On the morning of April 4th, a report was received of three Appalachian Trail hikers who’d become separated from each other during the preceding day’s thunderstorms. Only one member of the party had made it to an Appalachian Trail shelter before nightfall; the other two independently spent the night out on the trail in the harsh weather with no shelter.
Rangers Phil Basak (medic) and Jamie Sanders responded to the Spence Field shelter on the AT and contacted two members of the party. One had a knee injury and was experiencing a diabetic emergency; he’d been helped into the shelter by other hikers along the trail. He was treated and evacuated by horseback.
The third member of the party, a man with an extensive cardiac history, was located just off trail approximately two miles north of the Spence Field shelter. He was reported as hypothermic, unable to move, and not lucid. Rangers treated him and requested the assistance of the Tennessee Highway Patrol Aviation Unit in extricating him and taking him to a waiting ambulance. Both hikers are expected to make full recoveries.
Here's an interview with Brad Phillips, the man rescued via helicopter, conducted by WBIR:
Jeff
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