A runaway mule carrying a Dolores man slammed into a tree Sunday morning on Stoner Mesa, causing serious injuries and prompting a mountain rescue.

Jim Sparks, 65, was injured when the animal was spooked and then bolted, hitting a tree. He and others were checking up on hunting camps via the Eagle Peak trail in Dolores County.

Using a cell phone, one of the members of the group called in rescue teams to the remote area, located on the West Fork side of the Dolores River, five miles from the nearest road.

Air Care One out of Farmington airlifted Sparks to Southwest Memorial, where he was listed Monday in stable condition, suffering from eight fractured ribs. Teams carried him for a half-mile through rugged terrain to a clearing where the air-care helicopter could land and take off safely, reported Shane Schmalz, undersheriff for Dolores County.