- Waking up in Reflections Lake, Canada, Margaux Cohen, couldn’t wait to hike the mountain trail.
- Making a wrong turn on the way back to camp, Margaux’s pup, Zion, plummeted off the cliff edge taking Margaux with him.
- Now seven months on the pair have made a spectacular recovery.
Here Margaux tells her story in her own words.
Stretching my arms above my head, I yawned as I took in the incredible view of the sun rising above the lake.
‘Isn’t it beautiful?’ I smiled to my friends Max, then 34, and Sawyer, 25.
It was August 2024 and the three of us, together with my pit-bulldog mix, Zion, aged five, had spent the night camping at Reflection Lake, Canada.
After a breakfast of pancakes and berries, it was time to conquer the next step – hiking to Tricouni Peak – a 2100 metre mountain trail.
Clipping on Zion’s harness, we shrugged on our backpacks and set off.
‘Another one ticked off the bucket list.’
The rocky terrain was tough going, but as an avid hiker, I loved the challenge.
Zion, who had been hiking with me since he was a puppy, ran up the trail with excitement, happily wagging his tail.
When we finally reached the peak two hours later, the view was breathtaking.
Another one ticked off the bucket list, I thought, proudly.
After snapping a few pictures, we decided to head back down.
We’d only made it around 200 metres when we came across a small rock wall that was blocking the path.
Realising we must’ve taken a wrong turn, we decided to climb over it to get back to the trail.
READ MORE: ‘I carried my leg out of the bush!’
On the other side was a steep drop off a cliff, but we figured if we kept close enough to the wall, it was just a short walk to the correct route.
Max went first so he could help me and Zion over the barrier.
But as I lifted my 38-kilo pup on top of the wall, he lost his footing.
‘Zion!’ I screamed, terrified.
Desperate to stop him plummeting, I reached over the rocks to grab his harness.
But the force of his weight pulled me right over too. Heart pounding as I tumbled down the mountainside, my left hand was still firmly gripped onto Zion’s harness.
‘I’m going to die.’
As we plummeted further, my face and head scraped against the rugged terrain as we bounced around like rag dolls.
I’m going to die, I panicked, thinking of my mum, Francoise, and sister, Lena, who lived in France.
Landing with a thud on my right side, I heard the snap of my leg, which started throbbing immediately.
Feeling warm liquid pour down from my nose, I instantly tasted blood in my mouth and knew something was wrong.
Panicked, I wriggled my toes and fingers, fearing that I could be paralysed.
It hurt like hell, but by some miracle, I was alive and could move all my toes and fingers!
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Zion… I fretted.
Opening my eyes, I was relieved to see my boy was by my side, tail wagging furiously as he licked blood off my face.
‘Well, I’m glad you’re okay,’ I smiled as I checked him over.
Miraculously, Zion seemed fine.
Shouting out to Max and Sawyer, who were climbing down to me, I asked them to call for help.
‘Thank God you’re alive!’ Max said, when he reached me, adding I’d fallen about 18 metres.
‘Just stay still. Help is on the way.’
As my head pulsated from the pain, I pulled my phone out of my pocket, to snap a photo of my injuries.
My face was streaked with blood and I had a large gash on my right temple.
‘Just stay still. Help is on the way,’ Max assured me, moving my backpack under my head to keep me more comfortable.
Trying to distract me from the agony I was in, Max and Sawyer kept talking and reassuring me.
Finally, after two hours, I heard the whirring of the helicopter as it approached.
After scaling down the cliff face, a search and rescue team placed me on a stretcher, winching me to safety, before I was taken to hospital an hour away in Vancouver.
READ MORE: ‘Camping accident: A gum tree trapped me inside my swag’
In the meantime, Max and Sawyer grabbed Zion and our hiking gear and drove the car to the hospital to meet me there.
At the hospital, scans revealed I’d broken my tibial plateau – the top of my shin bone, and damaged the cartilage below my knee.
Due to the swelling, doctors couldn’t operate for 10 days.
After my scans, I was reunited with my pup in my hospital room.
I was so relieved to learn he was injury-free, besides a small scratch on his left paw.
‘I appreciate you guys so much,’ I told Max and Sawyer.
When the day of my operation finally came, surgeons used two metal plates and 11 screws to restructure my bone.
Six days later, I was finally released on a walker, unable to put any weight on my right leg.
‘You may not be able to walk unassisted for months,’ doctors warned.
Unable to weight bear, I was bedbound for three weeks, while my friends visited me to help me at home.
It was a stark contrast to my normally active lifestyle.
‘I can’t live like this,’ I cried to my friends.
Desperate to return to my old life, I began physiotherapy to regain movement in my leg.
The exercises were painful, but I slowly made progress.
Incredibly, just three months later, doctors declared me fit enough to start hiking again.
I was ecstatic.
Now, seven months on, I have made a spectacular recovery, and am back hiking as often as I can, along with Zion.
While I still have my days of pain and discomfort, I am grateful for all the progress I’ve made within such a short period of time.
I have even started training for a marathon to celebrate my body and all the wonderful things it can withstand.
My accident could’ve killed me, but by believing in myself, I’ve learned that I can overcome any challenge life throws my way.
To help Margaux, search ‘Help Margaux recover after a tragic fall off a mountain’ at GoFundMe
