Hiker Rescued From Precipice At Acadia National Park

A hiker from Portland was the subject of a complicated rescue operation after falling from the Precipice Trail at Acadia National Park.

The 26-year-old man was hiking the Precipice Trail on Monday when he fell while climbing up one of the technical rung sections of the trail. Park officials say that he was reaching up to grab a rock above him to pull himself up to the next step when the rock gave way. The man fell about 60 feet, somersaulting on the way down.

Rangers were notified after a 911 call at around 6 p.m. Monday. When rescue crews arrived, they found the hiker with broken bones and lacerations, but his injuries were not life threatening. However, the rescue proved challenging since heavy fog prevented the aid of a helicopter.

A carry out operation was started by stabilizing the patient and using a litter on the Orange and Black Trail. It took four hours for the man to be carried to a scree field, or area of rock fall deposits, below the intersection of the Precipice Trail and the Orange and Black Trail. At that point, a guiding line was used that allows the litter to be hovered just above the ground to move the patient to the Park Loop Road. He was loaded into an ambulance and taken to Mount Desert Island Hospital.

Superintendent Kevin Schneider offered his thanks to the rescuers who worked so well together to get the man to safety. "Having these highly trained and dedicated rescuers makes a significant difference when an accident of this nature occurs."  36 first responders were involved in the rescue including Mount Desert Island Search and Rescue, Acadia Mountain Guides, Bar Harbor paramedics, and Acadia National Park resources.