Hiker dies on PCT

A hiker on the Pacific Crest Trail near Anza, California, suffered a medical emergency on April 9, and the rescue turned into one of the hardest kinds of calls crews get: a patient in a remote canyon with no quick road access. Riverside County deputies were sent out at 11:48 a.m., and a helicopter was called in because the trail location was too far from the nearest paved road. (backpacker.com) The first public reports sounded like a live extraction. Valley News reported responders were dispatched at 12:14 p.m. to the backcountry near Bear Track Court and Old Cattle Trail, off Coyote Canyon Road, and that Riverside County Sheriff helicopter Rescue 9 was preparing a hoist operation. (myvalleynews.com) A hoist rescue is what crews use when a helicopter cannot land. The aircraft hovers, and a rescuer or basket is lowered on a cable, which is a lot like trying to pick someone up from a rooftop without ever touching down. (myvalleynews.com) By later in the day, the outcome had changed. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office told Backpacker that deputies reached the hiker, gave medical aid, and the person was pronounced dead at the scene. (backpacker.com) The location helps explain why the response needed both ground crews and aviation. The call came from near Coyote Canyon Road at about Mile 140 of California Section B of the Pacific Crest Trail, a desert stretch near Anza that sits well before the higher San Jacinto Mountains that northbound hikers usually reach next. (backpacker.com) The Pacific Crest Trail is not a local day path. It runs about 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon, and Washington, and even its early Southern California miles can put hikers hours from a road, shade, or fast medical help. (pcta.org) That gap between “someone is hurt” and “someone can physically reach them” is the whole story in places like this. Valley News said the terrain was difficult enough that crews had to coordinate air support while they were still assessing the hiker in the field. (myvalleynews.com) The sheriff’s office has not released more details about the hiker or the cause of the medical emergency. According to Backpacker, the Riverside Coroner’s Bureau took over the investigation and the aviation unit was then used to help retrieve the body from the remote trail area. (backpacker.com)