Each spring, hikers of all experience levels from all regions flock to the mountains of Northeast Georgia to enjoy its natural beauty. And each year, local first responders get called to help them when they’re in trouble.
Habersham County’s Panther Creek is one area where first responders routinely respond. Since January of last year, there have been eleven 911 calls for help from the trail by people overcome by heat exhaustion, who are injured, or lost.
In 2020, a hiker fell ill and collapsed on the trail. She died of a heart attack as first responders were attempting to rescue her.
Getting help to people quickly is a challenge on backwoods wilderness trails and it’s a challenge made more difficult when rescuers don’t know where the patients are located. Until now, hikers on Panther Creek Trail without access to GPS and reliable cell service had no quick frame of reference to pinpoint their location.
Now they do.
Trail markers
Recently, Habersham County Emergency Services (HCES) personnel, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, placed 21 trail markers along the 3.5 mile (one way) trail.
The reflective markers are there to provide a reference point for anyone needing to call 911 for help with an emergency.
“Markers have been installed between 400 and 600 feet apart, depending on the trail condition and where there was a good tree to mount them. There were some spots where the distance was shortened due to washout,” says HCES spokesperson Rob Moore.
The Georgia Department of Transportation provided the markers at no cost. They are the same type of mile markers seen on the highway. Moore stresses that the markers are for reference points only and do not represent the distance walked.
While the new trail markers should prove to be a significant help, it’s important for hikers to make sure they know the name of the trail they are traveling.
Last May, first responders were delayed getting help to a woman on Panther Creek Trail when she mistakenly told them she was at Tallulah Gorge.
