Hiking safety is even more important on unsanctioned trails

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Right before noon Saturday the Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department (Rockerville VFD) and Keystone ambulance were called to help an injured hiker near Hippie Hole. Pennington County Search and Rescue (PCSR) assisted in getting the hiker to where the ambulance was waiting.

During their rescue, another hiker called for help in the same area.

The Rockerville VFD posted on Facebook after the incident.

“We sound like a broken record, but this hike is not for everyone! We need to quit promoting this hike as an “easy quarter-mile hike”. It needs to be respected as a challenging hike in an area without service,” the post read.

The trail is marked as “moderate” on the popular hiking trail app, AllTrails. Some of the users on the app disagree.

“Straight up hard. Will get lost. Also not sure if I could jump or not.” AllTrails user Maryssa Guenther wrote.

The Black Hills National Forest Service stresses that being prepared before going to an unsanctioned area is key.

“I would just say there’s several places on the forest that people like to go recreate, you know, um, devils Bathtub is one of them, Hippie Hole is one of them, Poets Table is another one and none of them are developed campgrounds per se by the national forest, but they’re popular locations that people like to go to,” Forest Service Public Affairs Officer, Scott Jacobson said. “I would just say if you’re going to go to a place like that I would just make sure to tell someone where you’re going and um do some research, do some background on where you’re going to make sure you can actually hike there safely.”

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