Loyal BON reader George was backpacking in Washington state and sent me this email:

Hey Keith, 

I’ve had some adventure this last week. We went backpacking up in the cascades and we almost lost a guy. He had a pretty severe heart-attack at about 5400 feet in pretty rough terreain. It took a while but we got cell reception up on a ridge and got him air-lifted out. He’s currently recovering in Seattle. I’m exhausted, both physically and emotionally.

And here’s a picture of the rescure helicopter.

I’m trying to imagine the stress and fear that everyone must have been going through during this ordeal.  One moment it’s just a bunch of friends hanging out having fun and backpacking, then all of a sudden everything turns upside down.