Tramway Carryout
June 25, 2023
Wellman’s Divide to Tramway
2023-026
Written by: James Eckhardt.
At 5:30PM, we got a call for assistance from State Parks. A hiker coming down from the peak had injured his knee. The wind was too high for a helicopter rescue, so we needed to perform a carryout to the tramway. State Parks had already moved the subject to Round Valley from a location higher up on the trail, however due to issues with their litter they could no longer continue.
I was first from RMRU to arrive at the tramway, with many people from both RMRU and DSSAR close behind me. We headed up the tramway with our litter, wheel, and handles. We were soon on the trail, and after a relatively short hike, I was with the first team to arrive at the subject.
I did a quick assessment on the injury and confirmed that it was unstable, and the subject would need a carryout. With the large number of personnel on scene, the carryout back to the tram was about as quick and easy as a couple miles could be.
This was one of the few rescues I have been on where the subject had done everything right and experienced an unfortunate injury. He was prepared with adequate food, water, light and insulation. He had other members of his party and had an inReach to contact emergency services. While this didn’t prevent injury, it greatly aided in the speed of the response and the subject’s comfort while waiting for a wilderness rescue. Being as prepared as this subject would prevent a great number of our other rescues and searches.
RMRU Members Involved: (Tom, Blanke, Coby Brown, James Eckhardt, Matt Frenken, Eric Holden, Shani McCullough, Tobias Moyneur, and Steven Rider)
Other Agencies Involved: (DSSAR and California State Parks)