Rangers employed an interagency contract helicopter to rescue a backcountry hiker on the evening of July 5th after he suffered symptoms of acute mountain sickness and heat exhaustion. Steven Bernaz, 24, of Rolling Meadows, Illinois, became too ill to continue hiking on his own at the 10,100-foot elevation near Petzoldt’s Cave in Garnet Canyon. The sheriff’s office received a distress call from Bernaz and relayed it to rangers via the interagency dispatch center. Rangers were able to make cell phone contact with Bernaz and his hiking partner and determine that he needed emergency medical assistance. Two rangers immediately began hiking into Garnet Canyon by foot, while an interagency helicopter was summoned for air support. Four rangers were subsequently flown into the Meadows area of Garnet Canyon, and two of those rangers hiked up an additional 800 feet to Petzoldt’s Cave where Bernaz was resting. After rangers provided initial emergency medical care, they were able to help Bernaz walk to the Garnet Canyon Meadows and board the helicopter for a flight to Lupine Meadows, where a park ambulance was waiting to transport him to St. John’s Medical Center in Jackson for treatment.
