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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, September 9, 2014 INCIDENTS Olympic NP Missing Backpacker Emerges From Backcountry Backpacker K.H., who had been missing for nearly four days in the northeast section of Olympic National Park, walked out to the Whiskey Bend Trailhead in the Elwha Valley yesterday morning. K.H., who'd been the subject of a major search, was tired and had suffered minor scrapes and bruises, but was otherwise okay. K.H. was last seen by two other hikers in the Grand Valley area about four miles from his starting point at Obstruction Point. He told searchers that he lost the trail in very foggy, rainy conditions in the area of Grand Pass and found himself heading west into the Lillian River drainage rather than into the Cameron Creek drainage as planned. He said that once he realized his mistake and was able to determine his location, he decided to continue hiking downstream along the Lillian River, knowing that he would eventually find the Lillian River Trail, which would lead him to the Elwha River Trail and the Whiskey Bend Trailhead. K.H.'s ad hoc Lillian River route involved eight miles of extremely strenuous off-trail travel, which was much more rugged, difficult and time-consuming than he had anticipated, taking nearly four days longer than he had originally planned for his hike. He reached the Whiskey Bend Trailhead this morning, where he encountered a group of hikers who gave him a ride to the Elwha Ranger Station. K.H. was well-equipped with food, a water filter, maps and compass, the “ HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/wilderness-travel-basics.htm" "CP_JUMP_30628" Ten Essentials” and appropriate gear. K.H. began his hike on Saturday, August 30th, setting out from the Obstruction Point Trailhead near Hurricane Ridge. Family members expected to meet him at the USFS Slab Camp Trailhead on Thursday afternoon. Searchers who contributed to the effort include National Park Service employees and volunteers, an aircraft and crew from Washington State Patrol, and volunteers from Olympic Mountain Rescue, Clallam County Search and Rescue, German Shepherd Search Dogs, Kitsap County Search and Rescue and numerous community members. [Barb Maynes, Public Affairs Officer] Grand Teton NP Unconscious Kayaker Rescued From Snake River Just before noon on Thursday, September 4th, rangers and park paramedics responded to a boat accident with an unresponsive kayaker on the Snake River, about three-quarters of a mile downstream from the Pacific Creek landing. G.S., 80, of Brentwood, Tennessee, was kayaking with his son near the Snake's confluence with the Buffalo Fork River when he apparently overturned his boat and lost consciousness. G.S.'s son made a 911 call for help, and that emergency call was routed to the Teton Interagency Dispatch Center at 11:50 a.m. Park rangers quickly responded to the scene by foot and by boat. Within a couple of minutes of the accident, a private fishing party of two EMT/firefighters from Colorado happened to float by and they stopped to assist. The two EMTs began providing emergency medical care to G.S. They also delivered updates to the Teton Interagency Dispatch Center while rangers were en-route. The first park ranger arrived on scene at 12:10 p.m., after traveling by vehicle from the Buffalo Fork Ranger Station and then bushwhacking on foot to the river bank location. A second park ranger and two park paramedics also launched from Pacific Creek landing via boat and they arrived at 12:12 p.m. Rangers transferred G.S.—who was breathing, but still unresponsive—to a sandbar in the middle of the river, where a Teton Interagency Fire contract helicopter was able to land. The helicopter made a quick flight with G.S. and the two park paramedics aboard from the river island to a nearby ballfield at the Moran School. Upon landing, G.S. was transferred into a waiting park ambulance. Emergency care continued in the ambulance until Classic Air Ambulance, a life flight service out of Riverton, was able to arrive and provide transport to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls. An investigation into what caused the boating accident is still underway. Both G.S.s were wearing life vests at the time of the incident. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer] OTHER NEWS The following stories are among those in today's webpage editions of InsideNPS (available to NPS employees only) and the Morning Report (available to all readers): Yosemite NP - The Meadow Fire, which began early on Sunday afternoon, has burned an estimated 2,582 acres in the park's high-elevation wilderness east of Half Dome and near Little Yosemite Valley. All roads, entrance stations and park facilities remain open and operational. Today's Almanac - Flood and flashflood watches and warnings are up throughout much of the Southwest and across an area from Iowa to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Youth Programs Division - As part of the annual culminating celebration of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) internship program, interns from this year's program from across the nation recently gathered in Washington for a leadership and careers workshop. Grand Canyon NP - Grand Canyon National Park's diversity council and Albright Training Center recently partnered with Earthwise Productions, Inc., to welcome the Diverse Environmental Leaders National Speakers Bureau to the park. Student Employee Network - The Student Employee Network (SEN) is currently accepting new applications for positions on its leadership team. Applications are due by Monday, October 6th. Indiana Dunes NL - Garry Traynham, deputy superintendent at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, retired on September 2nd after more than 39 years with the National Park Service. Rocky Mountain NP - Roger and Betsy Leverton were recently selected as recipients of Intermountain Region's George and Helen Hartzog Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. To see the full text of these stories, readers should go to one or the other of the following sites: NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index Non-NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/ The Morning Report is produced by the Office of Communications with the support of the Office of the Associate Director for Information Resources. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov). --- ### --- |