{"id":84046,"date":"2024-01-26T14:53:52","date_gmt":"2024-01-26T19:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acrartex.com\/?post_type=survivor-stories&p=84046"},"modified":"2025-03-04T08:01:03","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T13:01:03","slug":"solo-adventurers-peril-remote-wilderness","status":"publish","type":"survivor-stories","link":"https:\/\/www.acrartex.com\/uk\/survivor-stories\/solo-adventurers-peril-remote-wilderness\/","title":{"rendered":"Solo Adventurer’s Peril: Ankle Sprain Strands Hiker in Remote Wilderness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Off on a solo mission, I hiked the Hollyford-Pyke loop<\/a> clockwise. Carrying my PLB. The preceding days had been delightful; the rivers were relatively low. A fantastic group of pack rafters I met provided recent weather intel, warning of an approaching weather event the next day.<\/p>\n

A resident handed me a steaming cup of coffee. We chatted, and he confirmed the impending weather, emphasizing that today’s walk would be challenging.<\/p>\n

Navigating the overgrown track, I relished the challenge and the satisfaction of reaching landmarks. The Pyke valley felt magical, making me feel tiny and alone in the most beautiful way.<\/p>\n

After overcoming the most challenging sections and crossing potentially dangerous rivers. An unnoticed hole under the brush and a loud pop led to a quick change.<\/p>\n

My ankle was sprained, and my world was spinning. I had to take a second to overcome the strong feelings of nausea that overcame me. After a few minutes of recovery, I managed to hobble along with the help of a walking stick. It took nearly three hours to reach the hut.<\/p>\n

Doubt crept in as my ankle swelled. Using my beacon for an ankle sprain felt silly. Considering my isolation and the approaching weather, I decided to activate my ACR ResQLink 410 RLS<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I was grateful to see the indicator light change, signifying my signal had been received, as I waited for local SAR.<\/p>\n

They arrived in a helicopter approaching dark, assessing my condition and flying me to the ED in Queenstown. The efficient and amazing helicopter team assured me I did the right thing, noting, “You’re an awful long way from anywhere.” An overnight hospital stay and x-rays revealed a Grade 3 sprain.<\/p>\n

I extend my thanks to the ACR team, local SAR, dispatchers, and the ED team at Lakes District Hospital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After overcoming the most challenging sections and crossing potentially dangerous rivers, I was cruising, theoretically less than an hour away from the next hut. However, an unnoticed hole under the brush and a loud pop led to a quick change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":168438,"featured_media":84045,"template":"","survivor-category":[17],"terrain":[16],"survivor-event":[2717],"survivor-cause":[123],"survivor-rescue":[139],"class_list":["post-84046","survivor-stories","type-survivor-stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","survivor-category-hiking","terrain-forest","survivor-event-challenging-terrain","survivor-cause-medical-emergency","survivor-rescue-local-search-and-rescue"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acrartex.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/survivor-stories\/84046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acrartex.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/survivor-stories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acrartex.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/survivor-stories"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acrartex.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/168438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acrartex.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acrartex.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"survivor-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acrartex.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/survivor-category?post=84046"},{"taxonomy":"terrain","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acrartex.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/terrain?post=84046"},{"taxonomy":"survivor-event","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acrartex.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/survivor-event?post=84046"},{"taxonomy":"survivor-cause","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acrartex.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/survivor-cause?post=84046"},{"taxonomy":"survivor-rescue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acrartex.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/survivor-rescue?post=84046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}