A hiker whose leg was cramping so badly he couldn’t walk had to be airlifted home Sunday afternoon after he and his friend got stranded on a trail to Coliseum Mountain in the Lynn headwaters.
North Shore Rescue members got a 9-1-1 dispatch just after 1 p.m. asking them to help evacuate two men from the approach to Coliseum. Making the rescue even more challenging, the mountain’s peak was covered by cloud when the call came in.
“The plan was to long-line in below them and hike up to them and then physically carry him down to a lower elevation for evacuation,” said Tim Jones, North Shore Rescue team leader. “Fortunately the weather cleared up for us to go directly in. We were able to land two rescuers and evacuate both the one suffering from cramps and his friend to the Lynn Creek riverbank.”
Rescue volunteers gave the hobbled man electrolytes to ease the cramping and sent him home with his hiking partner by 4 p.m.
“It was probably a combination of dehydration and a fitness issue,” Jones said.
The rescue underscores the need lost or injured hikers to call for help as soon as possible, especially after the daylight saving time switchover happens and the sun sets before 5 p.m.
“If they run into trouble, they need to phone as early as possible. That’s the biggest thing they need to do. We need two to three hours to do a helicopter rescue,” Jones said.
