Injured PCT Hiker
March 21, 2024
Desert Divide near Antsell Rock
2024-005
Written by: Richard Yocum
I find that a perpetual challenge of being a search and rescue volunteer is keeping my gear organized and ready for whatever the next missing might require. Late afternoon on 3/21/2024 I had just finished a recreational hike in Idyllwild and was re-organizing gear for my departure to the Sierras the next morning when RMRU got the callout at 5:40 pm for a solo PCT hiker just north of Antsell Rock on the Desert Divide. The report was that he had a severe hand wound with profuse bleeding and had applied a tourniquet. He had been navigating around a fallen tree over the snow-covered icy trail when a large boulder displaced and smashed his hand, resulting in a fracture and laceration. He was able to activate his inReach satellite communicator.
I quickly re-sorted my gear and began the short drive to the command post at Mountain Center. As I descended the road into Garner Valley I could just make out Rescue9 helicopter above the ridgeline in the area of the hiker. At Mountain Center I checked in with the CalFire Battalion Chief and was informed that Rescue9 was going to attempt to hoist the injured hiker. I remained on scene until the hiker was flown to Mountain Center and transferred to a ground ambulance.
RMRU Members Involved: (Colby Coryell, Eric Holden, Blake Rankin, and Richard Yocum)
Other Agencies Involved: (CalFire and Riverside County Aviation Unit)