An Army National Guard helicopter was used to rescue a hiker who suffered a severe head and neck injury after a fall in New Hampshire on Monday.
According to New Hampshire Fish and Game officials, they received a report from New Hampshire State Police of an injured hiker on the Glen Boulder Trail at around 2:30 p.m. on Monday, September 7. The injured hiker was reportedly near the Davis Path junction roughly four miles from the closest parking lot.
The 79-year-old hiker had reportedly fallen, suffering a head and neck injury, and could not move and did not have feeling in his extremeties.
Due to the nature of the reported injury and the distance from any medical care, Fish and Game officials requested a helicopter rescue from the New Hampshire Army National Guard.
Although the skies were mostly clear, it was windy on the ridge and a helicopter rescue was not guaranteed, so a call was also put out to search and rescue volunteer groups. Members from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue and Lakes Region Search and Rescue responded to the call.
If the helicopter was unable to reach the hiker, then it would fall to volunteers and conservation officers to conduct a time-consuming, lengthy carryout.
While waiting for the Blackhawk Helicopter to arrive, conservation officers began relaying volunteers up the Sherburne Ski Trail to the Hermit Lake Shelter on ATVs. From there, the rescuers started hiking up Boot Spur Link to Boot Spur Trail to Davis Path.
At around 5:30 p.m., the Blackhawk helicopter was able to land on the Davis Path near the hiker. He was assessed by the flight medics, placed in a litter, and carried back to the helicopter. The Blackhawk lifted off the ridge at 5:49 p.m. From there, the hiker was flown directly to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon.
Overall, 24 volunteers responded to the call as well as six conservation officers.
Fish and Game officials said using the Army National Guard helicopter saved the rescue crew from an arduous carryout of a patient with a potential life-threatenting condition on a very difficult trail, a carryout that would have likely taken all night to complete.
