A New York City man said he was rescued twice in two days while hiking in the Arizona mountains. The 28-year-old hiker, Philip Vasto, also said he was “advised” by authorities not to make a third attempt.
About 7 p.m. March 2nd, Philip contacted 911 when he lost his way on Humphreys Trail in the San Francisco Peaks overlooking Flagstaff, the Coconino Sheriff’s Office reported.
Philip, who began his attempt at around 2:30 p.m., from the mountain at about 10,600 feet, was evacuated by tracked vehicles from the resort. He reportedly declined medical attention.
Speaking to the Arizona Daily Sun, responding officer Sgt. Aaron Dick said they told Philip how dangerous it is to go hiking without the appropriate tools and planning.
Dick said the adventurer was advised by the search and rescue personnel to wait a couple of months before making another attempt.
Philip, according to the sheriff’s office, was “provided with preventative search and rescue education about the conditions on the trail and the approaching winter storm and encouraged to not attempt the hike again.”
However, Philip, whose first major hike in 2020 at the Grand Canyon was successful, decided to give it another try the following day — expecting similar results.
“I was thinking if I start early in the morning, I’ll have all the time in the world to reach the summit,” Philip told the news outlet. The first attempt ended prematurely because I started late,” he wrote on Instagram.
Philip launched his second attempt the following day around 9 a.m. but had to call 911 again at 5 p.m. for help after a fall.
“My second attempt ended with an elevation gain of 3,140 ft, only 200 ft short of reaching the summit. As much as I had wanted to touch the peak, I had to turn around near the top,” Philip wrote.
“With brutal, chilling winds blowing at (more than) 25 mph and freezing temperatures, Humphreys Peak is no joke in March,” he wrote. “I highly advice NOT attempting Humphreys Peak in the winter. You can easily injure yourself and get hypothermia up there.”
He added: “I did mess up my leg a bit,” adding that his misguided effort was “arguably scarier and more dangerous than Kilimanjaro at this time of year.”
Wyatt, a fellow hiker who stopped to help Philip, said it was “very apparent that he wasn’t prepared for the climate that he had gotten himself into.”
Wyatt gave his phone number to the rescuers so they could call him in case Philip’s phone ran out of battery because he had been using his phone to check his route on a trail app.
“I really respect Phil’s perseverance,” Wyatt told the Daily Sun. “I hope that he’s able to make it to the top sometime.”
Writing to his followers on Instagram, Philip said he was “not ashamed of turning back.
“After all, life isn’t worth losing for a cool Instagram picture. Part of being a hiker is realizing your own human limitations and respecting the mountain and the climate,” the self-described “experienced hiker” wrote as he vowed to go back “when there is much less snow.”
