Deadwood rescue

[hemingray]

Holy mackerel - quite the rescue off Deadwood Road on the jeep trail tonight - started around 7-ish and at 11-ish it's still going on. Apparently there was a quad accident, but it turned into a different accident when a pickup truck went off the trail. One person was ejected, one rode the thing 600 feet down the canyon. Fire crews started arriving and an ambulance apparently tried to start down the jeep road and got stuck with a wheel over the edge. While tows were discussed, CDF dispatched a dozer to help out. PCSO's helicopter was dispatched, along with the PCSO Mountain Rescue team with a jeep and ATV and nearly 18 people. So the count is something like: the Mountain Rescue team, 3 ambulances, a CDF engine, two brush units, the dozer and tender, 2 battalion chiefs and one USFS unit. A bunch are down the jeep trail, and CalStar3 is at China Wall while the PCSO helicopter is working on the long line lift. Another ambulance was dispatched to China Wall to help land CalStar.

That canyon is absurdly steep and if the coordinates they gave are where the thing went off - I know that turn. It's a brute. I stopped and walked it before going down it and kicked some loose brush off it because I wanted traction. I cannot imagine taking a pickup down that road and once you started down it, you would be committed - there's no turning until the bottom as I recall. Dunno if the pickup was 4WD, but that would be required.

[Ken]

Wow.

CalStar insurance!!

[hemingray]

BTW, the dozer did pull the ambulance back from the edge. They had the transportation dialed in but the PCSO helo could not lift the patient out because of cable length not being enough because of trees. They went back to Auburn to await the call and CalStar shut down at China Wall to await their patient. They were using manpower to carry the person up to the road, last I heard.

http://auburn.news10.net/news/community ... own-canyon

The news got some of it right, but I got it direct on the radio that it was a pickup that went down after the ATV accident.

[avejoe]

All to paid for by you and I.

[GrizzlyGuy]

Zowie! It's weird that this happens now and you were just out there. Uh-oh, did you leave a banana peel on the trail?

[hemingray]

Funny -on that trail at the bottom were a number of beer cans and I actually thought that I should look for something I could pack trash out with when I see it. I need something durable to hang off the rack or something.

But no, I didn't have any bananas that day...

We probably ought to ride it before they gate it now.

[Ken]

I need something durable to hang off the rack or something.

If only Rubicon Trail Patrol didn't provide durable trash bags.

[Norcalbmxer]

Glad Im not the only one cursed out there.....

Very few people will go with me on that ridge anymore because of all the assinine things that have happened. I swear that whole ridge is haunted.

Just to list a few things that have happened

Fuel pump in my bronco died while out there
Rolled Quad out there on steep incline
Ignition Coil in my bronco died while out there
Chewed through half a snowmobile belt while out there - Slipped it the rest of the way out just to get out of there.....
After warning a buddy about my luck we went down in his suburban, when we returned he had to replace his front hubs (automatic hub broke about halfway through)
On the way back we there was a log parallel to the road, ran over one of the branches from that long that was across the road, which rolled the log and put a big dent in my buddys suburban door...


I just know every time i go out there its gonna cost money one way or another.....