(USNewsBreak.com) – People face many potential dangers when they go hiking. They are at the mercy of nature around them, including wild animals, dangerous slopes, and boulders. An unfortunate hiker rescued in a cautionary tale recently spent seven hours trapped.
In a Facebook post detailing the incident, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office revealed that on December 5, it received a call that a hiker had become trapped in the Inyo Mountains, requiring a search and rescue (SAR) team. The hiker’s legs had become trapped under a boulder, making the situation even more precarious. The Inyo County Search and Rescue (SAR) and the California Highway Patrol formed a team that raced to the scene just below Santa Rita Flat.
Team members used a helicopter and several off-road vehicles to reach the hiker, whom they found with his left leg trapped beneath a huge boulder estimated to weigh between 6,000 and 10,000 pounds. They used every tool at their disposal, including ropes and pulleys, to move the boulder enough to free the trapped man. Time was of the essence because of the hiker’s condition, and they opted to airlift him instead of waiting for another solution.
However, with the help of a US Navy medic who rappelled down to the scene from a helicopter, the SAR team extricated him via air because the rough terrain offered no suitable landing spots for a helicopter. The rescuers flew the man to a Fresno-area hospital after midnight. The SAR team, which began the rescue in the afternoon hours, finally signed off for the day sometime after 4 a.m.
Neither the media nor the SAR team or other agencies involved in the rescue have identified the man or disclosed his current condition. The US Forest Service cautioned those who hike the mountains, saying the landscape appears rugged but remains fragile.
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