Yesterday there was some major excitement at Capitol Reef National Park. Around noon a report came over the radio that an emergency signal had been received from a GPS locator device. (Though it had nothing to do with us, we were able to monitor the day’s events with each transmission.) Rangers were dispatched to locate the hiker who had sent it, and he was eventually found in a crevice at Upper Spring Canyon. He had separated from his fellow hikers (who had actually sent the signal), and in trying to climb straight up a little bit higher, his foot slipped on some rocks and he fell about 20 feet in the crevice. His fellow hikers didn’t see him fall but heard the rock slide. To get to his exact location, the rangers had to hike 4 miles from where their car was parked and then climb down to him. Though unconscious when they initially reached him, he became alert and responsive. Once they determined his injuries, they needed to stabilize him and figure how to best get him out. Since there are no major medical facilities in the area, a search and rescue helicopter was considered necessary. The nearest available one was at the Grand Canyon and would take
at least 2 hours to get to their location. The rangers needed that time anyway to not only stabilize him onto a litter, but also to move him about 100 yards over rough terrain to a better location for the helicopter to hover while they dropped a cable. Once the helicopter arrived, he was carried to a waiting ambulance near the Chimney Rock trailhead and transported to the hospital in Richfield (about 75 miles away). It was too late for the helicopter to return to the Grand
Canyon, so it was parked near the campground on the other side of the horse pasture till the next morning. You should have seen the deer scatter as they landed! The entire operation lasted about 9 hours and took the efforts of about 13 rangers. Later we learned that the man had several skull fractures, a broken nose, a dislocated hip, and 10 broken ribs. We find it amazing he survived. All the rangers involved deserve major kudos for a job well done!
On a less dramatic note the day before, the golf cart died on the other side of the middle loop while we were making our rounds. Russ managed to push it off the road, and we walked back to our campsite to radio the ranger on duty who came to our rescue and towed it back over here. See, rangers make rescues of all kinds!
Yesterday there was some major excitement at Capitol Reef National Park. Around noon a report came over the radio that an emergency signal had been received from a GPS locator device. (Though it had nothing to do with us, we were able to monitor the day’s events with each transmission.) Rangers were dispatched to locate the hiker who had sent it, and he was eventually found in a crevice at Upper Spring Canyon. He had separated from his fellow hikers (who had actually sent the signal), and in trying to climb straight up a little bit higher, his foot slipped on some rocks and he fell about 20 feet in the crevice. His fellow hikers didn’t see him fall but heard the rock slide. To get to his exact location, the rangers had to hike 4 miles from where their car was parked and then climb down to him. Though unconscious when they initially reached him, he became alert and responsive. Once they determined his injuries, they needed to stabilize him and figure how to best get him out. Since there are no major medical facilities in the area, a search and rescue helicopter was considered necessary. The nearest available one was at the Grand Canyon and would take 
at least 2 hours to get to their location. The rangers needed that time anyway to not only stabilize him onto a litter, but also to move him about 100 yards over rough terrain to a better location for the helicopter to hover while they dropped a cable. Once the helicopter arrived, he was carried to a waiting ambulance near the Chimney Rock trailhead and transported to the hospital in Richfield (about 75 miles away). It was too late for the helicopter to return to the Grand 
Canyon, so it was parked near the campground on the other side of the horse pasture till the next morning. You should have seen the deer scatter as they landed! The entire operation lasted about 9 hours and took the efforts of about 13 rangers. Later we learned that the man had several skull fractures, a broken nose, a dislocated hip, and 10 broken ribs. We find it amazing he survived. All the rangers involved deserve major kudos for a job well done!
On a less dramatic note the day before, the golf cart died on the other side of the middle loop while we were making our rounds. Russ managed to push it off the road, and we walked back to our campsite to radio the ranger on duty who came to our rescue and towed it back over here. See, rangers make rescues of all kinds!
2 comments:
WOW! i was wondering what had happened, how old was the guy?
He's 57.
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