UNION TWP. >> Shannon Erdman Gansner of Morgantown was already having a difficult day Monday, March 30, before it took an unexpected twist – one that involved firefighters and a search party.
After saying goodbye to her 12-year-old Cocker Spaniel, Lacey, Gansner decided to go for a hike to honor the dog.
“I had actually gone straight from taking her to the vet over to French Creek. It was her favorite thing hiking there and I figured instead of wallowing, sitting home and crying, I would go there. We had always loved being at French Creek,” she said.
She chose the scenic Mill Creek trail, the only trail she had not traveled with Lacey, in an effort to complete the journey. Unfortunately, Gansner was about 1.5 miles into her hike, when a rock slipped out from under her foot.
“I heard a crunch and a pop and I knew it wasn’t good. I waited, trying to see if it could get better, but I couldn’t put any pressure on it,” she said.
Gansner tried calling the park rangers, but couldn’t get through, so she dialed 911.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources lists Mill Creek as the most difficult hiking trail in the park. Combined with fallen trees, this made for a difficult path for rescuers to reach Gansner.
The Birdsboro-Union Fire Department made it to Gansner around 4:30 p.m. It took about four hours, she estimates, from the time she fell to the time she made it back to her car.
If not for a mix of luck and preparation, it could have been much worse. Gansner happened to be in a part of the park where she had cell phone reception. She also had a map that helped her direct responders to her exact location.
“If I hadn’t been able to get a signal, I don’t know what I would have done,” Gansner said.
In the end, Gansner was remarkably upbeat despite the loss of her dog and the spraining of her ankle. She said, “the whole ordeal actually took my mind off her for a while.”
In the meantime, she is getting help from neighbors, family and friends while she is walking on crutches. She told her husband that she is ready to go back into the park to show him the beauty of the Mill Creek trail.
“He told me ‘Let’s worry about your ankle first,'” she said.
