RAPID CITY, S.D. – Search and Rescue crews say two separate rescue operations took place at Hippie Hole on Saturday, as two hikers were extracted from the area for medical emergencies.
The Rockerville Fire Department responded to an emergency call around noon after a woman fell and injured her ankle. In need of additional resources to handle the difficult terrain, the RFD called in the Pennington County Search and Rescue Team to perform a rope extraction.
The injured woman had to be loaded into a carrier basket and hauled out of the steep canyon, then back up the trail. It took rescue crews three hours to get her to the ambulance.
As the first rescue was underway, a man in his early 50s suffered a heat emergency in the area.
Battle Creek Fire, LifeFlight and a Rapid City ambulance were paged to respond to the second patient. Following rescue efforts, both patients were transported to the hospital.
The Rockerville Fire Department reminds anyone heading to Hippie Hole that it’s only accessible via by a tough, unmarked trail. They say it needs to be respected as a challenging hike in an area without service.
