“The mountains didn’t give us a choice”
Five years ago, six Messiah educators and students were hiking in Great Smokey Mountain National Park when they encountered a group of hikers who were unprepared for the deteriorating weather conditions. One hiker was on the brink of hypothermia. The young men from Messiah quickly devised a plan to get medical help and supplies to the hikers.
“The mountain didn’t give us a choice,” recalls Ryan Wilson about his experience of participating in the rescue operation. Wilson and fellow Resident Director Craig Dalen hiked 12 miles in more than eight inches of snow to the closest Ranger Station where a Blackhawk military helicopter was dispatched to airlift the hiker with hypothermia.
Hear friends Ryan Wilson and Craig Dalen recall this unforgettable Spring Break 2005 trip.
Read The Bridge article about the Messiah hikers, dubbed “The Messiah Six.”
