --> 02:15:45,520
And it happened so quick that I 
was just confused. 

2359
02:15:45,880 --> 02:15:53,400
But as I tried to get up, I 
couldn't and I tried to crawl 

2360
02:15:53,400 --> 02:15:59,280
out very barely. 
And I remember the crucial 

2361
02:15:59,280 --> 02:16:05,080
moment was I push myself with my
left arm into my back because I 

2362
02:16:05,080 --> 02:16:08,680
hit a large backpack. 
And at that point I realized 

2363
02:16:08,680 --> 02:16:10,880
that things are really bad. 
Oh man. 

2364
02:16:11,040 --> 02:16:15,400
I couldn't feel both of my legs 
below the the feet but below the

2365
02:16:15,400 --> 02:16:21,640
waist, so my left leg was 
virtually dangling the right 

2366
02:16:21,640 --> 02:16:22,400
leg. 
Oh my. 

2367
02:16:22,880 --> 02:16:26,880
Gosh, it was numb. 
And at that point, seeing the 

2368
02:16:26,880 --> 02:16:31,680
blood coming from my face, 
seeing a lot of smoke coming 

2369
02:16:31,680 --> 02:16:33,080
from my body. 
Wow. 

2370
02:16:33,200 --> 02:16:35,959
Because at that point, virtually
I was still burning alive, 

2371
02:16:35,959 --> 02:16:38,000
right? 
Like you're getting poured with 

2372
02:16:38,760 --> 02:16:40,600
August rain. 
It's a little cold. 

2373
02:16:40,600 --> 02:16:44,559
It's probably 9000 or 8500 feet 
of elevation. 

2374
02:16:45,160 --> 02:16:48,760
I was in tree line, but I'm 
getting pouring rain on me and 

2375
02:16:48,760 --> 02:16:53,280
just my whole body, it's 
smoking, it's burning. 

2376
02:16:53,920 --> 02:16:55,959
And at that point I thought 
someone shot me. 

2377
02:16:56,120 --> 02:17:01,400
That was my first conscious 
thing that I came across. 

2378
02:17:01,559 --> 02:17:06,559
Like that's what my mind first 
because I couldn't move and I 

2379
02:17:06,559 --> 02:17:08,840
was like, well, I probably got 
shot right? 

2380
02:17:08,840 --> 02:17:13,120
Someone, which makes a lot of 
sense if you think about the 

2381
02:17:13,120 --> 02:17:17,240
world we live in. 
Someone comes to the park and 

2382
02:17:17,240 --> 02:17:18,520
shoot you. 
That probably. 

2383
02:17:18,600 --> 02:17:20,840
A little more likely than 
getting struck by lightning is 

2384
02:17:20,840 --> 02:17:25,559
what you're telling me. 
It's like one out of it's, it's 

2385
02:17:25,559 --> 02:17:28,799
not that uncommon for Colorado 
now after I've been this fat. 

2386
02:17:28,799 --> 02:17:32,520
But even until that point, I 
couldn't figure it out what 

2387
02:17:32,520 --> 02:17:37,959
happened to me and where things 
start getting even out of 

2388
02:17:37,959 --> 02:17:41,200
control for me and I start 
coming into conscious and where 

2389
02:17:41,200 --> 02:17:44,080
the warning in my body start to 
be. 

2390
02:17:44,760 --> 02:17:48,680
It's I realized I cannot move my
right arm. 

2391
02:17:49,760 --> 02:17:52,360
My my right arm was completely 
numb. 

2392
02:17:52,400 --> 02:17:55,719
I couldn't feel it. 
I grabbed it with my left arm. 

2393
02:17:56,080 --> 02:18:00,080
I lift it and I remember that 
was one of the most horrific 

2394
02:18:01,200 --> 02:18:05,040
beginning of the accident 
because my whole arm just failed

2395
02:18:05,480 --> 02:18:08,200
on my chest without me being 
able to control it. 

2396
02:18:09,200 --> 02:18:12,080
I filled it with my chest, I 
filled it with the other arm, 

2397
02:18:12,760 --> 02:18:17,320
but I couldn't feel it at all. 
Oh, my God. 

2398
02:18:17,440 --> 02:18:21,680
At that point, at that point, to
be honest, I sacrificed my arm. 

2399
02:18:21,680 --> 02:18:23,840
I knew I lost it. 
Oh, geez. 

2400
02:18:24,520 --> 02:18:30,719
I I I knew it was gone. 
I was looking at my legs and 

2401
02:18:30,719 --> 02:18:34,480
they were just burning. 0 
feeling 0. 

2402
02:18:36,520 --> 02:18:40,080
Yeah, it was just smoke coming 
out through you. 

2403
02:18:41,680 --> 02:18:45,959
You can like, I mean, even 
through this day I can still 

2404
02:18:45,959 --> 02:18:48,719
sense the smell of my burning 
flesh. 

2405
02:18:48,879 --> 02:18:49,760
Oh. 
Wow. 

2406
02:18:51,520 --> 02:18:58,040
And that's something that's 
still, I can still see it with a

2407
02:18:58,040 --> 02:19:00,480
very bright memory. 
But at that point I was on my 

2408
02:19:00,480 --> 02:19:03,400
back, I couldn't move. 
Both of my legs were done. 

2409
02:19:03,959 --> 02:19:08,080
And I just looked at my on my 
side and all I saw there was 

2410
02:19:08,080 --> 02:19:10,840
this. 
I don't if you're familiar, but 

2411
02:19:10,840 --> 02:19:14,160
Longspeak, a pretty famous 
fourteener. 

2412
02:19:14,160 --> 02:19:16,120
And I just started looking at 
the peak. 

2413
02:19:16,120 --> 02:19:19,639
And at that point a voice came 
up. 

2414
02:19:20,120 --> 02:19:25,320
And then there was a person 
standing maybe about 15 feet 

2415
02:19:25,320 --> 02:19:28,120
from me. 
And I'm like, hey man, can you 

2416
02:19:28,360 --> 02:19:32,000
come help me get up? 
And he's like, you know, you got

2417
02:19:32,000 --> 02:19:35,920
struck by lightning. 
I was behind you and that's. 

2418
02:19:35,920 --> 02:19:39,200
He saw it happen. 
He saw the flashlight. 

2419
02:19:39,200 --> 02:19:40,000
He was around. 
The. 

2420
02:19:40,000 --> 02:19:43,719
Corner and he saw me laying down
on the ground being unconscious 

2421
02:19:43,920 --> 02:19:48,880
but I was like can you come and 
help me and he's like I'm sorry 

2422
02:19:48,880 --> 02:19:53,280
I don't know I get electrocuted 
and he was scared to touch me 

2423
02:19:54,440 --> 02:20:00,440
and at that point I was like wow
I'm probably just laying down 

2424
02:20:00,440 --> 02:20:06,160
here and that's it and. 
At that, at that point, I think 

2425
02:20:06,160 --> 02:20:09,520
that I was coming in and out of 
consciousness quite a bit. 

2426
02:20:09,800 --> 02:20:15,640
So even if everything seems to 
me to be only 5 minutes, I was 

2427
02:20:15,640 --> 02:20:20,360
probably there on the ground for
over 30-40 minutes, maybe even 

2428
02:20:20,360 --> 02:20:23,360
over an hour. 
I've seen some YouTube videos 

2429
02:20:23,360 --> 02:20:29,320
from another YouTube going down 
with the GoPro and she looks at 

2430
02:20:29,320 --> 02:20:33,680
me and she's seen me actually 
the video and she's like, well, 

2431
02:20:33,680 --> 02:20:35,520
I don't want to get struck by 
lightning. 

2432
02:20:35,520 --> 02:20:39,000
It just keeps going down. 
But at that time, there were a 

2433
02:20:39,000 --> 02:20:41,680
few people. 
They were out of state. 

2434
02:20:41,840 --> 02:20:45,320
One of the females had an 
umbrella and they were just 

2435
02:20:45,600 --> 02:20:48,280
coming to calm me down and be 
around me. 

2436
02:20:49,760 --> 02:20:54,280
And I've seen on that video that
my face is just covering blood 

2437
02:20:54,280 --> 02:20:56,520
because I feel it leaned on my 
face. 

2438
02:20:56,520 --> 02:21:01,000
I leaned it actually on my chin.
I bit down the entire lip from 

2439
02:21:01,000 --> 02:21:07,680
inside and the impact was so 
hard that my jaw broke and went 

2440
02:21:07,680 --> 02:21:11,560
into my eardrum. 
So my eardrum was gone too. 

2441
02:21:11,560 --> 02:21:14,320
Oh my God. 
So just even the impact that I 

2442
02:21:14,320 --> 02:21:20,200
landed was a total destruction. 
I was bleeding all over my face,

2443
02:21:20,880 --> 02:21:26,520
ear. 
And that's a kind of how the 

2444
02:21:26,520 --> 02:21:28,920
story start unfolding even for 
this day. 

2445
02:21:28,920 --> 02:21:34,120
I remember the guy calling 9111.
Very interesting thing is on 

2446
02:21:34,120 --> 02:21:39,320
that spot of the trail, the 
trailer going down, it's a wide 

2447
02:21:39,320 --> 02:21:43,000
open area that it's in tree 
line, but somehow you get 5G 

2448
02:21:43,000 --> 02:21:44,280
service. 
Oh wow. 

2449
02:21:44,280 --> 02:21:46,800
So I was really lucky that that 
person was there. 

2450
02:21:46,800 --> 02:21:50,960
Another person rushed down to 
the Ranger station and a queer 

2451
02:21:51,040 --> 02:21:57,280
person can probably hike down 
for 2530 minutes, but I couldn't

2452
02:21:57,280 --> 02:21:59,920
even move. 
And the next thing that I 

2453
02:21:59,920 --> 02:22:04,960
remember was the two Rangers 
that I pass on the way down, 

2454
02:22:06,360 --> 02:22:10,760
They were coming up and they 
came with search and rescue. 

2455
02:22:10,880 --> 02:22:13,760
They're climbing Rangers, Very 
famous guys there. 

2456
02:22:13,960 --> 02:22:17,560
They work for many, many years. 
One of them, it's called Phil. 

2457
02:22:17,960 --> 02:22:22,360
The other one it's called Jonah.
Jonah it's pretty young guy and 

2458
02:22:22,360 --> 02:22:24,920
I remember few saw me. 
He has probably stayed on the 

2459
02:22:24,920 --> 02:22:28,840
here experienced working in the 
park and searching rescue and he

2460
02:22:28,840 --> 02:22:33,600
give me a smile and I vividly 
remember my friend Jonah the 

2461
02:22:33,600 --> 02:22:36,960
other Ranger saw me. 
He had to walk away and I was 

2462
02:22:36,960 --> 02:22:42,160
like wow I'm probably pretty 
messed up if he cannot even look

2463
02:22:42,160 --> 02:22:46,120
at me. 
And he cut, cut down my clothes,

2464
02:22:46,120 --> 02:22:50,800
put me in like a warm blanket, 
like one of those foil blankets.

2465
02:22:50,800 --> 02:22:55,760
Who called them? 
And I think they call 911 and 

2466
02:22:55,800 --> 02:22:59,000
somehow the whole thing got 
escalated to search and rescue 

2467
02:22:59,120 --> 02:23:01,360
in the park. 
So somebody that was behind you,

2468
02:23:01,360 --> 02:23:03,920
the guy that had 5G service or 
something like that, must have 

2469
02:23:03,920 --> 02:23:06,440
called search and rescue at that
point or called the Rangers, or 

2470
02:23:06,680 --> 02:23:08,840
did they turn, Did they hear it 
themselves and come running back

2471
02:23:08,840 --> 02:23:12,000
up the mountain? 
No, I think like the there's 

2472
02:23:12,000 --> 02:23:15,000
probably like over hour and a 
half between the Funko and 

2473
02:23:15,000 --> 02:23:18,520
people coming on the spot. 
Because if you think about 

2474
02:23:18,520 --> 02:23:22,000
getting search and rescue, those
are volunteers and being able to

2475
02:23:22,000 --> 02:23:26,560
organize like a big rescue on a 
stretcher. 

2476
02:23:26,560 --> 02:23:32,320
It's very complicated in at that
point in time and place where I 

2477
02:23:32,320 --> 02:23:35,640
was, it's impossible to bring a 
helicopter. 

2478
02:23:36,040 --> 02:23:40,120
It's very steep hill. 
It's very bad spot. 

2479
02:23:40,120 --> 02:23:45,440
So they organize a very big 
while those one wheel stretcher,

2480
02:23:45,440 --> 02:23:48,440
they hit like a wheel just in 
front of the stretcher and 

2481
02:23:50,160 --> 02:23:53,560
that's how they got me down. 
It was probably a 45 minutes, 

2482
02:23:53,560 --> 02:23:58,480
but I still remember once I got 
on the stretcher, they probably 

2483
02:23:58,480 --> 02:24:03,080
gave me some painkillers. 
But at that point sensations, 

2484
02:24:03,280 --> 02:24:08,280
probably the adrenaline started 
going down and I remember one of

2485
02:24:08,280 --> 02:24:14,680
the most excruciated pains in my
shoulder start to come into 

2486
02:24:14,680 --> 02:24:19,240
scenes and that was bad. 
I thought I dislocated my 

2487
02:24:19,240 --> 02:24:21,160
shoulder. 
At that point when I fail, I 

2488
02:24:21,160 --> 02:24:26,640
couldn't even call comprehend 
the complexities of the injury I

2489
02:24:26,640 --> 02:24:28,920
had. 
That actually took me probably 5

2490
02:24:28,920 --> 02:24:36,520
to 6 days to realize the true 
the true impact. 

2491
02:24:36,840 --> 02:24:41,880
Wow. 
And it was, yeah, I remember 

2492
02:24:41,880 --> 02:24:47,840
that was a very, very rough 
right down on the stretcher, 

2493
02:24:47,840 --> 02:24:51,560
like just my whole body was 
coming into senses and 

2494
02:24:52,280 --> 02:24:54,600
everything from the shoulder 
down hurt a lot. 

2495
02:24:54,800 --> 02:24:59,760
Some things didn't even feel 
that bad, like bunch of cuts on 

2496
02:24:59,760 --> 02:25:03,960
my face that wasn't a problem, 
but the wrist was pretty bad it.

2497
02:25:04,320 --> 02:25:09,560
Was sort of raining at the time.
Yeah, that, that's the most 

2498
02:25:09,560 --> 02:25:13,480
interesting power in my 
lifetime. 

2499
02:25:13,560 --> 02:25:19,440
I've never even consider the 
possibility of a lightning 

2500
02:25:19,440 --> 02:25:22,360
strike. 
I've been in very like 

2501
02:25:22,880 --> 02:25:28,080
excruciated in extreme storms, 
like dark clouds, very close to 

2502
02:25:28,080 --> 02:25:32,200
the ground, right? 
Hail, wind in above tree line, 

2503
02:25:33,080 --> 02:25:36,760
hiding under a rock. 
And I probably have maybe over 

2504
02:25:36,760 --> 02:25:42,480
120, maybe over 150 DS in the 
high Alpine, either on a bicycle

2505
02:25:42,480 --> 02:25:48,120
or out climbing. 
And this one was not one of the 

2506
02:25:48,120 --> 02:25:52,480
ones that I consider dangerous. 
It was just a drizzle. 

2507
02:25:53,560 --> 02:25:57,160
There was not. 
Yeah, I think that D there was 

2508
02:25:57,160 --> 02:25:59,640
only one lightning on that 
particular storm. 

2509
02:26:00,160 --> 02:26:03,960
I hit a frame that was down on 
the parking lot, completely 

2510
02:26:03,960 --> 02:26:08,600
unrelated to me, me going 
climbing that day, but he was 

2511
02:26:08,600 --> 02:26:11,000
also going climbing in the 
afternoon with really good 

2512
02:26:11,000 --> 02:26:14,960
friends and he sold the 
lightning from the parking lot. 

2513
02:26:15,400 --> 02:26:18,240
Oh boy. 
And and then as he started going

2514
02:26:18,240 --> 02:26:21,640
up, he learned that someone got 
struck by lightning and he came 

2515
02:26:21,640 --> 02:26:25,040
back. 
I have another friend that also 

2516
02:26:25,040 --> 02:26:28,520
went climbing and he could see 
me on the street here but he 

2517
02:26:28,520 --> 02:26:30,920
didn't knew that was me. 
Oh wow. 

