Wardens, FSAR and others come to aid of injured hiker on Tumbledown

 

Monday evening, the Maine Warden Service called out Franklin Search and Rescue to assist with the rescue of an injured hiker on the Brook Trail at Tumbledown. Members of FSAR and Weld Fire Department were first on scene and assembled a hasty team to hike in and locate the hiker as rescuers from all over the region responded.

 

The hasty team found the woman with a broken tibia and fibula amongst the boulder fields roughly 1/4 mile from the summit of Brook Trail. With daylight rapidly ending, the Warden Service called for helicopter support from the Maine Forest Service. Rescuers made the difficult decision to ascend to the tarn atop Tumbledown for a helicopter extraction of the injured hiker rather than risk the dangerous carry down the boulder-strewn trail in the dark.

 

Fortunately, rescuers encountered a trail maintenance crew from Maine Conservation Corps working the area, and they helped FSAR, Weld Fire, local EMS and the Wardens carry the hiker to the summit. With solid teamwork from all involved, the hiker was safely loaded onto the Forest Service’s helicopter and transported to a local hospital for treatment of her non-life threatening injuries.

 

It was really good to see so many respond to the Wardens’ call for assistance. In addition to those groups previously mentioned, members of Phillips Fire Department and Mahoosuc Mountain Search and Rescue also responded.

All told, the rescue team hiked roughly 7 miles round trip, with numerous scouting trips, and ascended approximately 1,200 vertical feet performing the rescue.