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A 79-yr-old broke her leg while hiking alone. A stranger carried her back down on his back.

Rather than let her wait five hours for search and rescue, Airman Troy May and other hikers helped get Ursula Bannister to safety.

Photos courtesy of Joint Base Lewis-McChord/Airman 1st Class Benjamin Riddle (right)

Ursula Bannister was fortunate to have a group of strangers come to her rescue after she broke her leg in three places.

It's not often you see an almost-80-year-old woman hiking alone, much less on a trail considered a difficult hike. But for 79-year-old Ursula Bannister, the trek up to High Rock Lookout in Washington state is a meaningful annual tradition. She had scattered her mother's ashes atop the lookout 23 years ago and she goes back to lay flowers at the scenic spot overlooking Mount Rainier every year.

She usually goes with a family member, but this year she couldn't find anyone to accompany her. The 3.2 mile hike is steep, but as an experienced hiker with poles, she wasn't nervous about it. She made it to the top, ate her lunch and took some pictures. But soon after turning around to make her way back down, her foot caught in a hole and she fell.

“I decided to cut over to the trail, through some bush," she told KOMO News. "I went bushwhacking and my right foot found a critter hole…I went down and I knew right away. My foot was broken.”

She wrapped her leg and tried to get up with her hiking pole, but her ankle collapsed under her when she stood on it.

Unable to hike down the trail with a broken leg, she would have had to wait five hours for search and rescue.

Bannister was in a lot of pain and cried out for help. Soon strangers found her and one called 911, but the dispatcher said it would take about five hours for a search and rescue team to arrive. Bannister asked if anyone had pain killers, but no one did.

That's when 20-year-old U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Troy May and some friends came along to help. Rather than have her wait for search and rescue, May and his friend, Layton Allen, offered to carry Bannister back down the trail.

“I knew I was capable of carrying her down,” May, who is stationed at Washington's Joint Base Lewis-McChord, told MSN. “I really didn’t make much of a decision, I just knew I needed to carry her down if I could.”

A whole group of strangers rallied to help get the woman down the trail safely

But May and Layton were not the only strangers on the trail to offer their services to help Bannister down the mountain. A physical therapist used wood scraps to build a splint and bandaged her up. An occupational therapist helped keep her calm by doing breathing exercises with her. When May's cowboy boots—which he said he wears everywhere—started giving him blisters as he carried Bannister down the trail, another stranger who saw the situation gave May his own boots to wear. The group who accompanied her shared stories and asked her questions about her life to distract her and keep her from screaming in pain during the hike down.

elderly woman on the back of a young man on a trail Ursula Bannister being carried by Airman Troy May and friends. Photo courtesy of media.defense.gov

Bannister said it felt like all of these people were "behaving like angels coming from the sky" and she was so thankful for their help.

May took the brunt of the physical labor, carrying Bannister for most of the 1.6 mile down the mountain, taking turns with Allen as needed. To make the slow, steep trek more comfortable for Bannister, they put a backpack on the front of whoever was carrying her and ran her legs through the straps to stabilize them a bit.

The young rescuers made sure she got to the hospital and stayed with her until family arrived.

Allen then drove Bannister to the hospital in her car with May following in his car. They waited with her at the hospital until her son arrived.

“I was just overwhelmed with gratitude that these people literally came out of the woods to help me and they were totally unselfish and kind,” Bannister told MSN.

Bannister ended up with more than 10 screws and a plate in her leg, which was broken in three places. And Airman May ended up with a medal of achievement for his selfless rescue of the woman.

Air Force Airman Troy May holding achievement medal U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Troy May, 62d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, holds Air Force Achievement Medal at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, Sept. 13, 2024. Photo by Airman 1st Class Benjamin Riddle

“One of the Air Force’s core values is service before self, and Airman 1st Class May clearly exemplified that core value with his actions,” said Lt. Col. Joshua Clifford, 62nd AMXS commander. “While our team of Airmen showcase amazing accomplishments every day, we relish the opportunity to focus on one Airman’s courage and recognize them for truly living the Air Force’s core values.”

