SWAN VALLEY – On July 30 Seeley-Swan Search and Rescue was called just after 5 a.m. for a 50-year-old man that had reportedly eaten mushrooms on the trail to Upper Holland Lake and was violently ill. The 50-year-old had also sustained a head injury and was rescued by Two Bear Air just before 7:30 a.m. He was airlifted to Kalispell via Kalispell A.L.E.R.T. He condition is unknown.
Incident Commander Missoula County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Dunster said SSSAR got the call at 5:10 a.m. Tuesday. The man had reportedly eaten mushrooms found on the trail that were orange and brown on the top with white bottoms. He was grunting and convulsing. He had also repeatedly slammed his head into a log, resulting in a large contusion on his head.
Four volunteers from SSSAR responded as well as Swan Valley Emergency Services out of Condon. Dunster also requested Two Bear Air since the party was six miles in on the Holland Lake Trail. Two Bear Air accepted the mission at 5:35 a.m.
Two Bear Air arrived at 7:08 a.m. They flew up the canyon to make contact with the party. SSSAR and SVES staged at the trailhead at Holland Lake.
Two Bear Air made contact with the party who was packing out the individual on a homemade stretcher. Dunster said they had only gotten about a half mile towards the trailhead when Two Bear Air made contact.
Two Bear Air lifted the man out and transported him to the landing zone near the Owl Creek Packer Camp. When Two Bear Air landed, they felt his blood pressure was too high to be transported via ambulance. Since Two Bear Air does not transport, Dunster requested Life Flight out of Missoula but it was unavailable. Swan Valley Emergency Services helped coordinate with Kalispell Regional Medical Center’s A.L.E.R.T. Air Ambulance. Two Bear Air rendezvoused with Kalispell A.L.E.R.T and transferred the patient at 7:25 a.m.
Dunster said he later learned that the mushrooms were hallucinogenic mushrooms that the 50-year-old intentionally ate that night. While he was tripping on the mushrooms, he inflicted the head injury.
“There is no other service in this entire state that is as good as Two Bear Air,” said Dunster who added that retired Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry is now working with Two Bear Air. “They don’t charge for their service, they have the best qualified paramedics and they aren’t afraid to do anything. They go into a canyon and lift someone off of a rock face. They are just the best.”
Dunster recommends people don’t eat mushrooms without proper identification. While some are edible, others are poisonous and can make someone very sick. He also recognized while people do eat hallucinogenic mushrooms, doing it in the middle of the night, six miles away from a trailhead is not a good decision.
“Two Bear Air was absolutely awesome in this whole deal,” said Dunster. “They are pretty much responsible for saving this guy’s life.”
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