Mounted search and rescue

["Jorene Downs" <Jorene@CEOates.com>]

I generally don't mention Search And Rescue response - we tend to be called every 2-3 weeks for one reason or another - but this SAR was too bizarre to not mention! Usually we have something straightforward, like a missing hiker. But last night's call had some unexpected complexities.

 

The Hasty Team (first responders) got called out about 10 PM last night, and we rolled up the mountain with a report of a rider down with a possible broken hip in the backcountry. We needed a bunch of extra people to pack a litter up very steep Sierra Nevada terrain at about 7,000 ft.  16 of us zoomed up the mountain, with 14 to send in on foot with all the medical gear, collapsible stokes litter, etc. On the surface we were responding to a backcountry riding accident. However, that injured rider had been on his way to help others in the backcountry because *they* earlier yesterday had an injured rider. With all the "I heard ..." it may be a while before we get the facts, but here is an overview ...

 

The first incident was a riderless horse (details unknown) suddenly kicking aggressively at the other horse ... and nailing the other horse's rider still in the saddle. Broken arm, injuries to his leg and foot. One of the group rode out to call for help and we sent a chopper knowing there was a good LZ at that location - fast transport to the hospital for injured rider #1. 

 

Rider #2 headed in to assist those of rider #1's group still in the backcountry. But rider #2 had a wreck on the way in. I didn't hear all the details, but his horse went down (possibly slipped - we have some very steep mountain trails!) and even rolled over the rider. A broken hip was suspected. He was immobile. A good example of why riding alone in the backcountry isn't a good idea! Another rider eventually came along that trail, found the downed rider and rode for help.

 

That rider who went for help is one of our Mounted SAR personnel who understood a lot of resources would be needed for a night response litter carry. It would be at least midnight by the time we could get there, and the litter carry would be a challenge, carrying the big rider uphill with a 1500 ft elevation change in about 3 miles over steep narrow trails in the dark.

 

We were about 10 miles from the trailhead where the ground team would start out on foot when we zoomed around a remote mountain road curve and found flashing lights on 3 rescue vehicles staffed by 4 people. A volunteer fireman was headed for the trailhead and spotted headlights off the road down in the trees. The local volunteer ambulance (tiny mountain community) and fire had just managed to extract the trapped driver and were discussing how they'd somehow manage to get the litter up the steep bank when we arrived on the scene and asked if they needed any help.

 

We were instant heroes - they said they'd just been saved by the Cavalry. <g> We whipped out our rescue ropes, set up a simple low angle rescue system, and less than 20 minutes later the injured driver was in the ambulance and we were continuing on our way. ;)

 

The moon is at about 1/4, and the tree canopy fairly thick at the edge of the trailhead where we set up the Hasty Command Post. (My truck is referred to as the mini-Command Post because I carry so much CP gear permanently in my rig. <g> )  14 headlamps disappeared into the shadows of the trees at about 1:30 AM. We had rider #2 in the ambulance waiting at the trailhead before 7:30 this morning. And the rescue squad and ambulance we'd helped at the auto accident had been on their way to meet us at the trailhead when they stopped to handle the car wreck.

 

One other weird coincidence is related to the response team that was comprised mostly of members of one of our volunteer SAR teams. (The red team shirts in the 2 new photos on http://www.ceoates.com/sar/photos.html#Response ) They were at a team refresher training for patient packaging and litter carry when the call-out came. Then we stopped on the mountain road and carried a litter with an injured driver. Then the primary mission was miles of steep litter carry. Did they jinx us with their training, or have some precognition that they'd really need those skills ASAP??? ;)

 

We also had a loose saddled horse bust through the trailhead Command Post at a fast trot at about 5 AM. I'm guessing that was the horse that injured rider #2 (the one we carried in the litter) had been riding. That horse came out of the dark and disappeared into the dark in a matter of heartbeats, hustling up the road toward the pack station where he'd find some buddies to hang out with.

 

But one factor that greatly helped the SAR personnel who hiked in for the rescue and hauled the injured rider back up the mountain was one of our Mounted SAR riders leading a pack mule carrying lots of SAR packs so the ground team didn't have the additional weight for their steep return. I never did find out where he got the livestock - he'd gone back in on foot with our rescue team. ;)

 

Curiouser and curiouser ... ;)

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jorene Downs
Tulare Co, CA
SAR, MSAR, Swiftwater Rescue, US&R,
Hasty Team, ICP
www.CEOates.com/sar