VIDEO — Montana Man Hikes 10 Miles After Impaling Himself with Trekking Pole: ‘Tis But a Flesh Wound’

A Montana hiker proved he has incredible grit when a bizarre incident left him with a severe injury during a recent trek up the state’s highest peak.

David Cifaldi, a thirty-two-year-old nurse, and two friends were crossing the Froze-to-Death Plateau on their way up Granite Peak when the accident occurred, the Associated Press (AP) reported Thursday.

When Cifaldi slipped and fell on his trekking pole, the device passed through the flesh under his arm and protruded from his back. However, it did not pierce any of his vital organs.

An image showed the severity of the injury made all the more disturbing because Cifaldi was sitting up and alert:

“By the time I rolled over, I kind of knew something wasn’t right. Through my skin I could feel the trekking pole,” he recalled, according to Fox 2 Now.

He did not want to pay the high cost for a helicopter rescue, therefore, Cifaldi and his friends decided they could make it back down the trail to get help.

Cifaldi said of their initial conversation, “I was like, ‘We’ve got to get off this mountain.’ And they’re both like, ‘I don’t know about that.’ I’m pretty confident this is outside my chest wall. ‘Tis but a flesh wound.”

Another photo showed Cifaldi standing up with the pole still in his body, and there appeared to be no blood on him:

The group used a Garmin inReach to alert local authorities about what had happened and how they planned to reach safety. It took them about six hours to hike 10 miles to a trailhead where Cifaldi’s friend, Jesse Ross, left his vehicle.

The group eventually ended up at St. Vincent Regional Hospital, David’s workplace, where doctors treated him.

The AP shared video footage of Cifaldi showing his wounds. He said it was “definitely a nuisance to be hiking out with all that.”

Ross said when he saw the pole protruding out of his friend’s body, he initially did not think it was real. He also reiterated how his friend “never complained at all” and remained focused on getting the group safely down the mountain so they could find help.

“The only reason it was possible at all was his confidence. Who are we to say anything? He’s the medical person. Our job is just to support at that point,” Ross noted.