Stuck in quicksand, a hiker in Utah has his SOS answered

(NYT) — The sun had not yet risen when Austin Dirks entered a remote canyon in Arches National Park on Sunday, seeking to complete a two-day, 20-mile solo hike, another one for his list of backpacking feats.

But as he ambled over a creek bed — one that those familiar with the park said was bone-dry most of the time but had a shallow layer of water from snow and ice melt — his left foot sank into the ground.

Shifting his weight, he freed the foot, only to find that his right leg “was fixed in place as if set in concrete.”

Dirks, an experienced hiker in his early 30s from Colorado, had stepped into quicksand, trapping him for a few hours in subfreezing temperatures until rescuers could arrive.

“The ground educated me better than a

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