DUBLIN, N.H. (WHDH) - Gary Cohen loves hiking the heights of New Hampshire.
“Something unbelievably beautiful about getting out there in the mountains on the trail,” Gary said.
But recently he took a frightening fall on Mt. Monadnock.
“My feet went out from under me, first thing I noticed, there was blood everywhere,” Gary said.
Gary fell twenty feet down a granite slab – smashing his head.
“I was stunned, I was surprised,” Gary said.
Rick Yngve was hiking nearby with his three boys and took this video.
“When you start seeing a stretcher being brought out close to the summit, you know that that hiker’s in trouble. This is a serious situation,” Rick said.
Other hikers with medical training wanted to help.
Alicia Lheureux is a nurse. Amanda Wilson is a physician’s assistant.
“My instinct kicked in to take care of you and that was it,” Amanda said.
Gary had a bad head injury and broke a bone in his neck.
“It was frightening,” Gary said.
The group needed to carry him down a ravine and up a ridge so he could be loaded into a helicopter and flown to the hospital.
“It was really interesting and amazing. even though you were having pain, which is concerning, we all just pulled together and did what we could for another human being,” Amanda said.
It took more than three hours of teamwork – and heavy lifting over rocks and brush – to get Gary where he needed to be.
“I really felt like there were trail angels around me, looking out for me,” Gary said.
“I thought it was funny that you just kept saying are you doing okay? Are you doing okay? To everybody that was carrying you. Are you kidding? Are you okay?”, Alicia said.
“Gary was thanking us the whole time,” Rick said.
“Sorry I messed up your afternoon hike,” Gary said.
“Not at all,” Amanda said.
“You’re still apologizing!” Alicia interjected.
“We were all relieved once the helicopter got there,” Rick said.
The rescuers say this mountaintop mission to help Gary was good medicine for them too.
“What a great experience it was – we were happy for Gary, but it was also great to see people come together to help someone,” Rick said.
“I know that I’m grateful for the experience. Grateful to get you safely to a hospital,” Amanda said.
“Thank you everyone. It was extraordinary and I hope I see you all on the trail someday,” Gary said.
To give you an idea just how amazing this rescue was – New Hampshire Park Rangers say it typically takes about twenty people to carry a stretcher that far through the terrain on Mount Monadnock.
Gary’s group of helpers was half that size!
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