A Minnesota man hit by lightning sometime Tuesday wandered in a daze on Longs Peak overnight until he was found stumbling on the trail at 13,800 feet this morning, according to a Rocky Mountain National Park spokeswoman.
The 31-year-old man, whose name was not released, had been reported overdue from returning from a hike the day before.
Hikers on the trail found the man about 11 a.m. and gave him food, water and warm clothing, park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson stated.
“He had numerous burn injuries,” she said in a statement.
The rescue would take several more hours. A park rescue crew reached the man about 1 p.m., but had to wait out an “intense storm” at the primitive, historic Agnes Vaille Shelter before bringing the man down about three hours later.
The weather prevented a rescue helicopter from reaching the man until about 6:30 p.m., and the man was airlifted to St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver.
