PA Woman Hikes Nearly 30 Miles In Storm After Family Gets Stranded Near Grand Canyon

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A family vacation turned into the fight of one Lehigh Valley woman's life. The woman and her family found themselves stranded near the Grand Canyon.

The family's rental car couldn't make it through a harsh storm in the Arizona wilderness.

CBS 3's David Spunt spoke with the woman's husband by phone. He says it has been a difficult few days after the life changing experience.

The family is now all together at a hospital in Utah, but they can't ignore what could've happened.

Karen Klein says, "It was about surviving, but it wasn't about surviving for me."

As she reflects from the warmth of her hospital bed, Klein, an Easton resident says her son and husband were on her mind after she hiked 26 miles in a snowy Arizona to get help.

She ate twigs and drank her own urine to survive.

"I have to help them, I have to save them," she recounts.

Klein's husband and 10-year-old son Isaac stayed behind in the wilderness after their car broke down. The three were on vacation and began driving just as a miserable storm pounded the area around the Grand Canyon.

The family rented the car in Las Vegas and relied on GPS to take them to the Canyon, but the specific area they wanted to go was closed for the winter.

"I just kept thinking, I have to do this for my son, I have to do this for my husband."

Klein is now recovering at a southern Utah hospital, being treated for cold and exhaustion. She is a triathlete and decided it was best if she head out in the cold to find help.

Years of intense workouts paid off, the family is now together and safe.

Authorities rescued her husband and son after her husband hiked to higher ground and found cell service.

Karen was found later, almost 30 miles away.

"I don't want my son to be without his mother, I don't want my husband to be without his wife, I don't want my parents to have to bury me."

Karen's husband and son were also treated, but are now out of the hospital.

Her husband says he expects to be in Utah for at least another week while Karen recuperates.