A hiker paralyzed by a bite in California's Sierra Nevada mountains last week was rescued safely after he was able to relay his location just before his phone died, officials said.
The woman had taken the Sierra Nevada Taboose Pass John Muir Trail after encountering too much snow, and while fetching water from a creek, she was bitten by what she thought was a spider, Inyo County Search and Rescue officials said in a social media post social.
“Afterwards, he could not feel the skin on his legs and could not continue his descent,” rescue officials said. The hiker, who authorities did not identify, managed to call and relay his coordinates to rescue officials around 6:30 p.m. before his phone battery died.
The county's search and rescue team arrived at the trailhead shortly before midnight and “slowly walked her down the tricky section of the trail while securing her with ropes,” before moving her to a dump with wheels that the team had hidden in a more stable area of the trail, a quarter-mile from their location, officials said.
Inyo County Search and Rescue via Facebook
Authorities did not release any details about the woman's condition.
“About half of the emergency calls that SAR receives are from someone with a dead phone battery,” said the department, which asked hikers to bring power banks for telephones or satellite messaging devices.
“While we're on the subject of the Taboose Pass Trail, we'd like to remind everyone that the Taboose, Sawmill, Baxter and Shepherd Pass trails are far less well-maintained than the rest of the trails in the Sierra,” the department added. “You may encounter very tricky sections and trouble finding routes, not to mention very steep slopes.”
