Grand Teton selfie attempt nearly ends in tragedy

quote:

---

The Cascade Canyon hike is one of the most popular in Grand Teton National Park. Its namesake creek flows with crystal clear waters from Lake Solitude in the Teton Range, past Inspiration Point, over Hidden Falls and into Jenny Lake on the valley floor.

The usually tranquil excursion took a troubled turn just before noon Tuesday when 23-year-old hiker James Hemus, of Bethesda, Maryland, slipped into the icy-cold Cascade Creek, his foot becoming pinned by the force of rushing water.

---

quote:

---

Passerby John Curtis, of El Cajon, California, took the attached photos and offered the following account of how the events unfolded.

"He was walking off the path on logs that had fallen across the creek on the Cascade valley trail and was trying to get to a rock at a point where the creek split so his girlfriend could take his picture," Curtis wrote in an email to the News&Guide. He described the location as about half a mile above the Inspiration Point trail west of Jenny Lake.

---

quote:

---

Down the trail, Curtis found Grand Teton National Park trail crew members who were working in the area, and the crew rushed to assist.

"We gathered people together to pray as it really was touch and go for awhile. After about 20 minutes he was into hypothermia and someone strapped a belt around his wrist because he was too cold to hold on anymore," Curtis said.

The national park trail crew members assessed Hemus' condition upon their arrival and reported that his medical condition was deteriorating. Hemus was succumbing to the water's frigid temperature and pressure, which was challenging him in his efforts to stay above the rushing water, according to a park press release.
Cascade Creek rescue


Trail crew members and other bystanders used rope from the crew's supplies to leverage a system to maintain Hemus' head and shoulders out of the water and to create a system to remove Hemus from the rocks. After several attempts from a variety of angles, Hemus' leg was freed.

In total, Hemus was caught in the rushing waters for about 40 minutes, Curtis estimated.

When Park rangers arrived, they provided additional first aid and extracted Hemus from the scene via a helicopter short haul to Lupine Meadows. A park ambulance transported him to St. John's Health in Jackson.

---