The young woman who survived a 30 foot fall off a cliff says she’s thankful she can walk.

21-year-old Rebecca Kidnie slipped off a trail in Carson Park in Eau Claire near Half Moon Lake on Monday.

She says it all happened so fast, she didn’t have much time to think. But, once she hit the ground, she says the first thing she did was call for help.

Rebecca says it all started as an impromptu walk along a wooded trail.

"At no time did it seem like a bad idea,” she said.

The UW-Eau Claire student – and the softball team’s catcher – says she and her friend, Mike, were hiking near Carson Park when they made a choice that would change their day.

"There were two paths,” she remembered. “One was, well it might as well have been paved. It was gravel and it was really nice looking. And the other, looking back it may have been an animal trail."

She says they picked the path less traveled.

"We were commenting on how fun it was, how exciting it was. And then we said, maybe we shouldn't have worn flip-flops. That was probably a bad idea."

That’s when Rebecca says she lost her footing.

"I tried to grab onto anything, but I think I grabbed a leaf,” she laughed. “It just felt like I was falling forever."

When she did stop, Rebecca says she did the only thing she could think of – call 911. Firefighters rescued her by boat and took her to the hospital for tests.

"They did CT scans and all kinds of ultrasounds,” she said. “X-rays. X-rayed my whole body. And they didn't find anything broken. I have some bad scrapes and bruises and stuff, but I feel really lucky."

Lucky to be alive and lucky to learn from the experience.

"If I had actually been hurt, I'd be really mad at myself because that was so stupid."

We talked to the Eau Claire Parks and Recreation Director about the trail in Carson Park. Phil Fieber says the city can’t afford to put up fences because one person fell.

He says because of the Recreational Immunity Act, people using public parks and ground assume all risk if anything happens.