Inyo Co Sheriff's Dept:
On Tuesday evening, Inyo SAR was informed that a male subject had pressed the emergency button on his satellite messaging device at an off-trail location in the lower third of Sawmill Canyon. He stated that he’d left the JMT after not enjoying the hike and separated from his experienced hiking partner. Sawmill Pass, an unmaintained trail, was the nearest exit off the JMT to the East. On the way down, he quickly left the area that was covered by JMT maps, got lost, and also took a fall resulting in back pain.
On Wednesday morning, three members of Inyo SAR left the Sawmill trailhead. They had to bypass the subject’s location first, going higher to a creek crossing, from where they could gain a small ridge in the canyon that leads at a much safer angle down towards the site. At this point, travel had slowed to about half a mile an hour, since the terrain is challenging, and at the creek bottom; the vegetation was extremely dense.
Once the subject was reached, it was determined that he had intense flank pain and was severely dehydrated. It was decided that moving the patient to a slightly higher location, followed by a helicopter hoist, was the best solution.
Plan B would have been to cut enough vegetation to create a creek crossing and then move the patient in a litter up a sandy slope full of brush to gain 1,100 vertical feet until reaching the trail. This would have required a lot more team members, who at that point had staged at the trailhead.
A US Navy SAR helicopter (VX-31) based out of China Lake Naval Base responded to the call and was able to hoist the subject from a rock outcropping to where Inyo SAR had moved him. He was flown to Bishop Airport where an ambulance was waiting.
Inyo SAR and Inyo Sheriff would like to express their deepest gratitude to the VX-31 team.
Lessons to take away for all hikers, especially those on or planning to hike the JMT:
1. NEVER split from your partners. If you begin the hike together, you need to finish it together or bail together.
2. Be aware of unmaintained passes exiting the JMT, such as (but not limited to): Shepherd Pass, Baxter Pass, Sawmill Pass, or Italy Pass.
3. Bring maps that include the areas surrounding the JMT so that you don’t hike without any navigation tools if you have to exit at some point.