Whitefish rafter rescued from raging Glacier Park creek

A 23-year-old Whitefish man was rescued from Upper McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park on Thursday after becoming stranded while illegally boating in a closed area.

Park dispatch received a report at 4:30 p.m. of a rafter who had fallen in the creek near Red Rock Point just upstream from the Avalanche Creek area. The man, who was using an inflatable backcountry raft, was stranded on a rock in the middle of the raging creek in an area littered with boulders, park spokeswoman Denise Germann explained to the Pilot.

Park rangers paddled across the creek to more stable ground where they were able to throw the rafter a rescue rope. The man was wearing a helmet and personal floatation device.

Rangers pulled the man to shore, then paddled him back across the creek to the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

The Flathead County Swift Water Rescue Team also responded to the incident and retrieved the man’s belongings that floated downstream.

The man, who has not been named, was cited for boating in a closed area. Upper McDonald Creek, from the bridge across the McDonald Creek inlet at the head of Lake McDonald upstream to the Mineral Creek confluence, is closed to all boating and floating for the protection of nesting harlequin ducks.

Park officials remind visitors to use caution around water. Spring conditions in the park include fast moving and frigid cold waters in lakes, streams and creeks. Drowning is the leading cause of death in the park.