CUTLER, Maine — A College of the Atlantic student injured Sunday afternoon while hiking along the Bold Coast Trail was flown out by helicopter and taken to a Machias hospital, according to officials.
The name of the student from the Bar Harbor college was not available Sunday afternoon, but she had been camping at the state-owned preserve with several other COA students, according to Ranger Jeffrey Currier of the Maine Forest Service.
The young woman didn’t fall far, Currier said, but wrenched or twisted her leg as she tumbled a few feet from the trail onto a rock face. The injury initially was reported as a compound fracture, he said, but when medical personnel got there they determined it most likely was a bad sprain.
The Bold Coast Trail is a rugged trail several miles long that loops through thick woods and along the rocky ocean shore. Carrying the injured hiker all the way out to Route 191 would have been an arduous task, he said, so officials decided to fly a helicopter in to the site as close as they could.
EMTs and firefighters hiked in for three miles before they found the group of hikers, Currier indicated. The Maine Forest Service flew a helicopter from Old Town to the preserve, which is maintained by Maine Bureau of Parks and Land, and landed in a field not far from where the COA student had fallen.
After being carried on a litter to the waiting helicopter, the injured hiker was flown to Route 191, where an ambulance then drove her to Down East Community Hospital in Machias.
“The rough terrain and distance made a conventional carry-out highly problematic,” Currier said in a prepared statement. “The helicopter made for a very efficient rescue.”
About 15 people, including uninjured members of the COA hiking party, assisted in the rescue effort, Currier said. In addition to Maine Forest Service rangers, Cutler Volunteer Fire Department, U.S. Navy personnel stationed in Cutler and Machias Ambulance Service helped get her to the hospital, he said.
Why use the 15 or so people around to help carry her out 3 miles when the taxpayers can foot the bill for a helicopter ride!. Also, when hiking rural areas, make sure your cell phone works and always claim a compound fracture, preferably open type, when calling for a pick up. Yes, I get annoyed when people waste EMS and Rescuer resources. As a teenager, I walked 4 to 5 miles with a fractured hip after a fall on ice with the help of one friend. I never would have though of making others come rescue me. While I’m ranting, how about the 40 year old calling an ambulance for abdominal pain that has lasted for a few days? I wonder if they have Mainecare? I left EMS in large part due to the abuse of EMT’s for non-emergency runs (9 out of ten were questionable at best). I’ll stop, for now.
this is too tight a trail to carry someone like this.
For one reason, it is a trail that is not safe for an injured person to be carried 3+ miles. It is VERY rugged and very narrow in places, making it dangerous, threatening the safety of all involved. I commend all those involved for using common sense in the rescue, even if it did cost us taxpayers some money. Also, this is a place where cell phones do not work, period.
There is definitely plenty of abuse for non-emergency runs, but 9 out of 10 being questionable at best is ridiculous. You are simply over dramatizing to try and make a point. Yes, please stop now.
A compound fracture and an open fracture are the same thing. You say you were EMS?
/end snark
“I walked 4 to 5 miles with a fractured hip after a fall on ice with the help of one friend” – Up hill both ways?
Have you ever actually ever hiked this trail? Accidents can and do happen. It is more than a simple “walk”. I hate when “our” money is wasted more than anyone, but this is not waste. It is necessary. Perhaps the next time you need an ambulance, you can just call a cab instead, as it would be a waste to use an ambulance anyway.
Yep, I have “walked” this trail, as I have done the AT, the “New England Highest 100’s”, New Hampshires “48 4000 footers”. The list goes on, real hikes, real climbs. I have had to get myself or partners out of tough situations. Please,…a sprained leg???? 15 people to help? Better go back to the flat lands she obviously came from, or stick to cement and pavement!!!!
Stay in the closet.
Well I guess you’re mad that our volunteer responders responded, in addition to the navy base. And her sprained ankle was considerably larger than it should have been making it hard to tell if it was broken or not. Why are you so pissed about it ? The firefighters that were there to help would not risk the safety of this woman or their crew to walk her out. The walked in over 3 miles, had to carry her a half mile to the helicopter and it was treacherous. If this is such an easy hike, GOOD! Don’t come back, we don’t need your sour puss attitude in our town anyway.
Great response Small Fry. You can tell how the people feel by the nickname they post under….such as saynotogovt, closetheborders, and others who make their causes known in their logins.
Funny thing is, although I usually argue against government (akin to my screen name), there are times like this that I do support them.
I’m calling bs.
Whichever way you look at it, it’s nice to know when the search and rescue, fire department, and rangers get the call, they are there to help and do whatever it takes.
The nature trails in Down East Maine are very rugged trails and not for the Sunday walker. This particular trail has numerous logs crossing bogs. No way to carry a stretcher. I doubt if one could even drag someone out with a pole stretcher. EMS made the right call.
Oh, with an incident like this isn’t it time to widen, broaden and “fix” it?
Try hiking on the Appalachian trail there are places you go striate up on pegs for 6 ft no other way around it
It’s kind of obvious from the BDN’s previous reports, that first, we from the newspaper article ,do not know the nature of the girl’s injuries. So why are all you sideline quarterbacks calling the shots? Since you don’t know the severity of the injury, it is insanity to try and tell the people on the scene what they need to do.
Second, you must defer to the people on the scene to make a call which they consider prudent. It is obvious that they had difficulty getting in, so helping to carry someone out, might not be feasible.
Third, for all you Tea Party, “I pay too much taxes” bunch, I say this wouldn’t you want a loved one in your family to get the best care possible? Of course you would, so go take an anxiety pill, and realize that while it is possible the helicopter wasn’t absolutely necessary, it would more than likely save time. Precious time after the injury to get the patient to a care facility as fast as possible.
For all you EMT, EMS types, I say, don’t you remember the golden hour rule? That if a patient from any injury is at a care facility within 1hour of injury, the recovery from the injury is almost always 100%.
WHAATTT? Why bring the Tea Party into this? Totally illogical. I agree with everything else you say, but I do not see what the Tea Party has to do with this. If you want to sound really smart, do some research on the TP, and do not drag them into discussions of the Cutler rescue.
PS Thanks, rescuers.
Because, I can guarantee you that only those TP people scream and yell about taxes they pay when any kind of government service is used. Not illogical at all if you really folly the news Billie!…..not just read the BDN. Plus BDN put my post in the wrong place. It was a response to just say notogovt. I don’t know why it was placed here.
I lived on 191 near this trail for years and this rescue fanfare is a relatively common occurence. This beautiful trail is host to many unplanned cold, miserable sleepovers and even a few deaths. I am happy this person suffered only minor injuries and it was a clear day allowing a helicopter and a 911 signal to be utilized. A day much like Yankee Magazine describes The Bold Coast Trail in this month’s issue. The cost…a small price to pay for free advertising and PR!
Bold Coast=Bold Misuse of tax payers money, A compound fracture is a long way from sprain, At least the student will have a great paper on “What I did on my spring camping trip”.