Two hikers were rescued from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore over the weekend.
Rescue units responded to calls right before 5 p.m. on Saturday.
A Traverse City couple became stranded on the side of the Empire Bluff Trail, about halfway down a 400 foot bluff, after trying to climb down to the beach.
“The couple was hiking from the Treat Farm [Trail] out towards the Empire Bluff [Trail],” said Chief Ranger Phil Akers with the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. “They were approximately 200 feet down and they couldn’t descend or climb back up.”
Park rangers say the rescue took about two hours.
For the Glen Lake Fire Department, this is a very detailed mission—one they haven’t encountered since a hiker got stranded in February.
“We have ATVs, but they can’t always access all the areas, so they hike in, haul in a couple hundred pounds of equipment, we have to find a good anchor point, rappel down to the victims, assess them, if they have any medical needs or anything,” said Glen Lake Fire Chief Bryan Ferguson.
Rescues like this can also be very dangerous for the firefighters.
“One of the biggest hazards when there’s somebody down the hill, we obviously have to go down, basically in the same path that they took, with all the loose debris on the side of the hill, that debris does roll down the hill towards the victims,” said Ferguson.
The number one reminder for hikers as summer approaches: stay on the marked trails and never try to climb down the bluffs.
“Highly recommend people just stick to the trails and thank goodness they had good cell reception,” said Akers.
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