SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Multiple people need to get rescued from the Black Hills area while on hikes or during other recreational activities each year.
One big reason why there are rescues is people don’t plan for the activity said Sam Smolnisky the director of the Custer County Search and Rescue Team.
Smolnisky doesn’t blame or cast shame on the people who need to be rescued but each incident can be a reminder of how people may be able to avoid the rescue.
Just like hikers plan for a road trip, they need to plan for a hike, he said.
Items like extra clothes, food, water and a fully charged phone are important, Smolnisky said. So is knowing the area to be hiked.
“Having a plan or knowledge of where you’re going,” is critical, Smolnisky said. “Some sort of a little bit of knowledge of where you are, where you plan to go and where you came from. Man, we’d be out of a job if everyone did that.”
Smolinsky has been on the all-volunteer team since 2017. The team responds to about 100 calls each year, many of them in July and August, he said.
On Tuesday, the search and rescue team rescued a family who was unable to get safely out of the Needles Tunnel. A storm went through while the family was hiking. Smolnisky said the storm made rocks and boulders slippery and it changed the look of the trail. The family got cold, disoriented and found it tough to navigate the trail and slippery rocks, he said.
“I look outside now and it’s 70 degrees and sunny but all of a sudden a storm can come in with rain and hail and the temperature can drop 20 degrees,” Smolnisky said.
Search and rescue deals with more hypothermia in the summer than in the winter, he said.
Extra clothes and an awareness of how weather can change the trail are valuable pieces of a hiking plan, he said.
Smolnisky also emphasized the importance of maps.
“We in search and rescue, rely heavily on maps and mapping software on our phones to find people but also to make sure that we don’t get lost,” Smolinsky said.
The Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department posted on June 15 on its Facebook account a caution about hikers using trails that are not well marked including the area called Hippe Hole when a hiker was injured and another had a heat emergency on the same day. The social media post said a hike has been promoted as an “easy quarter-mile hike” when it’s not.
Smolinsky said hikers need to get informed about trails. They can ask other hikers, law enforcement and park rangers. Even campground hosts will know about trails.
It can also be tough for a hiker to determine the challenges of the trail if they don’t ask questions, Smolnisky said.
A trail in a national park, national forest or state area may not be well marked or well maintained to discourage use by unskilled hikers because of the difficulty Smolnisky said. Rescuing people from those types of areas is difficult, he said.
“People can get this false sense of security,” Smolnisky said. “They think ‘I’m two miles away from the parking lot, what could happen?'”
But, if a hiker is used to lower elevation and more straight path hiking, the terrain and elevation on various trails in the Black Hills can be more demanding than expected, Smolinsky said.
The desire to get to a destination such as a peak or waterfall causes hikers to overextend themselves, he said.
Medical conditions that don’t affect a lower-impact hike can become a problem with a more challenging hike, Smolnisky said.
People can break a bone, get lost or have other issues while on a hike. That’s why having some extra water and other supplies is important and also that fully charged phone, Smolinsky said.
Hikers should call or text 911 if there is a problem. If the phone is not fully charged the call or text should be 911 not to the spouse or friend in another state, Smolinsky said. The local 911 call or text can help direct emergency personnel to the correct location. Local dispatchers are also skilled at helping hikers, he said.
It’s good to pay attention to surroundings while hiking, Smolinsky said. Hikers should also look back to where the vehicle is parked while hiking, he said. This information can help a hiker to be rescued, he said.
