On September 22, 2024, at around 3 pm, I had just finished cleaning up our cabin in Granite, Oregon, and packed the pick-up for the long drive back to the coast. Thinking a couple of trout for dinner would be a great idea, I decided to hike up to Baldy Lake. It’s about a mile-and-a-half from the trailhead to the lake, and I arrived around 4:15 pm. On my third cast, I caught a nice brook trout—one more, and I’d be set.

After placing the trout on a stringer, I went to retrieve my pole when something caught my left foot, and I took a hard fall. I landed on my left side, and the pain was excruciating.

Standing up was nearly impossible, and putting weight on my left leg wasn’t working. I crawled about fifty feet to the trail, but by 6:30 pm, I realized there was no way I’d make it out on my own.

I activated my ResQLink beacon and gathered as much wood as I could for a fire. Knowing the firewood wouldn’t last long, I waited until after dark to light it.

Shortly after starting the fire, I heard a helicopter nearby, but it didn’t fly directly overhead. Within 30 minutes, a SAR (Search and Rescue) team member appeared—what a relief!

By 4 am the next day, the Life Flight crew had dropped me off at Walla Walla Hospital. An X-ray revealed that the ball of my left femur had broken off.

I owe a huge thanks to Grant County SAR, Baker County SAR, Life Flight, and all the folks in Granite who helped.