A man who fell and injured himself spent a night at Deception Pass before he was discovered by a hiker Sunday morning.

Chief Mike Brown with North Whidbey Fire and Rescue said the 55-year-old man was hiking on the north side of Deception Pass Bridge — the Skagit County side — at about 9 p.m. Saturday.

The man fell as he was walking on a steep trail above Lottie Bay and injured his back and head. Brown estimated that the man fell 20 to 30 feet.

The man tried to make his way back up but was unable to because of the back pain. He ended up staying the night near the water, Brown said.

“He slept off and on,” he said. “I’m sure at night it got really cold.”

A hiker found the man in the morning and called for help.

Brown said both North Whidbey Fire and state parks  teams went to the scene with boats since it would have been difficult to carry the man up the rocky incline. Firefighters strapped him to a backboard, lifted him onto the fire department’s boat and brought him to Cornet Bay, where he was transported to the hospital.

The man was stable at the scene; his injuries appeared to be relatively minor, Brown said.