The snake struck the hiker’s knee (versus the lower leg or ankle, which is more common) apparently because the trail was level with a steep uphill slope on the left side. The subject and his two hiking companions were a few miles up the Chilnualna Falls trail in Wawona, hiking through steep terrain. On Saturday, August 29 at 12:27 pm, the ECC received a 911 call reporting a snake bite to a hiker’s left knee. “We were on the trail, hiking by ankle-high shrubs, when out of the blue-with no rattle, no hiss, no sound whatsoever-a snake struck.” -Recollection of hiking companion The subject received two doses of the antivenom CroFab and is expected to be discharged from the hospital today or tomorrow (more than a week after being bitten). He then was transferred to an air ambulance, which flew him to a Modesto hospital. The subject was transferred to a park ambulance where a paramedic treated him for dehydration, nausea, and pain. Once the crewmember put a harness on the subject, H40 returned to the scene, hovered overhead while the subject and crewmember together were hoisted up to the helicopter, and then flew to the park’s helibase at Crane Flat. Aside from the coordinates, the subject’s wife also provided a thorough and accurate description of the subject’s clothing and equipment.ĬHP’s H40 inserted one of their crewmembers by hoist (a metal cable that is attached to a motorized drum, used to lower and raise loads) to the subject’s location. She hiked through most of the night, taking a short nap when she was overcome by fatigue, then continued until she found a backpacker with the satellite messenger device. At some point, another backpacker had happened upon the couple and stayed with the subject while the subject’s wife started hiking. Before setting off alone to seek help, the subject’s wife had the presence of mind to pin their location on her phone later, being able to report the exact coordinates to the park rescuers made it easier for the responding California Highway Patrol (CHP) helicopter, H40, to locate the subject (Yosemite’s contract helicopter, H551, was on a fire assignment at Point Reyes National Seashore at the time of both rattlesnake incidents). They soon realized that hiking out wasn’t an option for the subject. The subject was backpacking with his wife, and, with no one else around, they tried hiking out together to get help. The subject, in his mid-30s, had stepped onto a rock, causing it to shift under his weight, and suddenly a rattlesnake-apparently underneath the rock-bit him on his left foot. At 8:50 am, the Yosemite Emergency Communications Center (ECC) received notification from a national emergency coordinating center that a backpacker, located in the Glen Aulin area, had used their satellite messenger device on behalf of another hiker to request assistance for a “snake emergency.” The full story emerged as the backpacker and responding ranger in Tuolumne Meadows exchanged text messages: the day prior, around 2:30 pm, a man was bitten by a rattlesnake while fishing barefoot in the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. The first rattlesnake bite was reported on Thursday, August 27. California Highway Patrol helicopter assists in recent rescue in Yosemite. A few weeks ago, within the span of three days, two rattlesnake bites-and subsequent rescues-occurred in Yosemite’s wilderness.
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