Arrowsmith Search and Rescue crews successfully rescued an injured hiker in a remote and very challenging Nile Creek Trail near Bowser on July 14.
ASAR responded to a call just before 3 p.m. about the hiker, who slipped and was hurt.
Nick Rivers of the ASAR said they were familiar with Nile Creek Trail as they are annually involved in a number of rescues in the area.
"It's a very challenging trail to perform rescues on," said Rivers. "It's very muddy, and very narrow and really hard to get any helicopters in or out of. So, it's definitely a challenging environment and we knew that heading in."
A helicopter long line operation was set up at the start and rescue teams were sent, hiking to location of the injured hiker, who slipped on the trail.
"It's super slippery trail and it does happen all the time there," said Rivers.
Bringing the injured hiker out of the trail wasn't easy. The rescue team had to deal with the dense forest and had to create a clearing to allow a line to be dropped from the helicopter. Rivers said the area was so bushy they can't see it from the helicopter.
"We had to fight our way through the Devil鈥檚 club and hogweed in the area to get to the trail, and then bring a chainsaw and a clearing team in to actually cut a pad out where we could long line out of," said Rivers.
The hiker, who was with a group of people and a pet dog, was successfully rescued and flown to a waiting ambulance where he was given treatment for an ankle injury.
Rivers credited the hikers for being prepared. They were able to effectively communicate their location, find a shady spot and wait for help to come.
鈥淥nce we knew where they were, we were able to ping their phone, and they stayed there where they had cell service and didn鈥檛 move," said Rivers. So I think that really aided us in being able to get them out as quickly and easily as possible, without aggravating any injuries further.鈥�
Rivers said in most case people become impatient when waiting for rescue crews to arrive. The tendency is to move the injured person and ends up aggravating the injury and also delaying rescue teams from reaching them.
"I know when you're in pain, every minute feels like an hour but it is best just to stay put," Rivers advised. "We know where you are and we're coming to get you."
ASAR has been extremely busy this year and Rivers said they have already exceeded the number of rescues from the previous year.
"Last year was our busiest year ever, so we're trending for another super busy year," said Rivers. "Another hot summer, and you know, we'll see what happens with wildfires and helicopter resources availability. That's always a challenge that we worry about."
