Hiker feels something bite her, then calls for help as legs go numb, CA rescuers say
A hiker used her dying cell phone to call for help after something bit her and her legs went numb as she was leaving a California trail, rescuers say.
The woman started her trek on John Muir Trail, Inyo County Search and Rescue said in a June 16 Facebook post.
However, she decided to take the nearest exit out of the Sierra Nevada, Taboose Pass, “when she encountered too much snow for her comfort level on Mather Pass,” rescuers said.
When the woman was slightly less than 2 miles away from the trailhead, rescuers said she went to get water from a creek and “got bitten by what she thought was a spider.”
“Afterwards, she was unable to feel the skin on her legs and could not continue her hike down,” rescuers said.
The woman called for help at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 12, and gave rescuers her coordinates just before her cellphone battery died.
After assembling a team, rescuers said they drove up to the Taboose trailhead.
For about a 1.5 miles, rescuers said they “pushed a wheeled litter” but stashed it for the final quarter mile “when the trail became too rough.”
Rescuers said they assessed the hiker before slowly walking “her down the tricky section of the trail while ensuring her safety with ropes.”
They placed her in the wheeled litter when it was safe to do so, according to rescuers.
The woman and team of rescuers reached “the trailhead just before midnight,” they said.
Rescuers urged hikers to bring a power bank for their phone and avoid using any features that could potentially drain their phone’s battery.
“About half of the emergency calls that SAR receives come from a person with a dying phone battery,” rescuers said.
Taboose Pass Trail, located in Inyo National Forest, reaches an elevation of more than 6,000 feet, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The 18.6-mile round-trip trail is considered a “highly challenging route,” according to the hiking website AllTrails.
“While we’re talking about Taboose Pass trail, we’d like to remind everyone that Taboose, Sawmill, Baxter, and Shepherd Pass Trails are a lot less maintained (than) the rest of the trails in the Sierra,” rescuers said. “You might encounter very tricky sections and route finding issues – not to mention very steep grades.”
This story was originally published June 17, 2024 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Hiker feels something bite her, then calls for help as legs go numb, CA rescuers say."
