SKAMANIA COUNTY, Wash. — A Hillsboro woman is feeling thankful for the outcome after her dream hike turned into a nightmare when she fell nearly 300 feet off a trail while hiking in the Columbia River Gorge on May 10.
“It had been a dream of mine since my daughter and I hiked it about four or five years ago; we went in October, and I knew May was the month to go,” said Rebecca Halley.
She said she remembers stumbling while walking down Dog Mountain Trail, then falling off the side of the trail.
“It’s not really wide. The thing that I remember the most is that I just stumbled, then the next thing I know, I’m going over the side,” she recalled.
Her husband, Dean, got the call when he was on his way home from Salem that his wife had fallen.
“I didn’t get out to the trailhead until five o’clock. By the time I made it there, search and rescue was on its way up,” Dean Halley said.
It took crews more than four hours to rescue her because an army medical helicopter had to be brought in from Yakima, Washington.
“They assessed a basket wouldn’t be able to get there, so I had these kind of shorts and a vest-type thing that clicked together, then I was raised up,” explained Rebecca, who was left with some cracked ribs, scratches all over her arms and a concussion.
The four-hour ordeal left Rebecca Halley and her husband more than thankful for everyone who came to her rescue.
Rebecca Halley told KGW that this summer, she was hoping to climb other mountains, like South Sister. But for now, she's planning on putting the brakes on big hikes and will stick to smaller ones.