EUSTIS — Franklin County rescuers carried a Utah teenager about 1 1/2 miles down Cranberry Peak Trail on the Bigelow Range in sweltering heat Monday after it was reported she had a seizure while hiking.
It took two hours or so to get the patient down the trail due to conditions, Steve Mitman, secretary of Franklin Search and Rescue, said Tuesday.
Crews from NorthStar Emergency Medical Services got the call about 11:30 a.m. and Eustis and Carrabassett Valley fire departments were called in along with members of Franklin Search and Rescue, Mitman said.
Initially it was reported that a 17-year-old female had a seizure and was about 3 to 4 miles up the trail from the trail’s head in Stratton, Mitman said.
NorthStar Hasty Team went up first to meet with the patient and her hiking companions and assess the situation, Mitman said.
They reported that she was about 30 minutes into the hike, which he estimated to be about 1 1/2 miles.
Rescuers brought up a litter and helped shuttle medical gear, including oxygen, to the site, he said.
Search and Rescue members also brought along ropes and belays to help handle the steep trail, he said.
NorthStar paramedics and emergency medical technicians stabilized the teenager before she was carried in the litter down the trail, Mitman said.
Medical personnel stayed at the head of the litter to monitor the girl’s vitals and symptoms, he said.
The temperature was in the 90s, and it was very humid, Mitman said.
Each team of six rescuers carried the stretcher for 3 to 4 minutes, and then a second team took over, alternating back and forth as they continued down the trail.
They stopped several times along the way to let the medical personnel tend to the patient and to give carriers a break when needed, he said.
“The patient was a trouper,” Mitman said.
Two ambulances, personnel and others waited at the trail head for the patient. The patient was taken to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington and, according to the Search and Rescue website, was treated and admitted overnight for observation.
The girl was in Maine working as a counselor at a summer camp in another area of the state, Mitman said.
“We consider it a very successful rescue,” Mitman said.
About 25 people responded to help with the rescue and no one was hurt, he said.
dperry@sunjournal.com
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