How It Began
The story began in Sultan, Washington, near Seattle. A beautiful, small town with an incredible scenery.
It is truly a hiker’s dream, with a national park covering 2,700 square miles of glaciers and snowfields. However, it’s not as safe as it seems.
Nancy
Nancy Abell is one of the 5,000 inhabitants of Sultan and knows the town like the palm of her hand.
This is what made her save a woman’s life, who she encountered while walking in the woods.
First Meeting
As a keen outdoorswoman, Nancy decided to walk along Lake Susan Jane, where she met Katharina Gröne, a German tourist.
The two quickly began to chat, and Nancy learned something that gave her a bad feeling.
Katharina
Katharina left Germany to pursue her dream of doing a monumental hike.
She started on the border of Mexico, and then followed the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), which is a famous hiking route that goes all the way up the west coast.
Opening Up
Katharina told her story to Nancy and described her plans to her, to which Nancy eagerly listened.
The PCT was no easy route, however. Katharina went from the Mexican border, through California, Oregon, and then Washington.
The PCT
Katharina’s dream was very ambitious, as the PCT winds for more than 2,650 miles of forests, national parks, and mountain ranges.
The elevations rise to more than 13,150 feet, and the hike can take four to six months. Sounds like a lot for one person alone, doesn’t it?
No Walk In The Park
Going through that trail is no joke. It requires thorough preparation and a certain degree of experience.
As a solo traveler, Katharina had to follow remote trails for months without any help whatsoever, which took Nancy by surprise.
New Friends
Katharina had spent five months alone through her epic journey, so she was more than happy to meet someone and share her experience.
The two hit it off right away and talked for a long time as they walked along the lake. That’s when Katharina revealed what she was going to do next.
Stevens Pass
Katharina told Nancy that her next stop was going to be Stevens Pass, which rang alarm bells for Nancy.
As she was familiar with the area, she knew something wasn’t right about that place.
A Gut Feeling
Although Nancy had a bad feeling about it, she decided to give Katharina a ride to Stevens Pass.
But what was the problem with the area that made Nancy so worried?
A Dangerous Road
The region’s weather patterns make it a very difficult area to hike through.
Weather conditions can be extreme, and only those who are prepared should go there. Katharina had been hiking for five months, so why did Nancy think she’d be unprepared?
A Hunch
When CNN interviewed Nancy, she said: “I felt like, being from Germany, she wasn’t familiar with the Glacier Peak wilderness area.”
Although she gave Katharina a ride, she told her about all the dangers that came with her plans, but she didn’t listen.
A Piece of Advice
“The region creates its own weather, and it can be really bad this time of year. The whole two hours we were hiking together, I was trying to talk her out of it.” Nancy told CNN.
No matter how hard she tried, it was no use. Katharina was determined to finish her journey, and that’s when things started to go wrong.
Giving Up
Nancy dropped Katharina off and went home defeated, as her efforts to convince her were in vain.
But when she turned on her TV, she got even more worried.
The Forecast
According to the weather forecast, Stevens Pass was going to be covered in up to three feet of snowfall.
A lone hiker in the mountains with that amount of snow? Something was bound to go wrong.
A Woman’s Intuition
“I knew she didn’t have snowshoes and [that]she’d be up there by herself” Nancy explained during a press conference.
“I’d been through a storm in the same area and we couldn’t go anywhere for three days. It was terrifying.”
Taking Action
Nancy knew she couldn’t just sit back and forget about it.
That’s the reason why she decided to make the call that would ultimately save Katharina’s life
The Call
Nancy called the Snohomish County search and rescue team.
Because she knew the area so well, she was able to estimate in what area Katharina would be at the moment and told rescuers to go find her.
Fate
She was able to pinpoint Katharina’s location thanks to the conversation the two had.
She was also able to describe her appearance and her equipment, which helped rescuers find her.
The Rescue
When she hung up, a rescue helicopter was deployed, and the search for Katharina began.
After circling the area, the rescuers spotted something.
Following Leads
The rescue team spotted some footprints and the red jacket Katharina had been wearing.
They followed the trail of clues, hoping they could locate her.
Lucky Find
They finally found Katharina in a clearing among tall trees close to the trail.
But rescuing her wouldn’t be easy.
Dangerous Conditions
The weather was still very bad, and the ground was rough, so it was hard for the helicopter to go down.
The rescuers actually failed to do so a total of ten times, which made the rescue all the more urgent.
Emergency Landing
After an hour and a half, the helicopter was dangerously low on fuel.
The rescue team only had a small amount of time to save her, and they had to act fast.
A Brilliant Plan
They almost had no fuel, they couldn’t land, and Katharina was freezing to death. What could they do?
All of a sudden, Einer Espeland, the pilot, came up with a risky, but an amazing idea to save her.
Risking It All
Einar literally jumped out of the helicopter, and stacked logs to build a platform to land on.
Then, they managed to get to her. But they found that she was in a terrible condition.
A Matter of Life and Death
The wind had whipped away Katharina’s shelter, her clothes were completely soaked, and she almost ran out of food.
Not only that, but she had no locator beacon to let people know if she was in trouble. Nancy’s hunch was right: she was unprepared.
Her Experience
“I was screaming for help in the morning because I just had to get the fear out of me. I was screaming all the names I knew and I was just hoping that someone would react.” Katharina told CNN.
Fearing for her life, she recorded messages on her phone for her friends and family. “I informed my parents. I apologized for dying on the PCT, for risking too much.”
A Happy Ending
The helicopter brought her to the hospital, where she met Nancy, the woman that saved her life.
If it weren’t for Nancy’s call, Katharina would have died. She told CNN, “My faith in humanity? Definitely restored, so box-checked.”