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An adept hiker found himself ensnared in quicksand for several hours at a well-known Utah national park on Sunday, recounting the experience as “the closest I’ve ever come to dying.”
Austin Dirks, a seasoned trekker with thousands of trail miles under his belt, shared with FOX13 Salt Lake City that he was navigating the upper reaches of Courthouse Wash in Arches National Park just before dawn when his left leg unexpectedly plunged into what appeared to be solid terrain.
“I managed to pull it out, then shifted all my weight to my right foot,” Dirks recounted. “That’s when I sank up to my knee. It was as if I had stepped into concrete that solidified instantly around my leg. I couldn’t even budge it a millimeter.”
To pinpoint his location, Dirks utilized a GPS satellite messenger to alert the authorities.
Austin Dirks, speaking to FOX13, emphasized his extensive experience as a desert hiker, having covered thousands of trail miles. (Austin Dirks)
The toughest part of the ordeal, however, was waiting for their arrival.
Dirks said he persisted through 20-degree temperatures while stuck at a 45-degree angle for two hours until he saw a rescue drone fly overhead.
Dirks was stuck in the quicksand for two hours in freezing temperatures before rescuers arrived. (Grand County Search and Rescue)
Drone video captured rescuers arriving in the canyon and working to free Dirks.
“I realized that that’s the closest I’ve ever come to dying,” Dirks told the outlet. “I owe them my life.”
Dirks said he owes the rescuers his life following the harrowing ordeal. (Austin Dirks)
Dirks noted that before the ordeal, he had thought of quicksand as “more of a folklore or a legend” found in movies.
Real quicksand is very different from the dramatic portrayals of Hollywood. Quicksand is a muddy mixture of sand, water and sometimes clay that forms from rising groundwater. While the sand won’t support much weight, humans are too buoyant to sink completely beneath the sand.
“How it’s depicted on TV is nothing like it is in real life,” Dirks said. “The human body is more buoyant than the quicksand, so you’ll never sink to above your head.”
Experts say that leaning back in the quicksand can help distribute your weight and help relieve the pressure around your legs.