Print friendly
E-mail story
Tip Us Off
Comments
Share Article
Facebook
Twitter
Google+1
del.icio.us.
Digg!
Yahoo! Buzz
Diigo
google
newsvine
reddit
technorati
Yahoo!
MyspaceSeveral hikers were assisted on Sunday, August 8, by search and rescue teams during two separate incidents, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
Three young hikers in Mission Canyon were on their way to the Seven Falls area during midday when they reported heat-related injuries and dehydration. Santa Barbara Search and Rescue, County Fire, U.S. Forest Service, and AMR paramedics were sent in response to the call, and the hikers were rescued by helicopter.
All three were treated for dehydration, and two were released while one was admitted to Cottage Hospital for further evaluation. The three hikers are not the only ones to require rescue in Mission Canyon. Of the eight trail rescues conducted in the county since April, including the two on Sunday, five have reportedly been in Mission Canyon.
Rattlesnake Canyon was the site of a rescue on Sunday as well. Just after the assistance of the dehydrated hikers, a woman in her mid-30s reported being lost after wandering off the beaten track. She was found by the same helicopter used earlier, and was flown back to her car. The woman was unharmed.
Previous Month
Comments
"flown back to her car"... sweet deal! I have some questions:
How much did that heli-taxi ride cost the city, or did she actually pony up for gas money? And where the heck did she park that was hellicopter-landing friendly? Or did she fast-rope down while it hovered over her car like in Black Hawk Down?
Also, I'd enjoy the pleasure of being the first to start this debate: We should put a big fence around the canyon to protect stupid people from themselves... you know, Santa Barbara style.
rcobban (anonymous profile)
August 11, 2010 at 2:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
you could say that the helicopter gas almost cost her her life. Wonder how much it costs to keep looking for marijuana in the canyons with all the flying that they do. Don't mind if it helps save a life though. And hey, build that fence. Some will just climb over it or hack through like a true vandal/patriot.
spacey (anonymous profile)
August 11, 2010 at 12:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Signs! Like they have at the beginning of the Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon warning stupid people to carry & drink and adequate supply of water and not exceed their hiking ability, which is just just grand going downhill and pretty much sucks coming back up.
Well, maybe not. They still effect hundreds of rescues on that trail every year. I know: At the trailhead of Rattlesnake Canyon let's install a wide berm filled with hundreds of . . . rattlesnakes! To keep the riffraff challenged.
For Seven Falls, a series of seven, count 'em, seven 20'-ft. deep pits with punji sticks in one, lions in another, illegal marijuana growers milling about menacingly in yet another, and fresh shaving cream in the last one.
Voila! Problem solved.
Just an idea . . .
Draxor (anonymous profile)
August 11, 2010 at 12:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm the hiker referred to in the last paragraph. I hike 6-7 days/week in SB- mostly Jesusita, Tunnel, Gaviota Peak, Cold Spring/Montecito Peak. I know the trails and have lived here for years... but on Sunday I just made some bad decisions that got me severely off track and in a truly unhikeable area. I was airlifted out only because the helicopter was already in the air assisting the injuries on Tunnel. I wasn't actually flown back to my car; I was flown to the cul-de-sac at the end of nearby Spyglass ridge and managed on my own back to my car at the Rattlesnake trailhead. No Blackhawk Down revisits. The Search and Rescue team was amazing; those guys are real pros- couldn't have been more helpful, more organized, or more reassuring. We are very fortunate to have those guys around!
valonthecoast (anonymous profile)
August 12, 2010 at 10:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)