A pair of hikers was rescued this week in the Big Horn Mountains after spending nine days in the wilderness.
According to the Big Horn County Sheriff's Office in Wyoming, the man and woman from Powell, Wyo., left the Porcupine Falls area on July 18. The pair ran out of food and water and one began experiencing medical complications.
They tried hiking off the Little Mountain area toward a road, but became dehydrated from the heat and lack of water, the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post. The medical complications of the one hiker also "deteriorated rapidly."
On Monday, July 26, the pair were able to get cell phone service and contacted the sheriff's office late in the afternoon. They had become stranded on a rimrock cliff and were unable to proceed up or down due to the steep terrain.
Search and rescue teams were sent and were able to make contact with the hikers, but due to their exhaustion, dehydration and medical conditions they were unable to be moved, the sheriff's office said. One of the hikers was also badly sunburned.
Rescue personnel brought food, water, and medical supplies and then stayed with them through the night until the next morning when a helicopter from the Wyoming Air National Guard arrived. The hikers were each hoisted out and flown to a waiting ambulance.
The hikers are expected to make a full recovery, the sheriff's office said.
