A scary situation unfolded on a Northern California cliffside last Sunday, when a hiker was left clinging to a rocky face roughly 50 feet above the ocean for nearly an hour.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office released shocking footage of the scene, with the incident taking place near the Battery Alexander trail in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The hiker was attempting to take a shortcut up to a trail during a beach walk with his girlfriend, getting stuck about 50 to 60 feet down from the trail that was above.

In an article from the New York Post, hiker Cody Cretini, 22, provides his account of the story, describing that when he was rescued his muscles were tired from hanging on to the cliff and that they were about to give out.

Regarding how he got himself into the situation, Cretini said he was being “brave” and “adventurous,” taking a shortcut up a trail by climbing a cliff when he got to a point where the rocks crumbled.

The footage from the scene is intense, with a rescuer yelling “don’t let go” to Cretini while trying to get him attached to a rescue line.

Thankfully, the story has a happy ending with Cretini being successfully lifted from the scene. This situation provides a good example of why its always important to stay the trail, as well as how climbing unknown routes can be unpredictable and dangerous as quality of rock and level of difficulty can often be impossible to judge from below.

Watch the footage below:

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