FISH SPRINGS, Cali. (KTXL) — A woman hiking in the high Sierra Nevada had to be rescued after a detour and water break turned into a serious health emergency, according to California authorities.
Inyo County Search and Rescue says that on June 12, the woman was section hiking the John Muir trail north of Kings Canyon National Park when she encountered a large amount of snow on Mather Pass.
Feeling uncomfortable about attempting to cross the snow, the woman took the Taboose Pass trail as the next easiest way to leave the Sierra.
A little under two miles from reaching the trailhead, she went to get water from a creek when she was bitten by what she believed to be a spider.
Sometime after receiving the probable bite, the woman was “unable to feel the skin on her legs” and couldn’t continue her exit hike, the SAR team said.
She was able to share her coordinates while calling for a rescue before her phone died.
Responding rescuers used a litter to collect the woman after she was assessed and brought her back down about a mile-and-a-half where they had stashed a wheeled litter to carefully bring her down the rest of the way.
At midnight, the woman and rescuers reached the trailhead to their awaiting vehicle.
The woman’s condition, as well as the type of spider involved, were not released.
In California, it’s the black widow spider – specifically the females – that are considered the most common spider capable of injuring people.