Hikers rescued after being stranded by high waters on Florida Trail (UPDATED with PHOTOS)

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — Water rushed by while Justin Hansen and Ray Coles Jr. clung to tree branches and treaded water, just hoping to survive.

Rescuers were dispatched at 10:50 a.m. Thursday morning to find the two Crestview men surrounded by eight feet of water off the Florida National Scenic Trail in Walton County.

Hansen and Coles started out Wednesday evening for a five-day, 45-mile hike they had been planning for more than a month. After trekking through stormy weather, they decided to wait out the storm overnight near Alaqua Creek and start back the next morning.

But Hansen, 32, and Coles, 26, woke up Thursday to find rising water.

Click to view a photo gallery of the rescued hikers »

“We went to find higher ground, but the water got too high so we started swimming,” Coles said. “We were swimming for about two hours, stopping and holding on to branches and trees.”

After wading through water that only got deeper, Hansen said he realized they couldn’t go further, but the current prevented them from going back to where they started.

Hansen was able to climb a tree and find cell phone service to call 911. An hour after the call came in, Freeport Fire Rescue used a global tracking system to determine where the call was made and locate the men.

Two divers with Freeport Fire Rescue’s Swift Water Team found Hansen and Coles and brought them to dry ground about 600 feet from where they were struggling to keep above water.

Fire Chief Ben Greenslait said the 7 mph current probably would have swept the men away if they had not been able to hold onto a tree.

“We had two guys swim out to them, secured the victims and they swam them back to shore,” Greenslait said. “The current was very quick flowing, and had (they) not held on it would have taken (them).”

Hansen, who is an experienced hiker on trails in North Carolina, said he heard Wednesday night’s storm was on the way. But after planning the trip and taking off work, he decided to not let Florida’s finicky weather deter him.

“I didn’t know how much it was going to rain,” said Hansen, a father of two. “I didn’t know how high it was going to get. As we were trying to get to land it just kept getting deeper.”

As they swam through the chilly water, Coles and Hansen said they thought Thursday would be their last day on earth.

“It makes you think,” Hansen said as he wrung out his wet socks. “I didn’t want to drown, that’s for sure. There were lots of thoughts. I felt there was no way out.”

“I thought we were going to die,” he said. “The water just kept rising. Next time, I’m going to buy some rope and get better gear, but I won’t go on another hiking trip for a while.”

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3:30 p.m. - Two men who set out on a 45-mile hiking trip Wednesday night were rescued from rising waters Thursday.

Justin Hansen, 32, and Ray Coles Jr., 26, both of Crestview, set off for a 4 or 5 day hiking trip on the Florida National Scenic Trail Wednesday, according to Hansen. On Thursday, they got trapped in a flood.

Two Freeport Fire divers pulled the men out of the water with ropes, according to Freeport Fire Rescue Chief Ben Greenslait. At the time of the rescue, the current was moving at 5 to 7 mph and the water was 8 feet deep and rising fast.

Hansen said the two had checked the weather forecast Wednesday night, knew it would rain, but decided to go ahead with the trip because they had planned it ahead of time and already taken off work.

The two camped near Alaqua creek overnight. When they awoke Thursday, they saw the water level rising and tried to reach higher ground, Hansen said.

They walked through the pouring rain and eventually were caught up in a flood, Hansen said. They swam and hung on to tree branches for two hours.

Hansen eventually climbed up a tree and was able to get cell phone service. He called 911 just before 11 a.m.

The Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Walton County Fire Rescue, Freeport Fire Rescue, and Eglin Air Force Base responded to the call.

Both men were uninjured and were not taken to a hospital.

1:30 p.m. - Two hikers remain stranded and surrounded by high water along the Florida National Scenic Trail, with a helicopter, ATVs and boats deployed to help rescue them, according to Mike Gurspan, spokesman for the Walton County Sheriff's Office.

The two men from Crestview appear to be OK, Gurspan said. One is up in a tree and the other is below the tree.

They began hiking yesterday and were caught by high waters that are the result of the heavy rainfall that has drenched the area.

"All means are being used to get them out of there," Gurspan said.

He described the location as five to six miles west of State Road 331 on the Eglin Reservation.

12:50 p.m. - Initial reports indicate that a section of the Florida Trail has flooded just north of Freeport, leaving two hikers stranded and clinging to trees.

Emergency personnel are on scene trying to rescue the individuals. A water rescue team is en route to the scene.