An Arizona man was trapped overnight in the backcountry of Zion National Park in Utah when he stepped into a patch of saturated sand and soon found the leg stuck up to its knee.

Park staff received a report Saturday afternoon of the 34-year-old Arizona man's predicament. He was located approximately three hours up the Left Fork of the North Creek, also known as The Subway route. One of his legs was buried knee-deep and he was unable to free himself, a park release said.

The unidentified man had hiked the Left Fork Trail with a companion, also from Arizona, when he became stuck in the middle of the creek. After trying to free her friend, the woman left him with warm gear and clothing and hiked to call for help. It took her about three hours to get to an area where she could get cell phone service and call 911. 

It took Zion search-and-rescue rangers several hours to find the man, who was suffering from hypothermia and unspecified extremity injuries. It took the rangers late into the night Saturday to finally free him from the quicksand and begin efforts to rewarm him and treat his leg. They all spent the night in the canyon in wintry conditions, with 4 inches of snowfall overnight.

On Sunday morning, the Utah Department of Public Safety dispatched a helicopter from Salt Lake City, but winter storms in the area decreased visibility and delayed a rescue. Only after a small break in the weather in the afternoon was the helicopter crew able to hoist the man out of the area and take him to a waiting ambulance, which transported him to an area hospital. 

Park staff were not immediately available Monday morning to say which leg had been stuck and whether there was any lasting damage to the leg.

Winter has been unusually wintry at Zion this year, with cold and wet weather.

“President's Day Weekend is often dry, warm, and sunny,” said Aly Baltrus, the park's public information officer. “This year was as predicted - cold and wet.”