2518
02:26:32,920 --> 02:26:38,480
But it I I can tell you like I 
got stripped but on my right 

2519
02:26:38,480 --> 02:26:44,400
shoulder and the lightning 
traveled through my body luckily

2520
02:26:44,400 --> 02:26:49,840
on the right side that was the 
side exposing the open side of 

2521
02:26:49,840 --> 02:26:52,000
the trail. 
On the left side was the 

2522
02:26:52,000 --> 02:26:56,920
mountain and the lightning could
not exit through both legs. 

2523
02:26:57,960 --> 02:27:01,240
So it got stuck in my left leg 
and that's why I have so much 

2524
02:27:01,240 --> 02:27:08,720
damage, which it burns on the 
leg and then it actually travel 

2525
02:27:08,720 --> 02:27:13,640
and exit on the right leg. 
One thing that it's probably 

2526
02:27:13,640 --> 02:27:16,720
good for us going to the 
mountains is he have like a 

2527
02:27:16,720 --> 02:27:19,240
really nice gore take shoes with
Vibram. 

2528
02:27:20,320 --> 02:27:23,240
That's great. 
And this you get struck by 

2529
02:27:23,240 --> 02:27:27,400
lightning. 
It's a huge insulation to exit 

2530
02:27:28,400 --> 02:27:30,480
for the electricity to travel 
and exit. 

2531
02:27:30,520 --> 02:27:32,240
Really, it's probably protects 
you. 

2532
02:27:32,960 --> 02:27:36,400
Yeah, it probably protects you 
if it struck a tree nearby, so 

2533
02:27:36,400 --> 02:27:40,600
it cannot get into your body. 
But it's really hard to exit. 

2534
02:27:41,280 --> 02:27:48,240
So where the lightning exit was 
on the side of my foot. 

2535
02:27:48,240 --> 02:27:51,880
So probably I got struck and I 
fell down and that's how it 

2536
02:27:51,880 --> 02:27:55,320
exit. 
But it didn't exit through my 

2537
02:27:55,320 --> 02:27:58,520
heels or through the bottom of 
my foot where it makes the most 

2538
02:27:58,520 --> 02:28:00,640
sense. 
It just, it could have ground. 

2539
02:28:00,640 --> 02:28:03,240
Oh my goodness, it could have 
ground to the ground. 

2540
02:28:03,400 --> 02:28:07,520
So you're, I'm trying to imagine
where you were at. 

2541
02:28:07,520 --> 02:28:11,560
I'm trying to visualize this. 
So you said there was a mountain

2542
02:28:11,560 --> 02:28:14,040
on one side of you. 
How close were you to the 

2543
02:28:14,040 --> 02:28:18,880
mountain or the was it like a a 
wall face there or what did that

2544
02:28:18,880 --> 02:28:21,440
look like? 
It's a very steep hill that if 

2545
02:28:21,440 --> 02:28:25,400
you and I try to to climb it up,
I got it probably will be 

2546
02:28:25,400 --> 02:28:26,760
swinging a lot. 
OK. 

2547
02:28:26,800 --> 02:28:28,680
Were you kind of going on some 
switchbacks? 

2548
02:28:29,800 --> 02:28:32,360
Yeah, it's mostly switched back.
It's just coming through a 

2549
02:28:32,360 --> 02:28:37,360
forest and a kind of still being
part of the forest, kind of 

2550
02:28:37,360 --> 02:28:39,160
steep. 
It's on the side of the 

2551
02:28:39,160 --> 02:28:42,120
mountains and going left to 
right, very steep. 

2552
02:28:42,120 --> 02:28:45,280
Also I keep a picture to see 
through of the exact spot. 

2553
02:28:45,280 --> 02:28:48,960
Yeah, yeah, I'd love to see it. 
I would definitely see into 

2554
02:28:48,960 --> 02:28:52,200
that. 
But it has trees on both sides 

2555
02:28:52,320 --> 02:28:57,800
that are way taller than I am. 
It's not the most dense forest. 

2556
02:28:57,800 --> 02:29:03,400
There's a little bit of an 
opening, but for it's not the 

2557
02:29:03,400 --> 02:29:06,080
spot that you and I. 
But if you and I go to the 

2558
02:29:06,080 --> 02:29:09,520
mountains, I think we'll 
consider that peace very safe 

2559
02:29:09,680 --> 02:29:11,960
and we'll probably not be 
running from the storm. 

2560
02:29:12,320 --> 02:29:15,400
Wow, really? 
So there's you're thinking out 

2561
02:29:15,400 --> 02:29:18,720
of all the things you could have
struck, you struck me. 

2562
02:29:19,080 --> 02:29:23,000
Yeah, that it's, Oh my gosh, 
There was the speculation when I

2563
02:29:23,000 --> 02:29:27,400
went to the hospital. 
It's a rare injury to treat, 

2564
02:29:27,440 --> 02:29:29,240
right? 
Like it's not like an industrial

2565
02:29:29,240 --> 02:29:30,960
fire or. 
Yeah, I'd say so. 

2566
02:29:31,480 --> 02:29:36,720
Electric accident, But the 
doctors knew about it and at 

2567
02:29:36,720 --> 02:29:39,720
first they were a little bit of 
skeptical. 

2568
02:29:39,960 --> 02:29:45,720
They thought the lightning hit a
tree nearby and didn't bounce on

2569
02:29:45,720 --> 02:29:49,560
me. 
But the next day after the 

2570
02:29:49,560 --> 02:29:52,640
accident, the Ranger went out to
check it out. 

2571
02:29:52,640 --> 02:29:57,160
He went to the back to the spot 
and it was pretty certain that 

2572
02:29:57,360 --> 02:30:02,200
there was no side strike. 
It wasn't a rebound. 

2573
02:30:02,200 --> 02:30:05,120
It was deraky. 
Oh my goodness. 

2574
02:30:06,080 --> 02:30:09,400
So what? 
Tell me what life has what what?

2575
02:30:09,400 --> 02:30:12,160
What happened after that? 
What were the next few weeks and

2576
02:30:12,160 --> 02:30:18,480
months after that for you? 
So at first I wasn't 

2577
02:30:18,480 --> 02:30:21,720
understanding the seriousness of
the injury. 

2578
02:30:21,720 --> 02:30:25,920
I thought like, once you make it
out, you virtually go get like a

2579
02:30:25,920 --> 02:30:33,400
check in the hospital and you go
home and to give you a little 

2580
02:30:33,400 --> 02:30:38,480
more overview of what happened. 
So I went down to the parking 

2581
02:30:38,480 --> 02:30:41,720
lot and they put me on the 
ambulance from the ambulance. 

2582
02:30:41,720 --> 02:30:46,120
They drove me to like literally 
like a middle in the park. 

2583
02:30:46,120 --> 02:30:49,560
And I got picked up by a 
helicopter and flew up and we 

2584
02:30:49,560 --> 02:30:53,880
flew to the closest hospital. 
I didn't go to bed probably for 

2585
02:30:54,280 --> 02:30:56,160
3640 hours. 
Oh wow. 

2586
02:30:57,080 --> 02:31:00,800
It was just non-stop at first. 
They put dressing on me and 

2587
02:31:00,800 --> 02:31:04,200
clean my body and that's when 
they evaluated me. 

2588
02:31:04,920 --> 02:31:09,640
Even at that time when I was in 
the hospital, you could see how 

2589
02:31:10,560 --> 02:31:14,240
I hit like this, temporary burn 
marks on my body where you can 

2590
02:31:14,240 --> 02:31:17,640
see how the electricity 
travelled and that was still 

2591
02:31:18,040 --> 02:31:21,640
visible, like carving wood. 
Oh, that's. 

2592
02:31:21,640 --> 02:31:26,600
How exactly looks like. 
So I was that was something that

2593
02:31:27,240 --> 02:31:34,200
was still visible on my body. 
And yeah, the the story that I 

2594
02:31:34,200 --> 02:31:38,120
got there was not that 
optimistic. 

2595
02:31:38,120 --> 02:31:41,760
So I was in critical condition 
for about 90s. 

2596
02:31:41,760 --> 02:31:49,080
So I was in the ICU unit. 
I know from a friend that she's 

2597
02:31:49,080 --> 02:31:53,920
actually currently as we speak 
in Australia, she's a emergency 

2598
02:31:53,920 --> 02:31:59,240
medicine doctor and she's 
actually doing a, a story of me 

2599
02:31:59,240 --> 02:32:03,080
for emergency medicine for 
accidents that happen outdoor. 

2600
02:32:03,080 --> 02:32:07,960
And she I give her permission to
go through my results and things

2601
02:32:07,960 --> 02:32:11,400
were really, really bad. 
Like I was probably giving like 

2602
02:32:11,760 --> 02:32:17,240
20% lung capacity. 
Everything that you could see 

2603
02:32:17,240 --> 02:32:23,160
was bad, like very low post and 
at the time I wasn't realizing 

2604
02:32:23,160 --> 02:32:29,120
that there was so much internal 
damage of the body that certain 

2605
02:32:29,560 --> 02:32:34,200
a certain measurements were like
19 times higher. 

2606
02:32:34,360 --> 02:32:36,840
Oh my. 
Gosh, just like this, burn 

2607
02:32:36,840 --> 02:32:41,120
flesh, burn muscles, they're 
just poisoning your body and 

2608
02:32:41,120 --> 02:32:45,800
then they have to clean it 
really quick or your kidneys and

2609
02:32:45,800 --> 02:32:50,360
liver will just fail. 
And at that time I learned that 

2610
02:32:50,720 --> 02:32:55,520
I was probably going to be in 
the hospital for 30 plus days, 

2611
02:32:55,520 --> 02:33:00,680
like a minimum of 14 surgeries. 
Holy. 

2612
02:33:01,000 --> 02:33:03,840
Cow, so that was a completely 
different story and it was like 

2613
02:33:03,960 --> 02:33:07,080
I didn't even realize like is 
that even possible? 

2614
02:33:07,560 --> 02:33:09,480
Like I was like, well, I don't 
feel that bad. 

2615
02:33:10,160 --> 02:33:12,880
Why should I stay in the 
hospital for that long? 

2616
02:33:12,880 --> 02:33:19,280
But it was necessary. 
And after D2, when I hit like a 

2617
02:33:19,280 --> 02:33:25,480
little bit of stable physical 
conditions, I started the 

2618
02:33:26,400 --> 02:33:30,520
surgery journey and that was 
every other day, every other 

2619
02:33:30,520 --> 02:33:32,160
day. 
And some of those surgeries are 

2620
02:33:32,160 --> 02:33:36,160
really long too. 
Like I couldn't walk. 

2621
02:33:37,680 --> 02:33:40,200
I couldn't even go left or right
on my body. 

2622
02:33:40,200 --> 02:33:44,080
I was just laying down on my 
back and I was going through 

2623
02:33:44,080 --> 02:33:50,720
surgeries because besides like 
some of the minor things that I 

2624
02:33:50,720 --> 02:33:58,120
hit, which it's like a broken 
jaw, maybe like 10 stitches on 

2625
02:33:58,120 --> 02:34:02,880
the bottom of my chin and maybe 
another 10 inside of my lip, I 

2626
02:34:02,880 --> 02:34:05,520
hit 30% body burns. 
Oh my goodness. 

2627
02:34:05,760 --> 02:34:12,160
And there's like stage 123 and 
four. 

2628
02:34:13,320 --> 02:34:20,640
Mine were really deep. 
Mine were mostly 2, three and 

2629
02:34:20,640 --> 02:34:22,200
four. 
Oh my goodness. 

2630
02:34:24,080 --> 02:34:29,600
So my shoulder, it's actually 
partially amputated 50% of my 

2631
02:34:29,600 --> 02:34:31,840
deal to it. 
Muscle it's missing. 

2632
02:34:32,360 --> 02:34:38,640
And that's probably good. 
Where we were like after the 

2633
02:34:38,640 --> 02:34:42,120
first surgery, they opened the 
cane and told me like, we took 

2634
02:34:42,120 --> 02:34:46,040
50% of your muscle. 
You're on day 2. 

2635
02:34:46,720 --> 02:34:49,280
The body dies for another 14 
days. 

2636
02:34:49,320 --> 02:34:51,840
Oh wow. 
So next day we go, in two days 

2637
02:34:51,840 --> 02:34:55,320
we'll go and we'll keep cutting.
We'll keep cutting. 

2638
02:34:55,320 --> 02:34:57,760
Oh my goodness. 
Until the dying stops. 

2639
02:34:58,480 --> 02:35:03,920
So I went to the second surgery 
with the expectation that I 

2640
02:35:03,920 --> 02:35:09,600
might wake up with no arm. 
And the way it works, it's if 

2641
02:35:09,600 --> 02:35:14,360
they have to take 70% of your 
muscle, your arm, it's 

2642
02:35:14,360 --> 02:35:17,000
worthless. 
So you were going into surgery. 

2643
02:35:17,200 --> 02:35:21,680
You were going into surgery 
thinking I might wake up without

2644
02:35:21,680 --> 02:35:24,240
an arm. 
Correct from the shoulder. 

2645
02:35:25,560 --> 02:35:27,200
They weren't like they they 
didn't tell you. 

2646
02:35:27,200 --> 02:35:29,000
They were like, yeah, yeah, 
we're going to have surgery. 

2647
02:35:29,000 --> 02:35:31,560
But you know, when you wake up, 
we'll see how we get how it 

2648
02:35:31,560 --> 02:35:32,920
goes. 
But you might not have an arm. 

2649
02:35:33,200 --> 02:35:37,120
Yeah, like that, that was the 
conversation before the surgery.

2650
02:35:37,400 --> 02:35:40,640
They, they bought, they brought 
like they introduced you to the 

2651
02:35:40,640 --> 02:35:44,880
team before we go to a surgery 
and there was like trauma burn 

2652
02:35:44,880 --> 02:35:50,720
surgeon, like the 
anesthesiologist and it for that

2653
02:35:50,720 --> 02:35:55,440
surgery, they brought an 
orthopedic doctor because if 

2654
02:35:55,440 --> 02:35:59,640
they have to take something out 
or to chip the bone, there were 

2655
02:35:59,640 --> 02:36:02,600
like a few scenarios that they 
walk you through, but they need 

2656
02:36:02,600 --> 02:36:09,280
to tell you that before you go. 
And it a time like now if we 

2657
02:36:09,280 --> 02:36:12,640
talk about it, it's heinous. 
It's horrible, right? 

2658
02:36:12,640 --> 02:36:16,160
But at that time, you just want 
to survive. 

2659
02:36:16,280 --> 02:36:16,800
Yeah. 
You don't. 

2660
02:36:16,800 --> 02:36:20,680
Yeah. 
I mean, if you give the choice, 

2661
02:36:20,680 --> 02:36:25,840
my arm or my wife, I think we 
all know that we'll give up the 

2662
02:36:25,840 --> 02:36:27,000
arm. 
Yeah. 

2663
02:36:27,000 --> 02:36:28,960
Right. 
Yeah. 

2664
02:36:28,960 --> 02:36:32,840
I mean, better be alive. 
But since I went home, things 

2665
02:36:32,840 --> 02:36:35,600
changed. 
And I was on disability for 

2666
02:36:35,600 --> 02:36:42,800
around 100 days. 
It was very humbling and also 

2667
02:36:42,800 --> 02:36:49,880
very difficult time to go home. 
It must you read the hospital, 

2668
02:36:49,880 --> 02:36:52,960
your home. 
Like it feels great, but my body

2669
02:36:52,960 --> 02:36:57,120
did not feel great at all. 
I hate to relearn how to walk. 

2670
02:36:58,160 --> 02:37:01,320
I hate to relearn how to move my
arm. 

2671
02:37:01,320 --> 02:37:08,480
And that was a very depressing 
time of the recovery because I 

2672
02:37:08,480 --> 02:37:13,120
couldn't lift my arm, my right 
arm, like now I can go climb and

2673
02:37:13,720 --> 02:37:17,440
I'm in a good shape are. 
You back to normal in order. 

