A hiker who had fallen ill was rescued from the Appalachian Trail on Saturday.
The Graham County 911 center received a call from a woman around 10:45 a.m., saying her father was sick and might need some assistance in getting out of the woods.
Graham County Rescue Squad members Tory Lynnes, Brent Eller and Larry Crisp used Green Gap Road and an old logging road to gain access to the Appalachian Trail.
The trio located 57-year-old Texas resident Heath Lucas at the Brown Fork Gap trail shelter around 12:30 p.m. Lucas told them he had been sick all night and was very weak. Lucas stated that he had begun his hike in Georgia and had re-supplied his pack in Franklin with enough food to last him through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Lynnes said that Lucas’ pack – which squad members carried for him – was very heavy and felt that this played a large part in his difficulty, as he was exhausted and worn down.
The rescuers reached Green Gap Road with Lucas around 1:25 p.m., where squad members Ethan Pannell and Justin Waldroup loaded him into a squad vehicle and transported him to alternate shelter in Robbinsville.