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How long will it take a rescue team to arrive at trail crest.Would it be a National Park Service call or who?


Where do they come from? Are they waiting about every half mile or so just in case you may be a little tired or sore and would like a lift down?

Recall the old add with the tag line do you Buffy..........


So as about every Saturday night we had a chance to see how this all plays out , 911 call is made reported details taken and reporting party is ask to help hiker down if possible .Help is on the way .
Write a short answer for the outcome .Partial credit for wrong answers if you live in a large city or just guess and fail to understand the question.

Two summers ago I was waiting for friends at the Portal around midnight when a sheriff’s car drove up. He explained a young woman had called 911 a few hours ago saying their companions had left them behind and her friend was in trouble, throwing up and having problems getting down.

The sheriff was waiting for an Inyo SAR guy and they were going up.

The sheriff was not well prepared, and the SAR guy was without proper support, but neither hesitated nor complained about starting up the trail at 1AM to help a couple of scared young ladies get down safely.

My friends and I started our hike on the old trail and they were not far behind on the mail trail. After a mile or so we met the young women; cold, thirsty, hungry, bone tired, but still moving down. We waited with them until the rescue arrived a few minutes later.

It didn’t make the newspapers, there wasn’t even an incident report filed, just business as usual for a couple of locals, and a job well done for the young lady who found the strength to get down herself and the friend who stayed with her every step.

Hi As you can see from Franks report ,it takes hours for the rescue crew to get to the Portal , most often they will drive from Bishop or Ridgecrest after they meet at the reporting location, if they are on another call out the time is longer.
Other units may be requested from other locations. So a normal response time is about 3 hours to the Portal , then planning starts and gear needed if any is brought to the Portal , if the person has an injury more people may be requested if a haul out is needed. A command center is established.
, If some one is missing or not back ,most often they will wait 24 hours before a search is started, unless the person has some injury, they know where to find the person and a rescue team may walk in or if by chance a helicopter is available and a landing zone is near.

A one wheel cart can remove people from the trail , a two wheel cart also but each cart requires 4-8 people and most wheel events turn into long night, a very rough ride and a very slow process.
I wrote a section in our book called the Saturday night special, rescues on this trail are quite often , most are not serious , they are because people fail to plan , turn around or give instructions to family members that are not correct " I will be back at 3:27 Pm" , they have never hiked this far or at high elevation and have no clue how long it will take, so at 4 PM the family member wants to start a rescue.

If you are in a group and split up GET THE KEYS so when you get back you can sit in the car or return to town. We see many that about dark now want to start a rescue for the people they left on the mountain, of course they do not have any information on where the missing people are or if they need a rescue.

And then the "fixer" there is a man/lady on the trail that needs a rescue ,they are not going to make it down , I was the last one on the trail ,they need help. Someone has to do something. Did you get a name ? Did the person ask for a rescue, did you try to help? Did they have water/food, warm clothing? Well I didn't talk to them but I know they are going very slow and will not make it!

A ranger may be on the trail and will call for a rescue or walk the person down , again this is a slow process ,since most of the events are after dark and limited ranger contact.

Word travels fast down the trail and with cell coverage things are better each year.


Many call outs could be avoided if people stay in the group , help each other and keep track of how each person is doing, watching that people are eating , drinking and not suffering any stress from the hike.

If you or anyone in your group shows signs of trouble TURN AROUND EARLY ! Waiting till the person is in trouble makes for a long night.

Notice this chain of events , You or your group control the majority of the events that cause a rescue therefore you can avoid needing assistance by planning , this leads to the assumption on the role of the group leader, is that person a name holder or a position of experience that takes command when needed?

I wrote this several days ago as I do the 24 hour test on many post most I change or never post but since this topic seems to be lacking in how it works on the ground I felt it needs to out for comment.


Please respect the time and effort from all the Search and Rescue members, the local Law Officers and Rangers, Forest Service and Park, many people are involved on each rescue.

Many other items are put in place once a rescue is called , some are of the way the search is conducted and site control of the area. I will leave this out as others may want to comment how this plays out.

If not you.... who could prevent the next rescue.
Thanks Doug

Thanks for the great info on what folks really do need to do, their HOMEWORK. Doug and I had a great conversation this holiday weekend about such issues, and still to this day there are many who come to the area unaware of many things. We had a group of around 15 people this holiday weekend, ranging in age from about 6 to "older", and we all did day hiking jaunts to just see the sights and enjoy the fellowship. In our short hikes, less than 10 miles RT, it is an eye opener to see the "preparation issues" we encountered on the trails. Doug is spot on for all of us to be aware of the trail, the weather, your clothes, your food and water, the health and capabilities of everyone, and plan for a plan B or even a plan C. Thanks again for another eternal memory! Oh, and yes, do be advised, the bears are ACTIVE and smart, even down to the LP camp! Take care and we'll see you next time!