2674
02:37:19,320 --> 02:37:22,440
Yeah, you would like climbing 
wise, I've climbed even better 

2675
02:37:22,440 --> 02:37:25,480
than before, in which it's 
something I've done for 23 

2676
02:37:25,480 --> 02:37:28,840
years. 
But in order to get there, it 

2677
02:37:28,840 --> 02:37:32,480
was a terrible moment. 
Like all the skin that it's not 

2678
02:37:32,480 --> 02:37:37,720
yours, it's just shrinks. 
Yeah, it's just shrinks so much 

2679
02:37:38,440 --> 02:37:43,600
and you have to spend the whole 
day stretching, and then you go 

2680
02:37:43,600 --> 02:37:47,800
to bed and you wake up and the 
next day in the morning you can 

2681
02:37:47,800 --> 02:37:51,360
barely walk to the bathroom 
because everything shrinks 

2682
02:37:51,360 --> 02:37:55,080
again. 
And it was very depressing. 

2683
02:37:55,080 --> 02:38:03,200
Like I was putting at one point 
around four to five hours of 

2684
02:38:03,200 --> 02:38:05,600
working out in physiotherapy a 
day. 

2685
02:38:06,320 --> 02:38:09,760
Like I wake up, I'll do an hour 
and a half, during lunch I'll do

2686
02:38:09,760 --> 02:38:13,520
an hour, in the afternoon I'll 
do an hour and at night I'll do 

2687
02:38:13,520 --> 02:38:16,480
hour and a half. 
And things don't get better. 

2688
02:38:16,800 --> 02:38:22,680
It was, it wasn't rewarding 
until it started getting better.

2689
02:38:24,200 --> 02:38:27,880
But you know, that was not when 
you're at your house, like 

2690
02:38:28,680 --> 02:38:31,720
usually there are not that many 
people around you and you give a

2691
02:38:31,720 --> 02:38:36,000
lot of time to yourself and it's
not a humbling time. 

2692
02:38:36,600 --> 02:38:38,560
What are the chances of somebody
getting struck by lightning? 

2693
02:38:38,560 --> 02:38:41,040
Do you know what it is? 
In the steed of cool, rather one

2694
02:38:41,040 --> 02:38:48,160
out of 900,000 which is not that
high to be honest, like you 

2695
02:38:48,160 --> 02:38:52,280
have. 
I mean, winning the water, it's 

2696
02:38:52,280 --> 02:38:58,480
1.2 billion, so you can get 
struck by lightning a lot more. 

2697
02:38:59,000 --> 02:39:00,320
Have you bought any lottery 
tickets? 

2698
02:39:02,320 --> 02:39:05,960
I think I did a few times with 
it was going to the billions, 

2699
02:39:05,960 --> 02:39:09,040
but I think I got my lottery 
ticket already. 

2700
02:39:09,120 --> 02:39:10,840
I I don't think I'll get another
one. 

2701
02:39:12,000 --> 02:39:18,240
So what, when you go out now and
it's raining even, I mean, what,

2702
02:39:18,240 --> 02:39:19,520
what, what's going through your 
mind? 

2703
02:39:19,520 --> 02:39:23,040
Are you, do you suffer from PTSD
or anything like that at all? 

2704
02:39:23,280 --> 02:39:25,800
Are you, are you thinking when 
you're out there like this could

2705
02:39:25,800 --> 02:39:28,320
happen again? 
Do you have that fear that comes

2706
02:39:28,320 --> 02:39:32,520
over you? 
I'm a lot more conscious that 

2707
02:39:32,520 --> 02:39:38,320
that is, I don't believe that I 
have a PTSD, but I'm a lot more 

2708
02:39:38,320 --> 02:39:42,640
conscious and that is I think my
risk tolerance is decreased in 

2709
02:39:43,280 --> 02:39:47,360
all aspects of my life. 
It's not just going outside like

2710
02:39:47,440 --> 02:39:51,960
I think in an event like that, 
it's a huge lesson like doesn't 

2711
02:39:51,960 --> 02:39:54,680
matter how strong you feel, it 
doesn't mean how prepared you 

2712
02:39:54,680 --> 02:39:58,640
are, everything. 
It's chances you might be the 

2713
02:39:58,640 --> 02:40:02,160
strongest of your lifetime in 
the next moment. 

2714
02:40:02,160 --> 02:40:07,320
You might not be able to get out
of bed and that happens. 

2715
02:40:07,840 --> 02:40:11,920
I mean, it's the the way you 
think and the way you accept it.

2716
02:40:11,920 --> 02:40:17,280
Like if you go back and you 
blame yourself for the decision 

2717
02:40:17,920 --> 02:40:22,360
to be out there, you might live 
like a very miserable life 

2718
02:40:22,360 --> 02:40:26,600
because every time like. 
You'll go back and blame 

2719
02:40:26,600 --> 02:40:28,360
yourself for something that 
happened. 

2720
02:40:28,360 --> 02:40:32,680
But I never hit that mentality. 
I always look into the event, 

2721
02:40:32,680 --> 02:40:39,120
like maybe I survived and now I 
should live in a different way 

2722
02:40:39,120 --> 02:40:43,600
and be happier than before 
because I hit that opportunity 

2723
02:40:43,600 --> 02:40:45,800
to survive. 
And I think that's the approach 

2724
02:40:45,800 --> 02:40:48,760
I've taken. 
But to go back to your original 

2725
02:40:48,760 --> 02:40:54,720
question, I checked the weather 
a lot more and I do that quite a

2726
02:40:54,720 --> 02:40:57,760
bit because if the weather it's 
not good, there's no glory of 

2727
02:40:57,760 --> 02:41:01,120
being out there not be able to 
do the things that you're going 

2728
02:41:01,120 --> 02:41:04,720
to do and hiking the rain. 
But the the deeper that 

2729
02:41:04,720 --> 02:41:07,760
happened, it was only 20% chance
of rain. 

2730
02:41:07,760 --> 02:41:14,160
Oh man. 
Which it's a very low and I try 

2731
02:41:14,160 --> 02:41:18,080
to do some preventive things 
like check the weather before a 

2732
02:41:18,080 --> 02:41:21,360
few times before I when I'm on 
the parking lot. 

2733
02:41:21,360 --> 02:41:25,400
So I I'm a lot more 
conscientious about storms. 

2734
02:41:25,400 --> 02:41:29,680
And the other thing it's when I 
go outside, I prefer to either 

2735
02:41:29,680 --> 02:41:33,240
go early in the morning or after
the afternoon showers. 

2736
02:41:33,920 --> 02:41:41,600
And I've been stuck a few times 
by either hail or even other 

2737
02:41:41,600 --> 02:41:44,800
lightning storms outside. 
And it's a lot more terrifying 

2738
02:41:44,800 --> 02:41:48,440
than used to be. 
I still remember, I think it was

2739
02:41:48,440 --> 02:41:57,640
2001 and I was in 11,000 feet 
place called Lincoln Lake, very 

2740
02:41:57,640 --> 02:42:01,080
high up, very beautiful. 
But in order to get out of 

2741
02:42:01,080 --> 02:42:08,480
there, it's a quarter of a mile,
900 feet of elevation hike like 

2742
02:42:09,120 --> 02:42:13,800
it is just like a wall. 
And I tried it and halfway 

2743
02:42:13,800 --> 02:42:19,320
through the storm came so close.
So I ran down and hit below a 

2744
02:42:19,640 --> 02:42:22,640
huge rock and there were 
lightnings everywhere. 

2745
02:42:22,640 --> 02:42:24,760
It was. 
I still remember that day. 

2746
02:42:25,760 --> 02:42:29,920
It is not humbling. 
It's scary and you're just out 

2747
02:42:29,920 --> 02:42:34,560
there and try not to worry about
it, but it happens. 

2748
02:42:34,720 --> 02:42:36,680
Have you met anybody else that's
been struck by lightning? 

2749
02:42:37,040 --> 02:42:39,520
I mean, is there like a, is 
there a group of guys that get 

2750
02:42:39,520 --> 02:42:42,640
together or are you guys all 
been struck by lightning and you

2751
02:42:42,640 --> 02:42:46,680
talk about it? 
No, like I think like sometimes 

2752
02:42:46,680 --> 02:42:49,720
when your Co workers learn like 
they're excited. 

2753
02:42:49,800 --> 02:42:51,920
Most of my close friends didn't 
know about it. 

2754
02:42:51,920 --> 02:42:57,080
So five years later, I think the
hype kids go down kind of like 

2755
02:42:57,080 --> 02:43:02,320
we all forgot about it. 
But I don't, I don't know 

2756
02:43:02,320 --> 02:43:04,120
anybody that has been struck, 
man. 

2757
02:43:05,840 --> 02:43:09,240
Your your story is remarkable. 
I mean, absolutely remarkable, 

2758
02:43:09,240 --> 02:43:13,200
the fact that you were out in 
this, a seemingly safe 

2759
02:43:13,200 --> 02:43:18,840
situation, trees all around you 
and then this happens to you. 

2760
02:43:18,920 --> 02:43:22,960
And I mean, so you've been back,
you said to that spot. 

2761
02:43:22,960 --> 02:43:25,200
What's that like for you? 
Zero feelings. 

2762
02:43:25,280 --> 02:43:27,720
It almost feels like it never 
happened. 

2763
02:43:27,720 --> 02:43:32,080
Like I go back there past the 
spot, like kind of look it up 

2764
02:43:32,080 --> 02:43:36,760
and it's normal. 
They've been a few times, like 

2765
02:43:36,880 --> 02:43:41,480
one particular day, it was two 
years after the accident, also 

2766
02:43:41,480 --> 02:43:47,800
in August, and same thing 
happened like an afternoon and a

2767
02:43:47,800 --> 02:43:53,000
huge storm, like a hill with 
lightning came in and it's a lot

2768
02:43:53,000 --> 02:43:55,800
of talus fields above the tree 
line. 

2769
02:43:56,040 --> 02:44:01,200
So they get very slippery with 
water and they're undefined 

2770
02:44:01,200 --> 02:44:05,680
trails to walk on. 
And I remember that one was 

2771
02:44:05,680 --> 02:44:10,360
really bad night. 
It it probably the rain and hill

2772
02:44:10,360 --> 02:44:15,680
didn't stop for over 3 hours and
it got dark and I had to go 

2773
02:44:15,680 --> 02:44:19,680
through the same spot. 
Just start running in a hill in 

2774
02:44:19,680 --> 02:44:23,600
lightning storm it dark. 
And that's probably one of the 

2775
02:44:23,600 --> 02:44:29,600
times that I was like, really? 
Do you feel like because you 

2776
02:44:29,600 --> 02:44:32,560
don't have memory of the actual 
lightning strike, has that 

2777
02:44:32,760 --> 02:44:36,560
helped you in some way cope with
what's happened or maybe feel 

2778
02:44:36,560 --> 02:44:39,240
safe or not have to worry about 
it when you go out again as 

2779
02:44:39,240 --> 02:44:42,400
much? 
I don't know, I've never thought

2780
02:44:42,400 --> 02:44:48,520
about it. 
But yeah, it's a, it's a long 

2781
02:44:48,520 --> 02:44:51,560
journey. 
I think you can get PTSD from 

2782
02:44:51,560 --> 02:44:55,200
the pain after or from the 
accident itself. 

2783
02:44:58,280 --> 02:45:00,800
I don't know. 
That's a hard hard one to answer

2784
02:45:00,800 --> 02:45:03,880
if that's the case. 
What would you tell people who 

2785
02:45:05,280 --> 02:45:09,560
you know are out and it's, you 
know, this is the storm coming 

2786
02:45:09,560 --> 02:45:12,520
in or what, what kind of what 
kind of precautions would you 

2787
02:45:12,520 --> 02:45:16,080
give hikers? 
If you watch this video, just 

2788
02:45:16,080 --> 02:45:19,720
don't forget about this story. 
It can happen to anybody. 

2789
02:45:20,000 --> 02:45:21,680
That's the thing. 
No one is protected. 

2790
02:45:22,240 --> 02:45:23,880
I, I think that's the big 
message. 

2791
02:45:23,880 --> 02:45:27,720
Like if you think you've been 
there, you know it all. 

2792
02:45:28,800 --> 02:45:33,040
That's a little arrogance. 
And I, I'm, I used to be in that

2793
02:45:33,040 --> 02:45:38,000
situation. 
Now I think my level has went 

2794
02:45:38,000 --> 02:45:43,600
down quite a bit of confidence 
and also arrogant because we, we

2795
02:45:43,640 --> 02:45:47,160
always think that the guy that 
it happened to, he didn't knew 

2796
02:45:47,160 --> 02:45:49,960
what she was doing right. 
But you're always the guy who 

2797
02:45:49,960 --> 02:45:52,680
knows what's up. 
You've been there so many times,

2798
02:45:52,960 --> 02:45:54,800
you know it. 
Oh, you've been to this time. 

2799
02:45:54,800 --> 02:45:57,200
But the guy that it happened 
that you've heard about on the 

2800
02:45:57,200 --> 02:46:00,280
news, he didn't knew about it. 
He was unprepared and he took 

2801
02:46:00,280 --> 02:46:04,320
too much risk. 
And I think that's the message. 

2802
02:46:04,840 --> 02:46:08,360
It's when things happen when you
don't expect. 

2803
02:46:08,360 --> 02:46:10,040
Though, Well, I'm impressed with
your story. 

2804
02:46:10,040 --> 02:46:11,200
I think you're an amazing 
person. 

2805
02:46:11,200 --> 02:46:17,120
I think you got a pretty, pretty
crazy story that you can tell. 

2806
02:46:17,120 --> 02:46:19,360
I mean, I, you're the first 
person I've ever talked to 

2807
02:46:19,360 --> 02:46:20,840
that's ever been struck by 
lightning. 

2808
02:46:20,840 --> 02:46:25,600
I, you know, it's just like it's
just something you hear about, 

2809
02:46:25,600 --> 02:46:28,960
but you know, it just, it 
doesn't happen, right? 

2810
02:46:28,960 --> 02:46:31,320
It just you never, you're never 
going to meet somebody. 

2811
02:46:31,320 --> 02:46:35,040
You're never, you're never going
to experience anything like 

2812
02:46:35,040 --> 02:46:36,320
that. 
So man. 

2813
02:46:37,080 --> 02:46:39,280
Yeah. 
And, and I think depending of 

2814
02:46:39,280 --> 02:46:41,960
where you live, that that's a 
big thing. 

2815
02:46:42,000 --> 02:46:46,880
Like I realized that I actually 
lived in the wrong place for 

2816
02:46:46,880 --> 02:46:50,240
that accident. 
And if you live in Colorado or I

2817
02:46:50,240 --> 02:46:56,560
think in Florida, chances are we
fired in maybe in Minnesota or 

2818
02:46:58,520 --> 02:47:00,120
somewhere in the Midwest. 
Well, I mean, you could have 

2819
02:47:00,120 --> 02:47:03,200
been downtown, you know, Denver,
right, and been struck by 

2820
02:47:03,200 --> 02:47:04,000
lightning. 
Yeah. 

2821
02:47:04,600 --> 02:47:07,240
And and then all of a sudden 
you're you could have been right

2822
02:47:07,240 --> 02:47:10,480
outside of a hospital and gotten
struck by lightning, right? 

2823
02:47:10,480 --> 02:47:14,080
So obviously your health played 
a part into that, right? 

2824
02:47:14,080 --> 02:47:18,480
You were fit and healthy. 
And I think that probably saved 

2825
02:47:18,480 --> 02:47:22,160
your life, maybe even because if
somebody was unfit or unhealthy 

2826
02:47:22,160 --> 02:47:25,040
or, you know, they had some 
issues or whatever and they're 

2827
02:47:25,040 --> 02:47:27,800
out that far and they've got to 
be transported in, that could 

2828
02:47:27,800 --> 02:47:29,760
have been a totally different 
story for someone maybe. 

2829
02:47:29,960 --> 02:47:31,880
Maybe yes. 
Yeah. 

2830
02:47:32,200 --> 02:47:35,240
Yeah, but if you're crazy, 
you're probably be on the couch 

2831
02:47:35,240 --> 02:47:38,800
and watch TV and you won't 
expose yourself to all these 

2832
02:47:39,440 --> 02:47:41,880
risk people think that's. 
True. 

2833
02:47:42,560 --> 02:47:43,840
Yeah, that's true. 
That's a fact. 

2834
02:47:44,800 --> 02:47:47,240
Wow. 
So, yeah, I, I, I, I think that 

2835
02:47:47,240 --> 02:47:53,360
it's the, the exposure, it's a 
big factor of where you go and 

2836
02:47:53,360 --> 02:47:54,960
what are the things that you 
like to do. 

2837
02:47:55,240 --> 02:47:56,880
All right. 
Any last words that you want to 

2838
02:47:56,880 --> 02:48:00,000
share with the viewers? 
Probably the last thing to 

2839
02:48:00,000 --> 02:48:04,240
close. 
It's I even until this day. 

