Runner Joseph Oldendorf was injured in Olympic National Park, Washington on Friday February 21, 2020. According to reports, Oldendorf slipped on ice and broke his leg. He may have crawled for up to 10 hours before being reached by rescue personnel. This photo shows the view from the helicopter as the basket was lowered to retrieve the subject

(Facebook/Jefferson Search and Rescue, courtesy of USCG)

At a Glance

At around 5 p.m. Friday evening, Joseph Oldendorf was injured in Olympic National Park, Washington. According to reports, Oldendorf slipped on ice and broke his leg.Without cell service, he crawled for seven hours on his hands and knees until he could place a 911 call. Ultimately, he was injured and outdoors for 14 hours in threatening temperatures.

An injured runner crawled for up to 10 hours in 30 degree temperatures after injuring his leg in a national park in Washington state.

At around 5 p.m. Friday evening, the runner, Joseph Oldendorf, was injured in Olympic National Park, Washington. According to reports, Oldendorf slipped on ice and broke his leg. He was down the trailhead, 12 miles into a 20 mile run, on the remote

Lacking cell phone service, Oldendorf knew he had to keep moving. He crawled on his knees for seven hours until he had cell phone service.

At that point, the 26 year old’s knees were painfully raw, with much of his skin worn off. "My ankle was in such shape that… I had to be facing chest down for it not to be flopping out of alignment. So, I had to crawl on all fours, and my knees – it's a rocky, snowy, dirty, wet trail – and after a while, my knees were just raw," .

Once he got service at 12:30 a.m. Saturday, he called 911 seeking help.

"It feels like a weird dream," Oldendorf said. "I wasn't counting on my phone ever working. I just figured this is my only chance. I'm going to crawl all the way there."

During the ensuing four hours it took for emergency rescue services to reach him, Oldendorf withstood “temperatures that dipped into the mid to low 30s, according to weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce. “It would really depend on his elevation at different times of the evening,” he explained.

Temperatures in the 30s and below can be life-threatening. As Dolce explained, “temperatures that cold can be problematic if you are stranded outdoors,” as Oldendorf was.

The long crawl was painful and Oldendorf . Speaking from his hospital bed, he said he did it “so I would at least have some traction and a little bit of protection, but they’re still really messed up."

Thanks to Oldendorf's 911 call, Saturday.

Runner Joseph Oldendorf was injured in Olympic National Park, Washington on Friday February 21, 2020. According to reports, Oldendorf slipped on ice and broke his leg. He crawled in frigid temperatures for roughly 10 hours before being reached by rescue personnel. In this photo, Jefferson Search and Rescue and Brinnon Fire personnel prepare to catch the tagline from the USCG helicopter and to protect the patient from flying debris during hoist operations.

(Facebook/Jefferson Search and Rescue, courtesy of USCG)

Between 12:30 a.m. when he made the 911 call and 4:30 a.m. when rescuers arrived, . “I had no idea how long it was going to be and I knew that I was still probably six miles down trail,” he said. “I stopped to lay down and stay warm, thinking they might be there relatively soon, but I was way too cold and there was no way I could do it without moving, so I just decided to keep moving towards them.”

A Coast Guard helicopter crew arrived at around 7 a.m. Saturday— 14 hours after his initial injury. The crew airlifted a hypothermic Oldendorf to Harborview Medical Center for treatment.

Throughout the ordeal, the runner thought of his family to keep him moving. “I don’t want my family to hear I died in the wilderness,” said Oldendorf. “I think it’d be unbearable.”