Steve Koppel, 64, is no novice on hiking trails, and he’s no risk taker either. And yet, a freak accident left him tumbling down into a steep, cactus-filled gorge after he stumbled while hiking in southern Arizona. Thankfully, he protected his head and neck as he fell, and he was able to stop his descent before hitting the bottom. Koppel’s rescue took about eight hours, but the hiker is leaving Arizona with relatively minimal injuries.
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Koppel and his wife were visiting the Catalina Foothills near Tucson, Arizona from Massachusetts. They were enjoying a guided hike (a hike they’ve done before on a previous trip) when the accident occurred.
Koppel says the group was 2.5 miles up at the summit when they stopped to rest and refuel. He told The Cape Cod Chronicle that it “wasn’t in a particularly precarious spot.” A misstep caused him to stumble, and then before he knew it, he was falling. He fell for about 40 feet before coming to a stop, but it could have been worse, considering the gorge is several hundred feet deep.
Guides leapt into action, climbing down to Koppel and stabilizing him, but he was too injured to climb back up, so they called for help. A helicopter air lifted Koppel from the spot and brought him to the hospital for treatment.
Koppel sustained cuts on his arms and injuries to his leg and foot, including a fractured fibula, according to The Cape Cod Chronicle. He and his wife are now safely back home in Massachusetts.
Watch as a hiker in Arizona gets rescued:
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