2840
02:48:04,240 --> 02:48:08,360
I don't know if this was a 
factor, but I did hit an 

2841
02:48:08,360 --> 02:48:12,200
aluminum plate for the spine on 
my backpack. 

2842
02:48:12,440 --> 02:48:16,480
It wasn't one of those frames 
the other the old school 

2843
02:48:16,480 --> 02:48:21,040
backpacks gave, but that's 
something that definitely take 

2844
02:48:21,040 --> 02:48:23,960
your gear. 
Maybe don't take your phone. 

2845
02:48:24,240 --> 02:48:26,120
Is that what they told you? 
Should they tell you that that 

2846
02:48:26,120 --> 02:48:30,080
may have played a part in it? 
I don't know that that is 

2847
02:48:30,080 --> 02:48:32,680
something that people don't know
for certain. 

2848
02:48:34,680 --> 02:48:38,400
My phone was pretty close to 
where it struck. 

2849
02:48:38,400 --> 02:48:45,120
It was in the, IT was in the 
upper compartment of my 

2850
02:48:46,360 --> 02:48:49,240
backpack. 
But also I know that after the 

2851
02:48:49,240 --> 02:48:55,640
shoulder, the electricity did 
travel through that aluminum 

2852
02:48:55,640 --> 02:49:00,120
frame of the backpack and exit 
around my tailbone. 

2853
02:49:00,200 --> 02:49:02,640
So I know that some electricity 
went through that. 

2854
02:49:03,280 --> 02:49:07,000
I just don't know if that was 
the real factor. 

2855
02:49:07,000 --> 02:49:09,360
And those are things that people
don't know. 

2856
02:49:09,560 --> 02:49:14,280
It's very unknown, but once 
again, try to mitigate the risk.

2857
02:49:14,600 --> 02:49:17,960
Yeah, right. 
Well, thanks, man. 

2858
02:49:17,960 --> 02:49:20,880
I appreciate your time. 
I'm glad you're alive and you're

2859
02:49:20,880 --> 02:49:24,120
doing well and you're climbing 
again and I just appreciate you 

2860
02:49:24,240 --> 02:49:26,480
so. 
Thank you, Sir. 

2861
02:49:26,720 --> 02:49:29,920
All right, thanks. 
College professor Karen Klein, 

2862
02:49:29,920 --> 02:49:33,600
her husband Eric and 10 year old
son Isaac set out on the scenic 

2863
02:49:33,600 --> 02:49:38,200
Rd. to visit the Grand Canyon. 
Unfortunately, we got stuck in a

2864
02:49:38,200 --> 02:49:39,760
ditch. 
Karen Klein then left her 

2865
02:49:39,760 --> 02:49:43,800
husband and 10 year old son to 
begin a long and dangerous 

2866
02:49:43,800 --> 02:49:46,880
journey in search of help. 
Karen headed South, walking for 

2867
02:49:46,880 --> 02:49:50,640
11 hours until she found an 
Evergreen tree for shelter. 

2868
02:49:50,640 --> 02:49:53,480
I was afraid to fall asleep. 
In my mind, if one if you fall 

2869
02:49:53,480 --> 02:49:58,640
asleep, you freeze to death. 
Karen, Izzy, thank you guys for 

2870
02:49:58,640 --> 02:50:02,360
being here. 
Your story is very similar in 

2871
02:50:02,360 --> 02:50:05,360
some ways to mine, but as I was 
reading about it, there is an 

2872
02:50:05,360 --> 02:50:12,320
incredible amount of just 
insane, wild, crazy things that 

2873
02:50:12,320 --> 02:50:15,960
happened. 
Like you should have had a movie

2874
02:50:15,960 --> 02:50:19,320
out about this whole thing. 
On the Today show, when it was 

2875
02:50:19,320 --> 02:50:22,680
on the Today show when it was 
first featured, the the person 

2876
02:50:22,680 --> 02:50:26,120
at the desk after the story was 
over, she said. 

2877
02:50:26,200 --> 02:50:28,080
So I wonder who's going to play 
her in the movie? 

2878
02:50:28,080 --> 02:50:32,360
I was going to say thank you to 
you because I really don't like 

2879
02:50:32,360 --> 02:50:35,080
how the media portrayed our 
story. 

2880
02:50:35,520 --> 02:50:42,200
And this is kind of like a real 
way of reframing our 

2881
02:50:42,200 --> 02:50:44,320
storytelling, it from our 
perspective instead of the 

2882
02:50:44,320 --> 02:50:46,480
media's perspective. 
And I appreciate that a lot. 

2883
02:50:46,480 --> 02:50:47,560
I appreciate that. 
Yeah. 

2884
02:50:47,560 --> 02:50:51,640
You guys, this is your platform.
You Share your story, you get it

2885
02:50:51,640 --> 02:50:53,000
out there. 
I read it. 

2886
02:50:53,360 --> 02:50:55,640
It's amazing. 
Tell me from your perspective, 

2887
02:50:55,640 --> 02:51:00,160
start, you know you're, you're, 
you were either just, you were 

2888
02:51:00,160 --> 02:51:02,440
going to Vegas or coming from 
Vegas and then going to the 

2889
02:51:02,440 --> 02:51:04,560
Grand Canyon, right? 
Yeah, we had taken, well, we 

2890
02:51:04,560 --> 02:51:09,120
went to Vegas just for Izzie's 
10th birthday as well as I had 

2891
02:51:09,120 --> 02:51:11,840
gotten promoted at work and we 
thought, oh, it'll be over the 

2892
02:51:11,840 --> 02:51:14,600
holidays, let's go to Vegas. 
And one of the side trips, of 

2893
02:51:14,600 --> 02:51:17,760
course is, you know, you see 
the, the Grand Canyon, Bryce 

2894
02:51:17,760 --> 02:51:21,880
Canyon, Canyon lands. 
And so we decided to spend, you 

2895
02:51:21,880 --> 02:51:26,880
know, one night in Bryce Canyon 
just to see what it looks like 

2896
02:51:26,920 --> 02:51:30,800
and swing by the, I don't know 
if anyone can ever swing by the 

2897
02:51:30,800 --> 02:51:34,680
Grand Canyon, But we really just
wanted just to, well, honestly, 

2898
02:51:34,680 --> 02:51:38,080
we, we really just wanted to 
just go and do the touristy 

2899
02:51:38,080 --> 02:51:40,960
thing. 
And remember, this is 2016. 

2900
02:51:40,960 --> 02:51:45,320
So there were some things that 
weren't quite in regards to 

2901
02:51:45,360 --> 02:51:50,280
technology with cell phones and 
GPS weren't quite what they are 

2902
02:51:50,280 --> 02:51:53,400
today. 
You know, we admit in 

2903
02:51:53,400 --> 02:51:56,200
retrospect, you know, of course,
the things that we didn't do 

2904
02:51:56,200 --> 02:51:58,920
right. 
And that was it investigate our 

2905
02:51:58,920 --> 02:52:02,440
destination, you know, more. 
So we just put in, you know, 

2906
02:52:03,160 --> 02:52:10,520
Grand Canyon Visitor Center and 
our GPS let us what we thought 

2907
02:52:10,520 --> 02:52:14,880
was the way to the visitor 
center and the roads began to 

2908
02:52:14,880 --> 02:52:19,880
get, you know, they became dirt 
roads and we didn't really see 

2909
02:52:19,880 --> 02:52:21,480
anyone. 
And we thought, you know, this, 

2910
02:52:21,480 --> 02:52:24,840
I don't know, this just doesn't 
seem right. 

2911
02:52:25,360 --> 02:52:30,720
And we then proceeded to say, 
look, as we were driving, I 

2912
02:52:30,720 --> 02:52:33,920
should say that we lost our, the
GPS. 

2913
02:52:33,920 --> 02:52:37,760
It, it, our GPS stopped working.
And this is before we, you just 

2914
02:52:37,760 --> 02:52:41,040
put your phone into GB G PS: 
mode. 

2915
02:52:41,080 --> 02:52:44,280
It was like Agps, you know, used
to put them on your car. 

2916
02:52:44,320 --> 02:52:47,920
And after I would say maybe 30 
minutes, 45 minutes of this, we 

2917
02:52:47,920 --> 02:52:49,800
thought, you know, this, this 
just can't be right. 

2918
02:52:50,920 --> 02:52:54,320
And we proceeded then to stop 
the car and turn the car around.

2919
02:52:54,320 --> 02:52:55,920
And at that point, it had been 
drizzling. 

2920
02:52:55,920 --> 02:52:57,480
And that's what the weather 
forecast was. 

2921
02:52:57,480 --> 02:53:01,080
It was for 40° and drizzle. 
It was December after all. 

2922
02:53:01,360 --> 02:53:08,200
And we then proceeded to turn 
the car, attempt to turn the car

2923
02:53:08,200 --> 02:53:14,400
around and it was quite muddy 
and the road was quite, quite 

2924
02:53:14,400 --> 02:53:17,760
muddy itself, like a a unpaved 
Rd. an. 

2925
02:53:17,880 --> 02:53:19,840
Old Forest Service road or 
something? 

2926
02:53:19,840 --> 02:53:21,240
Yes. 
Yeah, that exactly. 

2927
02:53:21,240 --> 02:53:25,080
That's what. 
It was we we started at Route 

2928
02:53:25,080 --> 02:53:30,080
20, Forest Rd. 22 and which is 
also called Ryan Rd. 

2929
02:53:30,480 --> 02:53:38,040
And then we took a left and we 
ended up on Forest State Forest 

2930
02:53:38,040 --> 02:53:41,400
Rd. 226. 
You know, for us, we didn't 

2931
02:53:41,400 --> 02:53:42,520
know. 
We thought, well, maybe this is 

2932
02:53:42,520 --> 02:53:45,240
the way everybody goes to the 
Grand Canyon, and maybe it's a 

2933
02:53:45,240 --> 02:53:47,400
slow day. 
We didn't know that this wasn't 

2934
02:53:47,400 --> 02:53:49,400
right. 
You know, we admit our 

2935
02:53:49,400 --> 02:53:51,520
ignorance, but we thought, well,
Oh my gosh, it's the Grand 

2936
02:53:51,520 --> 02:53:52,840
Canyon. 
It's one of the most visited 

2937
02:53:52,840 --> 02:53:54,520
sites in the world. 
You know, we think this is like 

2938
02:53:54,520 --> 02:54:00,000
Disney World, you know, so. 
And so we stopped the car and 

2939
02:54:00,000 --> 02:54:03,120
attempted to turn it around and 
the car got stuck in the mud. 

2940
02:54:04,520 --> 02:54:07,880
And so we got out of the car and
we thought, OK, well, we'll get 

2941
02:54:07,880 --> 02:54:10,080
the car out. 
We tried to rock the car back 

2942
02:54:10,080 --> 02:54:14,880
and forth and we it was some 
sort of like a rental car. 

2943
02:54:14,880 --> 02:54:17,280
It was a sedan like. 
It was a Kia. 

2944
02:54:17,720 --> 02:54:18,760
Oh, a Kia. 
It was a Kia. 

2945
02:54:18,880 --> 02:54:20,720
I think it was a Forte. 
OK. 

2946
02:54:20,760 --> 02:54:26,360
And we went and gathered 
branches from the nearby trees 

2947
02:54:26,360 --> 02:54:28,640
and we put them under the tires 
and all of the things that you 

2948
02:54:28,640 --> 02:54:30,680
learn and drive around, we use 
the floor mats. 

2949
02:54:31,080 --> 02:54:33,680
And we just couldn't. 
The car was it just, you know, 

2950
02:54:33,800 --> 02:54:37,120
in like kind of Murphy's Law 
fashion, it just kept getting 

2951
02:54:37,120 --> 02:54:39,680
more and more stuck. 
And we thought this, there's no 

2952
02:54:39,680 --> 02:54:42,920
way we're getting out of the car
as I'm sorry, getting the car 

2953
02:54:42,920 --> 02:54:47,200
out of the mud. 
We said, OK, so, you know, we 

2954
02:54:47,200 --> 02:54:51,480
can't just sit here because 
nobody knows where we are. 

2955
02:54:52,080 --> 02:54:56,680
We don't have cell phone service
and our GPS isn't working. 

2956
02:54:56,760 --> 02:55:00,720
And we thought because, you 
know, because I, I'm a 

2957
02:55:00,720 --> 02:55:02,600
recreational runner and I 
thought, OK, well, there's a 

2958
02:55:02,600 --> 02:55:05,200
main road. 
It looked like from what I 

2959
02:55:05,200 --> 02:55:08,840
recall, there was a main road 
about like 9 miles ahead. 

2960
02:55:08,840 --> 02:55:13,040
So I'll just run up and flag 
down some help and then I will 

2961
02:55:13,800 --> 02:55:17,160
then, you know, have somebody 
come in and get us. 

2962
02:55:17,320 --> 02:55:20,640
Guy had a bottle of water and a 
pack of Cheerios because it was 

2963
02:55:20,640 --> 02:55:24,320
like, you know, 9 miles would 
probably take me about in a 

2964
02:55:24,320 --> 02:55:28,200
little, about an hour to, to run
to that main road. 

2965
02:55:28,320 --> 02:55:31,080
There were tire tracks. 
So I'm like, well, OK, great. 

2966
02:55:31,080 --> 02:55:36,120
So this road is used and, you 
know, so I'll, what I'll do is 

2967
02:55:36,120 --> 02:55:39,560
instead of standing still just 
waiting for someone, I thought I

2968
02:55:39,560 --> 02:55:43,360
would start walking down the 
road because I thought, well, at

2969
02:55:43,360 --> 02:55:44,960
least I'll get cell phone 
service. 

2970
02:55:45,120 --> 02:55:49,280
So either I'm going to, there'll
be a passerby or I'll get cell 

2971
02:55:49,280 --> 02:55:51,920
phone service because as I 
mentioned, you know, Oh my gosh,

2972
02:55:51,920 --> 02:55:55,280
you know, we're here in the 
environs of the Grand Canyon. 

2973
02:55:55,280 --> 02:55:56,840
Surely there's cell phone 
service. 

2974
02:55:56,840 --> 02:55:59,400
And we had a major carrier, you 
know, at that point it was 

2975
02:55:59,400 --> 02:56:05,400
starting to get somewhat dark. 
And I thought, you know, shoot, 

2976
02:56:05,400 --> 02:56:08,480
you know, I'll just, I'll just 
keep walking and I'll get so 

2977
02:56:08,480 --> 02:56:12,560
worried about cell phone service
or someone will pass by and it, 

2978
02:56:12,560 --> 02:56:17,480
it just kept getting darker and 
then it started to snow. 

2979
02:56:17,480 --> 02:56:21,080
The snow was getting deeper and 
I was cold. 

2980
02:56:21,080 --> 02:56:23,560
I, I didn't have proper boots 
on. 

2981
02:56:23,600 --> 02:56:26,000
I just had. 
Like, why would you? 

2982
02:56:26,000 --> 02:56:27,440
You're driving. 
You're driving. 

2983
02:56:27,680 --> 02:56:29,240
You wouldn't expect. 
It to snow, right? 

2984
02:56:29,280 --> 02:56:30,160
Why would you? 
Yeah. 

2985
02:56:30,240 --> 02:56:35,440
Exactly right. 
And and I, you know, I was 

2986
02:56:35,440 --> 02:56:37,480
getting tired and getting a bit 
concerned. 

2987
02:56:37,480 --> 02:56:42,720
And it was about, I would say 
like one in the morning and the 

2988
02:56:42,720 --> 02:56:45,440
only light that I had was my 
cell phone. 

2989
02:56:45,440 --> 02:56:47,240
But it wasn't a cell phone 
flashlight. 

2990
02:56:47,240 --> 02:56:49,040
It was just the illumination of 
the screen. 

2991
02:56:49,440 --> 02:56:52,640
It was very difficult to see. 
And it was snowing very heavily.

2992
02:56:52,680 --> 02:56:56,080
And you know, I was getting 
somewhat desperate because I 

2993
02:56:56,080 --> 02:56:59,240
didn't know which way to go. 
I'd come to a crossroads and I 

2994
02:56:59,240 --> 02:57:02,640
thought, you know, I, I don't 
know what to do. 

2995
02:57:02,640 --> 02:57:04,400
I'm not sure what to do. 
And at this point, you know, I 

2996
02:57:04,400 --> 02:57:10,080
was hungry, I'd run out of food.
I wasn't hallucinating. 

