Bannister arrived at the trail around 11 a.m. and made her way to the lookout. As she headed back down, she made a misstep, and her foot got caught on a hole in the ground. She fell forward.

“By the time I sat up, my foot was pointing the wrong way. I knew right away I had broken my leg,” she said. “I tried to get up with my hiking pole and it collapsed on me.”

Bannister cried out for help, and before long, a stranger approached and called 911. They were told a search and rescue team would arrive in five hours.

“It wasn’t very encouraging,” Bannister said. “I asked this man to please ask anybody if they had pain killers, because at that point, the pain was pretty substantial.”

No one in the vicinity did. But two young men at the lookout came over to see what was going on. When they saw Bannister on the ground in agony, they immediately made an offer: They could carry Bannister to the bottom of the trail.

…

  • beefbot@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    34·
    2 months ago

    This story is a good reminder of the truth about human beings (told in Rebecca Solnit’s “Paradise Built In Hell”) : when real, actual tragedy strikes, people stick together, we risk our lives for strangers. It’s at the core of our moral sense. It’s what’s gonna get us through what’s coming.

    Stories like this help keep that in mind ❤️🙏

    • Akasazh@feddit.nlEnglish
      2·
      2 months ago

      It’s the main tenet in Human Kind from Rutger Bregman. Not that all people are good people, but that in general people are way more motivated to help each other.

  • Albbi@lemmy.caEnglish
    331·
    2 months ago

    I hope I’m still hiking at 79 years old. That’s a rough fall though.

    • SharkEatingBreakfast@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      12·
      2 months ago

      My ma is 72 and is still hiking, kayaking, and living her best life. (:

      She also wants to hike the entire Appalachian trail before she turns 80!

  • AThing4String@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    17·
    2 months ago

    This is legitimately so wholesome from start to finish. No “orphan crushing machine” vibes - just a reminder that most people are generally decent and helpful humans.

  • Burn_The_Right@lemmy.worldEnglish
    73·
    2 months ago

    If this was in the U.S., he might as well have carried her directly to a graveyard. U.S. insurance companies will definitely deny every penny of coverage of an elderly person on a trail. I hope she is wealthy.

    • Buffalox@lemmy.worldEnglish
      22·
      2 months ago

      U.S. insurance companies will definitely deny every penny of coverage of an elderly person on a trail.

      What? Really? Doubt.