Snohomish County Volunteer Search & Rescue says they saved two men who recently became lost while hiking down from Bear Lake after a fishing trip.
The pair mistakenly descended into the Hempel Creek drainage and wandered downstream.
During the night, the 55-year-old fell near a waterfall, and he got too hurt to continue on.
When the sun rose, his 44-year-old friend set out alone to find help. The search and rescue team says he eventually flagged someone down on Mountain Loop Highway, who called 911 for him.
It turns out, search and rescue was already looking for the pair. The teams located the injured man—cold, hypothermic, and unable to move. Crews tried using a helicopter to rescue him, but the weather was too poor.
Rescuers instead rigged a high-line system to move the man safely across the creek, followed by a ‘long, grueling bushwhack through thick brush and steep terrain to the extraction point,’ the team said.
The search and rescue team had additional support from the Granite Falls Fire Department and the U.S. Forest Service.
“It was a massive collaborative effort—and one that truly made the difference between life and death. Without the combined expertise, endurance, and commitment of everyone involved, the injured subject likely would not have survived the night,” Snohomish County Volunteer Search & Rescue shared.