2997
02:57:10,120 --> 02:57:11,800
I, I don't think I was 
hallucinating. 

2998
02:57:11,800 --> 02:57:15,440
I wasn't in desperation, you 
know, in, in regards to my 

2999
02:57:15,440 --> 02:57:18,760
psychological mindset. 
But yeah, I had been walking now

3000
02:57:18,760 --> 02:57:22,120
for about 12 hours and I yeah, I
wasn't sure where to go. 

3001
02:57:22,120 --> 02:57:27,640
And and so it's when I was kind 
of exasperated, I saw like a 

3002
02:57:27,640 --> 02:57:30,960
little like it was very dark and
I saw it like a swirl in the 

3003
02:57:30,960 --> 02:57:34,040
snow. 
And then this little thing 

3004
02:57:34,040 --> 02:57:35,880
popped up, looked like a 
cartoon. 

3005
02:57:36,000 --> 02:57:42,560
It's just totally bizarre. 
And I said, you know, I'm dying.

3006
02:57:42,560 --> 02:57:45,640
Obviously I'm dying because only
dying people see these types of 

3007
02:57:45,760 --> 02:57:50,440
hallucinations. 
And it was this cartoon, like 

3008
02:57:50,520 --> 02:57:52,720
Ricky Tiki Tabby, that's cartoon
weasel. 

3009
02:57:53,280 --> 02:57:58,200
And it twirled. 
And I'm like, OK, well, I don't 

3010
02:57:58,200 --> 02:58:00,360
know why. 
And I asked like, OK, who are 

3011
02:58:00,360 --> 02:58:02,520
you? 
And it pointed in a direction 

3012
02:58:02,720 --> 02:58:05,840
and ran out, ran down the road, 
the a road. 

3013
02:58:05,840 --> 02:58:08,600
I'm like, OK, well, I guess I 
should go that way. 

3014
02:58:08,880 --> 02:58:12,640
And so I just kept walking. 
I know it's really bizarre 

3015
02:58:12,640 --> 02:58:16,400
because, you know, I don't 
normally like I, I don't, I 

3016
02:58:16,400 --> 02:58:18,720
don't have these types of 
experiences like ever. 

3017
02:58:19,120 --> 02:58:23,200
And two other times when I was 
at crossroads this thing popped 

3018
02:58:23,200 --> 02:58:28,040
up and looked at me and twirled 
and then ran down a different 

3019
02:58:28,040 --> 02:58:30,760
Rd. then then I followed. 
It's really bizarre. 

3020
02:58:30,760 --> 02:58:33,800
Anyway, you can edit that out if
you want, but I have no idea 

3021
02:58:33,800 --> 02:58:35,240
what it I can't explain. 
I like that. 

3022
02:58:35,720 --> 02:58:39,200
That's amazing. 
So anyway, at at this time it 

3023
02:58:39,200 --> 02:58:42,240
was about like 4 I assume it was
4 in the morning because my cell

3024
02:58:42,240 --> 02:58:46,880
phone lost power and I thought I
came to a clearing. 

3025
02:58:46,920 --> 02:58:51,640
I was in woods the entire time. 
I came to a clearing and the and

3026
02:58:51,640 --> 02:58:55,080
I could see maybe like 500 yards
there were trees on the other 

3027
02:58:55,080 --> 02:59:01,000
side and a wide clearing and IA 
tiny little sign and that was in

3028
02:59:01,000 --> 02:59:04,160
the middle of the clearing. 
And I thought, OK, well I just 

3029
02:59:04,160 --> 02:59:07,080
need to rest. 
And I found a tree, a big spruce

3030
02:59:07,080 --> 02:59:12,720
tree and went underneath the 
tree and pulled boughs around 

3031
02:59:12,720 --> 02:59:17,120
myself and I didn't sit, but I 
it was in a crouching position, 

3032
02:59:17,360 --> 02:59:19,880
was afraid to fall asleep 
because of freezing to death. 

3033
02:59:19,880 --> 02:59:23,480
And I just thought, OK, when 
first light, I'll just, I'll see

3034
02:59:23,480 --> 02:59:26,840
what the sign says, see what the
clearing is, but I need to stop 

3035
02:59:28,080 --> 02:59:30,920
at that point. 
And so I wound up at that point.

3036
02:59:30,920 --> 02:59:34,640
I went, one of my shoes was very
compacted with ice and I 

3037
02:59:34,640 --> 02:59:38,200
couldn't feel my foot. 
It was my left foot at that 

3038
02:59:38,200 --> 02:59:41,120
point that was compacted the 
into the shoe. 

3039
02:59:41,600 --> 02:59:47,240
And I was I was very cold, but I
had wrapped myself up in the the

3040
02:59:47,440 --> 02:59:51,160
the spruce boughs and waited for
first light. 

3041
02:59:51,320 --> 02:59:53,840
And I rocked back and forth to 
keep warm. 

3042
02:59:53,920 --> 02:59:58,080
And I recounted I'm a humongous 
Star Trek fan. 

3043
02:59:58,320 --> 03:00:01,760
And so I was recounting a Star 
Trek episode to keep myself 

3044
03:00:01,800 --> 03:00:07,600
awake. 
But at that point I had no there

3045
03:00:07,600 --> 03:00:10,560
were there. 
So I'd been I had no like a. 

3046
03:00:11,280 --> 03:00:13,560
Like a, a, a point where I 
thought, OK, I need to write my 

3047
03:00:13,560 --> 03:00:15,640
last one test of it. 
Like it hadn't occurred to me at

3048
03:00:15,640 --> 03:00:18,000
that time that, you know, it's 
just like, OK, I'll get up and 

3049
03:00:18,160 --> 03:00:20,680
we're going to do this. 
You know, tomorrow we're going 

3050
03:00:20,680 --> 03:00:23,800
to, to, I'm going to just keep 
walking and see what that sign 

3051
03:00:23,800 --> 03:00:25,680
says and, and see where I need 
to go. 

3052
03:00:27,720 --> 03:00:34,240
And just decided that again, 
like the, the best scenario at 

3053
03:00:34,240 --> 03:00:37,680
that point was staying awake 
and, and getting help from my 

3054
03:00:37,680 --> 03:00:38,480
family. 
Yeah. 

3055
03:00:38,480 --> 03:00:43,360
So the, and at that point, the, 
the I had walked, I didn't know,

3056
03:00:43,360 --> 03:00:46,480
but they had told me afterwards 
that I had walked 20 miles. 

3057
03:00:47,320 --> 03:00:51,360
And at that point, I'd been 
awake, well, for 12 hours 

3058
03:00:51,360 --> 03:00:53,520
because I they was, well, 14 
hours. 

3059
03:00:53,880 --> 03:00:56,480
So, Izzy, do you want to tell 
your side? 

3060
03:00:56,680 --> 03:01:03,600
So you left around 2:00 and then
we start the waiting it was it 

3061
03:01:03,600 --> 03:01:07,840
was winter so the sunset pretty 
early. 

3062
03:01:08,120 --> 03:01:15,120
So around sunset we we both we 
both were worried. 

3063
03:01:15,600 --> 03:01:21,040
Me and my dad head out of the 
car and it is beginning to snow.

3064
03:01:22,360 --> 03:01:32,680
So we walk for maybe 3 or 4 
hours and. 

3065
03:01:32,680 --> 03:01:34,920
You were looking for me, they 
came looking for me. 

3066
03:01:35,400 --> 03:01:40,080
But he no you originally you, 
your dad didn't get out because 

3067
03:01:40,080 --> 03:01:43,800
he had just gotten over like a 
broken back, am I right? 

3068
03:01:44,000 --> 03:01:45,480
Yes, correct. 
He had. 

3069
03:01:45,520 --> 03:01:46,800
He had. 
It was. 

3070
03:01:46,800 --> 03:01:50,400
You guys had like a vote. 
You guys decided Mom's going 

3071
03:01:50,400 --> 03:01:53,680
because she's the most capable 
in this moment to be able to get

3072
03:01:53,680 --> 03:01:55,920
some help. 
Yeah, it was like it was a no 

3073
03:01:55,920 --> 03:02:00,600
brainer, like somebody needs to 
walk 9 miles yet it take mom, 

3074
03:02:00,600 --> 03:02:01,880
she does. 
That's her thing. 

3075
03:02:03,000 --> 03:02:10,280
So we head out and then it the 
snow starts picking up and we 

3076
03:02:10,280 --> 03:02:16,120
walk until I would say 11 maybe 
like 11:00 PM. 

3077
03:02:16,760 --> 03:02:24,200
And I now know that we walked 7 
miles but oh I forgot a very 

3078
03:02:24,200 --> 03:02:34,600
important point that about a 
mile and 1/2 in we were walking 

3079
03:02:34,600 --> 03:02:40,720
in the snow that had got into 
around a foot and our in my 

3080
03:02:40,960 --> 03:02:46,120
shoes pretty much dissolved. 
What supplies did you have, 

3081
03:02:46,120 --> 03:02:52,160
Izzy? 
2 Calypso lemonades a a winter 

3082
03:02:52,160 --> 03:02:57,800
coat. 
I only had two layers on and I'm

3083
03:02:57,800 --> 03:03:01,240
pretty sure I'm pretty sure 
that's it. 

3084
03:03:01,240 --> 03:03:04,800
I had my cell phone and my cell 
phone. 

3085
03:03:04,800 --> 03:03:07,120
So you had your own cell phone 
at back then? 

3086
03:03:07,280 --> 03:03:09,160
Yes. 
Did your dad have a phone too? 

3087
03:03:09,400 --> 03:03:11,160
Yeah, he did. 
We were both. 

3088
03:03:11,160 --> 03:03:17,880
So you. 
So so after my my shoes dissolve

3089
03:03:18,080 --> 03:03:21,320
and we are walking for maybe 3 
or 4 miles. 

3090
03:03:21,560 --> 03:03:25,520
The last three or four miles 
have been or the last two miles 

3091
03:03:25,520 --> 03:03:32,160
have been walking in what seems 
like a void because the only 

3092
03:03:32,160 --> 03:03:37,240
light we have is our phone, 
collective phone flashlights and

3093
03:03:37,400 --> 03:03:40,000
we could only see about 1015 
feet in front of us. 

3094
03:03:40,080 --> 03:03:46,200
We are yelling for help and we 
are asking if there's anybody on

3095
03:03:46,200 --> 03:03:56,080
the trail where things like that
and eventually comes a point 

3096
03:03:56,520 --> 03:04:02,760
where our phones get too low and
we have to turn around. 

3097
03:04:02,760 --> 03:04:08,480
It's either we continue without 
phones or we turn around and go 

3098
03:04:08,480 --> 03:04:12,600
back to the car and we had 
already gone 6 or 7 miles at 

3099
03:04:12,600 --> 03:04:17,240
this point. 
We make the decision that we 

3100
03:04:17,240 --> 03:04:20,640
aren't going to find her, we are
too far away, we are following 

3101
03:04:20,640 --> 03:04:26,560
her tracks, we're following her 
footsteps, so and we decide. 

3102
03:04:27,400 --> 03:04:29,280
Oh, you can see footsteps at 
this point. 

3103
03:04:29,560 --> 03:04:35,520
Yes, there there is a lot of 
snow on the ground, so it must 

3104
03:04:35,520 --> 03:04:44,040
be around 11:30 PM. 
We turn around and it was it was

3105
03:04:44,040 --> 03:04:49,200
a pretty grueling walk because 
we knew that instead of every 

3106
03:04:49,200 --> 03:04:54,040
step being closer towards mom, 
it was every step is closer 

3107
03:04:54,040 --> 03:04:57,160
towards failure. 
We eventually made it back to 

3108
03:04:57,160 --> 03:05:02,680
the car at I would say maybe 
2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. 

3109
03:05:02,920 --> 03:05:09,760
My small mind was already was 
already ready for the worst and 

3110
03:05:09,960 --> 03:05:18,480
my dad makes the decision that 
the once it becomes morning that

3111
03:05:18,560 --> 03:05:25,160
he is going to turn around and 
he is going to walk up Fr 22 

3112
03:05:25,360 --> 03:05:34,120
slash Ryan Rd. until he finds 
the last place that that had 

3113
03:05:34,120 --> 03:05:38,880
cell phone reception, which was 
19 miles away. 

3114
03:05:39,080 --> 03:05:44,400
My dad, he said, you're going 
to, what you're going to do is 

3115
03:05:44,400 --> 03:05:49,680
you're going to stay in the car,
you're going to run it, but make

3116
03:05:49,680 --> 03:05:54,960
sure that the car doesn't die 
and you're not going to open 

3117
03:05:54,960 --> 03:05:58,840
this door for anybody unless 
they are me or have a Ranger bag

3118
03:05:58,840 --> 03:06:07,120
or a police bag. 
And, and we're going to find 

3119
03:06:07,120 --> 03:06:11,840
help. 
And and so there my father goes,

3120
03:06:12,400 --> 03:06:19,000
who broke his back five months 
prior was I think he maybe just 

3121
03:06:19,000 --> 03:06:21,320
got out of his brace or was 
still in his brace. 

3122
03:06:22,120 --> 03:06:27,480
And there he goes. 
He's going to walk 19 miles to 

3123
03:06:27,520 --> 03:06:31,520
find reception. 
And I, I didn't know if if he 

3124
03:06:31,520 --> 03:06:35,560
was going to make it and. 
So you're in this car by 

3125
03:06:35,560 --> 03:06:40,200
yourself right now? 
I'm in the rental car from 8:00 

3126
03:06:40,200 --> 03:06:55,440
AM to to 2:57 PM which at 257 
PMI saw Deputy Tracy Glover of I

3127
03:06:55,440 --> 03:07:01,000
think Kane County, Utah driving 
in with my father in the 

3128
03:07:01,000 --> 03:07:03,280
passenger seat. 
Oh my goodness. 

3129
03:07:04,160 --> 03:07:09,200
Yeah, he gotten cell phone 
service and called 911 'cause he

3130
03:07:09,200 --> 03:07:13,360
walked back from where we came 
and called 911. 

3131
03:07:13,360 --> 03:07:16,080
And then they, you know, they, 
they questioned him. 

3132
03:07:16,080 --> 03:07:18,400
Of course, you know, that's the 
first thing they do is they say,

3133
03:07:18,400 --> 03:07:20,680
you know, were you and your wife
fighting, you know, that sort of

3134
03:07:20,680 --> 03:07:24,480
thing. 
And then wound up driving back 

3135
03:07:24,480 --> 03:07:28,200
and, and to introduct just one 
slight point is we were, you 

3136
03:07:28,200 --> 03:07:31,880
know, we were on a road trip. 
So the car had our luggage, but 

3137
03:07:31,880 --> 03:07:35,400
also like, I'm kind of like the 
quintessential road trip mom. 

3138
03:07:35,400 --> 03:07:37,640
You know, I had snacks and I had
drinks. 

3139
03:07:37,640 --> 03:07:42,480
And so there were, there was 
plenty in the car, you know, to,

3140
03:07:42,480 --> 03:07:45,360
to eat and drink, you know, 
blankets and, and all of that. 

3141
03:07:45,760 --> 03:07:47,480
Just just that's a bit of an 
aside. 

3142
03:07:48,480 --> 03:07:53,760
And we knew not to is he knew 
and was told that when the car 

3143
03:07:53,760 --> 03:07:56,480
was running to keep warm, to 
make sure the tailpipe was 

3144
03:07:56,480 --> 03:07:59,760
clear, you know? 
You're you're in this car by 

3145
03:07:59,760 --> 03:08:03,480
yourself for several hours. 
You don't know what's happened 

3146
03:08:03,480 --> 03:08:06,000
to mom. 
You don't know what's happened 

3147
03:08:06,000 --> 03:08:09,760
to dad. 
And what I mean, how did you do 

3148
03:08:09,760 --> 03:08:12,400
that? 
I kind of felt like a captive 

3149
03:08:12,400 --> 03:08:18,960
animal. 
I was faced with this situation 

3150
03:08:19,440 --> 03:08:31,400
that had felt way too, way too 
deeply unsettling to process. 

3151
03:08:31,800 --> 03:08:38,080
I, I had no idea emotionally 
what to do. 

3152
03:08:38,560 --> 03:08:44,680
I did do a couple things when I 
was in the car alone from 8:00 

3153
03:08:44,680 --> 03:08:49,320
to 2:57. 
The the first thing that I did 

3154
03:08:49,320 --> 03:08:53,760
was I, I tried to follow my dad 
again. 

