On Saturday, a man and his two sons were rescued from a canyon after spending three days trapped inside. Jason Knight and his two sons, ages 11 and eight, departed on Wednesday for a five-hour hike, climb, and repelling session in four deep canyons located about 200 miles south of Salt Lake City, Utah. After going in the wrong canyon entrance, the family realized they did not have the correct ropes to get themselves back out.

While they thought they had gone into the entrance of Leprechaun Canyon, they actually ended up in Santhrax Canyon.

“The entrances are, literally, less than 1,000 feet apart, and we got down the wrong canyon,” Knight told TODAY. He and his sons camped in Santhrax Canyon for the night, and the following day, 35-year-old Knight hiked to the bottom of the canyon so he could go in search of more gear. But after reaching the canyon’s floor, he realized there wasn’t a way out.

Although Knight was trapped, his two sons did as they were instructed and stayed put—rationing a granola bar and water between them.

“You have to have a plan, and you have to stick to that plan,” Knight said. “You have to teach your kids what to do in an emergency like that.”

His sons remained in the same spot for two days before the helicopter rescue team was able to come to their aid on Saturday, after being alerted by family that they had not arrived back home. Knight said it was the sounds of the helicopter that gave him hope everything would be okay.

“I put them in a place where a helicopter could easily find them,” he told the AP. “I knew if something bad happened to me, if they found them, they could probably find me.

“I was really far down into the canyon, so I actually had to climb up 50 feet and signal them, and it took four or five times for them to see me down at the bottom.”

Image from Izhak on Wikimedia Commons