Montana hiker rescued from Bob Marshall Wilderness
A hiker with her leg broken in two places was rescued by helicopter Monday from a remote mountain trail in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area.
According to Two Bear Air Rescue, the middle-aged woman was hiking with her husband upstream from Swift Reservoir near the southwest corner of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation when she broke both bones in her lower right leg just above her ankle. The woman and her husband were hiking through the backcountry to celebrate their wedding anniversary when the accident happened. With no cell phone service, the injured hiker’s husband was forced to leave his wife behind and hike out seven miles to seek help.
“There was grizzly bear poop everywhere and she was stuck alone out there,” a Facebook post from Two Bear Air Rescue states. Ground rescue support from the Pondera County Sheriff’s Office was unavailable at the time.
A report from the Missoulian newspaper explains that the injured hiker was downed along one of the forks of Birch Creek, about 25 miles southeast from the town of East Glacier Park. Steady winds of up to 50 mph hampered the rescue effort, forcing the Two Bear Air Rescue pilot to seek an alternate landing site.
"We had circled around a few times trying to figure out if there was a way we could hoist," pilot Rob Cherot told the Missoulian. "It was ridiculous in there."
“There were strong, unfavorable winds for the aircraft to maintain a hover,” Two Bear Air Rescue operations manager, James Heckman said, “therefore a safe hoist operation was just not appropriate at that time. They elected to find more favorable winds down valley in a meadow and carry out the rescue operation on foot.”
The helicopter landed about a mile and a half from where the injured hiker was located, touching down about an hour before sunset. Two Bear Air Rescue crew members stabilized the injured woman’s broken leg and carried her down the mountain to the waiting aircraft. Once loaded, the helicopter took off just before 10 p.m. and flew to Choteau. Cherot said he originally planned to land near the Swift Dam to transfer the woman to an ambulance waiting there, "but the wind funnels out of the front there were way too windy, and it was already too dark by then to mess with trying to land on the gravel road."
According to a Facebook post from the injured hiker’s husband, Mike Carlson, his wife is now at home and resting comfortably.
“It is no exaggeration to say this was a truly heroic rescue,” Carlson posted. “Words cannot express my gratitude. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. It was a great relief and comfort to hear her tell of your expertise and friendly demeanor throughout the ordeal. Even in truly harrowing conditions, you were able to get to her hours before I would have expected.”
“Circumstances can turn on a dime in the backcountry and satellite communication is, indeed, essential gear – a humbling lesson for me,” Carlson added. “This was an instance where your services were truly the only viable option; there is no way for me to overstate the value of what you do. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
Heckman echoed Carlson’s assessment of the situation.
“Nobody goes out to the Bob Marshall to injure themselves and request a helicopter flight out,” he observed. “It can happen to anybody out there, even if you’re the most experienced packer or hunter that enjoys the Bob Marshall. “Generally, we don’t need to hike to a patient and carry them out on our backs, but we get the job done and that may mean that we need to hike a couple miles to get the patient out and to the care that they need. Accidents happen, and that’s why we’re here.”
Two Bear Air Rescue recommends that backcountry travelers carry a satellite communication device, such as a Garmin InReach or SPOT messenger, which could allow people to remain together in an accident rather than separating to seek help on foot.
“We just want to remind people to stay safe in the backcountry as best they can, and we’re here to help as need be,” Heckman said.”
This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Hiker with broken leg rescued from Montana backcountry