3155
03:08:54,800 --> 03:09:01,280
I tried to get out of the car 
and follow my dad IA couple 

3156
03:09:01,280 --> 03:09:03,000
times. 
I think two or three times. 

3157
03:09:03,320 --> 03:09:10,720
I never made it more than like 
10 feet because it was, it was 

3158
03:09:10,720 --> 03:09:14,680
freezing and I at that point I 
had stage 1 frostbite in my 

3159
03:09:14,680 --> 03:09:17,920
right foot and I did not have a 
right shoe either. 

3160
03:09:17,920 --> 03:09:19,880
So I, I wasn't making it 
anywhere. 

3161
03:09:20,680 --> 03:09:25,720
But then I, I tried moving the 
car again. 

3162
03:09:25,720 --> 03:09:30,120
I tried getting it out and I 
would I would check on the 

3163
03:09:30,120 --> 03:09:34,080
tailpipe like my parents said to
make sure that I didn't 

3164
03:09:34,080 --> 03:09:36,800
suffocate but. 
That smart? 

3165
03:09:38,280 --> 03:09:41,560
I would listen to music and just
scream. 

3166
03:09:42,560 --> 03:09:45,080
That was kind of a, a fun coping
mechanism. 

3167
03:09:45,560 --> 03:09:56,200
I, I, I'm not a very, I'm not a 
very religious person, but I 

3168
03:09:56,640 --> 03:10:01,400
hold a lot of, I hold up my 
religious identity and a lot of 

3169
03:10:01,560 --> 03:10:10,800
importance. 
And I, I decided to make, I put 

3170
03:10:10,800 --> 03:10:18,240
a, a napkin on my head to make a
makeshift kippah and I decided 

3171
03:10:18,240 --> 03:10:24,040
to pray. 
And I, it was like a very, it 

3172
03:10:24,040 --> 03:10:28,120
was very, very, very specific 
thing to pray about. 

3173
03:10:28,120 --> 03:10:36,360
But I wanted to see if I was 
safe by 2:00. 

3174
03:10:37,160 --> 03:10:45,400
And if I wasn't safe by 2:00, I 
wanted to, I wanted to cease in 

3175
03:10:45,400 --> 03:10:49,120
the snow. 
I wanted to fall into the snow 

3176
03:10:49,680 --> 03:10:55,480
to leave this earth the way that
my mother must have hours ago. 

3177
03:10:56,760 --> 03:11:04,000
So I, I dealt with a lot of, 
with a lot of heavy emotion 

3178
03:11:04,520 --> 03:11:07,360
because I had already thought my
mom had died. 

3179
03:11:08,400 --> 03:11:18,040
And by 1:00 when it was 1:00, I,
I, I, I gave, I gave God a 

3180
03:11:18,040 --> 03:11:21,440
second chance. 
And I, and I said, I said, I 

3181
03:11:21,440 --> 03:11:27,560
extend this time to 3:00 and, 
and, and I did the same thing, 

3182
03:11:27,560 --> 03:11:33,800
but I said 3:00. 
And that's when I saw Tracy 

3183
03:11:33,800 --> 03:11:40,280
Glover, the the sheriff. 
I saw him and my father in a 

3184
03:11:40,800 --> 03:11:49,880
lifted pickup truck. 
And I, I couldn't believe it. 

3185
03:11:51,120 --> 03:12:05,720
I find of finding out that my 
father was safe and alive and 

3186
03:12:05,720 --> 03:12:18,200
that he had walked 19 miles in 
the snow and he has had brought 

3187
03:12:18,200 --> 03:12:21,280
help. 
It is still one of the most 

3188
03:12:21,280 --> 03:12:26,320
profound feelings of it. 
What felt like liberation. 

3189
03:12:26,320 --> 03:12:31,560
It felt like I was put in this 
virtual hell and I was dragged 

3190
03:12:31,560 --> 03:12:33,240
back out of it. 
I guess. 

3191
03:12:33,840 --> 03:12:39,280
Took a moment to appreciate the 
fact that it at least me and my 

3192
03:12:39,280 --> 03:12:44,120
dad were alive. 
It had, it had been 24 hours 

3193
03:12:44,120 --> 03:12:47,440
since we crashed and it must so 
that must it. 

3194
03:12:47,440 --> 03:12:54,000
It was in between 22 and yeah, 
like 22 hours since my mom had 

3195
03:12:54,000 --> 03:12:58,920
left. 
And I thought it was like a, it 

3196
03:12:58,920 --> 03:13:02,240
was a, it would be miraculous if
she was still alive. 

3197
03:13:02,760 --> 03:13:11,680
But either way, we, we get to 
Jacob Lake where the ambulance 

3198
03:13:11,680 --> 03:13:15,640
is. 
I, I get checked out. 

3199
03:13:17,840 --> 03:13:21,720
I got medicine for my foot. 
So we get driven around. 

3200
03:13:21,720 --> 03:13:25,160
Me and my father get driven 
around by the Rangers. 

3201
03:13:25,720 --> 03:13:32,920
We like to Walmart and the just 
Walmart and to get food and 

3202
03:13:32,920 --> 03:13:39,040
things like that. 
And then I fall asleep in the 

3203
03:13:39,040 --> 03:13:41,920
hotel room. 
We were put in a hotel and then 

3204
03:13:42,680 --> 03:13:54,520
at 3:00 in the morning, I get 
awoken by my father that that 

3205
03:13:54,520 --> 03:14:02,920
that they had found my mother 
alive in I didn't know if I 

3206
03:14:02,920 --> 03:14:07,320
didn't know her condition, but 
we both assumed it was critical.

3207
03:14:08,200 --> 03:14:17,880
But it was it was one. 
It was one of the most 

3208
03:14:17,880 --> 03:14:21,600
indescribable feelings of all 
time. 

3209
03:14:21,760 --> 03:14:29,440
I I bet I had, I had thought 
that I was going to have to live

3210
03:14:29,440 --> 03:14:34,320
my life without a mother and I 
was dealing with that for the 

3211
03:14:34,320 --> 03:14:42,520
last maybe 24 hours or for 
however long time that he was in

3212
03:14:42,520 --> 03:14:48,560
the snow. 
And we went to the hospital and 

3213
03:14:48,560 --> 03:14:57,440
I think it was in Kanab, and we 
reconvened and that's pretty 

3214
03:14:57,440 --> 03:15:03,880
much where my my part of the 
major story ends. 

3215
03:15:03,880 --> 03:15:06,880
One thing I wanted to add to 
Izzy's story is when they 1st 

3216
03:15:06,880 --> 03:15:11,760
called the hotel to tell Eric 
they found me they said we found

3217
03:15:11,760 --> 03:15:13,560
her and then the phone went 
dead. 

3218
03:15:13,560 --> 03:15:16,600
So he didn't know whether they 
found my body or they, no, they 

3219
03:15:16,600 --> 03:15:19,800
found me alive. 
And so they, they called back, 

3220
03:15:19,800 --> 03:15:22,520
It was like 3 minutes and they 
wound up calling back and said, 

3221
03:15:22,520 --> 03:15:25,680
oh, she's alive. 
I think it was by satellite 

3222
03:15:25,680 --> 03:15:27,640
phone. 
They had called from when they 

3223
03:15:27,640 --> 03:15:31,480
had found me to inform. 
But anyway, so I'll, I'll pick 

3224
03:15:31,480 --> 03:15:35,360
up the so that when at first 
light, you know, at that point 

3225
03:15:35,400 --> 03:15:39,600
overnight underneath the tree 
and it was continuing to snow. 

3226
03:15:40,560 --> 03:15:43,480
You know, what happens as, as 
you may be aware, having 

3227
03:15:43,720 --> 03:15:47,320
yourself been in survival 
situations and scenarios, is 

3228
03:15:47,320 --> 03:15:51,120
that your brain starts to go 
into a bit of an Izzy mention it

3229
03:15:51,120 --> 03:15:56,040
a lockdown mode and your your 
priorities start to narrow, you 

3230
03:15:56,040 --> 03:16:01,040
know, into OK, So what are we 
doing next? 

3231
03:16:01,080 --> 03:16:06,120
We like collectively that that 
the strategy is like, OK, Karen,

3232
03:16:06,120 --> 03:16:08,000
like speaking in the third 
person. 

3233
03:16:08,000 --> 03:16:13,360
Oh, what are we going to do? 
And you start prioritizing your 

3234
03:16:13,360 --> 03:16:17,320
survival, you know, food, drink,
shelter, getting to where you 

3235
03:16:17,320 --> 03:16:20,600
need to go. 
And at first light, I'd walked 

3236
03:16:20,600 --> 03:16:23,800
down to the clearing and at this
point, nothing had been plowed. 

3237
03:16:23,800 --> 03:16:27,040
It was about two feet of snow 
and there was a layer of ice on 

3238
03:16:27,040 --> 03:16:29,240
top. 
So like you would, and I'm about

3239
03:16:29,240 --> 03:16:33,760
102 lbs, you would step on it 
and you'd have to punch down 

3240
03:16:33,760 --> 03:16:36,400
into it. 
And so it was tough walking. 

3241
03:16:36,400 --> 03:16:39,160
And I got down to where the, in 
the clearing to where the sign 

3242
03:16:39,160 --> 03:16:44,320
was and it said visitor center 
Northland visitor Center, 6 

3243
03:16:44,320 --> 03:16:46,160
miles. 
And I'm like, OK, that's what 

3244
03:16:46,160 --> 03:16:48,080
we're doing. 
We're there has to be somebody 

3245
03:16:48,080 --> 03:16:50,200
at the visitor center. 
Clearly it wasn't open, but 

3246
03:16:50,200 --> 03:16:52,400
there has to be somebody to look
after the place. 

3247
03:16:52,960 --> 03:16:59,200
And I, I made, what I did is I 
made an arrow out of, and they 

3248
03:16:59,200 --> 03:17:02,000
took the time to take branches 
and made an arrow pointing to 

3249
03:17:02,000 --> 03:17:05,520
the direction that I was going, 
even though I, you could see the

3250
03:17:05,520 --> 03:17:11,520
footprints and you know, 6-6 
miles first light started to 

3251
03:17:11,520 --> 03:17:14,120
walk. 
But at that point I was for 

3252
03:17:14,120 --> 03:17:17,280
hydration. 
I was, would take boluses of 

3253
03:17:17,280 --> 03:17:19,840
snow and tuck them back in my 
cheek because I was at to 

3254
03:17:19,840 --> 03:17:22,440
understand not to lower your 
core body temperature. 

3255
03:17:24,200 --> 03:17:27,200
I was hungry. 
I was, and I, I had, you know, 

3256
03:17:27,200 --> 03:17:30,280
I, I mentioned it previously, 
but I, I had heard that if you 

3257
03:17:30,280 --> 03:17:33,080
drink your own urine for 
hydration, that that's 

3258
03:17:33,080 --> 03:17:35,800
effective. 
I, I did that and it's just as, 

3259
03:17:35,960 --> 03:17:40,200
you know, as much as it, you 
would think it was pretty gross,

3260
03:17:40,200 --> 03:17:41,800
right? 
But whatever it takes. 

3261
03:17:42,400 --> 03:17:46,600
And as the day went on, I was 
getting more and more tired. 

3262
03:17:47,120 --> 03:17:54,680
I was, what had happened is I 
lost my left shoe and I only had

3263
03:17:54,680 --> 03:17:57,600
a sock on my left foot and 
again, punching through the 

3264
03:17:57,600 --> 03:17:59,800
snow. 
And it, it had gotten to the 

3265
03:17:59,800 --> 03:18:03,040
point where it's it, it started 
to like I saw in the distance, I

3266
03:18:03,040 --> 03:18:07,200
saw clouds coming in like there 
was a front that was coming in. 

3267
03:18:07,200 --> 03:18:10,120
And as it turned out, in 
retrospect, what, what they said

3268
03:18:10,120 --> 03:18:15,320
was they, they couldn't cause at
that point, the, the team had 

3269
03:18:15,320 --> 03:18:19,280
been deployed to find me, which 
I didn't know the search and 

3270
03:18:19,280 --> 03:18:21,560
rescue team. 
And they couldn't send a 

3271
03:18:21,560 --> 03:18:24,160
helicopter because of the front 
that was coming through. 

3272
03:18:26,080 --> 03:18:28,440
And I was getting more and more 
tired. 

3273
03:18:28,440 --> 03:18:30,880
I pulled a muscle in my left 
leg. 

3274
03:18:31,360 --> 03:18:35,280
And so to keep moving, I had to 
actually physically pick up my, 

3275
03:18:35,560 --> 03:18:40,920
my left leg with my, my, my 
pants leg and move it. 

3276
03:18:41,320 --> 03:18:45,000
And I was, it was, I was on the 
Grand Canyon Highway and I could

3277
03:18:45,000 --> 03:18:47,960
see the road markers, but the 
snow was deep enough you could 

3278
03:18:47,960 --> 03:18:52,080
just see the tops. 
And I would say, OK, 10 steps at

3279
03:18:52,080 --> 03:18:55,040
a time and collectively, OK, 
we've got this team, right? 

3280
03:18:55,040 --> 03:18:57,280
We've got this. 
Come on, Karen, let's do this. 

3281
03:18:57,280 --> 03:18:58,960
You have to, you know, this is 
for your family. 

3282
03:18:58,960 --> 03:19:02,440
It's at least 6 miles. 
I would walk 10 steps and I 

3283
03:19:02,440 --> 03:19:06,520
would collapse and I would pick 
myself up again, Walk another. 

3284
03:19:06,520 --> 03:19:11,480
You could OK, 10 more, 10 more 
until I could see something 

3285
03:19:11,480 --> 03:19:12,360
ahead of me. 
Like it. 

3286
03:19:12,360 --> 03:19:16,520
It looked like a, a gate ahead 
of me and a a small like a 

3287
03:19:16,520 --> 03:19:19,200
ticket, you know, tick where 
they take the tickets. 

3288
03:19:19,680 --> 03:19:24,240
It was dusk and I remember 
looking around and I went 

3289
03:19:24,240 --> 03:19:26,920
through the gate and I saw 
outbuildings. 

3290
03:19:26,920 --> 03:19:31,560
I saw the ticket booth and I was
calling out and again I was 

3291
03:19:31,560 --> 03:19:34,240
hallucinating and you and you 
see, not hallucinating, but like

3292
03:19:34,680 --> 03:19:37,360
when someone is hallucinating on
TV and the effect they use on 

3293
03:19:37,360 --> 03:19:40,680
the cameras, they shake it 
around and you're kind of that 

3294
03:19:40,680 --> 03:19:44,120
that's right from the person's 
that's what it it looked like. 

3295
03:19:44,600 --> 03:19:49,040
That's what it appeared to be. 
And you know, couldn't feel my 

3296
03:19:49,040 --> 03:19:50,560
feet. 
I was hungry. 

3297
03:19:50,560 --> 03:19:55,640
I was stumbling and I saw a 
cabin on the left hand side that

3298
03:19:55,640 --> 03:19:58,440
was kind of off in the woods. 
That was the closest that I 

3299
03:19:58,440 --> 03:20:01,640
could see the closest building. 
And it had a snowmobile and a 

3300
03:20:01,640 --> 03:20:05,240
pickup truck in the driveway. 
And it was dusk at that point. 

3301
03:20:06,080 --> 03:20:07,920
So I thought, OK, somebody's 
there. 

3302
03:20:08,600 --> 03:20:12,480
And I stumbled over to it. 
It was it wasn't I I didn't go 

3303
03:20:12,480 --> 03:20:15,960
like around the road because at 
the closest is a straight line. 

3304
03:20:16,160 --> 03:20:21,120
What going over tree fallen 
trees and knock on the door and 

3305
03:20:21,120 --> 03:20:24,440
called and nobody had answered 
and. 

3306
03:20:25,200 --> 03:20:27,480
I thought, OK, well, all right, 
well, it's Christmas, right? 

3307
03:20:27,480 --> 03:20:31,080
They're not, they're not home. 
And I couldn't open the door. 

3308
03:20:31,840 --> 03:20:36,920
And So what I did was I broke 
the window with my elbow and I 

3309
03:20:37,040 --> 03:20:41,800
put my jacket down and crawled 
through the window and fell on 

3310
03:20:41,800 --> 03:20:46,960
the floor inside the cabin. 
And it was it was somebody had 

3311
03:20:47,200 --> 03:20:49,720
it was a ranger's cabin, whoever
was looking after the place. 

