Tulare Co. has seen more than its fair share of
mountain and water rescues this Spring and
Summer. Many of them might not have had the same
happy ending without the help of Sequoia
Mountain Rescue (SMR), a fairly new team of
highly trained individuals specializing in
difficult alpine operations involving technical
rescues and recoveries...
... On Monday night, July 21, at 10:30 p.m.,
Kevin Kemmerling was paged by the Tulare Co.
Sheriff's office. a horseman, of Camp Nelson,
had been riding in the mountains near the Golden
Trout Wilderness Pack Station when he stopped to
give his horse and mule a water break at Jug
Springs. His horse, according to Sheriff's
reports, stumbled and fell on top of him. The
horseman suffered injuries to his lower body and
legs, . . .
. . .Kemmerling "rallied the troops" . . .the (SMR)
team was on the way up to the site when they
found the Camp Nelson ambulance by the side of
the road. A woman in her car had gone off the
roadway and straight down about 50 feet. The
team extricated the woman from the car and
carried her up the mountainside to the
ambulance. Within 30 minutes they were on their
way to the wounded horseback rider. . .
. . .The carryout of the injured rider took 3½
hours. It was 7:10a.m. before they reached their
destination.
. . .The Sequoia Mountain Rescue team is not
compensated in any way for their work. Because
it is a nonprofit volunteer team, their only
means of funding is through corporate and
private sponsors. Anyone can donate and it is
tax deductible.
|
"We wouldn't be able to conduct our
search and rescues the way we do without
Sequoia Mountain Rescue," Lt. Donna Perry
said. "They are certainly a significant part
of our operation."
 |