Image courtesy Global BC

By Catherine Urquhart, Global News

Hiking mishap

Quesnel man lucky to be alive after falling 70 feet on hike near Dragon Lake

Sep 18, 2019 | 1:22 PM

QUESNEL — A 23-year-old B.C. man is warning others after suffering a major fall while hiking near Quesnel.

Morgan Robinson was hiking near Dragon Lake on Sept. 11 when he became distracted. The youth care worker says he took a phone call and wasn’t paying attention when he got too close to the edge.

“When I went over the edge, the first thing I thought about was my daughter. I had the thought process that I need to land on my feet because any other way I’m not going to make it,” said Robinson from his bed at Vancouver General Hospital.

After being rescued by paramedics, the single dad was airlifted to Vancouver, where he underwent operations on his back, left arm, and feet.

“I’ve got three broken vertebrae in my spine, I broke my wrist and the bone poked through my left wrist, and my right foot has some fractures and my left heel and ankle are completely shattered,” Robinson told Global News.

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Robinson estimates he fell 70 to 80 feet and he’s warning others to be cautious.

“Don’t go close to the edge,” he said. “Rocks are loose and they may not look it but they are. It doesn’t take much. Like I said, when I slipped I thought for half a second I could grab the edge or save myself.

“It happened in the blink of an eye.”

Now facing months of recovery and uncertainty, Robinson’s friends are fundraising to assist him.

Robinson says he’s fortunate to be alive and is driven to get healthy so he can spend more time with his five-year-old daughter Lily.