3312
03:20:49,720 --> 03:20:53,200
But but it just seemed like they
were away for the holiday. 

3313
03:20:53,400 --> 03:20:55,320
But the heat wasn't on. 
There was no electric. 

3314
03:20:55,960 --> 03:20:59,880
And I recall I was again, very 
hallucinating at this point, 

3315
03:21:01,280 --> 03:21:05,840
stumbling around looking for 
something to all I could find 

3316
03:21:05,840 --> 03:21:11,640
was alcohol that they had a well
stocked and I, they, they were 

3317
03:21:11,720 --> 03:21:17,040
cans of food, but I couldn't 
find a can opener. 

3318
03:21:17,040 --> 03:21:20,600
And I just, I was freezing. 
There's no heat. 

3319
03:21:21,000 --> 03:21:24,080
There was a, a fireplace, but I,
I couldn't, I just didn't have 

3320
03:21:24,080 --> 03:21:29,240
the wherewithal to start a fire.
And so I just curl up in a ball 

3321
03:21:29,240 --> 03:21:32,120
and, and sat on the couch and 
put a pillow in the window to 

3322
03:21:32,320 --> 03:21:35,920
prevent the cold from coming in,
although it was just as cold in 

3323
03:21:35,920 --> 03:21:38,760
the cabin. 
And I remember hearing my heart 

3324
03:21:38,760 --> 03:21:42,200
racing and I don't remember 
falling asleep, but it was about

3325
03:21:42,200 --> 03:21:44,600
two in the morning where I heard
a pounding on the door. 

3326
03:21:45,360 --> 03:21:47,200
Well, first I heard people 
yelling. 

3327
03:21:47,200 --> 03:21:48,600
I said, there's a pillow on the 
door. 

3328
03:21:48,600 --> 03:21:50,640
There's a pillow in the door. 
Someone is in there. 

3329
03:21:50,960 --> 03:21:54,200
And then a pounding on the door.
And they said, are, is somebody 

3330
03:21:54,200 --> 03:21:56,840
in there or somebody in there? 
And they said, can you open the 

3331
03:21:56,840 --> 03:21:58,440
door? 
And I said yes. 

3332
03:21:58,440 --> 03:22:03,760
And I stumbled at the door and I
opened it and and I said, please

3333
03:22:04,200 --> 03:22:07,120
don't arrest me. 
I hide for breaking the window. 

3334
03:22:07,120 --> 03:22:09,040
I promise I'll pay for it. 
You know, that was the thing 

3335
03:22:09,040 --> 03:22:10,680
that was on my mind. 
Oh my gosh, they're here to 

3336
03:22:10,680 --> 03:22:12,960
arrest me. 
I broke the window and it was 

3337
03:22:12,960 --> 03:22:15,120
the search. 
It was the search and rescue 

3338
03:22:15,120 --> 03:22:18,600
team. 
And they, you know, took off my 

3339
03:22:19,240 --> 03:22:22,080
wet clothes. 
My clothes were wet and they or 

3340
03:22:22,080 --> 03:22:26,720
but most of my wet clothes. 
And they bundled me up and 

3341
03:22:27,040 --> 03:22:29,000
turned on the electricity to the
cabin. 

3342
03:22:29,000 --> 03:22:34,600
And they had a, a snow cat. 
That's how they were able to get

3343
03:22:34,600 --> 03:22:38,640
to me on the the Grand Canyon 
Highway is they actually had to 

3344
03:22:38,640 --> 03:22:42,360
plow it and they loaded me up on
a Gurney and the snow cat. 

3345
03:22:43,120 --> 03:22:45,360
I'm sorry. 
How did they find you? 

3346
03:22:45,360 --> 03:22:49,280
What? 
Oh, they, they, in fact, there's

3347
03:22:49,280 --> 03:22:53,160
footage I believe on the, their 
Facebook page of the snow cat 

3348
03:22:53,160 --> 03:22:57,120
following my tracks in the snow.
So they were able to follow my 

3349
03:22:57,120 --> 03:23:03,120
tracks because Eric just said 
just just the most obvious, like

3350
03:23:03,120 --> 03:23:07,000
she's a linear thinker, the most
obvious think, think like a 

3351
03:23:07,000 --> 03:23:10,200
person work. 
They followed me with the snow 

3352
03:23:10,200 --> 03:23:12,120
cat. 
They followed my tracks until 

3353
03:23:12,120 --> 03:23:14,160
they got to the clearing at the 
gate. 

3354
03:23:14,760 --> 03:23:19,280
They saw the arrow, but they saw
the snow, the tracks in the 

3355
03:23:19,280 --> 03:23:20,520
snow. 
And they got to the gate and 

3356
03:23:20,520 --> 03:23:22,560
they said they lost me. 
They're like through the gate. 

3357
03:23:22,560 --> 03:23:24,160
They're like, where on earth did
she go? 

3358
03:23:24,160 --> 03:23:25,480
And they went to the ticket 
booth. 

3359
03:23:25,480 --> 03:23:28,560
They went to some outbuildings 
and then they saw the cabin and 

3360
03:23:28,560 --> 03:23:30,520
they went. 
That's when they looked in there

3361
03:23:30,520 --> 03:23:32,440
and that's when they saw the 
pillow that was stuck in the 

3362
03:23:32,440 --> 03:23:37,000
window and the broken glass. 
They took me to snow, cadded me 

3363
03:23:37,000 --> 03:23:43,480
out to Jacob's Lake where an 
ambulance took me to Kanab and I

3364
03:23:43,480 --> 03:23:46,640
spent some time there. 
They did preliminary like IV 

3365
03:23:47,200 --> 03:23:52,800
blood work and it showed that my
I had raptomyelosis from 

3366
03:23:52,800 --> 03:23:56,240
breakdown of muscle tissue and 
my creatine kinase. 

3367
03:23:56,240 --> 03:24:02,160
My CK levels were 55,000, which 
if you are, that's where muscle 

3368
03:24:02,160 --> 03:24:04,680
breakdown. 
Now, if you're, you and I just 

3369
03:24:04,680 --> 03:24:07,760
sitting here, it usually is 
around 50 to 75. 

3370
03:24:07,760 --> 03:24:11,720
This level in our blood, a 
marathon runner, it can elevate 

3371
03:24:11,720 --> 03:24:15,280
to maybe 1000 after a race. 
Mine were 55,000. 

3372
03:24:15,280 --> 03:24:19,120
So they were, it was risking of 
kidney failure because of this 

3373
03:24:19,160 --> 03:24:21,240
breakdown. 
And they said, so we, we need to

3374
03:24:21,240 --> 03:24:22,600
take you to another Medical 
Center. 

3375
03:24:22,600 --> 03:24:26,120
So they wound up taking me to a 
bigger Medical Center. 

3376
03:24:26,520 --> 03:24:31,320
And the concern being, you know,
my, the kidney failure. 

3377
03:24:31,320 --> 03:24:34,440
But they initially they told my 
husband, they said, look, don't 

3378
03:24:34,440 --> 03:24:36,600
get your hopes up. 
She's in critical condition and 

3379
03:24:36,600 --> 03:24:40,160
she may not survive this because
of organ failure. 

3380
03:24:40,560 --> 03:24:45,280
And, and even though they, they 
said like with the, the initial 

3381
03:24:45,280 --> 03:24:48,680
observation of the frostbite in 
the left leg was like you, we 

3382
03:24:48,680 --> 03:24:52,000
might have to take her leg from 
the knee down because of the 

3383
03:24:52,000 --> 03:24:57,320
frostbite. 
And so they had me on, you know,

3384
03:24:57,320 --> 03:25:03,480
they had me on Ivs, they had me 
in the ICU. 

3385
03:25:03,480 --> 03:25:08,200
And there was the, a nurse came 
in or administrator came in and 

3386
03:25:08,200 --> 03:25:12,960
said, and I, it was a major 
network news like I, I think it 

3387
03:25:12,960 --> 03:25:17,080
was NBC News, like NBC News is, 
is here and they would like to 

3388
03:25:17,080 --> 03:25:20,080
interview you. 
And I'm like, why on earth do 

3389
03:25:20,080 --> 03:25:23,200
they want to interview me? 
Like, what have I done? 

3390
03:25:23,200 --> 03:25:25,800
You know, and at that, cause at 
that point I'd gone, you know, 

3391
03:25:25,800 --> 03:25:28,600
26 miles. 
But I guess it, it had hit the, 

3392
03:25:28,800 --> 03:25:34,480
the search and rescue, how the 
news wires work, I'm not sure. 

3393
03:25:34,480 --> 03:25:38,720
But it, it hit, started hitting 
the news wires and it started 

3394
03:25:38,720 --> 03:25:43,120
gaining attention. 
And the, the security actually 

3395
03:25:43,120 --> 03:25:47,840
had to, somebody tried to sneak 
in with a camera. 

3396
03:25:47,840 --> 03:25:51,400
Somebody tried to, you know, the
news crew tried to sneak in and 

3397
03:25:51,400 --> 03:25:54,400
they actually had to, you know, 
kind of shoot people away. 

3398
03:25:55,560 --> 03:26:00,480
And so with, with medication and
Ivs. 

3399
03:26:00,680 --> 03:26:02,800
Oh, and I should say we were 
found. 

3400
03:26:02,960 --> 03:26:05,520
I was found New Year's Eve 
morning, 3:00 AM. 

3401
03:26:05,520 --> 03:26:08,080
So at this point, it was the 
24th, which I think that was 

3402
03:26:08,080 --> 03:26:12,080
part of the news the, the 
Christmas Eve. 

3403
03:26:12,080 --> 03:26:15,320
Yeah, Christmas Eve. 
But that was part of the, I 

3404
03:26:15,320 --> 03:26:17,960
think the attraction, you know, 
from the media's point of view 

3405
03:26:18,640 --> 03:26:20,520
is that it was like a Christmas 
miracle. 

3406
03:26:20,600 --> 03:26:21,080
Yeah. 
I. 

3407
03:26:21,120 --> 03:26:23,280
Would say that's absolutely 
correct. 

3408
03:26:23,680 --> 03:26:30,200
Christmas miracle for sure. 
So then they had done some an 

3409
03:26:30,200 --> 03:26:35,800
experimental procedure as far as
running and I'm not exactly sure

3410
03:26:35,800 --> 03:26:40,000
what it was to try to save my my
foot, the one that that had lost

3411
03:26:40,000 --> 03:26:42,640
the shoe. 
And ultimately at the end of the

3412
03:26:42,640 --> 03:26:47,000
day, you know, they were able to
save, save my foot using this 

3413
03:26:47,000 --> 03:26:50,160
procedure. 
But, and with the, the doctors 

3414
03:26:50,160 --> 03:26:54,320
said that they hadn't like my 
let my CK levels came down South

3415
03:26:54,320 --> 03:26:57,680
quickly, that they'd never seen 
that type of recovery before. 

3416
03:26:58,040 --> 03:27:01,040
And they had said that had he 
not been like, in shape, you 

3417
03:27:01,040 --> 03:27:04,120
know, a recreational runner or 
had I been, they said if they 

3418
03:27:04,120 --> 03:27:07,440
had found me about four hours 
later, that they would have 

3419
03:27:07,440 --> 03:27:10,120
found me dead, that they would 
have, I would have not survived 

3420
03:27:10,120 --> 03:27:13,200
the next few hours that they 
caught me just in time. 

3421
03:27:13,400 --> 03:27:14,840
When did you guys finally 
reunite? 

3422
03:27:15,440 --> 03:27:21,400
In the hospital, the initial 
hospital, the in canal, the 

3423
03:27:21,400 --> 03:27:24,520
small hospital. 
And I honestly, I was like, they

3424
03:27:24,600 --> 03:27:26,400
think like, what was your 
initial reaction? 

3425
03:27:26,400 --> 03:27:30,080
And I was obviously, I was so 
relieved and thrilled. 

3426
03:27:30,080 --> 03:27:32,360
It was all thrilled. 
It was all surreal. 

3427
03:27:32,360 --> 03:27:36,840
But I was still kind of like 
very much, you know, very much 

3428
03:27:36,960 --> 03:27:40,960
gorked, but I was very grateful.
And, you know, these things 

3429
03:27:40,960 --> 03:27:43,320
happen to other people. 
You you don't put yourself in 

3430
03:27:43,320 --> 03:27:45,800
these scenarios until you're 
like, wait, did did this. 

3431
03:27:46,240 --> 03:27:48,400
Happen. 
You know what? 

3432
03:27:48,400 --> 03:27:52,560
Did just what? 
So it was very surreal and in 

3433
03:27:52,560 --> 03:27:54,800
that regard. 
Izzy, what did your what was 

3434
03:27:54,800 --> 03:27:56,120
your experience when you saw 
Mom? 

3435
03:27:56,600 --> 03:28:03,400
Well, first, the emotional 
aspect was it was all of the 

3436
03:28:03,400 --> 03:28:12,160
loss that I had preemptively 
went through that I went through

3437
03:28:12,320 --> 03:28:16,080
what was what am I going to do 
in my life without my mother? 

3438
03:28:16,080 --> 03:28:20,720
Truly, my my mother is a 
extremely important figure to 

3439
03:28:20,720 --> 03:28:26,760
me. 
Her endless positivity, the way 

3440
03:28:26,760 --> 03:28:35,880
that she would do just anything 
to help us. 

3441
03:28:36,520 --> 03:28:39,840
Yes, that goes for both of my 
parents that they would. 

3442
03:28:40,320 --> 03:28:48,240
I was just filled with this 
feeling of confusion that people

3443
03:28:48,880 --> 03:28:55,320
could come together and do 
something like this that I 

3444
03:28:55,320 --> 03:28:58,720
thought was impossible. 
I first saw my mother and I 

3445
03:28:58,720 --> 03:29:01,640
remember that she looked very 
flush. 

3446
03:29:01,920 --> 03:29:08,200
Her skin appeared like yellow or
yes, white, whiter than usual, 

3447
03:29:08,200 --> 03:29:14,520
more pale than usual. 
She she appeared to be in a in a

3448
03:29:14,640 --> 03:29:17,520
rough state. 
I could tell that she was in 

3449
03:29:17,520 --> 03:29:21,440
critical condition and it seemed
like she was very confused, but 

3450
03:29:21,440 --> 03:29:24,040
she was very, very happy to see 
us. 

3451
03:29:24,200 --> 03:29:31,760
I bet there was a team of 15. 
Was it 15 people that that all 

3452
03:29:31,760 --> 03:29:38,800
worked together from multiple 
counties to save us and I I had 

3453
03:29:38,800 --> 03:29:44,240
now realized that we are now 
becoming national news. 

3454
03:29:44,240 --> 03:29:45,840
Well, it. 
You know, it garnered so much 

3455
03:29:46,280 --> 03:29:49,240
media attention, international 
and national media attention. 

3456
03:29:49,240 --> 03:29:55,320
It was overwhelming in, in a bit
of a, again, a surreal way, but 

3457
03:29:55,400 --> 03:30:00,680
you know, we like we, one of my 
colleagues is from Mississippi 

3458
03:30:00,680 --> 03:30:05,720
and he said, Oh, I was home and 
I went to church and the, the, 

3459
03:30:06,040 --> 03:30:09,400
the pastor was the sermon was 
about perseverance and he 

3460
03:30:09,400 --> 03:30:13,480
brought you up this story and I 
said, I work with her said, Oh 

3461
03:30:13,520 --> 03:30:16,760
my God. 
So, I mean, it was it was a you 

3462
03:30:16,760 --> 03:30:19,160
know, the, the attention was, 
was very humbling and 

3463
03:30:19,160 --> 03:30:22,440
overwhelming and the kindness 
and selflessness of their search

3464
03:30:22,440 --> 03:30:25,200
and rescue team, the people that
lived in the town where the 

3465
03:30:25,200 --> 03:30:30,320
hospital was and, and just the 
public in in general, you know, 

3466
03:30:30,320 --> 03:30:34,440
and, and people say like, well, 
what big picture did you did you

3467
03:30:34,440 --> 03:30:37,120
find meaning in your experience 
or do you? 

3468
03:30:38,160 --> 03:30:41,600
And the answer is, you know, you
just do have to, you just never 

3469
03:30:41,600 --> 03:30:42,960
know. 
You have to live every day. 

