Six teams take 12 hours to rescue injured hiker on Camels Hump on Saturday
July 30, 2023 | By Brian LindnerOn the trail in daylight. Photo courtesy Waterbury Backcountry Rescue
Six area search and rescue teams spent over 12 hours in the rain Saturday afternoon and evening rescuing an injured female hiker on Camel’s Hump.
The 65-year-old, well-experienced, hiker from New Hampshire fell around 1:30 p.m. and fractured her upper arm. The rescue was completed by 25 rescuers in darkness at 1:30 a.m.
The hiker and her son were in one of the most remote locations in the Camel’s Hump trail system. The hiker was unable to continue due to extreme pain and the trails had become streams and the footing was hazardous. After calling 911, the hikers managed to pitch a tent and remained warm and dry as they awaited rescuers to ascend from the base.
Two EMTs from the Waterbury Backcountry Rescue Team located the patient about two hours later and initiated medical care in the wilderness. As teams assembled at the base, they were faced with a patient who didn’t feel she could walk with her injury in very slippery conditions.
The alternative would be to carry her down the Bamforth Ridge Trail towards Bolton but that is a very long and difficult trail requiring a multitude of rope belays over exposed ledges. The second option was to carry her back uphill then descend the easier Monroe Trail towards Duxbury.
Rain much of Saturday made trails treacherous. Photo courtesy Waterbury Backcountry Rescue
After care and splinting by EMTs on scene, the hiker felt she could try to hike with assistance but under her own power. Over the next six hours, despite intense pain, she was able to slowly be guided uphill to a point where she could descend the easier route. An ATV was staged about one mile up the mountain and she was able to ride from that point to the ambulance.
Photo courtesy Waterbury Backcountry Rescue
Waterbury Ambulance Service transported the injured hiker to Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin.
Teams participating in this rescue were Camels Hump Back Country Rescue Team, Colchester Technical Rescue, Huntington Search & Rescue, Mad River Valley Ambulance Service Back Country Rescue, Stowe Mountain Rescue, and Waterbury Backcountry Rescue Team.
Brian Lindner is team leader of Waterbury Backcountry Rescue, a division of Waterbury Ambulance Service, a nonprofit first-responder community organization. The team provides rescue service from remote areas in the Waterbury region and supports surrounding communities via the mutual aid system.