Tourist Rescues Sleepwalker from Inside a Local Cave

A bewildered visitor recalls the sight of a man who stumbled out of a cave with only a blanket wrapped around his body and a child-size bicycle helmet on his head. Tripping Falls has seen an usual increase in activity related to cabin fever, isolation and sleep disorders this year. Though the increase in incidents can be blamed on increasing isolation in an already very isolated town, this incident happened before last year’s Moonshine Masquerade — a popular and somewhat legendary under-the-radar event that the town puts on each year. 

“He looked like he hadn’t showered in a while, and he definitely hadn’t shaved since at least the Clinton administration,” Karl Schulz — who was visiting from nearby Steamboat Springs — told us in a phone interview. Fortunately Schulz knew not to wake the sleepwalker and was able to help guide him back to safety. 

“I walked behind him and guided him back to the Masquerade; once he got there, he fit in with the rest of the crowd. We maneuvered through the crowd and we ended up at the Lodge, where he finished his nap off on the lobby sofa.” 

The sleepwalker turned out to be local resident and artist Van Hilton, who owns a small gallery in town. It was later determined that the bicycle helmet — although comically small — was protective for Hilton, who has a long-running problem with sleep walking and other sleep disorders