OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — An injured 15-year-old Sequim resident was plucked from an Olympic National Park trail on Monday afternoon after he spent Sunday night there injured and unable to walk out.
The three-agency rescue — which involved park rangers, the Coast Guard and a Clallam County Search & Rescue team — took nearly 20 hours because of steep, rocky conditions, nightfall and rainy weather, said Barb Maynes, Olympic National Park spokeswoman.
The teen — identified late Monday by a family member as Jacob Lewis — and his family were on a day hike on Pyramid Peak Trail late Sunday afternoon, and were returning from the peak when he fell 150 feet down a 400-foot rock slide that crosses the trail and sustained leg injuries, Maynes said.
“His injuries are not considered life-threatening,” she said.
A Coast Guard helicopter from Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles lowered a rescuer with a rescue basket to the young man at about 11:30 a.m. Monday, Maynes said.
The helicopter then returned to Port Angeles to refuel, then flew back to the rescue site to finish the mission at about 12:30 p.m., Maynes said.
Lewis was raised by a hoist into the helicopter and taken to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles, the Coast Guard said.
The Pyramid Peak Trail is located on the north side of Lake Crescent, 20 miles west of Port Angeles.
The fall was at a rock slide located about a 40-minute hike up the trail, Maynes said.
Family members notified park staff members at about 4 p.m. Sunday, and the first rescue team reached the boy by 7 p.m., she said.
An additional team of about 10 park rangers reached the young man shortly thereafter, but extremely steep terrain and weather conditions prevented an immediate rescue, she said.
“Rangers camped with them last night,” Maynes said Monday morning.
The overnight team carried camping gear to keep Lewis and his father, who stayed with him, safe and warm overnight, she said.
A technical rescue team including park rangers and Clallam County Search & Rescue personnel began hiking to the site early Monday, while another team scouted possible rescue routes from below the trail and rock slide, Maynes said.
Because of his location and weather conditions, rescuers expected to perform a technical rescue using ropes and rappelling gear, but the weather cleared just long enough to allow the helicopter crew access.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
