Zealand Trail carry out for 2nd degree burns

[Waumbek]

This must have been excruciating. When I've changed into sandals in shelters with all the tippy backpack stoves roaring, I'll remember this. Hope she's OK.


CONCORD, N.H. (AP)-- Rescuers carried a Massachusetts teenager out of New Hampshire's White Mountains early Wednesday after she spilled boiling water on her feet.
Fish and Game said Katelyn Ryan, 16, of Medfield, Mass., suffered second-degree burns Tuesday night. A team of rescuers carried her from her Zealand Trail campsite at about 1 a.m., and she was taken to Littleton Hospital.
She was part of a group of three counselors and eight campers on an overnight camping trip. [end quote]

Further details from F&G: "A call for help came in to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26. Fish and Game Conservation Officers, along with Appalachian Mountain Club staff and the counselors from the camping group, assisted with the carryout, which concluded at about 1:00 a.m. this morning."

And more details this morning from the Union Leader, which reports that the incident occurred on the Ethan Pond Trail and that one of the rescuers totaled her car on a Zealand Road bridge but survived uninjured.

 

[MichaelJ]

Ow ow ow ow ow.

The good news is that 2nd degree burns will generally recover well, so although she won't be hiking for a while, she will hopefully be fine in the end.

 

[Halite]

What an unfortunate way to end a trip. Her accident is probably common.

The trip leaders on the SOLO first aid course I attended were adament about all cooks wearing their boots and otherwise keeping the cooking area clear of other people. It's one of the hardest things to manage when camping with my kids. They're always hovering around the kitchen looking at what's cooking.

 

[coldmountain]

Yeah Ive done that. Not one of my prouder moments. I went to pour a little more into my envelope and down onto my shin and foot......

I was at Guyot up at the overflow. I limped down to the spring and put my foot under it for awhile. I had red blotches and swelling but no blistering so it could have been much worse.

 

[Rob S]

This must have been excruciating.

Yeah, burns always hurt like hell.

I recently discovered a remarkable rememdy for minor burns. I burned myself at work while conducting electrical tests on our power supplies. It's a long story that I won't bore you with. Anyway, the pain was pretty bad ...... you know that constant throbbing you get with a burn. One of our technicians retrieved a little packet from the First Aid station and applied the gel to my finger. The pain immediately, and I mean instantly, started to go away. I still have another unused packet sitting here on my desk ...... it's called Water-Jel Burn Jel and contains Lidocaine HCL (2.0%) as the active ingredient.

(Reminder to self: Put Burn Jel in your first-aid kit before next hike ...... )

 

[teloshykr]

burns

As I read this thread, I wondered why did they need rescuers to haul her ass out of the woods? Wouldnt it have been quicker to bring her out immediatly after the incident rather than waiting for someone to come and rescue? There were 10 or 11 other people with her! Nobody could be bothered to change their plans and carry her out? If it was me I certainly would find another group to hike with in the future. And doesnt this incident and the resulting rescue totally go against the whole self/group reliance thing that goes along with the outdoors experience?

 

[Waumbek]

As I read this thread, I wondered why did they need rescuers to haul her ass out of the woods? Wouldnt it have been quicker to bring her out immediatly after the incident rather than waiting for someone to come and rescue? There were 10 or 11 other people with her! Nobody could be bothered to change their plans and carry her out? If it was me I certainly would find another group to hike with in the future. And doesnt this incident and the resulting rescue totally go against the whole self/group reliance thing that goes along with the outdoors experience?

On all 911 calls for help in the NH woods, Fish & Game is in charge and notified first. They run the show. And they run a good show. The rescuers they summoned were those closest by with the ability to carry out--the AMC Zealand hut crew and members of the camping group. The call probably went in for a medical consult on treating a burn victim, e.g., should they evacuate that night, wait 'til morning, etc. It takes a while in the dark to carry someone out without harming them. As recent threads here have discussed, if the person is several miles in, a 3.5 hour response time from the first call to the patient being loaded in the ambulance at the trailhead is good time.