ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK — A 68-year-old Boulder hiker who was killed Tuesday when a tree fell on him in Rocky Mountain National Park was identified Wednesday as William N. Hudson.
Hudson’s hiking companion had reported to park rangers about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday that Hudson was struck by a falling tree about a mile and a half from the trailhead at the entrance of the Wild Basin Area.
Rangers and units from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office responded and reached Hudson on Sand Beach Trail.
The 50-foot-tall tree was a Douglas fir believed to have died many years ago, according to Larry Frederick, the park’s acting public- information officer.
The top broke off 15 feet above the ground and glanced off three standing trees before landing on the trail. The tree was approximately 10 inches in diameter at the point it hit the hikers.
The death of this tree is not related to the current mountain pine-beetle outbreak found throughout the Rocky Mountains, park officials said.
Manny Gonzales, The Denver Post
