Mike's Journal Entry

This is the full story of the hike in Mike's own words.  This was taken from his journal:


Monday, October 03, 2011


It has been a while, and it is not Sunday, but I need to make an entry. This past week, some coworkers and I planned a hike in Zion National Park. The popular trail called The Subway. This is a well hidden slot canyon in the park where you can escape the summer heat and get wet while hiking. We left Wednesday, September 28th at 7:30am. We made it to the trail head and started our hike at 8:30am. There were 10 people in our party. The Costco employees were: Bob Malloy(Whse Mgr), Rob Everett(Asst GM), Greg Avalos(Merch Mgr), Tobin Nelson(Foods Mgr) Mike Sanberg(am Stocker/Driver, and our guide),Myself and 4 other friends and neighbors. The Hike made its way through beautiful forest and rock formations until we made it to the entrance and needed to descend into the canyon a little after 10am. We climbed down without much problem and put on our water clothes. We had to get wet right away and cross a pool. The water temp was around 50 degrees and the temp in the canyon was similar. It felt great! We continued on to the first obstacle on the trail. There are a few of these that require rope and skill. This one had two routes you could take. You could go over the top of this rock, slide down and jump to the sand and water below, or you could go to the right and use a rope and maneuver down a slot against the canyon wall to the bottom. I chose the first, mainly because it looked much faster and I had made similar jumps before. I slid down as far as I could, staying in control, and then jumped. The landing was water and sand, and looked like it would be soft enough to lighten my impact. At 10:30am, I made the Jump. It took longer to hit the bottom than expected and the landing was not as soft as I thought. I landed on my feet hard, bent my knees, and rolled as planned. I felt my left foot make a funny noise as I landed and sat with my feet still in the water. My friends heard the splash and loud landing and asked if I was ok. I said, “Give me a second, and I will let you know”. It did not take long to look at my foot and see the misshaped area around my ankle to know something was not right. I could move my toes and ankle slightly, but I saw a trickle of blood coming from my shoe in the water. As everyone made it to me, the reality set in that my hike had ended. We went into first aid mode. Some of us were Eagle scouts and had been scoutmasters and knew what to do. We took my water shoe off carefully and put my high top hiking shoe back on a.s.a.p. We laced it tightly to hold the swelling in and splint my foot. I had a small puncture on the lower side of my inside ankle, most likely a bone puncture that pulled back into the foot after impact. The pain started to settle in. I was wet and cold and with the pain (VERY BAD), I was starting to show signs on shock. Rob and Mike decided to make the hike back out the way we came and get help while the rest of the crew stayed back to keep an eye on me. They got me lying down with my foot elevated and started to build a fire to warm me up. (The previous night I was lying in bed and was prompted to get my consecrated oil to take with me. I have taken this with me numerous times with no need, but I felt I needed it. I got up and put it with my stuff). As I was lying there in great pain, and shaking, one of the others asked if I wanted a blessing. I remembered the prompting I had that previous night and told him were the oil was in my pack. I had him and my boss, Bob Malloy, give me a Priesthood Blessing there in the canyon. I told them I brought this in case we needed to use it on someone not in our party, especially not myself. I felt the spirit and knew I would be watched over. There were others in the group that were not members of the Church, and I wondered what they were experiencing, not knowing what we were doing. Within the next 30 min, we got a message back that Rob and Mike were able to get a cell signal at the top of the canyon and contacted Zion search and rescue. We later learned that they were able to keep a signal just long enough to contact them and for Zion to let us know the plan and then lost the signal. They sat there at the top of the rim for a few hours, waiting to meet the rescue team, and were not able to get even a slight signal. We waited for the same time and wondered how long it would be. I soon started to feel better and was able to relax and talk to the group to pass the time. I started to feel so good, that we decided to start working our way back out to lessen the time. The main problem was getting back up the 10-15ft drop that I came down with 1 foot this time. We devised a plan, put our rope tying knowledge to work, and went at it. 5 guys got on top, 2 stayed with me and we made a rescue harness. This time we went up through the gap in the rock. The ones on top pulled, and I inched my way back up without much problem. I had enough upper body strength to pull myself up and out of the whole. This, I know, was with Devine help. Just after getting everyone up, we saw the