JSAR was paged at 1:45 Friday afternoon for the rescue of a subject on the Lena Lake Trail with a reported ankle injury. Volunteers freed themselves from work and other obligations and headed to the trailhead, which is located just south of the county border in Mason County. Teams started up the trail as they arrived, with an EMT reaching the subject around 4:30 pm and subsequent teams bringing the wheeled litter, additional personnel to operate it and three additional EMTs.
The injured ankle was splinted and the patient loaded for the carryout from the north end of Lower Lena Lake, just a few yards shy of the washed-out bridge where we met the subject of our call last weekend. The rescue was performed by ten JSAR volunteers along with Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and US Forest Service law-enforcement officers. A party of three hikers had both run down the trail for help and stayed with the injured hiker until JSAR arrived, and multiple other hikers on the trail that day provided assistance to the injured hiker.
A few hours later, the team and patient reached the trailhead with the litter, where Brinnon Fire Department took over treatment and hospital transport.