Two men’s weekend hikes turned into rescue operations for local first responders.
The first incident occurred on the Raven Cliffs trail around 5:45 Friday evening July 31. A hiker hurt his ankle and was unable to walk out of the wilderness area. Fortunately, he was not alone. “His son got out to where he could get phone service to call 911,” says White County Fire Chief Seth Weaver. White County and Helen firefighters responded to the call. They requested assistance from Lee Arrendale Fire and Rescue.
It took first responders approximately two hours to hike a mile-and-a-half into the trail, evaluate the patient, and carry him out of the woods on a stretcher. White County EMS then transported the injured hiker to the hospital.
Two days later, on Sunday, August 2, another man suffered an apparent leg injury while hiking Yonah Mountain. Emergency personnel responded to the mountain trailhead and made contact with the man. They assisted him from the trail, according to White County Public Safety Director David Murphy, but did not need to transport him to the hospital.
