Sick hiker wheeled out in 13-hour rescue from rugged wilderness near Big Sur, video shows
It took 13 “grueling” hours of trudging through mud, a flowing river and steep, wooded terrain Monday for rescuers to locate and carry to safety a 20-year-old backpacker who fell sick while hiking through the remote, rugged wilderness near Big Sur.
Video of the rescue showed team members wheeling out the hiker on a stretcher, navigating a perilous 16-mile round trip through the dark with only their headlamps to light the way.
The patient, 20-year-old Clayton King, was later diagnosed with norovirus at a local hospital, Andres Rosas, the commander of the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, told The Tribune on Tuesday.
Since Friday, King had been camping and hiking with two friends at the Sykes Hot Springs area in the Ventana Wilderness..
At about 4 p.m. Sunday, he started feeling bad and began vomiting.
“I just started throwing up out of nowhere,” King told KION TV. “It came on so suddenly, it was like being hit with a sledgehammer.”
One of King’s fellow hikers headed back down the trail to report the emergency, Rosas said, while the other man stayed with the patient.
In a serendipitous coincidence, another group of hikers who had the equipment to notify 911 via satellite, soon arrived in the area where King was. They immediately sent an SOS signal/emergency notification, Rosas said.
The Sheriff’s Office received the notification about 8 p.m. Sunday night.
Difficult rescue hike took 13 hours
In dark, rainy conditions, six of the county’s Search and Rescue Team volunteers then set out to bring the patient down from the soggy wilderness, with its steep, rugged trails and switchbacks.
The rescuers located and performed first aid on King, who was loaded onto the litter of a one-wheel motorized Stokes transport stretcher. The stretcher has handles on both ends that allow rescuers to guide it over rough terrain.
That equipment was very helpful in the beginning of the return trip, Rosas said, but because the rescuers and patient got trapped for several hours after early-morning rain caused the water level in the river to rise, the Stokes’ motor eventually ran out of power.
After about a mile, the group of volunteers was met by another six members of the Sheriff’s Office’s Urban Search and Rescue Team.
“The hike was so long,” the commander said. So, once the water level fell in the river, “it was back to manpower and muscle.”
On the Search and Rescue Facebook page, they described the long mission as an “arduous task” and “physically exhausting … testing the endurance and resilience of all involved.”
Video of the rescue shows the rescuers rolling the stretcher up and down he steep trail and through the river.
Near the end, the rescuers were met with additional help from Cal Fire.
Rainy weather and a low cloud ceiling down to 250 feet kept helicopters from assisting in the rescue, Rosas said. It was ultimately completed with brute strength and tenacity.
About 13 hours after locating King, he was carried out and taken to a nearby hospital.
“If they were struggling, they didn’t let me know,” King told KION TV. “They worked through it and showed their best side. They did a lot of leg work getting me through so I imagine it was very taxing on them.”
In total, the entire 16-mile effort took more than 16 hours start to finish, including the rescuers’ travel time to the area.
“It was the Christmas dinner,” King told the TV station from the hospital. “I blame it on that.”
Some admonitions for less-experienced hikers
“This kid knew how to hike,” Rosas said of King, noting he was prepared for everything except extreme illness.
Others who recreate in the area may not be as experienced, which is worrisome, Rosas said.
“Make sure you know you’re capable of handling what you’ll be facing,” the commander advised.
And during a crisis in a remote or rugged area, having emergency satellite-messaging connectivity could be crucial.
This story was originally published December 31, 2024 at 4:43 PM.
