The litter team carries the victim back to the trailhead. NPS photo.
Whether you use social media or still rely on old fashioned snapshots, you've probably seen—and perhaps participated in—a picture of a group doing something slightly goofy during a trip to a park. Occasionally, such attempts for an unusual pose go awry, and that was the case recently at Yosemite National Park. The end result was a very painful injury and litter carryout for the subject of the photo.
The story began when a group of four adults hiked about a mile up the Yosemite Falls Trail to Columbia Rock. According to one of the hikers, they then decided to take a photo of the group to post on social media, which seems like a fine, and harmless, idea.
If there's a downside to widespread photo sharing via social media, it might be the tendency to try to duplicate some unusual shots posted by other users. Perhaps that was the case for this photo, which involved more than the typical "everybody smile for the camera" scenario. The plan: everyone in the group would jump at the same time and tuck their legs behind them while they were airborne; the photo would capture that scene before they returned to the ground.
That may sound like a creative shot, but a successful outcome presumes several key points—one of which is a safe landing back on terra firma.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for one of the participants. According to a park report, when the 28-year-old woman landed, she "slipped forward on gravel and face-planted on a rock."
The result was severe mouth injuries, including several broken teeth and profuse bleeding, so a call was placed to the Yosemite Emergency Communications Center.
A ranger-paramedic started up the trail and located the group, which had started hiking out, within about 15 minutes. Due to the serious pain experienced by the victim, the ranger-paramedic administered pain medication, and requested a litter team to carry out the individual. That team reached the scene within 30 minutes and the young woman was returned safely to the trailhead.
Because the subject was only 15 minutes up the trail, six YOSAR (Yosemite Search and Rescue) personnel, in addition to the ranger-paramedic already on scene, could safely extract the subject. If the carryout had been longer, if the terrain had been more strenuous, or if the subject had been heavier, the litter team would have included more rescuers.
A park spokesperson used this mishap as a "teachable moment" to note, "While the subject in this particular rescue fell while jumping, she could have just as easily suffered the same injury on the same trail while walking. Sloped, gravel-covered surfaces comprise the majority of the Yosemite Falls Trail, and ground-level falls are common. Be aware that even the most experienced hiker can turn an ankle or slip on any trail, and take care to stack the odds in your favor."
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Comments
Thank you Jim, the Yosemite SAR operation is simply outstanding, it has been led by several competent, fit, highly skilled supervisors including the most current one, the second women to hold the position in its history back to the 1960's. This same group just completed the gathering of the tragic plane crash wreckage from the recent Dog Rock Fire. The area was extremely hazardous, it was simply another outstanding effort.