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The ‘Big 3’ of things every child in America was led to believe would be a threat later in life but that turned out to be virtually inconsequential are Stop, Drop, and Roll (1), the Bermuda Triangle (2), and Quicksand (3). Unfortunately, for one hiker at Utah’s Arches National Park they just lived through a brush with the latter, quicksand.
The hiker was rescued over the weekend, virtually unharmed, after a drone was used to pinpoint their exact location and they were found trapped in quicksand from the thighs down.
Utah Hiker Rescued From Quicksand After Being Trapped Thigh-Deep
Grand County Search and Rescue incident commander John Marshall received the call at 7:15am on Sunday morning. Just like all of us who learned about quicksand in grade school, emergency rescuers are aware of quicksand but it is something virtually never have to deal with aside from confronting the lasting trauma of the Artax scene in The Neverending Story that impacted generations of Americans.
According to NBC News there was a similar incident to this one back in 2014 just two miles away from where the hiker had gotten stuck up to his thighs. But that didn’t make the call any less surprising for John Marshall.
When the report came through, he said “the page went off and I kind of shook my head and said: ‘Did I hear that correctly? Somebody is stuck in quicksand?”
From there, they had to devise a rescue plan that involved vehicle traction boards and a ladder to safely reach the hiker. he had been stuck for hours, in freezing conditions, up to his thighs. But miraculously was unharmed other than that.
Grand County Search and Rescue incident commander John Marshall reiterated what we all learned back in elementary school: it can snatch you up in an instant! He said “it’s got a good bite. The more people struggle, the deeper they go. So, one or two footsteps into that sand is really all it needs to initiate that initial stuck factor.”
Everyone knows the best plan is splay out your arms making yourself as wide as possible. And slowly wiggling your trapped parts to create air pockets until you are able to break free, inch by inch. Or at least that’s how I remember the survival tips from childhood. Maybe that’s all wrong and I’d be swallowed by quicksand myself!
In the video above, it was just 21 degrees outside on Sunday morning. Being trapped up to your thighs in quicksand is now way to spend your Sunday, but all’s well that ends well.