AVERY COUNTY, N.C. — A hiker was injured on Grandfather Mountain in Avery County.
Rescuers say the hiker got off the trail on Beacon Heights trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway and slipped down the rocks nearly 60 feet.
The hiker had his cellphone, but when he called for help he gave the wrong trail.
Rescuers say they were able to track the hiker through GPS coordinates on his cellphone.
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Trained volunteers used ropes to slowly bring the injured hiker up the mountainside. They attached a large wheel to a backboard to get the hiker safely down the trail and to an ambulance.
"For most people in volunteer as well as paid service, we don't do it for kudos or money. It's the desire and the want to help our fellow man," Josh Henson from the Linville Central Rescue Squad said.
Ninety percent of the nearly two dozen people who came out to assist were volunteers. Rescuers say it would not have happened without teamwork.
"It's a sense of pride. A sense of pride that they're helping their man out in the woods. They could be at jobs but they're out helping us today," Assistant Fire Marshal Paul Buchanon said.
Rescuers say the hiker had a serious leg injury.
They say where the hiker fell is an area very close to some cliffs and it is a reminder to other hikers not to venture off the mountain trails.
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