Hoist Tine Mine Canyon

June 11, 2020
Cleveland National Forest above Corona
2020-031

Written by Glenn Henderson.

Ah, sweet dreams. I just got to sleep when call captain Gwenda Yates called. As soon as I saw who was calling, I knew sleep was out of the question. Gwenda asked if I wanted to do a quick hoist rescue in the Corona Hills? No, I do not, but I said yes, I would be at the hanger in 20 minutes. I got dressed, grabbed my pack, and got to the hanger at 10:30 where I me pilot Ryan Burk and TFO (technical flight officer) Jerry Osterloh.

There I got the news that Ryan was not rated for a night hoist and we were going to pick up team mate Cameron Dickinson in Corona where they would fly us up to the top of the canyon that two boys were stuck in. They had climbed up to Tim Mine Canyon trail but went off on the wrong side of the ridge top and ended up in brush over their head and did not know where to go or how to get out.

Once we got to the top of the ridge Cameron and I got out and Ryan shut down to wait for us. This ended up being a really tough mission as we went cross country to get to them sliding down steep slopes and breaking through brush for 2 hours to get to them. Once we got to them, we gave them water and food and headed out. We were on top of a ridge, so Cameron led out a much easier way and were able to get out in half the time it took to get to the boys.

Ryan and Jerry flew one boy and Cameron out and then returned for me and the other boy. I got back to the hanger at 2 AM, off to home, shower and bed.

RMRU Members Involved: Cameron Dickinson and Glenn Henderson.