Hiker stranded on steep slope after she loses footing and falls 80 feet, OR cops say

A hiker ended up stranded on a steep slope after slipping and falling about 80 feet, Oregon deputies say.

The 50-year-old hiker was trekking the Oneonta Trail by herself but didn’t realize she wandered off trail the morning of Friday, July 12, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

She “found herself on a slope with fallen trees and loose ground when she lost her footing and tumbled down the embankment,” deputies said.

With no way to get back up the trail, the woman called 911, the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies said they found the hiker less than an hour later, “between Middle Oneonta Falls and Upper Oneonta Falls.”

Members of Corbett Fire and Cascade Locks Fire and EMS used a rope system to pull the woman from the “steep embankment,” according to deputies.

Medics examined the hiker, who was not hurt aside from some “scrapes and bruises,” deputies said, adding that she drove home after declining further medical treatment.

With a steep grade, the “Oneonta Trail (about a 35-mile drive northeast from Portland) is the most demanding trail of the three direct routes up Larch Mountain,” according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Triple Falls, which can be found nearly 2 miles into the trail, “is one of the biggest draws of this hike,” according to the agency.

This story was originally published July 15, 2024 at 2:33 PM with the headline "Hiker stranded on steep slope after she loses footing and falls 80 feet, OR cops say."

Daniella Segura

McClatchy DC

Daniella Segura is a national real-time reporter with McClatchy. Previously, she’s worked as a multimedia journalist for weekly and daily newspapers in the Los Angeles area. Her work has been recognized by the California News Publishers Association. She is also an alumnus of the University of Southern California and UC Berkeley.