At 10:00 am on September 14th the call-out came for a 55-year-old woman who had slipped about twelve feet into Jim Creek near the waterfall and hit her head on a log. With a twisted ankle, elbow pain and a bump on her head, she wrapped her ankle and started walking down the trail. She met up with two GCSAR members and two EMS members driving up on ATVs. They brought her down to the trailhead and ambulance.
Other GCSAR members stood by in case she would need to be brought out with a litter. Everyone was safely off the trail by noon.
Shortly after 4:00pm another call came in for an accident near the Colorado River between Pumphouse and Radium in the Gore Canyon. A young woman fell about 15 feet in a rocky ravine near Mary’s Wall. Two Sherriff’s officers and a BLM Ranger went in from above the ravine on hiking trails to try to find her location. Two local rafters were recruited that were willing to bring GCSAR volunteers in from the river.
Five GCSAR volunteers and two EMS medics launched from the Pumphouse river put in and headed downriver. From the river it was a short, but difficult hike up the ravine to the base of a rock cliff where the woman had fallen. The medics attended to her injuries and she was put on a litter. A rope belay system was set up to help bring the litter down slowly. Everyone took turns carrying the litter down to the rafts.
As expected, radio communication was lost with Command as soon as the rafts got on the river. Most of the rescue progress was monitored by the Sherriff’s drone. The drone was also very helpful in lighting the way to the Radium boat ramp as the team rafted out in the dark.
All were safely on shore by 8:30pm. Thank you to the two rafters that donated your rafting skills and your evening to help. The woman and her friends were hiking off trail with tubes to get to the river. It appeared that she was wearing flip flops. GCSAR reminds people to use proper footwear when hiking. Also be sure to use defined trails instead of hiking off trail. Please use established river put-ins for safe access to the river.