"Carrying her down that evening wasn't the easiest thing to do, but it was the right thing to do," Airman First Class May told ABC's David Muir.

A tearful Bannister also offered her "heartfelt thanks" to all of the people who helped her.

“People are amazing," she told KOMO. "You know we might not agree politically we might not agree socially but we certainly agree on the human platform and people will drop whatever they’re doing to help somebody in need,” Ursula added.

From Your Site Articles

kindness

For 25 years, Canada has been building a coast-to-coast trail. It's almost done.

Valerie Pringle lives life by a quote attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

After a long and successful career in broadcasting, Valerie has dedicated herself for nearly 15 years to The Trans Canada Trail Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that's building one of the world's longest recreational trails from one coast of Canada to the other.

And, after nearly 25 years of work, they're almost done.

The Great Trail, when finished, will be roughly 15,000 miles long. Image by The Great Trail, used with permission.

The Great Trail, as it's called, started in 1992 on Canada's 125th birthday. New trails were forged and dedicated across the nation to celebrate the event.

Pringle says the founders of the organization had the simple but powerful idea of connecting all the major trails across Canada.

"They had this inspiration that all Canadians should be able to see [the different parts] of their country," Pringle says. "But who knew it would be so hard?"

The Coastal Trail in Fundy National Park. Photo by Parks Canada and the Province of New Brunswick, used with permission.

Pringle joined the team in 2002. For the past couple of years, she's worked tirelessly to raise the $75 million needed to finish off the 25-year project — just in time for Canada's 150th celebration.

Fundraising challenges were tough, but there was also the little matter of working with hundreds of different agencies, private land owners, and community leaders across Canada's provinces and territories.

"It took about 60 years to build the Appalachian Trail," she says. "We had to be patient."

The Celtic Shores Coastal Trail. Photo by Nova Scotia Trails Federation, used with permission.

By rehabilitating old trails, connecting new ones, and dedicating portions of land along the way, the foundation has created a truly impressive network of gorgeous landscape across Canada.

It's all connected or will be very soon — everything from urban walkways, quiet countryside roads, paddling trails, and deep wilderness paths.

Best of all, Pringle says some portion of the The Great Trail is half an hour or less away from about 80% of the population.

Ridge Road Heritage Trail. Photo by Greg Skuce/Yukon government, used with permission.

If one were so inclined, they could start on a trail in Victoria, British Columbia, wind their way up through Yukon, then trek their way east into Nova Scotia and beyond.

Ride the Sky Trail. Photo by Al Skucas, used with permission.

That's Pringle's favorite part about the project. Not just the preservation of nature, but the way it unites Canadians in a tangible way.

Slave River paddling. Photo by The Great Trail used with permission.

"I tell kids, 'If you turn this way, you can go to St. John's, Newfoundland. If you take a right in Alberta, you can head all the way to the mouth of the Mackenzie River," she says. "You can really think global."

While a few people are indeed currently hiking, paddling, and cycling their way across the entire nation, for most Canadians and visitors, the impact will be much more local.

Trenton Steeltown Park. Photo by The Great Trail, used with permission.

Even Pringle, who has visited many, many pieces of the 15,000-mile trail, has a nearby slice she considers her own.

"My favorite part is along the Niagara River. That's my own personal piece of trail. I walk my labs there, I walk my granddaughter there."

The Great Trail is on track to be fully connected by the fall of 2017, but that doesn't mean the work is over.

Banff Legacy Trail. Photo by Betty Anne Graves, used with permission.

Once all the connections are made, Pringle says the team will continue to renovate and beautify portions of the trail for a long time to come.

In the meantime, Pringle and other members of the Trans Canada Trail Foundation consider this project to be one of the most meaningful parts of their legacies.

"I'm now 63, and this is something I left behind of value," she says. "It's the ultimate gift to Canadians from Canadians."

Canadians who, no matter the distance or cultural differences between them, have always been connected to one another by a love for their country. The Great Trail is simply a wonderful reminder.