STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
While St. Luke’s new mobile vaccine unit was on the ground saving lives by dispensing the COVID vaccine, St. Luke’s helicopter was in the air potentially saving the life of a lost male hiker in Adam’s Gulch.
Air St. Luke’s was called to the popular Adams Gulch Fox Creek hiking and biking area near Ketchum on Tuesday after a hiker became lost due to snow covering the trail.
Blaine County Sheriff’s deputies set up an Incident Command at the Adam’s Gulch Trailhead. A search and rescue involving the Ketchum Fire Department and Blaine County Search and Rescue volunteers commenced based on where the hiker’s cell phone pinged. Air St. Luke’s pilot located the hiker, who was uninjured, on a ridge.
Normally, Air St. Luke’s is used to transport people who have been involved in an accident or have had medical emergencies to hospitals in Twin Falls and Boise.