Hiker falls during trek in canyon, spends night in cold with dead phone, rescuers say
A man fell while hiking in a Montana canyon and had to hunker down in the cold overnight with a dead phone, rescuers said.
He set out for a hike at about 9 a.m. May 10 in the area of Hyalite Canyon, the Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue said in a Facebook post.
Someone reported him missing the next morning when he didn’t make it home the previous night, rescuers said.
A search team was put together to look for him by foot, with police dogs, a drone and a helicopter. They found his vehicle in Hyalite Canyon but couldn’t find him.
They found “possible tracks” at about 9:30 a.m. in the area of Palisade Falls, and later found him “walking out to the Hyalite Reservoir parking lot” at 1:18 p.m., rescuers said.
“He had suffered from cold exposure, possible head and back injuries, and was badly dehydrated,” so he was taken to a nearby hospital, the rescue team said.
He had fallen during his trek near Palisade Falls and was unable to return to his vehicle the night of his hike, rescuers said.
Rescuers said he also couldn’t call for help because his phone was dead, so he made a “snow-cave shelter” to stay warm for the night.
“When plans fall through, and things go south, a little bit of toughness goes a long way,” the agency commented on the post.
The Hyalite Canyon Recreation Area is south of Bozeman and has campgrounds, day use areas and trails for hikers and mountain bikers, according to Visit Montana.
Palisade Falls is within the recreation area. The 1.1-mile trail to the waterfall is described as a “moderately challenging route,” according to AllTrails.
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