rescue team coming with Mike and Rob at 2:30pm. We discussed the plan with the group and the rescue team and decided there was still enough time for the rest of the group to continue on the hike. That was a relief for me. They were all so great on helping me, and I did not want them to miss out on the rest of the hike. I wished them luck, ensured them I would be ok and sent them on their way. The RT. (rescue team) told me that making it back up that obstacle saved over an hour of time and was amazed I was able to do it with the condition of my foot. They took my vitals and asked how my pain was on a scale of 1-10. I told them it was about a 2 and felt like I had just lightly sprained my ankle. They assured me it was much more than a sprain and looked like it was an open/compound fracture of the foot because of the puncture wound. They offered pain medication but I told them I was ok and would let them know. The plan was laid out to me. The only way I was to get out of the canyon was with a helicopter. Making the 2 hour hike back in my condition was impossible. The RT. was waiting for the confirmation on getting the helicopter. The base called back on the radio to let us know we were not going to be able to get the helicopter that night. “What does that mean? I said. It looks like we will be spending the night right here and get out tomorrow”. They started making preparations for gear to be packed down.(Sleeping bags, food and water) This started to get me a little scared. I knew it was going to be cold, eating MRE’s, and sleeping on rocks with a broken foot was going to be less than comfortable. During these preparations, we got a call back from the base that they were able to get the Grand Canyon rescue helicopter and ETA was 5:30pm. We all had a look of relief on our faces. We had a couple of hours to get prepared. They showed me how I was to be hooked up to the cable and asked if I had any problems with heights or motion sickness. I told them,” No, but would that matter?” They said, ”Not really. You’re going out this way no matter what.” For the next little while I tried to stay comfortable and watched the RT set up some rescue loops in rocks to aide in moving another patient up the obstacle and through a rock field for future rescues. I said a prayer and thanked my Heavenly Father for my blessings and his watchful eye over me, and prayed for continued safety that day. The Helicopter arrived on time and we started guiding it in to our location. They lowered a 150ft cable down to us. They attached myself, one of the rescuers and some gear and started to make our accent out of the canyon. We were just dangling on a rope below the helicopter and made the approx. 10min flight out of the canyon to our landing point on Kolob road. I got a little dizzy during the accent as the downdraft of the helicopter blades caused us to spin like a windmill. As soon as we started to make forward movement, we stabilized and I could enjoy the ride over Zion in a way not many get to see. It was a great view of the canyons with nothing below me but my broken foot and open air. The Ambulance was waiting at the landing area. As I was loaded on the ambulance, I saw part of my hiking group stop and ask if that was me. They then knew I made it out ok. How grateful I am that I have great friends and coworkers that did everything in their power to help me. I felt their concern. That meant a lot to me. They made it out just as I was getting out. On the way to the Hospital, I called home (approx6:30pm) and let Trevon know to tell mom about my accident and to meet me at the Hospital. Shelly was not home at the time but I knew would be soon. I had plenty of time to look back on the day and see just how blessed I was and had a lot to tell Shelly about. I have a broken heel and some other fractures in the same area. I was kept in the hospital overnight to keep an eye on my pain and infection. That night was painful and restless. My recovery time is 12 weeks. On the way home from the hospital, I stopped by Costco to get the paperwork for my L.O.A. (leave of absence) filled out and found out my leave is covered 100% for up to 12 weeks, just long enough for my recovery. I was really worried about this. Another blessing! Yesterday was General Conference. I felt the spirit of many of the messages. Last night, I woke up to some pain. After going to the bathroom, it got worse. I laid there trying to get to sleep, and dosed off for a short time. I had a short dream. I saw myself back in the canyon again. I was lying on my back and was going through my sever pain and body shakes. (The first 2 hours after my injury) I saw a man standing to the side of me. He was dressed in a robe with a cloth draped over his head. He raised his hand and my pain ceased. I could not see his face. I woke up quickly from this dream. A warm feeling came over me and my pain went away. I had to think a little about this. Our group was not alone! I told Shelly my experience and I cried. I was able to get back to sleep with just another blessing in my life. The Gospel is true. I have been given these experiences for my personal growth.