Quicksand is one of those problems that you worry about a lot as a kid, then later realize is totally a non-issue for most humans. Most humans, except for 34-year-old Ryan Osmun, who got stuck in some real-life quicksand while hiking on Saturday.
Ryan was out hiking with his girlfriend at Zion National Park in Utah when he accidentally stepped into a seemingly innocent pool on the ground. He immediately became trapped.
“The best way to describe it would be… standing in a huge puddle of concrete that basically just dries instantly,” Ryan told CBS News.
Ryan’s girlfriend, Jessika McNeill, had to go look for assistance by herself. It was a daunting task.
“I didn’t know if I was for sure gonna make it out,” she said. “I didn’t know if I could do that hike alone.”
It took Jessika three hours to find a park ranger, another 10 hours to reach Ryan, and two more hours to free him from the quicksand. Thankfully, quicksand isn’t quite as “quick” as it is in the movies.
“One guy scraping sand away, they were able to free my leg,” Ryan said. “It was probably one of the worst pains I’ve ever felt.”
Despite having newly free legs, Ryan and Jessika were unable to hike back out due to snow on the trails. A helicopter came to rescue them the next day.
The key to escaping quicksand on your own is, apparently, to carry a long stick or hiking pole.
Source : https://www.littlethings.com/hiker-trapped-quicksand-zion-national-park/