At the top of Section 16 at Bear Creek Park, this happy woman and her husband surpassed my lazy pace.
“I love your bucket hat,” she exclaimed as they walked cheerfully by. I admired her sunny disposition.
About 45 minutes later I encountered them again, only now she was curled up like a shrimp in the dirt. Her anxious husband crouched beside her, trying to comfort and help her as she was having some sort of medical emergency. It was unclear what was going on. Three other hikers stood by, also unsure of what to do.
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I recognized her blonde hair and all-black outfit, but she was no longer the same—shaking, moaning, freezing, vomiting, saying she was about to pass out and how scared she was. It was a terrifying scene, and my heart went out to this stranger who surely hadn’t expected to find herself lying in the woods on a Sunday afternoon, feeling like her body was about to collapse.
It’s hard to know what to do in times like these when you’re dealing with someone in shock and pain. Your muscles are twitching and your mind is racing through all the ways you can help her. I offered her water, snacks, and grapes. No, she wouldn’t eat or drink anything. I suggested she run down and try to find a cell phone with better signal, but luckily another hiker got through to 911, but she had to wait due to the volume of calls for help.
A few minutes later, the dispatcher arrived and she gave them the exact location, about a mile off Golden Camp Road.
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There wasn’t much for me to do, but I stayed put like the other hikers. Sometimes all you can offer is your company and comfort.
Although the sick woman was reluctant to leave where she lay in the dirt, the team decided she needed to be moved off the trail as quickly as possible. Her husband picked her up and walked down the mountain, and another male hiker happened to pass by and offered to help, and the two took turns holding her. The two carried her to High Drive near Gold Camp Road, where three emergency workers met us with a stretcher.
We all left the couple there, not wanting to be onlookers or cause confusion. They didn’t exchange names or information so I don’t know what happened. I hope she’s okay.
I thought a lot about it afterwards – how we decide in times of crisis whether to help, to run toward her instead of away, and how kind humans are when you really get down to it. This group of strangers wanted to help her, and did so in their own small ways: calling 911, giving her a sweater because she was freezing, praying for her. And then a complete stranger helped her walk a mile down a path. It took a small village to help her.
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It also reminded me to carry a few extra items on hikes in case of future emergencies: candy to treat low blood sugar, extra clothing, air-activated hand warmers, electrolyte packs, and lots of water.
A bit off topic, but I also decided to carry a portable dog water bowl with me on my hikes in the woods this summer. I saw too many big furry dogs pass me on 90 degree days without any water from their owners, and a natural water source was miles away. It just put a damper on my hike, so from now on, if I see a panting dog with no water, I will pull out my collapsible bowl and be a dog bartender.
Our animals deserve a village too.
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