Marcia Rasmussen was hiking in Sequoia National Park when she fell through a snow bridge, dropped into a hidden creek, and was washed 40 feet downstream. Rasmussen, an ultramarathoner and Outings Chair of a local , was able to grab a branch and pull herself out of the water, but she remained buried in the snow tunnel. It took her three hours to dig through to the surface, where she made a large-enough hole to push her backpack up, hoping someone would see it. (She later recounted the experience on a Sierra Club .) Soon after, hikers Stefan Barycki, Christopher Edwards, and Michael Voyles spotted the pack and, upon further investigation, saw Rasmussen’s head beneath it. They dug her out, helped her rewarm for two hours, then accompanied Rasmussen as she and drove home with only minor frostbite and bruising. Barycki, Edwards, and Voyles were presented with NPS Search and Rescue pins Wednesday for their efforts earlier this month. “It’s citizens like this that make the world go round,” said Sequoia and Kings Canyon park superintendent Karen Taylor-Goodrich.
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