This stranger didn’t mean danger.
A 79-year-old grandmother who broke her leg on a solo hike in Washington state ended up being rescued after a young US Airman managed to carry her on his back for hours down the mountain.
Ursula Bannister, who describes herself as an experienced hiker, ran into trouble after setting off on the 3.1-mile hike to High Rock Lookout — a viewpoint near Ashford, Wash., where her mom’s ashes are spread — on Aug. 28, the Washington Post reported.
After reaching the summit and snapping a photo of the view, Bannister said she stepped in a hole and tumbled — ultimately breaking her leg in three places.
“By the time I sat up, my foot was pointing the wrong way. I knew right away I had broken my leg,” she recalled.
“I tried to get up with my hiking pole and it collapsed on me.”
US Air Force Airman First Class Troy May, who was hiking with his fiancée and a friend, were among those at the lookout who heard Bannister’s cries for help.
When a 911 dispatcher informed them it would be at least four to five hours before rescue crews could reach the lookout, the 20-year-old Airman opted to hoist Bannister on his back instead.
“I knew I was capable of carrying her down,” May said. “I really didn’t make much of a decision, I just knew I needed to carry her down if I could.”
He ended up carrying her for most of the three-hour trek back down to the parking lot, while his friend pitched in at times.
Others they encountered on the trail helped out by crafting a makeshift splint for Bannister’s leg and doing breathing exercises with her to calm her down in the absence of any painkillers.
Her rescuers also peppered Bannister with questions about her life in a bid to distract her from the pain.
“If I didn’t focus on my pain, I didn’t scream quite as loudly,” she explained. “I think we were all just giving each other psychological support.”
After reaching the end of the trail, May and his cohort drove Bannister to the nearest hospital.
“I was just overwhelmed with gratitude that these people literally came out of the woods to help me and they were totally unselfish and kind,” Bannister said.
“I thought these people were behaving like angels coming from the sky,” she continued. “I was just thankful that these guys were willing to do this.”
The grandmother, who is now recovering at home, said she does the same hike every year — usually with a relative or friend — to leave flowers for her mom at the top of the lookout.
She didn’t think twice about setting off on her own, though, given she hikes regularly.
“It’s steep so it’s considered a hard hike, but because I’ve done it so many times, I wasn’t nervous about it,” Bannister said.
She ended up wheelchair-bound with 11 screws and a titanium plate in her leg following the mid-hike accident.
