A Texas hiker has described last month's deadly flash floods in Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park, leaving more than 100 hikers stranded, as “the craziest day of my life.”
Whitney Raquel, 35, He told SFGate She and her friend, Paige Rene, were on a three-night trip to the Havasupai Reservation, whose beautiful waterfalls, creekside campsites and the canyon's famous turquoise waters attract visitors from around the world.
But the steady rains of August 22 quickly turned to disaster, as the stream turned muddy and swollen, water gushed down the canyon walls, and rocks collapsed.
“I just watched as rocks fell and walls of houses and schools tumbled down the canyon walls,” Raquel told the outlet. “I grabbed Paige because I thought it was going to go through their grocery store and kill us. I never thought I'd see something like that in real life. It was like something from a movie.”
North Carolina hiker dies while trekking alone in Grand Canyon National Park, believed to be sixth fatality in as many weeks
Flash floods hit the area on August 22, leaving more than 100 people visiting the park stranded. (Michael Langer via The Associated Press)
Raquel said the Havasupai people allowed tourists to take shelter in the village school cafeteria. The first flash flood washed away wooden bridges and ladders used to cross streams along the trail, and the second flood made hiking impossible.
A sudden flood washed away the wooden bridge used to cross the stream, making hiking from there impossible. (Michael Langer via The Associated Press)
“Then they said, 'This road is no longer passable,'” Raquel recalled the tribesmen saying. “'There's a rock blocking the road. No one can get through here or out. Tomorrow morning, everyone will be evacuated by helicopter. No one can leave here.'”
Raquel said all the hikers sheltering with her tribe helped each other get through the ordeal after what she called “the craziest day of our lives.”
Colorado man abandoned on mountaintop by coworker during office break
While a private helicopter service and an Arizona National Guard Blackhawk helicopter worked to evacuate 104 evacuees from the canyon, park officials confirmed that a husband and wife hikers had been swept away by fast-flowing waters near where Havasu Creek flows into the Colorado River.
The two hikers were identified as Andrew and Chenoa Nickerson of Gilbert, Arizona. Andrew Nickerson was rescued later that night by a group that was rafting the 280-mile river that runs through the Grand Canyon.
“I was on the verge of death when a stranger jumped off a raft in the river and, without hesitation, risked his own life to save me from the raging waters,” Nickerson later wrote on social media.
Havasu Creek is a tributary of the Colorado River, and Nickerson's body was discovered there days after being swept away by a flash flood, authorities said. (National Park Service)
His wife, Chenoa Nickerson, 33, was swept into the river's main channel and was missing for several days. Like most Havasupai hikers, she was not wearing a life jacket.
Her body was later found floating in the Colorado River by members of a commercial riverboat trip.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Raquel told SFGate that the experience was a reminder that “humans stand no chance against the overwhelming power of Mother Nature.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
