After a drowning death earlier this year and multiple injuries, local officials recently installed trail markers at a popular Black Hills cliff diving destination. Every year, multiple reports come of injuries at the beloved but remote Hippie Hole. Every one of those responses requires roughly 30 people and four hours of time.
Gail Schmidt, the chief of the Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department, said when injuries are serious enough to lead to deaths every safety precaution saves critical seconds.
“If we need to haul them out, we set up rope systems to haul them out in a stokes basket," Schmidt said. "Otherwise, if the injury is severe enough I’ll bring in the South Dakota National Guard and we’ll do a hoist rescue. All of that takes coordination, we need to get the resources in the right location. Knowing where my patient is is the most important thing, along with their level of injuries.”
The Rockerville Fire Department is often the first to respond to these calls, but the remote nature of the area means cell service is spotty at best, and nonexistent at worst. Schmidt said that can make it impossible to know precise details in crucial moments.
“Oftentimes, in order to call 911 people have to leave their friend to get cell service, then at that point they call 911 and they’re not with the patient so they don’t know the current status of the patient," Schmidt said. "So, I have to find out where my patient is and then what their injuries are.”
That motivated the installation of new trail markers and an official trailhead.
“We do have individuals who are not familiar with the trail system, some of them aren’t even familiar where the trailhead begins," Schmidt said. "Our goal was to try and get visitors to the trailhead first, and then down the tail and back out. Hopefully, that will allow them to stay on the easiest trail coming in from the north so they can get in and out in a safe fashion.”
Because the area is on Black Hills National Forest land, the trail makers required approval from forest officials.