Stranded hikers took tumble down Marin hill

Fire crews and a California Highway Patrol helicopter assisted in rescuing two men who fell down a hill in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in Marin County Saturday, a fire official said.

Southern Marin Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Kai Pasquale said fire crews responded to a report of stranded hikers around 1:30 p.m.

The hikers fell in the area of the Battery Rathbone-McIndoe off of Conzelman Road, Pasquale said.

He said the two men, who are both in their mid-20s, were approximately 450 feet from the roadway when the fire crews found them.

They were walking along a small trail when they apparently stumbled and slid some 50 to 100 feet down the hill, Pasquale said:

“It’s a small trail and they were basically stuck in a very steep area. They couldn’t go up and couldn’t go down.”

Firefighters were preparing to use ropes to rappel down the cliff, but Pasquale said a CHP helicopter arrived and the air crew was able to hoist both victims from the hillside.

He said the two men suffered only minor injuries and refused further medical assistance.

Roughly 30 firefighters responded to the rescue effort, Pasquale said.

In addition to CHP officers and fire crews from the Southern Marin Fire Protection District, first responders from the Mill Valley Fire Department, the Marin County Fire Department, the National Park Service, and the Marin County Search and Rescue team showed up to help with the rescue, he said.