California Hiker Rescued After Being Pinned by Falling Boulder for 9 Hours

Hiker Jason Koch was trying to rescue his fallen drone when he wound up needing rescuing himself.

Koch was climbing across big rocks in the Northern California town of Calistoga, searching for his downed aircraft when he lost his balance and slipped, ending up pinned under a massive boulder, he told Inside Edition.

“I took a moment and said, God, please be with me and help me. Give me wisdom so I know how to get out of this," Koch told Inside Edition.

He also said he kept thinking about canyoneer Aron Ralston, whose incredible story was chronicled in the James Franco biopic "127 Hours."

“I was thinking about the guy that had been trapped and had to cut his hand off to get himself free," Koch said.

With his cellphone dying in his pocket, and temperatures starting to drop, Koch knew he had to figure a way out.

“I actually reached across with my pen knife, cut my pants open and was able to reach into the pocket and pull my phone out,” Koch told CBS News. All told, he was stuck in the outcropping for nine hours.

Finally he was able to free himself. 

“I was like, ‘In your face, rock! I’m free now,’” Koch said.

By then it was dark. He called 911, and rescuers with night vision goggles used GPS to find him.

Though he suffered 11 broken ribs and a torn aorta, Koch was very thankful, he said after last week's rescue.

“I’m very fortunate. There’s multiple ways that I could have died on this hike," he told Inside Edition.

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