3470
03:30:42,960 --> 03:30:46,720
You have to certainly lessons 
are to be learned, of course, 

3471
03:30:46,720 --> 03:30:49,080
big and small, but we we haven't
been back. 

3472
03:30:49,080 --> 03:30:51,280
We hope to go back. 
In fact, the share Izzy has 

3473
03:30:51,280 --> 03:30:55,600
spoken to both sheriffs as of 
recently and they've offered to 

3474
03:30:55,600 --> 03:30:57,880
say, Hey, we'll take you back 
and we'll show you where you 

3475
03:30:57,880 --> 03:30:59,200
were. 
And then I'm I'm rather 

3476
03:30:59,200 --> 03:31:02,440
interested, you know, even on 
Google Maps, I've seen like, oh,

3477
03:31:02,440 --> 03:31:05,040
I was, that's the tree where I 
spent the night, you know, and 

3478
03:31:05,040 --> 03:31:09,000
this is the path that we took. 
So, you know, it's it's, you 

3479
03:31:09,560 --> 03:31:11,720
know, we certainly are in averse
to going back. 

3480
03:31:11,720 --> 03:31:14,560
I don't think we'll go in the 
winter, you know, obviously. 

3481
03:31:14,720 --> 03:31:17,200
And you know, we never did get 
that refrigerator magnet right. 

3482
03:31:17,280 --> 03:31:20,120
Like so We never did really. 
We never saw the South grim. 

3483
03:31:21,000 --> 03:31:23,440
Hectically, we're at the Grand 
Canyon, but never. 

3484
03:31:23,440 --> 03:31:25,640
Got the magnet. 
Oh, man, you went through all 

3485
03:31:25,640 --> 03:31:26,960
that. 
You need to get a magnet. 

3486
03:31:27,560 --> 03:31:30,720
Come on. 
So yeah, I mean, eventually I 

3487
03:31:30,720 --> 03:31:33,720
think we'll we'll go back. 
It's, it's definitely, you know,

3488
03:31:33,880 --> 03:31:36,240
nowadays, you know, they have 
satellite phones, they have 

3489
03:31:36,240 --> 03:31:38,680
emergency 11 calls on your 
phone. 

3490
03:31:38,680 --> 03:31:42,120
I mean, so there are there ways 
that you cannot like that, that 

3491
03:31:42,120 --> 03:31:45,720
what what happened to us 
wouldn't to, to prevent. 

3492
03:31:45,720 --> 03:31:47,880
And they said that one of the 
reasons the search and rescue 

3493
03:31:47,880 --> 03:31:50,480
teams were, were so much in 
spirits, I think because of the,

3494
03:31:50,800 --> 03:31:53,160
you know, the holiday season. 
But they also said that they had

3495
03:31:53,160 --> 03:31:56,280
just had a search and rescue 
where the person wasn't alive, 

3496
03:31:56,280 --> 03:31:58,520
but they found the about, I 
think a week before. 

3497
03:31:58,800 --> 03:32:01,000
So they were pretty, you know, 
they they were pretty 

3498
03:32:01,000 --> 03:32:04,080
discouraged but by that. 
But they obviously they're 

3499
03:32:04,080 --> 03:32:08,360
always happy when they're able 
to find somebody. 5 Right. 

3500
03:32:08,640 --> 03:32:09,280
Sure. 
Yeah. 

3501
03:32:09,560 --> 03:32:16,760
In Coco Nino County in the month
of December in 2016, three 

3502
03:32:16,760 --> 03:32:21,320
people died from cold exposure 
and three people got saved from 

3503
03:32:21,320 --> 03:32:27,800
cold exposure. 
And it I, it's very interesting.

3504
03:32:28,080 --> 03:32:32,920
I felt, I felt like very easily 
that could have been us. 

3505
03:32:33,360 --> 03:32:39,720
But if I if I feel like if we do
go back, if if I have the phone 

3506
03:32:39,720 --> 03:32:43,280
that I have now, it would not 
this would not have happened 

3507
03:32:43,280 --> 03:32:49,600
because it has a satellite. 
But guess luck at the draw. 

3508
03:32:49,800 --> 03:32:52,960
Hey, man, all those questions 
come up. 

3509
03:32:53,080 --> 03:32:57,320
Yeah, I know the what ifs. 
If I had only done this. 

3510
03:32:57,560 --> 03:33:00,520
Did this happen this way? 
It's like, you know what? 

3511
03:33:00,520 --> 03:33:02,160
You're both alive. 
You're here. 

3512
03:33:02,160 --> 03:33:04,600
You're telling your story. 
Everybody's made it out. 

3513
03:33:04,600 --> 03:33:07,440
And that's cool. 
Have you guys had like movie 

3514
03:33:07,440 --> 03:33:09,920
deals or anything like that at 
all or book deal or anything 

3515
03:33:09,920 --> 03:33:12,080
come come your way at all? 
Has anybody talked about that? 

3516
03:33:12,560 --> 03:33:15,560
You know, people have mentioned,
oh, you should be in a movie or 

3517
03:33:15,560 --> 03:33:18,320
they should make a movie even 
like mentioned on the Today show

3518
03:33:18,320 --> 03:33:22,000
when they were done with the, 
you know, with the, with the 

3519
03:33:22,000 --> 03:33:24,320
segment, they said who will play
her in the movie? 

3520
03:33:24,320 --> 03:33:25,680
I wonder who played her in the 
movie. 

3521
03:33:25,680 --> 03:33:29,560
And, and the we, we, there was a
survival show we were on. 

3522
03:33:29,560 --> 03:33:32,000
It's called SOS how to survive 
on The Weather Channel. 

3523
03:33:32,000 --> 03:33:36,360
We were featured on that. 
We were on the Today show, but 

3524
03:33:37,880 --> 03:33:41,320
the, you know, a friend offered,
oh, you know, I know some 

3525
03:33:41,320 --> 03:33:42,960
people. 
Maybe we could put a script 

3526
03:33:42,960 --> 03:33:44,440
together and but that fell 
through. 

3527
03:33:44,760 --> 03:33:47,680
But if anyone's willing, I mean.
Yeah, if you're out there, if 

3528
03:33:47,680 --> 03:33:50,000
you're listening. 
This is. 

3529
03:33:50,480 --> 03:33:53,240
This is like a gold mine right 
here so. 

3530
03:33:53,480 --> 03:33:56,680
Yeah, we're thinking, and it was
around it was Christmas time, so

3531
03:33:56,760 --> 03:33:59,480
at least Hallmark Hall of Fame 
could do something small to you.

3532
03:33:59,480 --> 03:34:02,000
Yeah. 
Something get on the Hallmark, 

3533
03:34:02,000 --> 03:34:03,720
yeah? 
Inside the box you're. 

3534
03:34:04,760 --> 03:34:05,720
Right. 
Oh, man, Sure. 

3535
03:34:06,240 --> 03:34:08,000
Well, you're you're guys, this 
is crazy. 

3536
03:34:08,000 --> 03:34:12,920
This is an insanely complex. 
Everything about this is just a 

3537
03:34:13,000 --> 03:34:16,000
crazy story. 
I'm I for one, I'm happy that 

3538
03:34:16,000 --> 03:34:19,640
you guys are out, that you're 
safe, that everybody is able to 

3539
03:34:19,760 --> 03:34:22,280
talk. 
And these are my favorite kind 

3540
03:34:22,280 --> 03:34:25,880
of endings to stories when 
people survive. 

3541
03:34:25,880 --> 03:34:29,840
I don't like the alternative at 
all, you know? 

3542
03:34:29,840 --> 03:34:32,840
So yeah. 
Anything else you guys want to 

3543
03:34:32,920 --> 03:34:39,120
talk about real quick? 
I, I, I saw your videos about 

3544
03:34:39,640 --> 03:34:44,400
you in the North Rim and there 
was something that you said that

3545
03:34:44,480 --> 03:34:54,480
I, that I related to a lot. 
And it's that like in 

3546
03:34:54,640 --> 03:35:00,000
Hindsight's 2020, you can, you 
can go and point out everything 

3547
03:35:00,000 --> 03:35:02,640
that you did wrong or everything
that you could have done 

3548
03:35:02,640 --> 03:35:10,360
differently. 
But at the same time, if I could

3549
03:35:10,360 --> 03:35:14,880
go back, I relate to you in the 
way that you said that you would

3550
03:35:14,880 --> 03:35:18,920
not, you would not change it. 
You would you would have it 

3551
03:35:18,920 --> 03:35:26,120
happen again. 
And I think I relate to that 

3552
03:35:26,120 --> 03:35:32,160
because it's just such an 
important life event to all of 

3553
03:35:32,160 --> 03:35:35,000
us. 
It is it is the most traumatic 

3554
03:35:35,560 --> 03:35:41,520
day of my days of my life and it
has caused various mental health

3555
03:35:41,520 --> 03:35:48,040
problems down the road. 
But it is just such a lesson in 

3556
03:35:48,080 --> 03:35:53,040
survival and perseverance and 
love that I would take it. 

3557
03:35:53,040 --> 03:35:54,520
I would keep. 
I would keep. 

3558
03:35:54,720 --> 03:35:57,680
Have it go over again. 
That's awesome. 

3559
03:35:58,240 --> 03:35:59,520
Yeah. 
Yeah, that's cool. 

3560
03:36:00,120 --> 03:36:07,600
I thought the way that our story
was told was kind of inadequate 

3561
03:36:07,960 --> 03:36:11,880
by the media because I think 
there is a lot of very important

3562
03:36:11,880 --> 03:36:18,560
details that got let out. 
The media didn't understand that

3563
03:36:18,560 --> 03:36:23,240
how crucial my dad was. 
Like I, I didn't read anywhere 

3564
03:36:23,440 --> 03:36:29,080
about how my dad walked a 19 
miles with a broken back and how

3565
03:36:29,080 --> 03:36:33,520
if he didn't do it, we would 
have gone stuck permanently. 

3566
03:36:34,680 --> 03:36:42,080
And I think that in some cases 
we were kind of like we were 

3567
03:36:42,080 --> 03:36:48,560
expressed as thrill seekers and 
we weren't thrill seekers. 

3568
03:36:48,560 --> 03:36:51,400
We were just, we were just going
to the Grand Canyon. 

3569
03:36:52,920 --> 03:36:57,320
And I have had a very long 
healing journey. 

3570
03:36:58,000 --> 03:37:02,480
I, I've probably gone through 
more than like 8 therapists, but

3571
03:37:04,320 --> 03:37:15,200
I, I've healed with creation 
like I make I, I made a, a 

3572
03:37:15,560 --> 03:37:18,360
YouTube video called Nothing's 
going to Change my World. 

3573
03:37:19,120 --> 03:37:22,560
And it's a it's a cover of 
Across the Universe by The 

3574
03:37:22,560 --> 03:37:27,040
Beatles, which is a song that I 
listened to a lot before and 

3575
03:37:27,480 --> 03:37:31,880
after the event. 
So it reminds me a lot of that 

3576
03:37:31,880 --> 03:37:34,160
time. 
So I decided to make a cover of 

3577
03:37:34,160 --> 03:37:38,880
that song and I made it about 
and I made the music video about

3578
03:37:38,880 --> 03:37:44,120
this event. 
I just want to thank everybody 

3579
03:37:44,120 --> 03:37:49,200
who's was involved because I 
want to thank my mother because 

3580
03:37:49,200 --> 03:37:51,920
she went out when nobody else 
was going. 

3581
03:37:52,040 --> 03:37:56,280
Could have gone out and I want 
to thank my father because he 

3582
03:37:56,280 --> 03:38:05,000
what he was the if he'd had 
acted on a longer notice, my 

3583
03:38:05,000 --> 03:38:12,520
mother would have died. 
And it's just so important that 

3584
03:38:12,600 --> 03:38:16,560
it's just so it's everything to 
me. 

3585
03:38:17,240 --> 03:38:22,600
I I think the people at Coconino
County and Kane County and the 

3586
03:38:22,680 --> 03:38:25,720
and the Rangers and the rescue 
team that they are they are my 

3587
03:38:25,720 --> 03:38:29,040
heroes. 
They they saved the little boy's

3588
03:38:29,040 --> 03:38:35,760
mother and in circumstances that
they must have thought was going

3589
03:38:35,760 --> 03:38:44,760
to be a a body and I am I I 
can't believe it. 

3590
03:38:44,920 --> 03:38:48,520
I am I'm I'm better. 
That's awesome. 

3591
03:38:48,520 --> 03:38:52,600
This is it's been a very 
important part of my life. 

3592
03:38:52,760 --> 03:38:55,960
Karen, anything you want to 
close with? 

3593
03:38:56,320 --> 03:38:59,360
Oh, it just you know what, we 
appreciate your having us on, of

3594
03:38:59,360 --> 03:39:02,800
course, and and having a chance 
to share our story and hopes 

3595
03:39:02,800 --> 03:39:06,360
that people will learn lessons 
like whether they're inspired by

3596
03:39:06,360 --> 03:39:09,640
it or whether they're able to 
learn the things not to do, you 

3597
03:39:09,640 --> 03:39:11,800
know, if they find themselves in
the same situation. 

3598
03:39:12,080 --> 03:39:17,600
And just ever so thankful to 
everyone involved in our rescue 

3599
03:39:17,600 --> 03:39:22,040
and support even thereafter. 
And if anyone has any ideas what

3600
03:39:22,040 --> 03:39:24,320
that weasel could have been or 
who it was. 

3601
03:39:24,560 --> 03:39:27,720
And I'm a very spiritual person,
you know, and it open to lots of

3602
03:39:27,720 --> 03:39:32,680
ideas and who knows what it was.
I, I don't know then certainly 

3603
03:39:32,680 --> 03:39:37,520
like let me know. 
But it's, it's been, it's, it 

3604
03:39:37,520 --> 03:39:41,080
has been quite an experience. 
I I got AI got a feeling I'm a 

3605
03:39:41,080 --> 03:39:42,840
spiritual person too, and I got 
a feeling some of the people in 

3606
03:39:42,840 --> 03:39:45,200
my comments will probably will 
probably chime in. 

3607
03:39:46,960 --> 03:39:49,800
So, OK, yeah, there you go. 
And again, it was, it was, it is

3608
03:39:49,880 --> 03:39:54,000
clear as I'm talking to you that
I saw it and I didn't summon it.

3609
03:39:54,000 --> 03:39:58,000
It just appeared 3 times. 
Same thing, little weasel it 

3610
03:39:58,000 --> 03:39:59,760
was. 
And there is no weasel 

3611
03:39:59,760 --> 03:40:02,400
indigenous to that area. 
It looked more like a cartoon 

3612
03:40:02,400 --> 03:40:04,240
drawing. 
It was just bizarre. 

3613
03:40:04,400 --> 03:40:07,280
It was really very bizarre. 
Who knows? 

3614
03:40:07,480 --> 03:40:11,120
Well, I appreciate you guys. 
You're awesome and your story's 

3615
03:40:11,120 --> 03:40:15,400
crazy amazing and I am so 
thankful that you guys are both,

3616
03:40:15,400 --> 03:40:20,040
like I said, just safe and well 
and here and also you're fun 

3617
03:40:20,040 --> 03:40:21,800
people. 
So thanks for making this 

3618
03:40:22,440 --> 03:40:24,440
podcast and being on it and all 
that good stuff and. 

3619
03:40:24,600 --> 03:40:26,120
Yeah, sure. 
Absolutely. 

3620
03:40:26,640 --> 03:40:28,240
All right. 
All right, if we're ever your 

3621
03:40:28,240 --> 03:40:29,960
way, we'll stop in. 
Awesome. 

3622
03:40:30,000 --> 03:40:31,240
Sounds good. 
Cool. 

3623
03:40:31,240 --> 03:40:32,760
All right, we'll see you on the 
next one. 

3624
03:40:32,800 --> 03:40:35,760
YouTube is a rabbit hole of 
information. 

3625
03:40:35,760 --> 03:40:38,960
So in order to solve that 
problem, I wrote a backpacking 

3626
03:40:38,960 --> 03:40:42,280
course where I took my 10 years 
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3627
03:40:42,280 --> 03:40:45,840
the 400 YouTube videos that I 
filmed and condensed it down 

3628
03:40:45,840 --> 03:40:48,760
into just 18 videos and a few 
lessons for you to learn. 

3629
03:40:48,880 --> 03:40:50,600
All you have to do is go to my 
brand new website 

3630
03:40:50,600 --> 03:40:53,080
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