When hikers need help

On our hike up to Kearsarge Pass, we ran into a woman hiking down from the pass. "You may meet two park staff up there," she said. "One of them isn't feeling well, and they may need some help." We promised to check on them, even after she told us that they had a radio and were in touch with other park staff.

About 500 feet below the pass, we came upon the two young women. One of them was on the radio, while the other sat, well off the trail in the shade. We stopped and chatted with them. The seated woman was not feeling well: headache, nausea and general malaise. And she had decided, quite wisely, to call off her week-long trip into the backcountry, and hike back down to the trailhead.

A hiker who didn't need help.

But she was not alone. Another of their party had already arrived at their destination down below the pass in Kings Canyon NP, and her hiking partner was there, with her on the pass. (A fourth member had injured her ankle and didn't start the hike.)

The question was not if she should hike down to lower elevations. The question was how, and what the others should do. We offered to help in any case, but of course, we were not employees or officials in any way. We offered Advil or Tylenol. We offered to carry her pack. We offered water and food. They were grateful, but did not accept the offers. (I still think they should have taken us up on carrying the pack down the mountain.)

Their supervisor didn't want to leave one team member alone in the backcountry while the other two hiked out. That was against policy. And she didn't want to ask the ill hiker to hike out on her own. Both solid decisions. In the end, they were able to reach the third hiker in the backcountry by radio and ask him to hike out to meet the other two and help them down the trail.

We had offered our campsite, water, and any other help they needed once they had descended. And late in the day, after we were well rested and reading in the shade, they stopped by, in their car. The third young hiker had joined them on the way down the mountain, and they just wanted to let us know that everyone got out safely.

A happy ending, all the way around.