When we moved here in 2015, I hiked almost every week. I loved it! I loved the serenity and the beauty of the trails. A particular trail, The Homestead Blue Ridge Trail in Winters, CA, I had wanted to hike on for some time. The pictures that I had seen from friends and other hikers were gorgeous and I wanted to see it for myself.
Since it was a 5 mile loop, there really was not a lot of navigation required or many things that could go wrong. I always carry a lot of supplies with me when I hike with my family and hiking alone was no different. Some might even suggest I carry too much but, I like to be prepared for anything.
My husband, who is also my hiking companion, had to work that day. My in-laws were in town that day so, I took the opportunity to go on a hiking adventure alone. This was my first time hiking alone but I felt fairly confident that I could complete it without an issue despite the fact that it was listed as “challenging”.
While it was kind of a jaunt to get to the trail (1.5 hours away and no cell service), the trail started out like any other trail, nice and easy. My first mile averaged about my normal pace of 20 minutes. But then I started noticing towards the second mile, the first peaklet, that I was starting to get really tired and my pace was really lagging.
There is 1,300 feet elevation gain total on this trail so the uphill climb had a lot to do with my slowing pace.
I had prepared myself for the journey by bringing 64 ounces of water and stopped and took frequent rest and water breaks. But I was running out fairly quickly due to the heat. Mindful of the time because I had to pick up my son from the daycare in about four hours, plus the heat, I started hurrying along the trail to get back to the car to get the water I had in the cooler and head home.
I was following a guide book that was telling me what to expect at each mile marker and I knew that I was close to descending the trail, after one last peaklet.
Exhausted, weary, and hot, I got up to the peak and quickly realized that the trail sort of “disappeared”. This did not worry me because the trail had been doing this off and on during rock scrambles descending the peaklets.
I decided to follow along where I believed that the trail was supposed to be for about 100 feet with the intention of seeing if I could pick up the dirt path again. I quickly realized that this was not the trail and I needed to retrace my steps back up the peaklet. I turned to ascend the peak and when I did, the loose, dry dirt gave way and I started to slip. I am pretty level footed and have very rarely slipped or slid on a trail, especially since I started using trekking poles.
But this day was different. I was not able to maintain my balance as the loose dirt and rock gave out beneath me and I fell hard on my right side and started moving down the trail. Luckily, I was able to turn onto my back and use my trekking poles to slow down my rate of decent but I was not able to stop myself from falling off the side of the trail.
I ended up 50 feet below the trail on a 25% slope. Stunned and scratched up, I tried to climb myself out of the ravine I was in but the slope was too steep and I kept losing my footing.
I started screaming and hollering, trying to get anyone’s attention. My voice echoed off the canyon walls. I usually have carry a whistle and compass, paracord, and a Swiss Army SwissTool in case of emergencies but this day, I had inadvertently left it on the Kelty carrier.
I suddenly realized, no one was on the trail at this time and no one knew where I was.
I attempted to text my husband to have him send help but I had little service. In the past, I have had luck with posting to Facebook with little service so, I tried to post but it did not go through.
As I sat on the slope surveying my options for self-rescue, I realized that there were none. If I were to attempt to go forward I would have fallen off a 200 foot cliff. If I tried to climb out, I ran the risk of sliding down the slope and then off that 200 foot cliff. The situation look bleak.
I remember reading somewhere that despite not having service, most people can get a call out to 911. So, I tried to call 911. It took 5 attempts before a call went through. Luckily I knew what mile marker I was at so that helped a little but I got disconnected before I could get my exact location out.
I continued trying to call must have called 911. I must have tried at least 25 times and each time it would take nearly 5 minutes to connect. Of those 25 calls, only 6 calls went through.
Finally I was able to reach 911 again and give them a more precise location of where I was and give them phone numbers to inform my family that there had been an accident. I was told that they were sending someone to help me off of the slope.
I had no idea at the time that I had fallen as far as I did and that there was no way for them to get to me without airlifting me out. At first they were looking for me on the wrong side of the ridge because I did not know what direction I was facing but between calls to 911, I was able to figure it out thanks to my iPhone compass and give them the direction I was facing as well as tell them what I could see.
After that, it was just a matter of minutes before the helicopter circled around. I was able to use the trekking pole and some pretty fancy waving to get their attention. At first I thought they did not see me but when they circled back around I knew they saw me.
They flew off to reconfigure their strategy since I was on such a steep slope. They decided I needed to be airlifted out and flew back around about 10 minutes later. They sent a guy down who hooked me up to the harness and they airlifted me out.
The EMTs back at the trailhead were surprised that I was able to walk and I was not more injured than scrapes. Apparently, this sort of things happens a lot on that trail (not in that exact location but all along the trail) but usually ends up with the hiker in critical condition. I was extremely fortunate and was commended on having my cell phone (even though I barely had service), water, and letting my family know the exact trail I was going to.
By the grace of God, I am alright. I wanted to tell my story in hopes that I can help another person avoid a serious accident on the trail.
Safe Hiking Tips
- Tell someone where you are going and when you will be back.
- Hike with someone.
- Bring a cell phone.
- Wear bright colored clothing.
- Bring plenty of water (2 Liters per person per 2 miles).
- Hike in a cooler time of the day (usually before 10 am during the late spring and summer months).
- Use trekking poles or a hiking stick.
- Carry supplies with you to help administer self-first aid, perform self-rescue, and to summons search and rescue crews, if need arises.
