A CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL HELICOPTER HOISTS AN INJURED 17- YEAR-OLD OFF THE UPPER YOSEMITE FALL TRAIL ON MONDAY AFTER THE YOUNG MAN COLLAPSED. PHOTO COURTESY OF NPS At approximately 3:30 p.m. on Monday, March 22, the Yosemite Emergency Dispatch Center received a call regarding a collapsed hiker on the Upper Yosemite Fall Trail. The hiker, a 17-year old student from Upland, was on a hiking trip with the Yosemite Institute. He was with a group of approximately eight students, with several adult chaperones and instructors.

This hike is a regular part of the curriculum experienced by the students of the Yosemite Institute, a week-long residential environmental education program.

The hiker collapsed near the summit of the Upper Yosemite Fall Trail. The trail is a strenuous, 3.5 mile hike that begins in Yosemite Valley.

Two Yosemite National Park Rangers were dispatched to the scene to assist the hiker. Once the Park Rangers reached the hiker, a California Highway Patrol helicopter assisted in hoisting the injured hiker. The young man was then airlifted to the Children’s Hospital in Madera.

The cause of the hiker’s collapse is unknown. The hiker’s condition was also not known.