City and state officials are warning the public to steer clear of closed or unmarked trails after a second hiker in two weeks was injured at Pali Notches trail in Nuuanu.
Emergency Medical Services personnel transported a 20-year-old man in serious condition with head injuries to a trauma hospital Wednesday after he fell about 20 feet. Firefighters
responded to a call for an
injured hiker shortly before 7:30 a.m., after Honolulu Fire spokesman Capt. Scot
Seguirant said one of three hikers took a fall somewhere between the first and second notch.
Firefighters hiked to the injured man and stabilized him before he was picked up and flown by the department’s Air 1 helicopter to the Nuuanu Pali Lookout. EMS then transported him to a hospital. Seguirant said wet and cloudy conditions hampered rescue efforts. “We were fortunate there was a break in (cloud) cover where Air 1 could get in at that moment and fly the patient out.”
Firefighters escorted the two other hikers out of the area.
Earlier this month, a 32-year-old man was injuries in a 75-foot fall from the same trail. The hiker suffered back and leg injuries on Jan. 12 and was transported to a hospital in critical condition.
The treacherous Pali Notches trail is widely known to be dangerous.
In March 2015, a 21-year-old Navy sailor assigned to the USS John Paul Jones based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam fell to his death while hiking there. Johnathan McNeely of Lake Wales, Fla. died from injuries he sustained after he fell about 50 feet.
Seguirant said thrill-seekers who trek either on closed or unmarked trails put themselves, as well as emergency personnel, in harm’s way.
Aaron Lowe, Oahu trails and access specialist of the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Na Ala Hele Trail and Access Program, said, “Hanging out of a helicopter and getting lowered to a cliffside to pick somebody up is not easy work and can be extremely dangerous.”
He strongly recommended hikers use trails that are maintained and managed for public use. “Those are the sanctioned trails … those are the safe trails,” he said.
To access the state’s Na Ala Hele Trail and Access Program website, visit:
hawaiitrails.hawaii.gov/trails .
